Towpath Talk December 2022 issue PREVIEW

New report valuesbenefitsofCanal &River Trust waterways

AH EA DLINE re po rt se tt ing outthe economicand social valueoftheinland water way network waslaunchedbythe Ca na l&R iverT ru st at the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Water ways.

Presentingthe report to MPs, chiefexecutive RichardPar ry announcedthatthecombined annual economicand social valueofthe water waysamounts to£6.1billion.

Th isincludes£1.5billion annual economic valuefrom water-based tourismand jobs, andannual socialvalueof£4.6 billion,a gure whichincludes a£1.1billioncostsavingtothe NHSfromactiveu se ofthe water ways andthetowpaths.

He said:“ is repor ta nd analysis cap tu re sh ow the trus t’sw orktop ro tectand preser ve the nation’shistoric canalnetworkdelivers positive

ou tcome sf or so ciety. ese includethe valueofthe canal networkintermsof supporting jobs,thevisitor economy,and theunique we lfareb ene ts delivered by providing access to natureandthe outdoorsin urbanareas, oftenin society’s mostdeprived communities. No otherUKcharitybrings so muchfree blueandgreen space to thedoorstepsofsomany.

“H ow ever,t he nat ion’s

250-year-old canalnetworkis alsooldandfragile.Together with government, thetrustbears ahuge nancial responsibility forthemeticulous day- todayc arereq uired to ke ep thisprec iousnetwor ks afe and navigableand,in tu rn, availablefor societytobene t from andtoprotectthehomes, businessesandcritical national infrastructurethatruns on or alongsideit.”

Richardadded:“ rough championingthe bene tsof thenetworkfor lowcarbon trans po rt andtourism, sustainabledrainage, water transferand ge ne ra tion oflowcarbo ne nergy ,we ca ne nsuret hatt henext chapterinthehistor yofthe waterwayss ees themhelp societymitigatethee ects ofclimatechange.”

PHOTO:SUPUBLICITY/DAVIDCARTER

NORMALLY at thistime ofthe yearwewould be heraldingthearrivalof theChristmas se ason butwiththecostoflivingcrisisand food shortages–eggsand poultr yin particular –itmakesone wonder just howfestiveitwill be for many people.

On eofthe ma intalkingp oints from aw at er ways pe rs pect iv eat themomentisthe Defragrant to the Ca na l& Rive rT rust whichis described by NABO councilmember PeterBraybrookas‘theelephantin the room’inhiscolumnon page 70.

CRTchief executive Richard Parry tooktheoppor tu nitytoban gt he trust’sdrumaboutthebene ts of its networktoMPs at the recentAll Party Parliamentar yGroupfor Water ways as reported onthefront andthispage and themeetingisalsocovered byHelen Gazeleyin eWet Webonpage68.

Iamwritingthisonthemorning beforethe Chancellor Jere my Hu nt makeshisdelayedautumn statement andinaninterview with BBC’sLaura KuenssbergonSunday heconceded that theUKeconomywasfacing‘very choppywaters’; we will have to waitand see howthecountr ycan ridetheseout.

We do have some goodnews stories for youtoenjoy thismonthincluding afatheranddaughter ’s coast-to-coast kayakingchallenge to raisemoneyfor ME research,see page 8andtheLapal CanalTrust’s boat tripsfor Ukrainian refugeesonpage10.

Continuing onthistheme,people inthe Nottinghamarea designed and created aspecialbenchto be used by strokevictims so they canenjoytime besid et he No tt ingham &B ee st on Canalanddown onthe amesthe Rivertime Boat Trustrecentlyheld aspecialteapartytosay thankyou to thevolunteerswhohelpprovide tripsfordisabledanddisadvantaged passengersto enjoy arivertrip between Oxford and Windsor.Boththese stories areonpage11.

RiverCanalRescuebringsyou more winterisingtipsonpage 44; withthe weathernow starting to turn coldertheseare very timely.

Behind-the-scenestours atwinteropen days

SI Xoft he wi nt erproj ec tstaking placeacross48 Canal&R iverTrust waterwayshavebeenchosentoopen up to the publicw ithfre etours.

He ri ta ge wo rk sa nd re pa irs ata numberofsites willals obe lmed to giveo nline au diences at ouroft he w orksprogramme.

In total,172 winterprojects willbe takingplaceacrossCanaland River Trust ’s 2000milesof navigable canals and rivers.

CRTchiefexe cutiveR ichardPar ry said :“ We arer unnin ga se ri esof f re eo pe nd ay ss op eo ple ca ns ee this wo rk ingi ndustrialheritage up clos e, hearfromtheteamsinvolved and nd outmoreabouttheessential work to ke epthisimpo rtantp ar tof the nation’shistory ow ing.”

Face-to-faceop en days star te don the HanwellL ockFlightonNovember 26-27wherethelo ck gatesarebeing re place datL oc k94ont heGrand UnionCanalin London.

On

yoft he120

lo ck leave sb ein grep lac ed across thenetworkt his wi nt er have be en handcrafted.

erew il la ls obea 30 -mi nu te gu ide dwalkfromthe wo rk shopto Lo ck 3ont he Wa ke eldBranchof the Aire &Calder Navigation where the200-foot-lon gl oc k, oneofthe la rg erloc ks ont henetwor k, wi ll have bee nd ra in ed for im por tant maintenancew orks.

In thenew ye ar,o pe nd ays showc asin gl oc ksdraine df or gate replacements willals otakeplace at Ga llows In nL oc kont he Erewash Ca na l( Ja nu ar y2 8-29),Gree nham Lo ck onth eKenn et &Avo nCanal at Ne wbur y( Februar y1 1),andthe Ro chdale Ca na linM anchester (March4).

Otheropendays st illto be con rm ed forthenew yearinclude aneventinK iddermins teront he Sta ordshire& WorcestershireCanal. eprogrammeofonline‘b ehind the scenes’ tours will include lming of worksontheGrand Union Canalat Hanw ellandtheGrand Union Canal LeicesterLine,Wolverley Lock onthe

Tanat Feeder dredging under way

Sta ordshire& WorcestershireCanal, Croftononthe Kennet &AvonCanal, the Ro chdal eCanalin Ma nchester, and at St anle yFer ry /L ock3 onthe Aire &Calder Navigation. Ri char dP

Publishedby MortonsMediaGroupLtd,Media Centre,Morton Way, Horncastle,Lincs, LN96JR Tel: 01507523456. Fax: 01507529301

Printedby MortonsPrintLtd. Tel.01507523456

Nextissue –December22,2022

THE Ta nat Fe ed er,ani mp orta nt sourceof water forthe Montgomery Canalwhichbringsinwaterfrom

theR iver Tanat abovethelocksat Ca rreg hofa,isu nder go in gs ome major dredgingwork.

isisbeingcar ried outaspart ofthe Le vell in gUpFund[LUF] wo rk sb ein gu ndertakenonthe Montgomery Canal.

Th eh ope ,e xpres sed by Jo hn Do dw el l,chair ma noft he Montgomer yPartnership,istosee the Llanymynechto Carreghofamile be ingd re dg ed ea rlyin2023asa furtherpartoftheseworks.

ee qual lyimpo rt antPenarth

Feeder,whichprovideswaterfromthe RiverSevernclosetotheFreestone lo ck s, wa sd re dg ed earlierthis yearusingmoneyfromthe Welsh Government’sNatureNetworks Fund.

Montgo mer yCanal Part nership wa sf orme din1 999andbrings together variousgroups interested incompletin gt he re st orat ionof the canal.

es egroupsincludethe Canal &River Trust, thecountycouncils, statutor yagenciesinvolved withthe builtand naturalheritage,w ildlife trust andcanal restorationgroups. elatterare leadingthe Restore the Montgomer yCanal FundingAppeal, withthepartnershiptakingthelead inprogressingthe restoration.

MPvisitsCaldon Canalproject

ST AF FO RDSHIRE

Mo orlandsMP

Ka re nB ra dl ey has visit ed th e£2 million p ro jec ttorebu ildthe historicGradeII-listed Hazelhurst Bridge onthe mainlineofthe Caldon Canal,near Endon.

Ho ste dbySte phen Hi gham ,t he Ca nal &R iverTrus t’s partnerships& external relationships manager forthe West Midlands, shemetmembersof the projectteam to ndout moreabouttheproject andtheim po rt ant soc ial ,e conomicand environmentalbene ts

canalsaredeliveringin herconstituency.

Karensaidafter wards: “I wasreallypleased to see theworktoreinstate thebridge at Longsdon.

ecanalsare areally impor tantass etinthe Moorlandsanditis good toknow that theyare in safe hands.”

St ephenadd ed: “F ou rt ee nm ilesof waterway runthrough Ka re nB ra dley’s constituenc ya nd she wa sp articularly in ter es te dtoh ear abo utthe wo rk of thetrus ttos upport biodiversity,active

trav el,andprot ec ting andpreser vin go ur historic canalsas aplace formillionsof people to connectwith nature.” Work beganin August to re bu il dHaze lhurst Bridge,andtheproject isexp ec te dtobe complet ed in Au gu st nextyear. eb ridg e, which wasirreparably dam ag ed in Ma rch 2020,is beingrebuiltin the spiritoftheformer structure, matchingits formerlo cation,for m, sc aleand chara cter, includi ng using ma ny oftheor ig inal stonecopings.

New report valuesbenefitsof Canal &River Trust waterways

ar ry adde d:“We ar ec allin gont he pu bli ca nd

the Go ve rnmen ttos uppor tt he wa ter ways so w e ca n continue t o protectandpres er ve thisincredible networka nd ke epthe wa te rw ays navigableand availablefor peop le to be nefitfromfor ge ner at ions tocome.”

TheStanleyFerryworkshopwillbehostinganopendayonSaturday, December3. PHOTO:JANETRICHARDSON

ByPhilPickin

Amphibiandredgingonthe TanatFeeder. PHOTO:MARKWEATHERALL/CRT

First workboat ontheMonty fordecades

SHROPSHIREUnion Canalvolunteers sawt hefruitionof se ve ny ea rsof toilonarrivalatthe rst work party in November.

Th eC analand Ri ve rT ru st had commissione dad re dg eran db arge which,after some very tightmanoeuvres to getthemon site, were eventually craned into the600metresof restored channelonth eMontg om er yCanal nearCrickheath.

isisprobablythe rsttimefor80 yearsthat aworkingboathasoperated inthis stretchwhichisnow fullof water andlookslikea canal, rather thana constructionsite.

