Autumn/Winter 2015
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The bottom three pounds of the Audlem flight of the Shroppie were again full of former working boats over the last weekend of July. Somehow, 38 boats were moored, with breasting up in each pound, but a couple more either passed through or stayed just one night. The oldest boat, Elizabeth, dates from the 1880s, and was converted to a pleasure boat in the mid-1930s. The newest boats were some BW Admiral class boats from about 1960. [Harry Arnold/Waterway Images] Branch member John Myers (left) receives the Interbranch Skittles Challenge Trophy from Staffordhire Waterways Group chairman Roger Savage at Stafford Boat Club. In a closely fought contest, just two points separated the branch's winning score from the rest of the pack. Equal top individual scorers were John Myers and Val Haig, who share the Challenge Shield. Thanks go to Gillian Watson of North Staffs & South Cheshire Branch, last year's winners, for making all the arrangements and to Pat Barton of Lichfield Branch for a choice of three lovely desserts!
Cover: The Iron Bridge at Ironbridge Gorge, built by Abraham Darby in 1779, illuminated for the 'NightFly of Heritage Jaxx Shepherd2015 Autumn/Winter Shroppie Paper Light' by the Society of Light Page& Lighting. Photographer:
The Editor's cut... Among the pleasures of editing Shroppie Fly Paper are the beauty of the waterways in our area and the diversity of the attractions that take place along them each year. We are extremely fortunate to have not one but two UNESCO World Heritage Sites within the branch area and for this issue have chosen the less obvious one, at Ironbridge Gorge, for our cover image. The occasion was the ‘Night of Heritage Light’ celebration on October 1, organised by the Society of Light and Lighting and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, two bodies that I have to admit had been fairly low on my radar until then. Besides the world heritage sites, we embrace the Whitchurch Waterway Trust and two of the country’s most significant and best supported restoration projects on the Montgomery and Shrewsbury & Newport canals. The scale of achievement and ambition of these projects is a testament to the dedication of their volunteers and supporters, who devote the energy, enthusiasm and commitment needed to drive the progress that we all want and hope to see. I think it is no coincidence that this year Montgomery restoration trust chairman Michael Limbrey’s work for the waterway over 35 years has been recognised by IWA’s national awards committee, with the Christopher Power Prize for significant contribution to the restoration of an amenity waterway (see page 14), and that he thus joins SNCT chairman Bernie Jones, who received the award in 2013, as a well-deserved winner. Way down the other end of the achievement scale, but illustrating the scope of participation activities available in our branch, your editor was delighted, if slightly surprised, to find himself carried to victory by his teammates in the annual interbranch skittles challenge with Lichfield and North Staffs & South Cheshire branches (see opposite on page 2). As a result it falls to us to organise the event next year and we look forward to your support. Finally, we are pleased to welcome our new North West Region chairman, Mike Carter, who introduces himself on page 6. I hope you will join your committee in expressing the branch's thanks to Alan Platt, who served as region chairman for six years and has now taken on the role of branch treasurer from Denis Farmer. The rest of this issue is packed as usual. I hope you enjoy reading it as the nights draw in. Michael Haig Next copy date: Friday, March 11, 2016 Autumn/Winter 2015
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The Branch Committee President & Chairman
Michael Limbrey 01691 654081
michael.limbrey@waterways.org.uk
Secretary & Membership Sec.