Th ev ol un te er sc hrist enedthe dredger Tightanic duetotheproblems encountered duringdeliver ywiththe very narrow access tothelaunchsite. evessels were hauledwith ropesby the volunteersfromthelaunchsiteat CrickheathBasintoPricesBridge at the otherendofthechannel.

As ma lldiggermoun te dont he dredgerwasused to remove theclay dam at PricesBridge to exposeallofthe stopplanksthathadbeenholdingback waterfromthe nationalnetwork.

Clay wa st hendeposite di ntot he accompanyingbarge which wasthen towed,onthe returntripof600metres, backtoCrickheathbythe volunteers usingropesoneithersideof the channel.

is volumeofclay wasthen removed fromthebarge by anonshorediggerand stored forfurtheruse.

Ha vin gb egun th isprogressive continuationproject,which hasbeen fundedbythe Heritage Lotter yFund, in2015,then beenlaido fortwoyears or so duetothe removalofgreat crested newtsfromthesitefollow ed by the Covid-19 pandemic,thetimeframeis actuallycloser to ve yearstocomplete the section.

CRTacknowledgesthat this hasbeen oneofthemostchallengingsituations to be tackledbyavolunteergroup, due to subsidence,related geologicalissues andgroundconditions.

As impleceremon yw asheld by the volunteers at theirlastworkparty

in Oc tob er to commemorat et he completionofthe work inthechannel (see report on page8), buttheo cial openingwilltakeplacearoundEaster nextyear,whennavigation down asfar asCrickheathBasin will commence.

Somepreparator ysitew orkwas

alsoundertakenonthenextsection toberestoredatCrickheathWhar f. Mainchannel work therewill begin in Januar y2023,tolink withthenew SchoolhouseBridge, whichhopefully will be reinstated by the Restore the Montgomery Groupbynextyear.

Eelsaregiven ahelping handuptheRiver Trent

WORK hasbeencompleted to enable endangeredeelsto make their wayup theRiverTrentaspartofanepic3000milejourneyfromBermuda.

eCanal &RiverTrusthasteamed up withthe EnvironmentAgency, EDFand Uniper tobuild aspecial eel passtohelpthe eels navigatetheir wayoverStokeBardolph Weir.

Eu ro pe an ee ls ha ve an extraordinar yl ife cycl e. ey start as eggsinthe SargassoSeaonthe othersideofthe Atlantic Oceanand theyspend18months oating on oceancurrentstowardsthecoastsof Europe and NorthAfrica. ey then enter ri ve rsandlakesan dspe nd anythingfrom ve to 20 yearsfeeding andgrow ingintoadult eels before returningtocompletethelifecycle.

eir amazingtransatlanticjourney isinterruptedonlywhentheycome toobstructions,suchasdams,weirs andlock gates.

esebarriersare part of thereason that the European eel,oncethriving acrossEuropeandtheUK ,iscurrently classi ed as ‘criticallyendangered’. Numbersoftheeels,which have also beenimpactedbyclimatechange, destructionofhabitatsandille gal shing, have declinedbyaround90% overthepast 40 years.

enew eelpass actslike aladder, enabling theeelstomaketheirway overthe weir.Itfollowsoneinstalled at HazelfordWeirin2018. It’s partof ahugeprogrammeof work under wayacrossEuropetohelp restore eel populations by restoringw etlands and removing bar rierstothe eels’ migration routes.

Fu ndingf orthe ee lp asscame

fromEDF,andincollaboration with Uniper,thetwoenergy companies have worked together to deliverthis project. eprojectcomplies with Ee lR eg ulation srel at ed to wa ter ab strac tion,whichta ke sp laceto suppor ttheir businessoperations furtherdown the RiverTrent.

Ri chardB ennet t, CRTh eritage& environmentmanager,said:“We’re so pleased togive the eels ahelpinghandas theymaketheirincredible journeyand enablethemtoextendtheir reachin our water ways righthereintheEast Midlands.

“Eelsare suchan important partof whatmakesour waterwayssospecial. ey feed on water bugsanddeadand decayinganimals –helpingtorec ycle nutrients– andarealsoanimportant foodsourcefor someof ourbest-loved species suchasottersandherons.

“T he Ri ve rT re nt prov ides vi tal habitatsfor so many speciesandthis project will make itevenmore important as we hopefully seemanymoreeels making their wayupthe river.”

Matt Buck, sheriesspecialistat theEnvironmentAgency, said:“ e eelpassatStokeBardolphWeir will improveaccessfor eelsandenable themto reach habitats suitablefor them to grow,which willincreasetheir chancesof returning tothe seatospawn in subsequentyears. einitiativewill alsobene tlocalbiodiversityandhelp toboosteel numbers.

“Aswellas reopeningriversto sh migrationandprotectingecologically importantand sometimesendangered specieslikesalmon,shadand eels, sh passesareanamazing oppor tunity to engagepeople withthe riverand reconnectthem withthelife withinit.”

Craninginthevessels.

BesidetheStoke Weireelpassare,fromleft:AlanLeather(CRT), PaulCollins(EDF),GaryPolson(Uniper),RossThomson(EDF)and NickBaggaley(CRT). PHOTO:CRT

Braunston warmemorial receives awelcomemakeover

By TimCoghlan

INTHE tw ow ee ks be foret his ye ar ’s

Re membrance Su nd ay ,B ra unston village’s warmemorial received awelcome make over –thanks againto generous sponsorshipfromBraunstonMarina.

TimCoghlan, ow nerofthe marina andco-author with JennyCoy ofthe bookletBraunston’s Rollof Honourin WorldWar1, said:“Weare proudto play ourpartinlookingafterBraunston’swar memorialand in so doing, honouring themenwho gave theirlivesforthe freedom we enjoytoday.”

Amajor restorationinthesummerof 2014inthe build-uptothecentenary of the First WorldWar wasalsosponsored by Braunston Marina.A specialwell-attended service washeld just beforetheBraunston Historic Narrowboat RallyinJunethat year, presidedover by thethen RevSarahBrown, nowDeanof HerefordCathedral.

Accompanying herwereactorsand canalenthusiastsPrunella Scalesand TimothyWest,who performedvarious readingsincludinga recitalofthenames ofthe wardead,includingtheiragesand wheretheyfell.

Withthelocationofthememorialvery

close to the T-junctionattheentrance tothevillage– whereitsu ersfrom carenginefumes –anditsprominent posi tionfacingt hefullblastofthe west windacrossthe Midland Plain from Napton,thememorial wasnow beginningtolookver ygrubbyand had indeed re-enteredthe WarMemorials Trust’slistof warmemorials at risk.

Th is re centresto ratio nw asona modests cale –largely aclean-upof the stoneworkbylocal stonemasonry specialists Boden &WardofFlore, with judiciousrepointingfromthecompany’s highl ys kill ed sto nema so nS te ve Hancock. eicingonthe cakewasthe repaintingoftheleadletteringtothe memorial,nowlargely indecipherable onthesouth-and west-facing sides. emodestwarmemorial wasbuilt in about1922, to commemoratethe31 Braunstonvillagerswhodidnot return fromthe First WorldWar –a very high gure andalmosttwicethat of several otherlocalvillagesofasimilarsize. And we nowdon’tknowhowmany serving men returnedto Braunston, severely woundedormentallyscarred by having seenthehorrors ofit.

eFirstWorld Wara ected Great Britainin away that no warhaddone since the NormanConquestof1066. By thetimeit hadendedin1918, hardlyany community– town,villageorrural –had not been involved initand su ered the lossofsomeofitsmen.

In thecaseofthe canalandfarming village of Braunston,ofthe31menwho

died, we know that 19of themdid so as soldiersinFranceand Belgium.Two morediedinSalonika, northernGreece, onein Syriaandonein Mesopotamia,in what istoday Iraq. Twodiedserving at seawiththe RoyalNavy. erewerein additionsixwhom we have beenunable totraceintermsoftheir service record. So these menofBraunstonser vedand diedonmanyfronts.

em en we re fo rt hemostp art

simplecountr yfolk,who would have previouslyknown nothingofwarnor understood thecause forwhichthey were now ghting– farmlabourers,a far rier,a domesticgroom, acowman andapostman,amongothers.

Nineofthem we re, orcould well have been,boatmen, withlittleifany education, attracted no doubt by the prospectofadventure andthehigher wageso ered by the King ’s Shilling.

CromfordCanalvolunteershelprepairhistoricbridge

THE wallofor iginallineofthe CromfordCanal at Waterloo Farm, Sawmills,A mb er ga te,k no wn or ig inallyasB ri ckya rd Bridge No 26 hadbeeninpoorcondition for aconsiderabletimeandit wascausingthearchivist ofthe FriendsofCromfordCanal, Hugh Potter, considerableconcernasto itsimmediatefuture.

At the beginning of August, the FCCwas awardedagrant of£2000to re pai rt he wa ll and sec ured th es er vi cesof stonemason RobertShacklock to work ontherepair, writes JohnGuyler

Agroupof FCCworkpar ty volunteers,whointhesummer of2021 hadquali ed inlime mortaring, alsoworkedonthe rebuild, workingtoarota so that Robert alwayshad someoneto assist with sourcingthemissing stone,mixingthelimemortar anddelivering tosite. ey gave 126hours workingwith Robert.

erew eres everalpilesof stonenearbywhich hadbeen part of the canalstructurein prev ious ye ars.T hes ep iles tu rne dout to be avaluable sourceof st one,p ar ti cularly thecopin gs to nes,s omeof which hadbeenlostfromthe wall. First,theoldmortar was removedfrombothsidesofthe existingwall,thentheinsecure wall wasstrippedbacktothe baselevel. ewallwas rebuilt andlimemortared,allin ve days. e Friends were toldthat

thelasttimeanyworkhad been doneonthe wall wasin1941, so it’s survived very well.

Bric kya rd Bridge(26)in Derbyshiregetsits name from thebric kw orksonthesite that Lockwood’s Haulagenow occupies.Itwasone ofthree brickworksinthearea ow ned by theAmbergateBrickworks Company. On theothersideof thebridge from Waterloo Farm, wherethefour-archbridge now st ands,w as as to ne sawmill which gave theareaits name.

estone camefrom Hopton Wo od qu ar ry at Mi ddleton, down the Cromfordand High Peak Railway towhat we now call High Peak Junctionto be transshippedintocanalboats andtaken to Sawmillsto be cut anddressed.Technically,it was awhitelimestone,but polished to such ahigh nishthat it was known as Hopton Marble. e Ho pton St oneCo mp anywas

establishe ds ometi me be fore 1846andoper at ed by the Wheatcroftfamily.

Whenthe PyeBridgebranch ofthe Mi dland Ra ilway was proposed in1876,its route at Sawmills would have involved crossingthe canaltwicehere at lowlevel,necessitatingtwo openingbridges.Asthe railway companyowned the canalat thistime,its implydi ve rt ed the canal’sroute to avoid both crossings. So,Brickyard Bridge (26)andtheor ig inallineof thecanal were abandoned,the bridge wasleftinsituandpartof theold canallineonbothsides ofthebridge remainedinwater for manyyears.

By 1908theold ca na lhad beeninfill ed imm ed iatelyon theeastern sideofthebridge.

ewesternsidearch remains visibletothisdayandisin very good conditionbutisnormally notaccessible,beingonprivate property. Th ew allis at the southernendofthefour-arched bridgeadjacen ttoWat erloo

Farm,which hadpreviously been apublichouse. efour- arched bridge wa si tself by passed in themid-1970swhen aroad alignmentallowed longvehicles toaccessthe site,whichis now Lockwood’sHaulage.

MasterstonemasonSteveHancockputtingthefinishingtouchestothe makeoverofBraunston’swarmemorial.

Retroonthe water

GL OUC ES TER do ck side bu sinesses andlo ca lv olunteers have pu lled together to produce ahighlysuccessful communityevent.

eaim wastoextendtheseven-yearoldGloucester Goes Retro, Saturday festivalofaround500classic vehicles throughthecentreofthecity to the attractively restored195-year-olddocks.

In additiontothe vehiclestherewas re troe nt ertainmenti nt he adjacent Ma ri ners Sq uareont he Sat urday. Retrococktailsand Captain Birdseye toasties were availableforthoseseeking refreshmentsand Atlas Gamingo ered children’sactivities.

Aselectionofinterestingandhistoric boatswereassembled,includinga99ft Dutchbarge,traditionalworkingpair Banste ad &Ang el ,aNorfolkBroads cruiser,a 93-y ear-ol dm ahogany launchus ed by the Admiraltyinthe Second World Warandtheall-electric na rrow bo at Am pè re that ar ri ve das aresul to fa ne arli er itemfeatu red in Towp at hTalk .E ac hi nv it edboat received aplaqueandother souvenirs. Stallsfromlocalwater ways charities includedS ea Cadets,Gloucesterand District Model Boat Club,SevenArea RescueAssociationand theCanal& RiverTrust. eCotswold CanalsTrust stand waselsewhereinRetro,butlinked by signage. Many peopledressed upin vintagecostumeandthebest-dressed piratedogcompetitionaddedtothe greatatmosphere.

eday began by ringingthe historic Atlasbell,followed by Flotillaof Flowers, smaller boatsdoingcircuitsofthedocks intributetothelate CounColinOrgan whoinstigated the RetroFestivaland hadparticularly wanted ittoextendto thedocks.

eCityMayor,Sheri andMPtoured theevent, admiringthedecoratedboats

oftheirintricatescalemodelsonthe wa te r. Discove rPaddli ng prov ided demonstr at ion sa nd so meofits customersthentried paddleboarding fromthe Ba rg eA rm.T heelectricpo we re ds elf-driv eb oa tsfrom

Gloucester Hire Boatsals ooperated fromthe Ba rg eA rm,addingtot he activitiesonthe water. Boat tripswere busy,withthe Dunkirklittleship Queen BoadiceaII,a100-year-old launchfrom the RMS Mauritania and a70-year-old clinkerlaunchfromNorfolk.

erewas aspecialopportunityfor escortedtours overthe Kathleen &May, thelastremainingBritish-built wooden hull,three-mastedtop sail schooner, currently beingrestored in Nielson’sdry dock, eveninto thedramaticoriginaldry dock itself.Toursincludedthechanceto

tr yship’s biscuitsandlime juice! esailing race with 3ft-longreplicas ofBristolChannelpilotcuttersbuilt by dockside business es andindividuals wasa very competitiveevent,cheered on by themakersandcrowds. ewind wassocalmtheboats were launched fromthe po ntoon, butafter ashort whilemostturnedand returned! Some were thenmore attractedbythecurrent towardsthelock,but eventually abrief breeze andtherewas aclear winner.Kits were from My Future My Choiceusing biodegradable materialsand soldviathe National WaterwaysMuseum.

ee ve nt is to be re pe at ed and enhancednextyearonAugust26and 27.If you have aninterestingboatand wouldliketotakepart, pleasecontact To ny Aldr idge( to ny @mat ilda1102. co.uk) by March31. Reserved mooring spacesforinvitedboatsinthedock arelimited, butforvisitorsthere are moorings south of Llanthonybridge.

Thesailingracewith3ft-long replicasofBristolChannelpilotcutters. PHOTOSSUPPLIED

andcheeringthe sailingcutter race. etwo-day active timetableincluded SARA doingdramatic rescue scenarios, races by Gloucester SeaCadetsandthe operatingbyGloucesterandDistrict Mo del Boat Clubmembersof some

Busyfootbridgetoclosefor£533k repairproject

WORK will startinJanuar yona 10-week repairproject at oneofthe busiest canal footbridgesonthenetwork.

eGradeII Listed Interchange Basin TowpathBridgeonthe Regent’s Canal in Camden hasmorethanone million walkingand cyclingvisitsper year.

Bu iltin1846,thehistoric bridge known locallyas Dead DogBridgeisan importantlocal landmarkcarryingthe Regent’s Canaltowpathacrossthe canal basin beneath the Camden Interchange Wa re hous e, nickname d‘ De ad DogTunnel’.

e£533,000project by theCanal &RiverTrust hasbeenenabled by an awardfromPostcodeEarthTrustthanks tofunds raised by players of People’s PostcodeLottery.

CRTL ondon &SouthEast regional

director Ro sDanielsrefer re dtothe bridge as akey route: “Now morethan 175 ye arsold, thebridge’s st ri king wroughtironlatticeparapets will be lovinglyrestored. Withconsentfrom the Lo ndon Bo ro ughof Ca mden’s conser vation team, ourengineerswill wo rk wi th sp ec ialis tc ontractorsto carefully repair, cleanand repaint the bridge’s historicparapetsand repoint the abutmentsonsite.”

Work isdue to beginmid-Januar yand to becompleted by theendof March 2023and willinclude: repairstothe bridge’s wroughtironlattice parapets; cleaning oftheunderlyingcasti ron beams ;and cleaningand repointing the abutmentsand approachparapets. ebridgewillbeclosed throughout theproject,a ndtowp at hd iversion

routes will be inplace. ecanal will remainopenfor boatstonavigate.

Built by the London &North Western Railway (LNWR),the massiveGradeII Listed redbrick Interchange Warehouse in Ca mden wa sd esi gn ed to bring togethercanal,railand roadtransportin onecoveredbuilding, withthree layers of storage.

Th ee nt ra ncet ot he Int erchan ge Do ck becameknown as De ad Dog Tunnel because,historically,debris–includingdeadanimals–accumulated hereatthe end ofthe26-milelockfree stretchof the canal owing into central London. Dead DogTunnelhas featured in anumberof lms,including the2015 Bond lm Spectre, whereit wasusedasadoublefor Q’stop secret underground workshop.

Today, the Interchange Buildingis aco-workingo cespace.Usingthe Interchange Dock,iRecycletransports

Workstartstoimprovecanal towpathsacrossRowleyRegis

THE Ca na l&R iverTrust, workinginpartnership with SandwellCouncil, hasstarted improvementstothetowpath andaccesspointsonseveral ca na lswhic hw illen ab le peoplein Rowley Registo have easier year-roundaccess. Th anksto£2.3million fundings ecured aspar tof the go vern me nt -funded TownsFundProgramme,the CanalNetwork Connectivity Proje ct wi lldeliverfourand-a-halfmilesof towpath impr ov ementsalon gt he Ne therton Tu nne lB ra nch, the GowerBranch, the Old Main Lineandthe DudleyNo 2canalsin theWestMidlands. Work isexpectedtolastuntil spring 2023and willinvolvea combinationof re surfacing and re furbishi ng sec tions of to wp at hs ,i ncluding

wi denin gnar rows tretches wherepossible. eproject willenable boatersandthe communityto usetheirlocal towpathwhateverthe weather aspart oftheircommuteto work or school,theirleisurely dailystrollorbikeride.

Accesstothe canalwillalso be improved,makingiteasier formobilit yu se rsto have accesstothisimportantgreen spaceinthe town.

Coun Pe ter Hu ghes, Sa ndwellCo unci l’sc ab inet mem be rf or re ge ner at ion andgrowth,said:“ isisthe rst RowleyRegis Town Deal schemetocommencefollowing governmentapprovalin July and Iwouldliketothank Canal &R iverTrustfordelivering thisproj ectwhich willhelp promoteacti ve tr av eland improveconnectivit yw ithin

and betweencommunities. “ eRowle yRegis Town De alin vest men tof£ 19 millionforms part ofthe£67.5 millionSandwell TownsFund Programme. AllTowns Fund projectsare includedinthe £1.8billion Re ge ner at ion Pipeline, where anumber of transpor ta nda cti ve travel improvementsareplanned tobedelivered by 2027.”

Ja mes De nnisonofCRT added: “Top ro te ctand preser ve thesespecialplaces andensuret he yd on ’tfall backi nt ot hedarkd ay sof derelictionanddecline that wasthe stor yofthe earlyand mid-20thcentu ry ,wen eed Government, partners, funders andthecommunity to join usand raisethemoneyand resources required to care for thisamazing historicnetwork.”

wastefromthe InterchangeBuildingby barge tothe Powerday recyclingcentre in West London.

TheDeadDogBridgecarryingtheRegent’sCanaltowpathacrossthe canalbasinbeneaththeCamdenInterchange Warehouse. PHOTO:CRT

Wendovertrust welcomesTV vloggerRobbieasjointpatron

TV PERSONALIT Yand vlogger Robbie Cumminghas become apatronofthe Wendover CanalTrust(W CT )asthe charitycelebratesits25thanniversary since restoration work began.