Dawn Aylwin 01691 830403
shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk
Heritage & Planning Officer
Peter Brown
peter.brown@waterways.org.uk
Vice Chairman & Newsletter Editor
Michael Haig
michael.haig@waterways.org.uk
Social Secretary
Val Haig 07976 280174
val.haig@waterways.org.uk
Treasurer & Welsh Liaison Officer
Alan Platt
alan.platt@waterways.org.uk
Webmaster
Alan Wilding
alan.wilding@waterways.org.uk
Committee Members
David Aylwin
shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk
Denis Farmer
denis.farmer@waterways.org.uk
Janet Farmer
janet.farmer@waterways.org.uk
Gerallt Hughes
gerallt.hughes@waterways.org.uk
Susan Wilding
alan.wilding@waterways.org.uk
NW Region Chairman
Mike Carter 07795 617803
mike.carter@waterways.org.uk
Branch Web pages
www.waterways.org.uk/shrewsbury www.facebook.com/pages/IWA-Shrewsbury-Branch/388651831206061
Shroppie Fly Paper Shroppie Fly Paper is the newsletter of the Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch of The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) with about 500 members. Nationally IWA has about 16,000 members and campaigns for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of the inland waterways. For further information contact any committee member. Copy for Shroppie Fly Paper is welcome by email, on disk or in manuscript form. Photographs may be in any common computer format or as prints. Please supply a stamped addressed envelope if you require photographs to be returned. ‘Letters to the Editor’ intended for publication are invited, as are comments for the Editor’s private guidance. Copy and letters submitted for publication may be edited. The Inland Waterways Association may not agree with the opinions expressed in this branch newsletter but encourages publicity as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as official policy unless stated otherwise. The Association accepts no liability for any matter in this newsletter. Any reproduction must be acknowledged. The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No 612245. Registered as a charity No 212342.
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From The Steerer Well, I think we 'made waves' this year! And come to think of it, as the branch reaches the end of its fortieth year, I think that is what IWA, and our branch, has always done! The last Shroppie Fly Paper included accounts of earlier ‘Making Waves’ events and we were looking forward to the last of them, the Welsh Waterway Festival in Welshpool and the Montgomery Canal Forum the day after. The branch has supported the restoration of the Montgomery from the days when Frankton Locks were derelict and lengths of the canal were impassable even on foot. I was very pleased that IWA was able to support ‘Making Waves’ and play a significant part in the festival, with Wild over Waterways entertaining children around the site and our branch and South Wales Branch – a pleasure to have them with us – among the exhibitors. Another IWA contribution to the Montgomery has come through Stockport member Roger Bravey, who has volunteered to prepare a detailed report for the restoration of the dry section of the canal through Pant, following the length in the HLF bid (which is now being held into next year). There is more work to be done on this, but Roger's (considerable) skill is a great help in working out how this difficult length can be restored at a significantly lower cost than previously anticipated. This is just one example of the way that IWA – with the support of its members – is unmatched in the range and depth of its contacts. As well as the Montgomery we do, of course, support the Whitchurch and Shrewsbury & Newport projects. Since the last issue, we have had another Whitchurch Rally and the visit of Waterway Recovery Group to Forton. We were pleased to provide funds to assist WRG's visit and to facilitate the transfer from Crickheath of rolls of Bentonite liner for the new section (different material now being used on the Montgomery). The branch only has limited resources: you will read in later pages about this year's lock-wind and you will be encouraged to invest in our calendar and Christmas cards. Thanks to the efforts of those who organise them, these are all important fund-raisers for the branch, and so for the projects we support. As we come to the end of our first forty years, I want to thank members who have made possible all we have done to keep our waterways alive: armchair members Autumn/Winter 2015
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who pay their subscriptions and talk to people about what our canals mean to the area, those who come to help at our events, those who work on restoration, and those who help the committee make this widespread branch an effective one. Thanks to you all. ----0---I wrote these notes before the National AGM at which I was honoured with the award of the Christopher Power Prize for a significant contribution to the restoration of the Montgomery Canal. I was not able to attend the AGM but Nicholas Bostock collected the prize on my behalf. Accepting the award, I made the point that The Montgomery family includes a number of different groups, each with a different purpose - from the Heulwen Trust, the first trip boat for the handicapped, to IWA, MWRT, SUCS, The Friends of the Montgomery Canal and most recently CRT- but all are working to see this special canal brought back to life. For me, the campaign for the Montgomery has brought many special occasions and many friends who have made possible all we have done to bring the canal back to life: to them, again, my thanks. Michael Limbrey – Branch Chairman