Ro bbie,whopresents BB CFour’s CanalBoatDiaries,which recordshis experienceswhilecruisingthe canals onhis boat Naught yLass,joins current patron,acto rS ir David Su chetof Poirotfame.

“I’mdelightedtobecome apatron ofthetrustinitsanniversar yyear,” said Robbie.“Ican’tthinkof abetter cause for aboater than supportingvolunteers to restore astretchof canaltomakeit navigable again. ee ortthat hasgone intothis,todate, isextraordinary.”

After amodeststar tin1997,w ork beg anonthe re stor at ionofthe Wendovercanalunderthedirectionof the WCTwiththe supportofmorethan 200 volunteerswho have contributed morethan100,000hours todate.

Most recently,inthe year to mid-2022, an averageof720 volunteer hoursper month were worked by 58 volunteers.

ecanal,whichisactually arare chalkstrea m, sta rt sinWendover in Buckinghamshire, runsfornearlyseven miles (11km)through Weston Turville, Halton,AstonClinton, BucklandWharf, Drayton Beauchampand LittleTring, joinin gt he Grand Un io nCanal at BulbourneJunctionnearTring. Critically, theGrand Union CanalattheTring summitdependsonthe WendoverCanal to keepitslockssuppliedwith water.

Apartfromthefundamentalgoalof restoringthe canaltoafullyfunctioning waterway the WCThastwootheraims; toc re at eamaj orareaforlei su re,

relaxation, healthand well-beingfor all,andtoimprovetheenvironmentand increasebiodiversity.

WCTchair manClive Johnsonsaid: “ isis astory ofpassion, determination anddedication. It ’s involveda whole rangeofskillsanddisciplines,drawing onthe supportofvolunteerswhoshare thevisionofcreatinganenvironmentally friendly leisure areaclose to rapidly expanding urbandevelopments. ere’s still muchto be doneand we hopewe cansustainthe supportandfundingto completethis marathonproject.”

SirDavid Suchet said:“Iam very much awareofallthe hard work andtimethat hasbeengiventothis projectbysomany people.Iwishthe WCTevery successfor itsfutureplans.”

eproject hasb eendivided into three phases :inthe rst, theGrand Union CanalfromBulbournetoLittle Trin gn owha sf ull navi gat ion for na rr ow bo at sf ollo wi ng re st or at ion work andthecompleterebuildingof thebridgeatLittleTring.

esecondphase, from LittleTringto Buckland Wharf, iscurrentlyunderway. estretchused to bealmostimpassable andisnowb eingt ra nsforme di nto aw at ertigh tn av igab le ca na lw ith extensivebiodiversity. By theendofthis phasethewhole canalwill be in water for the rsttimeinmorethan100 years. Signi cantly,theentirelengthofthe canal’stowpath will be madecontinuous inthisphasewhich willenable yearroundusefor walkers, runners, cyclists andthose whosemobilityisimpaired. ewaterlevelw illals oberaised betw ee nB uc kl an da nd We ndove r, enab li ng us ebys ma ller craft su ch as ro wi ng bo at s, ca noes,k ay aks, paddleboardsandtrail boats.

Inparallel with restorationofthe canal, WCTalsocampaigns forfunding fortowpathupgrades,andthe rstmajor projectofthesewilltakeplace earlynext year,startingatWendover.

As we llas can al re sto ra tion, volunteers have also undertaken much landscapingandplantingtoprovidea ‘pocketpark’ forgeneralcommunity bene t, includingtheplantingof1500 treesand1000da odilbulbsandthe sowing of wild ower seeds.

In thethirdphase,whenthe canal is restored viadredgingtosu cient navigabledepthandthree bridges have been raised,narrowboats willbe ableto reachWendover.

Celebrating25yearsofrestorationwork

WEND OV ER CanalTrust (WCT) hasstageditsbiggestcommunity en ga ge mente venttomarkt he 25t ha nniversar yofrestorat ion work starting.

Withmore than100 guestsfrom 85differen to rg anisati on s, the occasion alsoenabledthetrustto provideanupdateonitsactivities, hold adialogue with representatives andthankitscurrent supporters.

At the event, wh ich wa sh eld in Your Cafeinthe Park inAston Cl into n, WCT chai rm an Cl ive Jo hnson sa idthe ca na lw as almos ti mp enetrab lewhenthe decision wa stakento resto re it andthe rsttask wastoclearthe hawthorn scrub.

He saidth at vo lunteer construction star tedin 1997, commenti ng :“Our wonderful volunteers ha ve be end oing heavyconstruction wo rk for25 years–and we areallunpaid.

“Ourplanisthat by theendof2025 we will complete our linin gofa sec tion whic hh asalw ays leak ed nea rT ri ng, then we will restore thewater level allthe waytoWendoverfor bo at st oB uckland andeven tu ally Wendover. Noneof thiswould have been po ss ible wi thout thefunder so ft he restorationandthe towpathupgrade.”

ecanalandits

towpath were becoming agre en cor ridor,headded,“accessibleto usallto boost ourwell-being, with increased biodiversity.”

RosDaniels,Canal &RiverTrust Lo ndon &S ou thEastdirec tor, proposed acelebrator ytoast.

Othe rd istin gu ish ed gu ests include dC ommo dor eT im Hennessey, Deputy Lieutenantof Hertfordshire; Wing Commander Ann aToo thill ,D eputy St at ion Commander,RAF Haltonand Coun Chr is toph er To wn se nd, Ma yor ofTring.

More than30 We ndove rt ru st volunteersliaised withthe guests. eevent, held on November1, wassponsored by FCCEnvironment, FairhiveHomes,IndependentHire and VillageEnvironmental Services.

RobbieCumming,whoisnowon boardasapatronof Wendover Canal Trust. PHOTOSUPPLIED

Dadanddaughter’scoast-tocoastkayakforME research

AFATHERanddaughterhavecompleted across-country kayakingchallenge to raisemoneyfor researchinto myalgic encephalomyelitis(ME)alsoknown as chronicfatiguesyndrome(CFS).

Terr ySmith’swife Aimee–mumto eight- ye ar-old Po ppy–su er sf rom this chronicdiseas ewhich,she says, a ec ts ever yp ar tofherlifeandis highlydebilitating.

Starting in June2021, Terr yand Poppy (then seven),of Upholland,Lancashire, began theirepicadventure in Liverpool. Sincethentheyhavekayaked thefull lengthofthe Leeds&LiverpoolCanal (128miles)beforecontinuinganother 34milesalongthe RiverAireand Aire& Calder Navigationto Goole –thefurthest pointeastbeforethe water becomes tidal. eycompletedtheirjourneyon October 8.

At pointsalongthe routetheywere joined by familyandfriendshelping to bothmotivate and to dealw iththe complicated logisticsoftravel. ey have passed through ruralandurbanareas, overaqueducts,underviaducts, through tunnelsandeven overthemotor way andunfor tunately have hadtod eal with multiple boat punctureswhichled tothe purchase of amorereliable solid sit-on-top kayakto nish.

Ai me et oldusth at duetoher conditionshe wa su na bl et oj oin them :“Beingdisabledinthis wayIam primarilyhouseboundandunableto do many basicactivities.Becomingill devastatedour familylifeandcontinues to hugely impact Terr yand Poppywho arenow acarerand youngcarerfor

me. ey sacri ce alot,adaptingand supportingtohelp reduce my fatigue andpain,enablingmetohavea better qualityoflife.”

Sh ee xplaine dt hat thischronic, fluctuatin g, neurologi ca lc ondition

ca us es sy mp tom s af f ec tin g ma ny bod ys yste ms .P eo ple wi thME/ CFSex per iencedebilitatingf at igue, widespread pain,neurologicalissues, hyp er se nsitivityt ol ig ht an ds ou nd and many othersymptoms.Ita ects anestimated 250,000 peopleintheUK andaround17millionacrossthe world.

It often canbetriggeredbyaviral infection ,sow it ht heinevitable dramaticincrease caused by Covidand Long Coviditisevenmoreimportant to invest inmedicaltreatment to tacklethis devastatingdisease.

Aimeecontinued: “Terry andPoppy star te dkayaking at the weekends to give me timeto rest,then Terr yhad theide atoc ha lle ng et hemsel ve s,

‘Monty’volunteersstrikegold

AFTER sevenyearsbattlingtorestore another600mofthe Montg omery Canalthe volunteersofthe Shropshire Union CanalSocietywere nally able to see all oftheir hard work reacha ttingconclusion.

During abriefceremonyinthe restoredchannel at CrickheathBasin, a‘golden block’wasthelastpieceof theliningjigsawtobe ttedintoplace. Sp ec tators ha dgat hered on the newlyrestored towpathto hearproject manager David Carterpraisehis team of volunteersfortheir stoice ortsdealing withadverseweatherandincredibly di cult sectionsof subsidence over thedurationoftheproject. He alsothanked theCanal &River

Trustfor its totalpackageofsupport, the National Lotter yforan awardof £2.59millionwhichfundedoperations, Ar ca disthefir mofc onsultants that prod uc ed th ed es ig nsforthe reconstructionand LloydsAnimal Feeds whichprovidedaccommodationforthe workingcompoundfromthe start.

Fo llo wi ng th ec ompletionofthe channel, theemphasi st he nm ov ed backtothe startingpointat PricesBridge wheretwo ofthe stopboards retaining water inthechannelleadingdownfrom Frankton Lockswereopenedslightlyto allowwaterto begin oodingthisnew section. is rewatering isin readiness fortheintroductionof asmalldredger to be us ed to ca re fullyremove any

yearit willlinkthe windinghole at CrickheathBasin,restoredbyCRT in2018, to th enat io naln etwork, enablingboats to turn roundthere andallowv isitor sa cces stot he localcommunity.

Allofth emachinesu se da nd materialsneeded overthe sevenyears have beenmostly sourcedfromlocal suppliers,which hasgreatly bene ted sectionsofthelocalcommunity.

Advanceplanningistakingplace forthenextproject beyondCrickheath Bridge.Mainchannel work will begin in Januar y2023tolink withthenew SchoolhouseBridgewhichhopefully will be reinstatedbythe Restorethe Montgomery Group.

eg roupi sa lway sl oo ki ng to encour ag en ew vo lunteer sa nd members.Visitwww.shropshireunion. org.ukfor details ofdates,contacts, newsandinformation.

raiseawareness,andfundraiseforME Research UK .Sofar,theyhaveraised just over £3500(includinggiftaid).