Region Chairman writes Firstly I would like to thank my predecessor, Alan Platt, for all his work and dedication over the last six years as IWA North West Region Chairman. I hope to emulate the high standards he has set for the role. Please do bear with me if I get things wrong in the early days. I don't want to bore you with a complicated autobiography, so I hope you will be content with my wife's description that I am canal mad, spending much more time working on the boat than I should and with a tendency to go on and on enthusing about waterways and canals. So let’s get started. I have taken on the role of Region Chairman with a few primary aims, one of which is to promote better communications between IWA 'officers' – though we’re all volunteers and ordinary members as well – and you the membership, so please don't hesitate to collar me or your local branch committee: Shroppie Fly Paper
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send emails, letters, or texts as you prefer in order to tell us your views. Here are a few things that, I hope you will agree, we should be talking about: • Increasing the profile of IWA and promoting our aims and objectives. Not only to attract new members and supporters but to make the public aware of the simple facts. IWA was primarily responsible for 'saving the canals and waterways for the benefit of the nation' and we continue to campaign for improvements, restorations and heritage conservation. No matter how you qualify this, it’s true.... This needs to be a message we carry around with us as we talk to people about the great joy that our waterways bring to everyone. • Involving and educating local communities Promoting the benefits of their canals and waterways. I have spent many hours working with schools and local community volunteers who now view their local canal as a valued place, worth taking time to look after. Specifically in the more urban areas we are starting to see communities taking ownership and getting so much more from the experiences. • Getting more value from our navigation authorities and local councils. It’s not acceptable for navigation authorities, developers and local councils to work in isolation (in the case of Shrewsbury & North Wales Branch, CRT is the navigation authority but other branches in the North West Region have to work with other navigation authorities as well as CRT). Local authorities must also commit resources to maintain the local waterway environment and its community as part of their development plans. We can see many areas where waterways have provided the catalyst for urban regeneration. I was astonished to see the results of a report commissioned by IWA, carried out by Nottingham University, demonstrating that for every £1 spent on waterway restoration the local economy benefited to the tune of £7. This makes a great case for waterway restoration, of which many local authorities and developers have, I’m sure, already taken advantage. Sadly though, we still see many schemes that have been rather unsympathetic, ignoring the local waterway users and jarring with the undoubted heritage value of sites. We must be vigilant and campaign to ensure that boaters, other waterway users and canal side communities get Autumn/Winter 2015
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a fairer share in this economic bounty which, unless properly monitored, could benefit developers substantially more than the local communities. There's a lot more... to be saved for a later report. I have suggested a few items that I think we should be talking about. I'm sure you all have many more which I'm more than willing to put on the agenda when I represent you at consultations and meetings with IWA Trustees, CRT, local councillors, commercial organisations, MPs and others. Please don't hesitate to contact me with your thoughts. Mike Carter - Region Chairman
Membership Matters We are delighted to welcome the following new members who have joined the branch since the summer edition of the magazine and look forward to meeting you at one of our winter events. Why not join us on our annual Winter Walk in January or come to our quiz evening in February? Details can be found on the Diary page. Mr & Mrs Ball, Child's Ercall; Mr & Mrs Dore, Broseley; Mr Elliott, Crewe; Mr Hughes, Arthog; Mr & Mrs Lane, Barmouth; Mr & Mrs Mee, Wheaton Aston; Mr Parsons, Caersws; Mrs Robertson & Family, Llangollen. Your branch committee works hard supporting events on the Llangollen, Montgomery and Shropshire Union canals, although it's not always possible to attend them all. Sometimes events overlap and sometimes our small core of volunteers is already committed. So if you know of things happening in your area please make sure we know as early as possible, especially if there is an opportunity for the branch to have a stall. Better still, why not help us run it? The branch now has over 500 members and a pool of about 15 much-appreciated volunteers who regularly give support. Without them we would not be able to operate successfully. It would be great if we had more people coming forward; just a few hours help at an event makes a big difference. If you have more than a few hours to spare why not consider joining the committee? Whatever your area of interest, your enthusiasm and a love of the waterways are all the qualification you need, as there are many areas in which you could help! Dawn Aylwin
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JOHN MURGATROYD 1929 - 2015 We remember John as a quiet gentle person with a sharp wit and an enthusiasm for canals, railways and aeroplanes. His spent his career at BAE Systems, where he worked on the Concord. In his spare time and holidays he enjoyed boating, taking the family Dawncraft Dandy by trailer to all parts of the canal system and he was an active member and commodore of the Wey Cruising Club. He joined the IWA at this time. Following early retirement John bought a narrowboat shell and fitted it out himself, taking his time to ensure that all was to his exacting satisfaction. This boat was aptly named "Intention". Once retired, John and his wife Mary left Kent and moved to Arthog in North Wales, keeping Intention at the mooring above Grindley Brook staircase. John made many good friends and acquaintances in North Wales and at his mooring and he maintained these when he and Mary moved to Middlewich.