“I’mextremelyproudandtouchedby the kayaking challengethat Terr yand Poppyhavecompleted,it’s awonderful lifeexperienceand hastaken alotof work.Ithas beena marathonchallenge buttheyhavehadfun,metlovely people alongthe wayand raised awareness of ME/CFSwhichis aforgottenillnessthat gets very little funding.

“Itm eans so mu ch tom et hat hopefullyother people willhear about thisandknow that someone cares.”

Poppyhas received an awardforher

positiveattitude,caringandfundraising achievemen tf ro mMiles ofSmiles Lancashire, acharity that re cognises theachievementsand strugglesofyoung carershelpingtomakethemsmile.She wasnominated by arepresentativefrom LancashireYoung Care rs whovisits Poppyatschoolmonthly.

Anycontributionswillbegratefully receivedat: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ for-those-like-aimee

WaterwinsontheGranthamCanal

GRANTHAM Ca nal Society hasbeenchosen againasoneofthe causes supportedbytheCo-op LocalCommunity Fund.

“ isisfantasticnews; we received £1841.97for the year2021/2022and ared elighte dtoh ave been selected againthis year,” saidPollyBrowne, amemberofthe society’s fundraisingteam.

“It’sdonationslikethis that enableusto continue with ourworkrestoring the canalwhichis such animportantamenityfor peopleto relaxand enjoy. It hasbeen proventhat beingbywaterpromotes well-beingandcombats depressionanditisso importantfor peopleto have accesstoafacility likethis,freeofcharge, inthecurrent climate.” esociety’s volunteers have re cently re paired banksideleakages in the Ki noulton/O wt horpe area.“ ecanal hadrun dr yduringthe summer

months ,c au sin gf ish todi ea nd di stressing the wi ldlife,” sai dTony Osbond, general manager.

Th is maj or wa ter re tention pr obl em ha db ee nb ro ugh tto the at te nt ionofthe Ca na l&R iverTrust (CR T) by al ocal actio ng ro up GC WRG (Grantham CanalWater Re gen er at ionGr ou p) which hadcampaigned longand hard withCRT to getsomethingdone to alleviatethelackofwater. is repair ofthebanks willmeanthat waternow staysinthe canalrather

thandisappearinginto anadjoinin gc ulver t. Sixt ytonnesof puddle claywasused to repair theleak s; ther ea re similarrepairsrequired alo ng the ca na la nd these will be doneonce fundsallow. eoverall aimofthe volunteersis toeve ntua lly havethe entire33m ilesofthe canalfullyrestored from Nottingham to thecentre of Grantham.

Po llyadded: “Eve ry sin gl eC o-op mem ber whochoosesus makesa di erence,sopleasejoin and supportus.”

Headingunder aviaduct.

Poppycelebrates reachingtheend ofthejourney. PHOTOSSUPPLIED AimeeSmithwithfamilyandfriendswhosupportedthechallenge. TerrySmithanddaughterPoppy onboardtheirkayak.

MichelleMartin, ArtOnBoard

Paintingpetportraitswithlove

ByAliceGriffin

ACHANCEsightingofanex-hireboat at Longport Wharf, Stoke-on-Trent, one dayin2004 wastochangethecourseof artistand musician Michelle Martin’slife. “I hadbeenworking at Moorcroft Pottery buthad just re ceived my re dundancy papers.Itwas asaddayand Iremember havingmypapersonthe passenger seat as Idrovehome,Iwas cryingandthinking ‘what am Igoingtodonow?’”

What Michelledid wascall at thewharf, view said boat andthen beg herhusband at thetime to supportherininvestingsome redundanc ymoneysoshecouldbeginusing itasa oatingstudioandshopfrontforher business,ArtOn Board. eplantook shape andinitially Michelle wouldmoor outside EtruriaIndustrial Museum andopenher galler ytothe public,alongwitho eringart classesandpaper-makingdemonstrations.

erewasnoplantoliveon thecanal full-time at that point, butlife hadother ideas.“Ilovedbeingonmyboatsellingmy artandintime my husbandand Iseparated so in2009 Ichosetomoveontothe water full-time.Somepeoplearewater people, some peoplelove crowds,some people want thecountryside.I wanted thewater, country,andcontentmentinwhat Iloved doingbest, whichis painting.”

Michelle’sboatisnow bothhomeand studioandshe worksevery dayaboard. “When Imoor my boat Itry to avoidtreesas Ineed light. Iparticularlylikehow people canwatchme workingand seemyadvertin the window.” Many of Michelle’scustomers aredog walkersandpeoplepassingby

bu tb ac kint he beginnin gs he wouldalsoattend the Mi ddlewich Fo lk &B oat Festivalever yyear. Descri bing her styl easl ike botanicalpainting, butstill with very mu chher own uniquespin,she focusesonanimal po rt ra its .“ My inspi ra tionwhen Ip ai nt ani ma lsis pai ntingt heirpe rs onality. Just li ke us humans,theyhaveasoulandthe eyes showyou their soul,which Itry to capture withaccurac yinwatercolour.Iwantto paint ever yeyelashand sparklethat can be seen inthephotographs Iworkfrom.” Michelle’s creationsarewell receivedby hercustomers, who have beenbrought totears at thesightoftheirbelovedpets

mmortali sed on canvas. Mi chel le ismostly se lf taug ht. “A sa chil dI always paintedandI wasfor tunate to gotoan art class ru nby adults with my dadhelp ing me to go ever yw ee k. When Il eft school Iendedupworkingforthe pottery companiesaround Stoke-on-Trents oI never stopped painting.” eskills gained fromthe potteries wasinvaluable butnow Michelle believescontinuingtodevelop her styleisallinthedoing. “You endup makingmistakesthat areaccidentallyright andlearningthroughthosemistakes.” Havingnow beena continuouscruiser

for13 years,Michelle haswellandtruly carved outa lifestylethat suits her best. “I liketomoveon,if Istayinthesame place Iget bored andit’sniceto havea new garden.”Andlikemanyofusboaters, shelovesthissimple wayofliving. “Ithink boatersarecareful aboutnot wastingtoo much.Wedon’t wastewater,wedon’tleave lightson, we do ourownrubbishandloos. We sustain asimple yetgood life.”

Iagree with Michelle, in particularwhen shetalks abouttheslownessofthecut.“Ilove thefeeling Igetwhen Ihavebeensomewhere hecticandthen Igetbacktothetowpath andbreathe asighofrelief.I’mhome.” Not onlythat, butlivingw ithinthe seasonsis somethingshe wouldn’t easily be abletogive upnow. “Inahouse you willlook outofthe windowandhope you dressed forthe weather, whereason aboatyou feelthe weather.”

at unexpectedLongport Wharfday changed Michelle’s lifefor good.”Iwas guidedthat day. Callitwhat youwill but Ifeltlikesomeoneor somethingsaw my

anguishanddespair because Icould have easily gone straight home without turning intothatgate.” ankfullyforthe canalsand forhercustomers,shedid turnin, because Michelle’ssimpleand authenticity-driven lifestyle,alongwithherincredibleartwork, cannow be aninspirationfor many.

Website:www.ArtOnBoard.co.uk Etsy:artonboard.etsy.com Facebook:Willowmoorart Music: Yo uc anexperience Michelle’se xquisitelyhaunting voiceaccompaniedbyherguitar here:michellemartin.bandcamp. com

AliceGrif nisa writerand yogiwith ag ypsysoul.She leadsnature-inspiredseasonal e-coursesandyogaclasses,all fromhernarrowboat, Melody Website:www.alicegrif n.co.uk

Michellespecialisesinpet portraits. PHOTOSSUPPLIED

ArtistandmusicianMichelleMartin. A horse’sheadtakesshape.

Michelle describes her style as like botanicalpainting.

Ukrainian refugeesenjoy triponBirminghamcanals

THE LapalCanalTrust recently ar ra ng edtwo thr ee -hour canal tripsonthe Wo rc es ter &Birmingham Ca na lf or70

Ukrainian refugees, bothadults andchildren,andtheirhosts livinginthearea.

Th ey enj oy ed the ca lming e ectofcanalsand appreciated agloriousautumndayalongthe beautifulstretchof canalfrom

GasStreetBasintothenewly

recently beeninthenews. ey misstheirfamilie sa ndlook for ward to goinghome so it was especiallyniceforthemto get toenjoyand appreciate oneof Birmingham’s hiddendelights. anksalsogotoJohnand Roxy Galewhodelightedthe visitors by ar ra ng in gav ery we lcomingUkrainian ag in Se lly Oa k.Th ed estin at ion

wa sW hitehous eW

Peoplepowerhelps createnewbench

AS PECIAL be nch des ig ned by lo ca lp eo pleto ra ise awarenessofand be accessible tothesurvivorsofstrokesand created by engineeringstudents from NottinghamCollege has been installe dalongsid ethe Nottingham &Beeston Canal.

Commissionedbythe Canal &R iverT ru sttogiv el oc al peopletheopportunityto stop andenjoysome relaxing time by thecanal, it hasbeencreated through acollaboration with the Stroke Association,which sawl oc al stro ke su rv ivors workingtogetheronthedesign, and Nottingham BID(Business ImprovementDistrict)which hasprovidedsponsorship.

ScottMiller,fromthe Canal &RiverTrust,said:“ enew benchlooksfantasticandit ’s greattosee itin positionby the canal, readytobeused by peopleenjoyingsome relaxing time by thewater. ecanal isfor ever yone and we’reso pleased to have worked with thelocalcommunity,theStroke Associationand studentsfrom NottinghamCollege to install this benchwhich we hopewill bringenjoymenttomany.”

edesign includesthreeseats and spacefortwowheelchairs, as wellasinformationonthe FAST* test whichshowshowtoquickly spotthesignsofastroke. e bench hasbeeninstallednextto the Nottingham &BeestonCanal at CastleWharf, enablingpeople tosit by the waterandtakeinthe sightsand soundsofthe canal. eseatwascommissioned thr ou ghthe wo rk of t he No tt ingham Ca nal Impr ov emen tP artnership wi th as eriesofcommunity consultationevents beingheld

to ndout what improvements local people wouldliketosee madetothe canal.Aspar tof thedesign processthe stroke survivors worked on anumber ofprototypes beforedeciding onthe naldesign.

Studentsfrom Nottingham College,alongw ithsta from theengineeringdepartment, then made astartonbringing thedesigntolife, producing3D printedconcepts beforegetting startedonfabricatingthe bench intheir workshop.

Ve lm aH amilton,stroke en ga ge men to fficerfor the Mid lan ds at the St ro ke Ass oci at ion, sa id: “It’sb een fantastic workingwiththe Canal &RiverTrustand Nottingham College tohelpstrokesurvivors lend theirvoicesandart talents tothis benchproject.Wewant tothankeveryoneinvolvedfor their work andforpromoting the FAST message.

*TheFASTtest canhelp to re cognis et hemost commonsignsof astroke: Facialweakness: Canthepersonsmile? Hastheirmouthoreye drooped?

Armweakness:Can thepersonraiseboth arms?

Speech problems:Can thepersonspeakclearly andunderstandwhatyou say?

Timetocall999:ifyou seeanyofthesesigns.

Tea party thanks to Rivertime volunteers

RIVERTIME Boat Trust recently held a special tea par ty aboard e New Orleans to thank its volunteers for their continued support of the char ity and their e or ts over the past two years T h e t r u s t a n d i t s t e a m o f m o r e t h a n 5 0 v o l u n t e e r s provide opportunities f o r d i s a b l e d a n d d i s a d v a n t a g e d c h i l d re n a n d a d u l t s to enjoy the stretch of the River ames from Oxford to Windsor After being unable to run trips in 2020, the charity began o ering limited tr ips in 2021 and started its season late in 2022 due to the Covi d 19 p a n d e m i c e tea par ty on the R i v e r T h a m e s w a s a w a y o f t h a n k i n g a n d h o n o u r i n g i t s dedicated volunteers f o r t h e i r c o n t i n u e d s e r v i c e d u r i n g a challenging time

T r u s t e e s c ha i r ma n C h r i s B a r r e t t s a i d : “ is event was a way

t o t h a n k t h e m f o r t h e i r c o m m i t m e n t , e n t h u s i a s m , a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l i s m i n d e l i v e r i n g a n e x p e r i e n c e u n l i k e any other to disabled a n d d i s a d v a n t a g e d a d u l t s, c h i l d re n a n d

young people We have c o m p l e t e d ov e r 1 6 2 outings this year w ith ca re h o m e re s i d e nt s, c ha r i t i e s, c o m mu n i t y g rou p s, S E N s c h o o l s, a n d f a m i l i e s, w h i c h w ou l d n ’ t b e p o ss i b l e without our volunteers ”

Ho b b s o f He n l e y p r o v i d e d T h e N e w Orleans free of charge t o R i v e r t i m e B o a t Trust for the four hour event, which included e n t e r t a i n m e n t f ro m band Ukes of Hazard a n d a n a f t e r n o o n b u f f e t p rov i d e d b y Time for Tea Vintage

On the trip, Simon D av i s, p re s i d e n t o f Rivertime Boat Trust, p r e s e n t e d r e c e n t l y retired volunteers with cer ti cates as a nal t ha n k you Sk i p p e r s A l a n G a p e s, D e re k B ay l e y ,

and Nigel Webb, had all volunteered for the charity since its early days Collectively, they have taken out more than 550 groups on the River ames prior to their retirement

Thenewbenchincludes spacefortwowheelchairs.

PHOTO:CRT

Representativesofthe StrokeAssociation, Canal &River Trustand NottinghamBIDwiththe newbench.

Rivertime Boat Trust skipper Lucy Herbert is pictured with Alan Gapes, one of the recently retired volunteer skippers to receive a certificate of thanks. PHOTO: RBT

Successfulcampaignto protectCaldonCanalheritage

IWANor th St affordshire&S ou th CheshireBranchopposed aCanal& RiverTrustplanningapplicationfor Listed BuildingConsent foralterations at HazelhurstTop Lock (Lock10).

It object ed st ro ng ly onherita ge andhealthandsafetygroundstoone aspectwhichwastheproposalfora fabricated ‘restrictor ’ontheendofthe balance beams.

Despite what theHeritage Design and AccessStatementsays, IWAwas concernedthat this would have had adetrimentalimpactontheheritage settingofthe Listed lock (whichisalso partofaconservationarea).

IWAfeltitw ould have introduced anew unexpected hazardtoboaters operatingthelock,who wouldno longer be abletopassaroundtheendofthe balan ce beaminanemergency,for exampleifthe gatewasswingingclosed ofits ownaccord.

eproblem at thislock isthat the balanc eb eams aret oolongforthe or ig inal stoneworko fthelock. IWA suggestedthat this could be recti ed by reducingthelengthofthebalance beamsand creating additional weight underneath(ifthebalanceofthe gate isa ected),as hasbeen doneinmany

otherlocationsaroundCRT’snetwork

beentakenon

Anniversar ycelebration at CanalwayCavalcade2023

IW AC an al way Cava lcade re tu rnsto London’s Little Venice for a40thanniversary eventon Saturday, April 29,2023,forthefull earlyMay Bank Holiday wee ke nd.Each ye ar theeven tc ele brat es the best oflifeonthe water waysin London anditscommunity. Th er e’ss om ethi ng forev er yo ne at IWA CanalwayCavalcade,a vibrantcanalfestivalin thehear tofL ondon’s wa te rw ay s. Whether visiting by boat oron foot,it’sasplendidday ou tf or you and your family. So akupthe atmospheresurrounded by colourfulcraft of allshap esandsiz es,

alongside amultitudeof unique stalls,arealale baranddeliciousfoods forall appetites. ere’ll beeclecticlive mu sicarou ndthe site, special boatingactivities lik et hele ge ndary illuminat ed proc ession andkids’entertainment forall ages.You’llalso nd amazingart fromlo cal

schoolsondisplay and plentyofoppor tu nities to getinvolved. Getintouchif you’d liketovolunteer at this we ll-lo ve de ve nt at ca na lw ay .c av alcade@ team.water ways.org.uk Bo okin gf or bo ats isno wo pe n– see wa ter wa ys .o rg. uk/ cavalcadefordetails.

board,asCRThas removedthe part of the application referring to thebalance beam‘restrictors’. echarityisnow planningsimplytomovethe handles ontheendofthebalance beamsto align wi ththequadrantb elow,as wellasinvestigatethe possibility of shorteningthebeam.

To wpath upgrade at WoottonBrook

IWANorthamptonbranchadopted the NorthamptonArmoftheGrand Union Canalin2013. ereare 24 regular work partieseach year,andin recentyearsithas beenpartnered on the weekdaysbysta from Cummins PowerSystemsin Daventry. Overthe yearstherehavebeena number ofhousingdevelopments to the west of thetown throughwhich thearmruns.Overthe last 10 years variouscouncilinitiatives have used developercontributionstofund vast improvementstothetowpath between lock 17(Northamptontown centre) to beyondlock14wherethe housingareanow extends.Cummins helped fundandlaya smallextension tothe path in 2019.

Th er ec en tl oc kd ow ns have contributedtoavastincreaseinfoot and cycletra calong thetowpath; many of thesewalkersand cyclists nowuse thetowpath re gularly.A stretch of towpathremainedwhich wasstillinitsoriginal stateand turned very muddy in wetw eather,often passableonly by thebrave.

eNorthampto nB ra nchteam resolved toimproveit. epar ish

council wasver ysupportive, Canal &RiverTrustwason boardandlocal businessCummins waskeentoo er suppor tbypayingforthematerials andprovidingsta tohelp.

In May2 022,durin gv er yh ot weather,a 70m stretchof path was dug outandlevelled,35tonnesof grav elbar ro wed alon gf ro mt he nearestaccess pointand30icelollies consumed!After asummeroffurther re ningtheplans,inS eptembera further70mstretc hwasdugand levelled,35 tonnesofgravelshifted, laidandcompacted,countless cups ofco ee drunkand somenewfaces wereseen amongtheIWAvolunteers. elastfulldayofworkbrought heavyrainshowers,avisitfromCRT’s RichardParry and somethoughtson themissing140or so metrestolock 13 whichtheyhopetocompletein2023.

WestCountryBranch hosts waterwaysforum

THE West Countr yBranchhosted aWater ways Forumfor waterway groupsinthe South West peninsula on Saturday, October8.Aspreviously, thistookplaceinthe CanalRoomof eGlobeInn, Sampford Peverell, De vo n,whic hisa djacentt ot he GrandWestern Canal.

eforumprovidedanopportunity forthelocal water waygroupstomeet up,exchangeinfor mationandideas andtohear aboutcurrent andproposed developments –ofwhichthereare many –onsomeofthelocalwater ways.

It wasattende dbymorethan30 water waysenthusiasts,representing the Bude CanalTrust,Bude Canal

ewater

madeitclearthattheyall

progressisbeingmadeindealing

Overallfeedbackwasthat theforum went well. It wasparticularlypleasing to se et helo ca lw at er wa yg ro ups networkingwitheachotherand having anopportunitytosee theprogressmade by thegroupsthatmadepresentations.

The bottomgatesatHazelhurst TopLock. PHOTO:ALISON SMEDLEY

of water ways. is view ha sb een endorsed by IWA’snational Navigation Co mmitt ee.O bj ec tions we re al so submittedbythe Caldonand Uttoxeter CanalsTrustandthe Historic Narrow Boat Clubforthe samereasons. eseobjections have

ThecolourfulCanalwayCavalcadeatLittle Venice.

PHOTO:IWA

Anupgradedstretchoffootpath alongtheNorthamptonArm.

PHOTO:IWA

Morethan30waterways enthusiastsattendedtheforumat TheGlobeInn. PHOTO:IWA

Grand Western Canal, SomersetNavigators Boat Club,CocklemoorCommunity Trust andIWA. Special guests were Nicola Dyer ofGreenwood ProjectsandBrianSmedley ofBridgwater Town Council.

ways representedcovered oper at ional wa te rw ay s, re st or ed water ways,those undergoingrestoration andothersinneedofregeneration. e presentations

faceissuesandproblemsandthat while good

withthese, thereisalwaysmoretodo. GuestspeakerNicola Dyerspokeabout herproject at Underhill Yard inBristoland waswell received.

&Harbour

ciety,

lle Canal Society, Stover CanalTrust,Friends of Exeter Ship Canal,Friendsof

Missing atrick

JonathanMosse’s monthlylook at freight developmentsonthe inlandwaterways.

ID OUBT my mother hadsomuchas amillilitreofScottishbloodcoursing throughher veins butshebroughtme up to believethat Scotlanddidthings alittlebetterthanthe remainderofthe UnitedKingdom!