John Murgatroyd [Gillian Watson]
An active IWA member, John's contribution was significant. He was a member of the Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch for many years and helped us through some "rough patches". When the committee was short-handed or hardpressed he was always one of the first to help. When he undertook a stint as editor of Shroppie Fly Paper from 1995 to 1998, computers were not so prevalent and he, with the help of Mary, managed with just a basic typewriter! He took over as Chairman for a year from April 2002 to 2003, when he won IWA’s Victoria Cup in recognition of his special contribution to the work of the Association within the then Western Region. The committee will always be grateful to him. John had a long and happy life and although he was prone to chest infections more recently, these rarely stopped him from having fun. His wicked sense of humour will be sadly missed. Gillian Watson & Janet Farmer
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Planning appeals : the Wrenbury marinas The Planning Inspector has decided to allow the appeal for the proposed marina in Wrenbury village (200 berths) and to refuse that at Wrenbury Heath (178 berths). IWA Shrewsbury & North Wales Branch had opposed both applications, principally on the grounds that the Llangollen Canal is the most popular in the country for firsttime hirers. Thus any significant increase in the number of boats attempting to use the Llangollen Canal would be likely to have the perverse effect of discouraging people from hiring for a second time or becoming boat owners. Granting planning permission would therefore frustrate other planning aims of Cheshire East and neighbouring councils. We were also very critical of the design of the Wrenbury village proposal. Disappointingly, neither decision letter explicitly refers to IWA’s submissions, nor to the many objections by local residents. It says, ‘A number of interested parties have questioned the need for a new marina, and have referred to specialist media reports of declining demand for berths. However, the appellant is not required to demonstrate need, and makes his own assessment of the demand for the proposed development. The grant of planning permission does not necessarily trigger immediate implementation, but all permissions are time limited to allow reevaluation in the event of non-implementation.’ In the case of the Wrenbury village the Inspector thought that the visual impact on the landscape and built heritage would be minor and that the extra closing of the lift bridge would have little impact. In summary, ‘The harm would be outweighed by the public benefits of the contribution to the local and regional economy.’ The Inspector considered that the Wrenbury Heath proposal ‘would have adverse landscape and visual impacts of at least moderate significance’ and that these ‘would significantly outweigh its potential social and economic benefits’. Peter Brown
More news in brief from around the branch area In September, the Department of Energy and Climate Change refused planning consent for all four of the wind farms that would have used National Grid’s proposed Mid Wales Connection Project, a controversial 33-mile pylon route between Cefn Coch and Oswestry that threatened a negative impact on the Montgomery Canal at a number of locations. Although there are other wind farms looking to connect in Mid Wales, National Grid has said it will not progress with its plans if it is established that the connection is not needed. As we went to press an appeal Shroppie Fly Paper
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against the DECC decision and a request for a judicial review have been reported. The £250,000 project to repair and renovate the historic Nantwich Aqueduct is nearing completion, with CRT’s contractor Keir scheduled to finish on site by midNovember. Apparently only two of the original bricks used in the 1826 construction of the aqueduct have had to be replaced, which is quite a testament to the original masonry contractor John Wilson. Repair work will start towards the end of 2016 (though actual dates have not yet been announced) on a second Telford aqueduct, dating from 1832, at Stretton where the SU Main Line crosses what is now the A5. Unfortunately this will necessitate some disruption to traffic on the busy main road though we hope that, as at Nantwich, it will be possible to maintain navigation throughout the work. At CRT’s recent User Forum for North Wales & Borders Waterways, the branch asked what CRT plans to do concerning congestion at the junction at Trevor and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, with boats coming out of the Llangollen Branch too fast, trip boats demanding priority, day boats often with inexperienced crews, and sometimes canoes milling around as well.