Havinglived northofthe bordernow forsomethinglike15years Ithinkshe was right, certainlyintheareasofhealth care and educationthat she wasmostfond ofciting. However,unlikeher son, she hadlittleinterestintheinland waterways in ge neral,orthei rf re ig ht-c ar ry ing potential inparticular.Ifshe had,then she wouldalmost certainly have had causetomodifyher perceptions. Essentially,there islittlefundamental di erence betweenthe tidal ames–fromitsestuar yuptoTeddington –and

thetidal RiverClydefrom Tail O’ e Bank(Greenock)throughtoGlasgow Greenandtheliftingtidal weirthat parts salt waterfrom fresh.E xcept,that is, that theformerheaveswithrivertra c in myriadshapes andsizes,whilethe latter…well…doesn’t!

Apa rt,t hat is,f ro mregulardee pseashippingboundforthe Clydebank oilterminalor King Ge orge VD ock andassociatedwharfs, which handle generalcargo,closetothecitycentre. If you discount theoccasionalMulti-Cat workboat thereisabsolutelynolocal tra c, be it bulk,waste,passengeror ‘lastmile’.

Runningprettymuchwest–east, from Glasgow citycentretoGreenock,thetidal riverisparalleled onits southbank by the M8motor wayandonthenorthbank by theA82, muchofit busy dualcarriageway.

To beprecise, theM8actuallycrosses fromthenorth banktothe south just downriverfromthecitycentre, onthe multi-lane KingstonBridgewhich,in

common withmostofthemotor way systeminthat area,becomesgridlocked duringmorningand eveningpeaks.

Closetothiscrossing, the relatively newlyconstructe dM74joinstheM8 havingshadowed alarge chunkofthe non-tidal Clydethroughwhat remains ofGlasgow’sindustrialheartland. e only boatsyou’ll ndhereare propelled by oarsandthe occasionalpaddle!

To complet et hepicture, aq uick look at theaforementionedtidal weir is required. Separatingsaltfromfresh,it canbeopenedwhenthe wateroneach side makesalevel,toallownavigation.

Howlongthis windowofopportunity is availabledependsonthetide,be its pr in gorn ea p, an ditc ur re nt ly represents asigni cant constraintto usingthefull navigablelengthofthe riverabove thecity.

In terestinglyen ou gh ,inm ore enlightene dtimes,therewas alock hereconstructedin1852and removed whentheearlier, xe dw eir –s een as re sponsib lefor se ve re erosion downstream –was replacedin1879.

So toda yw iththe Ri ve rC ly de, viewed as acleansheetofpaperinlocal navigationalterms,thereiseverythingto play forintransformingthearea’s carbonheavytransportsysteminto something more aligned withthe sort ofblueprint envisionedatlastyear ’s COP26which, somewhat ironically, washostedonthe very banksofthiscriminallyunderused, climate-friendly,freightasset.

Overthepast veyears, asigni cant percentage ofthe ames bulk river traffic ha srevol ve da ro und sp oil removed(with returnloadsofconcrete liningrings)fromthe Tideway Tunnel, pivotalin re modellin gB az al ge tte’s ageingVictorian sewagesystem :both ground-breakingprojectsoftheirtime.

Newtothe Clyde, andalready at the

enablingworksstage, is theconstructionof aswing bridge,designed to accommodate sea-goingvessels navigatingtothenearby King George VDock,oneofits regular visitor sb eing Ye oman Br id ge .T his massive,self-unloadingvesselcarrying graniteproductsfrom Glensanda Quarry is aregularvisitor :onethat willprobably be transporting asigni cant tonnage of the materials required tocompletethe RenfrewBridge.

Onecanonly speculateastowhether Trans po rtSc otlan di nclud ed any stipulations withintheprocurement process aroundmovingwhat will be aconsiderable amount of aggregates theshort distance betweendockand work sitebybarge,ratherthan by lorry along theM8 withitsattendantnegative, environmentalimpact.

Co mp arisons mayw el l,in ma ny walksoflife,b es ee naso dious but thealternative, intermsofourclimate emer ge ncy,is po te nt iallyterminal. Transferring goods–whetherthat be bu lk aggregates,waste or ‘lastmile’ parcelstra c–ont owat eris the low-hangingfruitof amovetowardsa carbon neutralexistence.Ifitworks for England,it canworkfor Scotland…and my mother canresteasyinher grave!

GlasgowTidal Weir,ontheRiver Clyde,separatingsaltfrom freshwater.

YeomanBridge inboundfromGlensandaQuarry,nearFortWilliam,carrying avarietyofgraniteaggregates.Riversidehousingdevelopment replacinglocalwharfage.

PHOTOS:JONATHANMOSSE

Petworth

BargeBeagle –sniffing outgoodfindsforcrews withcanines

ByAlisonAlderton

PET WORTHHouse and Deer Park,West

Su ssex ,w as once

thehomeof George Wyndham,thirdEarl of Eg re mon t( 175 1837), acanalenthusiast responsiblefor many localwater ways includingthe Rother Navigationand Petworth Canal.

Egremontwasalsoapatronofthearts and afriendof JMWTurnerwhofrequently stayed at Petworth.Hewasinspired to paintseveralviewsofthegroundsandof thenearbycanals,some ofwhichareon displaywithin Petworth House.

Walkingintheextensive700-acre park, con si dered on eoft hefinest su rv ivin ge xample sofanE ng lish la nds cap ed esi gned by Lancelot CapabilityBrown,inthefootstepsof oneof ourcanalpioneers, is amagical experience.Spaniels were Egremont’s favouritebreed ofdo g, oneiseven

fe at ured in theEarl ’s po rt ra itanditiseasy toimag inehis bel oved sa ccom panyi ng masherodeout onhorsebackeach da yt oi ns pect thegr ou ndsof hisestate.

No doubtthere were just as many nticingscentsback ntokeepdognoses twitchi ng asthereare now. Barge Beagle was certainly kept busy –he ha rd lylifte dh isnose fromthegrounduntil he reachedoneofthe highes tp ointswhen he stopp ed to lift his head andtakeinthe wonderfulviewsacross thelakesandontothe rollingSouth Downsbeyond.

George O’Brien Wyndham(1751–1837), thirdEarlofEgremont, intheNorthGallery, PetworthbyThomas Phillips(1770-1845).

PHOTO:WIKIMEDIACOMMONS

Th eg ra ss yw alkwa ys (o rr id es) meanderingthrough thedeerparkare pleasantandprovide avarietyofdi erent ro utes.W hiledog sa re pe rm itted o -lead,theymustbekeptunderclose supervisionandnot permittedtodisturb thedeer.Barge Beaglefoundthe rough

Us efulinformation

PetworthHouseis aN ational Trustproperty.

Thegroundsofthedeerpark arefreetoexplore.

NImembers(andtheirdogs) canalsoexplore,freeofcharge, thepleasuregroundsatPetworth Par kw hichcontai nf or mal planting,alongwith arotundaand Dorictemple.

Discovermoreat: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ petworth-house

ygroundlittered with t uf fet s, bo rd ering t hepath wa ys, o ffer ed plentyof e nt ertainmen ta nd g great funtofrolicin and around –plenty ofexercisetobehad evenon-lead.

Autumnand winter areagreat timetovisit. W he nt hedeerare rutting, theclattering o f antlers ec hoes a c ro ssthe ge nt ly rollinglandscapeand ornamentallakes. e tree sa re sp ec tacular andinclude oak, be ec ha ndaspen, so meofwhichare almost1000 yearsold. Sw ee tc hestnuttrees areplentiful –a word of warningthough,guide yourdog away from spikeycases offallenfruit astheseare notpaw friendly.

Whi lethedeerpark isfree to explore, thereisa charge fo rcar parking. From Petworth Housewalk throughthecattletunne ltovisit thetownwithitscobbledstreets, plentifulantiquesshops,StMary’s Church(containinga sculptureof Egremont)and good choiceof cafes and pubs.

Heritageunder thehammer

Thismonth’scanaliaauctionreportsbyGeoff Courtneyinclude abuilder’s platefrom anamed locomotivetha toperatedontheManchesterShip Canal’srailwaysystem acentur ya go,andanother from aTrinityHousepilots’vesselwhichwentunder thehammerforfourfigures.

AB UILDER ’s platefrom asteam locomotiveth at operat ed on the Ma nchester Sh ip Ca na l’sr ailw ay syst emfo rm ore than half acentury so ldfor£340 at aG re at Central Ra ilw ay ana au ctio non September3.

Th es ta nd ar dg au ge ra ilw ay comprised temporar ytrack used by alarge eet oflocomotives,trucks and wag on ssup plyi ng mat eria ls fortheconstructionofthe36-mile canalfrom1887to1893.Suchwas the railway’s importancetothe work thatat its peakit hada eetof180 locomotivesandmorethan6000 trucks and wag ons sup plyingan astonishing10,000tonsofcoaland 8000tonsofcementevery month.

Ratherthandismantlingthe railway whenthe canal opened,the canal company left muchof itinplace andconve rt ed itto co mmercial us e, initially withfreighttrainsin Februar y1893andthree monthslater with publicpassengerservices. e locomotivewhose builder ’s platewas sold at the auction wasfroman0-6-0T delivered to the canalcompanyby Hudswell Clarke of Leedsin1912. It wasnumbered54and named Odessa and ranonthe railway until being withdrawnin1966.

Th erail way,which ha da link withthe mainline railway system, re ma ine dinp ri vat eh an dsafter Na tionalis at ionin1948,ceas ed runningpassenger servicesin1964 bu to pe ra te df re ig ht trainsuntil closurein1978.

ecanal,whichlinks ManchesterwiththeIrish Sea, isnow ownedbyPeelHoldings andcurrently handles8000containers ayear.

At thesame auction aShropshire Union Railway and CanalCompany

ca st iron si gn wa rnin go fa bridge we ig ht re str iction fetched£120. is compan yw as establishe din 1846to managea numberof canals, and wa sl eas ed to the London& No rt hWes te rn Ra ilw ay the follow ingyearandboughtoutright by therailcompany in1857.

eShropshireUnion Canal,which is navigableandisdescribed by the Canal&RiverTrustasa“charmingly ruralandisolatedwater wayfor much of itslength,” runsfor66½ milesandis partofthecircularand ruralholiday route calledthe Four Counties Ring. As aleheldon Oc tob er 15 by Talisman Railwayana, anotherleading specialist auctionhouse, alsofeatured abuilder ’s plate,fromTrinity House pilots’vessel Brook . iscoal- red steamcutter wasbuiltin1932by shipbuildersandengineers Cammell Laird& Co at Birkenhead for theIsle of WightPilotage District,withdrawn in thelate 1960sandcutupin Belgium. elarge18x12inbrass plate sold for£1700.

epricesquotedatboth auctions exclude buyer’spremiumof15%(+ VAT).