Resplendent with fresh paint - the renovated Nantwich Aqueduct [David Fletcher]
CRT responded that it is reviewing the situation and new signage wil be erected advising boats to slow down on entering the basin from Llangollen. CRT is looking into improving the buffer strips against the towpath and hopes to attract more volunteer towpath rangers for the area, part of their duties being to help manage the boat traffic at busier times. The branch will maintain pressure on CRT to better manage this problematic and hazardous situation. CRT has finalized its winter stoppage programme for 2015-16. Full details are on CRT’s web site at https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/winter, but in essence for our branch area the stoppages are: SU Main Line: after Christmas at Audlem and Tyrley; Middlewich Branch: before Christmas at Wardle Lock; Llangollen Canal: numerous locations but all appear to be before Christmas except for the bridge at Llangollen,which is to be done in January; Montgomery Canal: the only one is in November, just south of Welshpool. Michael Haig Autumn/Winter 2015
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IWA help for more work at Newport Volunteer canal restorers from across the UK spent a week at the end of August on the derelict Shrewsbury & Newport Canals at two sites near Newport. IWA's Waterway Recovery Group (WRG) worked on re-profiling and re-lining a 130metre length of canal bed east of Forton's skew bridge and aqueduct in preparation for re-watering. The canal had dried up and become totally overgrown since minimal maintenance ceased in the early 1960s. Michael Limbrey, our branch chairman, was invited by Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust (SNCT) to formally cut the first sod.
Turning the sod - From left: John Heather & Bernie Jones (SNCT), Michael Limbrey, Nigel Lee, Susan & Alan Wilding (IWA & SNCT)
He said: "Our local IWA branch is delighted that WRG is back in our area for a second year in succession and that we have been able to provide a further ÂŁ450 of financial assistance for the camp, as well as 16 rolls of flexible liner which was surplus on other works."
The week-long WRG camp was led by Nigel Lee from Portsmouth who has been involved in similar events over the past 13 years. He was joined by 19 WRG volunteers from across the UK plus some local SNCT members. The team also worked on another site which involved the installation of a footbridge across the lock at Meretown and stonework repairs to the lock's walls. You can see a YouTube video online entitled 'Forton 2015'. Alan Wilding
Brain of Monty Quiz 2016 When we produced the 2014 Brain of Monty quiz the question arose: 'would there be enough MONTY questions left to do another one?' Apparently so and the 2016 version has been born! Unfortunately all the easy questions have been well and truly used, so the Monty references in the 2016 quiz are now more obscure than ever (though probably not too difficult for those inclined to a little internet research). Shroppie Fly Paper
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To get your copy of the latest quiz please send a SAE and £1 to: Brain of Monty Quiz 2016, Pen-y-Garreg Lane, Pant, Oswestry, Shropshire SY10 8JS. £1 coins suitably wrapped in cardboard will travel quite safely through the second-class post – only one unwrapped coin has gone missing since 2008!. However, notes are even safer so why not order 5 copies and sell the rest to friends and neighbours? If you do please just send your address and a second-class stamp and I will provide a larger return envelope. Apart from the prestige of being crowned 'Brain of Monty 2016' and joining the other winners since 2008 in the hall of fame, there is a £25 prize. As this is the Monty Quiz, profits this year will go to supporting the Maesbury Festival, previous profits having paid for picnic benches and canoe launching pads on the Montgomery Canal. Dawn Aylwin
The missing immigrants Where are the shoveler ducks which used to over-winter at Belvide Reservoir near Brewood? These are surface feeding ducks with huge spatulate bills. Males have dark green heads, with white breasts and chestnut flanks; females are mottled brown. About 18,000 over-winter in the UK, more than 20% of the Western European population. Shoveler ducks [Simon Middleton]
The condition of Belvide Reservoir, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), has been reclassified by Natural England from ‘Favourable’ to ‘Unfavourable declining’. The average number of birds during the five year period from 2009 to 2013 was 45, whereas in 1981–86 it had been 231. The target against which the condition is assessed is 115 but Natural England’s website admits that ‘this might be wrong’. There does not appear to be anything fundamentally wrong with the environmental conditions of the reservoir but CRT is liaising with Natural England to explore whether any remedies are available to improve the number of shovelers. This one change has had a dramatic effect on CRT’s environmental performance measures as published in its Annual Report for 2014/15. The percentage area of SSSIs in ‘Favourable’ condition has reduced from 54% to 38%. Peter Brown Autumn/Winter 2015