BargeBeagletakesintheview.

PetworthHouse.

St Mary’s Church, Petworth PHOTOS:ALISONALDERTONUNLESS INDICATED

Exploring yourcanalancestry: warheroes

Inthelatestinherfamily histor yseries, Nicola Lisle looks at ho wcanal workerscontributedtothe wareffortandho wtotrace theirrecords.

CL OS Et ot he Ca na l&R iverTrust o cein Birminghamthereisaplaque commemorat ingthe hard wo rk and heroicsof boatingmen, womenand childrenduringthetwoworld wars.

It is asimple buttouchingtribute and areminderthat the peoplewho worked on ourinland water ways were avitalcog inthe warmachine,fromboatbuilders supplyingboatsforthearmedforces–includingmanyofthe Little Shipsthat sailedtoDunkirk–tothosewho kept vital supplies,suchascoal,foodand munitions,movingalongthe canals.

erewas amassexodusfromthe canalsduringboth warsas boatmen enlistedwiththearmedforces –many, sadly,never to return –and women had toshouldermoreofthe responsibility foroperatingthe boats.At the beginning ofthe Second World War, the Ministry of Wa rT ra ns po rt su pplemente di ts deplet ed nu mb er sbyrecru itin ga volunteerforceofaround50 women, who becameknown as the‘Idle Women’ duetothe‘IW’initialsontheirbadges.

Foranyone withancestorswho served inthe wo rld wars,t herea re millions of records availablegivinga wealthof information. It isuseful toknow which service yourancestorwas in,together with rankand approximatedatesof service,as this willhelpto narrow down yoursearch.

Th eNat ionalArchives(www. nationalarchives.gov.uk)is agood place tostar t. Fromthehome page,s elect ‘Help with yourresearch’, thenchoose ‘FirstWorld War’ or ‘Second World War’. Bo thgiv ed etaile di nfor mat io na nd linkstotheir ow nrecordsandthose heldelsewhere.

Usethese linkstotrack down service and pension records,prisonerof war records,casualtylists,campaign and servicemedals, gallantr ymedals,lists ofo cersandother ranks,discharge pa pe rs,o pe ra tionalhistor iesand mu chmo re. Ma ny ofthes erec ords areavailable to viewonline, somefree ofcharge andsomeforwhich afee is payable,whileotherscanonlybe viewed in person at the NationalArchives.

Fo rFirst Wo rld Wa rs er vic ea nd pension recordsthe NationalArchives redirects you towww. ndmypast.co.uk, andfor BritishArmy Second WorldWar casualtyliststowww.ancestry.co.uk.

eseare both subscriptionsites,but you might nd yourlocallibrar yo ers free access.

Mu se umsar ea ls oi nv aluable resources. eNationalArmy Museum (www.nam.ac.uk),the National Museum ofthe RoyalNavy(www.royalnavy.mod. uk)andthe Royal AirForce Museum (www.rafmuseum.o rg. uk)all have extensivearchivesas wellasdisplays that willgiveyou anideaofwhat life waslikefor your ancestor intheforces.

eir websitesalso givelinkstoother relevantarchives.

Th el ibrar yatt heImperia lWar Museum(www.iwm.org.uk) hasmore than150,00 0b ooks andper iodicals, which canbeviewed by request. e museum websiteisalsoworth alook foritsdetaile dgui danceontracing

yourmilitar yancestors,withplentyof usefullinks.You canalsotrack down anymemorialsass ociate dw ithyour ancestorthroughtheIWMMemorials Re gister,w hichcontainsdetailsof around90,000memorialsintheUK. Warmemorialsincludenotonlyfreestandingmemorials butalsomemorial plaques,t ab lets,w in dows and ro lls ofhonour.

Searchthe re gister by lo cationor name at www.iwm.org.uk/memorials. eregistergives adescriptionofeach memorialtogether withitslo cation, typeofmemorial,inscriptionand alist

of names,eachofwhich canbeclicked onforfurtherinformation.

Anotheres se nt ia lw ebsi teisthat oftheCommon we alth Wa rG raves Commission(www.cwgc.org),which hasthelargestdatabase ofgravesand memorials relatingtothe tw ow orld wars.Searchbynameorcemeter y. Each entr yincludes apersonalrecordwith full name,regiment andunit/ship,date ofdeath,age at death,locationofgrave and/ormemo ri al, awards,p ersonal inscription,citationandanyo ther information. Youcanalso downloadan o cial CWGC certi cate.

It is wo rt hs ea rc hin gT he Lo ndon Gazettewebsite(www.thegazette.co.uk), whichhasnoticesof service appointments, promotions,awardsanddeaths.

i s w o r t h s e a h i n g T h e L o n d o n

Don’tforget yourancestorsonthehome frontaswell.Searchrelevantlocal record o cesforinfor mation aboutevacuees, civildefenceorganisations,conscription, conscientiousobjector s, wa rt ime committeesandfundraisinge orts.

Finally,the1939 Register, established to gatherinformationforissuingidentity cardsand ration books,amongother things,containsdetailsofmorethan40 million peoplein Englandand Walesin June1939,includingfull name,address, gender,dateofbirth,marital statusand occupation. Go to www. ndmypast. co.ukwherethe registeris searchable.

TheImperial WarMuseum,London: amajor resourcefor researching militaryfamilyhistory. PHOTOS:NICOLALISLE

Acardforeveryoccasion

BrendaScowcroft’s floatinghomeiscrammed withhercraftycreations, asSallyCliffordfindsout.

VIR TUAL ca rd shav ea dd ed an ew dimensiontothe wayw ee xcha nge gree tings –b utwhe re the re isa mantelpiecetherewillalwaysbeaplace fortradition.

Ofallthe occa sions we celebrate throughoutthe year, Christmasisdeeprootedincustomsfromthe carols sung, thetreesadornedwithdecorationsand thepresentswrapped anddelivered by Father Christmas.

efestiveseasonisalsooneofBrenda Scowcroft’s busiesttimesofthe year.

Brenda’scardmakingbegan over60 years agoasa pleasantpastime which, nearly20 years ago, she wasable toturn into aprofession ab oard the oating homesheshares withher husband David.

Incidentally,andin keepingwith the many celebrator yoccasionsBrenda’s ca rd scat erfo r, thecoupleared ue tocelebrat et heir golden we dding anniversary thismonth(December).

Socialmediaplaye dapar tinthe progressionofBrenda’s enterprise–eFloatingCardShop–which hasa presenceonplatforms suchas Facebook andPinterest.

Re tiremen tf ro mt heirpr evi ous governmentpositions gave Brendaand Davidtheoppor tunity tobuildtheir ownboat.

“Weknewnothingabout boatingand, fortunately, hada greatboatbuilder ’s and,ofcourse,a RYABoatHandlers course,”explainedBrenda.

eirambition to travelaroundthe countr yhit afewpitfallsasanynovice wouldexpect. Lifeonthe waterisnot, afterall,plain sailing.

Brenda re ca llsthe rst stumbling block wasscratchingthetopoftheir boatat the rsttunnelonlymilesfrom theboatyardandclimbingthe Marple LocksinaBiblical storm.

“ at iswhen Istartedmakingcards seriously,” she said.

Interestingly, the rstcardsBrenda made were Christmascardscreatedfrom driedivyleavespickedfromhedgerows

duringtheir rstsummer.

“When ac ommercialmooring became availablein GasStreetBasin,in thecentreofBirmingham,westarted our business withthecoveringnameofMr David Enterprises(Mr David beingthe nameofthe boat!),”explainedBrenda.

“Wewerenow ableto sell cardswhile outcruisingandfromatable at the mooringinwinter.”

Brend ab ega nb log ging (narrowboatmrdavid/blogspot.com)to cataloguetheirtravels.Shealsoaddeda card each day.

Oneoftheirmostmemorablejourneys wasjoiningthe eetofboats,among themcruiser s, Du nkirk‘ littleships’, rowing and sailingboats,travellingalong the River amesin Londonfor Her Majestythe Queen’sDiamondjubilee celebrationsin2012.

“Itwas very specialand acrowd of people we re cheeringyou on,”said Brenda,recallingtheirparticipation in themomentous JubileeBoatParade.

Last ye ar,7 5- ye ar-ol dDav id and Brenda,74,decided lo ckingwastoo much so they‘retired’fromboating and became‘ oaters’ –livingaboardbutnot sailing.

Brendacontinuestocreateher cards usingever yinchofsurfaceshe can nd intheir57ftlongnarrowboat.

“I have a2ft squarekitchen worktop that Iuse to makethe cardsand abit morespaceif Icoverthehoband cutting board,”saidBrenda, whohas toclearher workspace to make wayformealtimes! eintricacy ofher cardsisapparent in

the stylishtoppersshechoosesto adorn them, suchasatinyknittedjumperon needlescelebratinganewarrival.

ereare sentimentsfor ever yseason and,ofcourse, anod to the waterways and bo at in gl ifetoo.Per ha psthe mostcomplicated andcomplexofall Brenda’s card creationsarethe pop-up boxedgreetings,the canalboatsailing along andthe scroll andmortarboard celebratinggraduation success.

“Someofthemareeasyand someare morecomplicated,”saidBrenda,who canspendhourscreating, dependingon theintricacy of each card.

On eo fthemostm emorab le,and probabl yo neofhermoret imeconsumin gc re at ion s, wa st he safari-themed card she createdforher

grandsonfeaturing pop-upanimals.

“I have twograndsons,nineand seven, andtheyusually get something abit di erentfortheirbirthdays,” said Brenda.

While many ndcraftingtherapeutic, Brenda simply ndsherpleasurein creatingsomethingthato ersamore personaltouchinanincreasinglyvirtual world.“I’mver ymuch aglass halffull.I don’tdoitto calmdown,IdoitbecauseI love doingit. And,”sheadded,“it’s much morepersonalandthoughtful.” To