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IWA honours Michael Limbrey We are delighted to report that branch chairman Michael Limbrey was awarded this year’s Christopher Power Prize, one of IWA’s top national honours, for his work over the years with Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust (MWRT), of which he is the current chairman. Long-standing readers will know that 35 years ago Michael was a key figure in the formation of the trust, which acts as a lead coordinator between waterway organisations, local authorities and other public agencies in the campaign for and restoration of the Montgomery Canal. He also set up The Friends of the Montgomery Canal, the membership organisation within MWRT formed for local supporters. His tireless work on this summer’s ‘Making Waves’ programme to raise community awareness of the restored central section of the canal has been well documented in recent issues of Shroppie Fly Paper. Michael commented: “It was in the early days of the branch, almost 40 years ago, when I learned about the Montgomery and IWA's plan to restore the first four miles to Queen's Head. A friend and I walked the length to investigate and found part of it completely impenetrable, so we had to hop over the fence into the adjoining field. It has been an experience in the years since to be taken along the bed of that length in a contractor's crew-bus and then to boat along it. “I believe that this summer's 'Making Waves' events, and the renewed vigour of the Montgomery Canal Partnership under the chairmanship of John Dodwell, means you will be hearing a lot more of our canal.” Michael was away on a well-deserved overseas holiday when IWA’s national awards were presented at September’s Annual Members’ Meeting, but the coveted otter trophy was handed to Michael at the branch’s recent Autumn Social Evening by MWRT treasurer, Nicholas Bostock, who had accepted the award on Michael’s behalf. Our congratulations go to Michael and the Trust. Michael Haig
The Lock Wind Weekend The branch’s annual lock wind, held over the first weekend of August at Hurleston, was again enjoyed by boaters and volunteers alike, despite some seriously wet weather on the Saturday. Plus, as a welcome reward for getting wet one day and sunburned the next, the branch raised a further £400 for our local waterways. Shroppie Fly Paper
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So many thanks to the 20-or-so members who turned up to help over the weekend and to those who brought things to sell. All the jam, pickles, jelly and biscuits sold out almost as soon as they hit the table. We also ran out of Christmas cards – clearly we underestimated demand almost five months in advance. And although we sold a load of books the pile didn't seem to reduce - in fact it kept on growing. We started the weekend with one box but due to the generosity of volunteers and boaters we ended with three boxes ready for our next sale at Whitchurch. Over the weekend we had enough volunteers to work the whole flight at Hurleston most of the time, and apart from winding locks were able to give welcome assistance to a couple of novice boaters who were struggling to manoeuvre their boats into the bottom lock in the wind. We also won, eventually, what felt like a tug-of-war with one boat that got stuck in Lock 2 when water levels dropped a bit.
One more to the rescue [Val Fletcher]
As well as generous donations, we received many accolades from appreciative boaters who were only too glad to sit back and let someone alse do the work. It was really lovely as well to receive such positive comments from the volunteers, as 'it was a pleasure, I really enjoyed it all and thanks for all your organising', and 'it was a good weekend, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves'. Winding locks for about 100 boats might sound like hard work; but the pleasant atmosphere and friendly banter among volunteers and boaters made it a really enjoyable weekend. Look out for the 2016 date in Shroppie Fly Paper, on our website and Facebook pages – and come and join us. Dawn Aylwin
Quiz Night - Monday, February 22, 2016 7.30pm The popular Branch Quiz Night returns to The Narrowboat Inn at the Maestermyn Marina, Whittington (SY11 4NU tel: 01691 661051). Come along with some friends or join others on the night to form a team. Last year's winners set the questions so show them who's cleverest this time! It will be the usual format with a meal beforehand from 6.30pm - prior notice of those wishing to eat would be helpful. The quiz follows at 7.30pm. Make a note now on your 2016 calendar - see how to get one on page 31 if you haven't already done so - and join us for a fun social evening. For further information contact Val at val.haig@waterways.org.uk.
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IWA Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch - Diary 2015/2016 All branch members are welcome to join us at our regular branch business meetings, which are preceded by an opportunity for supper and socialising. Meetings begin at 7.00pm, with supper from 6.00pm. To give our venues an idea of numbers please let the branch know if you would like to attend. shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk
December 4
Fun fund-raising evening on behalf of Maesbury Canal Festival at Llanymynech Village Hall. See back cover
December 14
Branch business meeting at Narrowboat Inn, Whittington SY11 4NU
January 2
Winter Walk Cholmondeston-Church Minshull. See page 22
February 15
Branch business meeting at Narrowboat Inn, Whittington SY11 4NU
February 22
Quiz Night at Narrowboat Inn, Whittington SY11 4NU. See page 15
April 11
Branch business meeting at Narrowboat Inn, Whittington SY11 4NU to be preceded by the branch AGM. See below on this page
April 30 - May 2
Norbury Canal Festival. Last year's festival was full with trading boats and actually had to turn some people away. For 2016, boat booking forms will not be issued until January and bookings will be accepted on a strictly first-come-first-served basis, so please ensure that you reply quickly to the invitation if you want to be certain of a space. Ray Buss (ray.buss@virgin.net 07981 334282) will again be harbourmaster.
May 7
Montgomery Canal Triathlon. See page 23
May 28-30
Crick Boat Show. www.crickboatshow.com
June 11-12
IWA Rally at Eldonian Village, Liverpool, part of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal Bicentenary celebrations. See page 28
June 17-19
Middlewich Folk & Boat Festival. www.midfest.org.uk
August 20-21
Whitchurch Gathering of Boats. See page 19
September 3-4
Maesbury Canal Festival. See opposite page 17
IWA Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch Notice is hereby given for the 2016 Annual General Meeting of the Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch of The Inland Waterways Association to be held at The Narrowboat Inn, Ellesmere Road, Whittington SY11 4NU on Monday, April 11, 2016 at 7.00pm All branch members are very welcome to attend the AGM and, if desired, the branch business meeting that follows. The formal notice of the AGM agenda will be posted on the branch's web page in due course (www.waterways.org.uk/shrewsbury)
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Maesbury Canal Festival 2016 With just under a year to go it's time to start thinking about another festival at Maesbury to be held during the first weekend in September next year. However, we need your help – and not just during the weekend – before things can progress. The bi-annual festival has grown out of Monty 08, which was an initiative of your IWA branch committee – 'grown' being the operative word! The event, which is now jointly organised by members of IWA Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch and the Friends of the Montgomery Canal, has gone from strength to strength. Last year there were over 50 stalls including demonstrations, the very popular children's WOW activities, live music, fairground rides, horse drawn boat trips, a dog show, old working boats on display, a photographic competition (the winning photograph which is shown, was taken by Peter Richards), a marching band, gurning competitions with the help of boat horse Cracker's collar, flyboat Saturn ... the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, with a combined age of well over 400 (whereas the Rolling Stones might be aging rockers but are mere babes Fairground fun at the 2014 Maesbury festival [Peter Richards] at just 285), members of the organising committee have succumbed over the years to broken bones, dodgy hips, a cracked skull, a quadruple bypass, a pacemaker, and arthritis. Not even the special surgical shoes have managed to put a spring back in our step! Yes, you've guessed it: we are getting older! It's a difficult thing to admit but we really need more help to organise everything. Just two more volunteers would make a huge difference; we would give a big welcome to anyone who could devote a bit of time and a few organisation skills, perhaps co-ordinating the layout and booking of the stalls or in any other area of interest. If you can help make this festival happen in 2016, please get in touch with me as soon as possible and join the organising team from the beginning. My details are on page 4. Will you help? We hope to hear from you. Dawn Aylwin
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Mixed fortunes at Whitchurch Waterway Trust Lindsay Green describes how a successful boat rally went some way towards lifting the disappointment of an unsuccessful lottery-funding bid The 22nd Whitchurch boat rally, held over the weekend of 5-6 September, was another very successful event that provided entertainment for the local community and welcome publicity for the work of the Whitchurch Waterway Trust. The ceilidh band Jigsmith worked incredibly hard, playing all weekend to create a great festival atmosphere. Thanks to the support of Canal & River Trust, which provided a boat, and the Small Task Team Volunteers, who provided the allimportant crew, the public was able to enjoy free boat rides along the Whitchurch Arm and Llangollen Canal. Over the two days, some 29 trips carried a total of 241 people (and four dogs!), raising over £115 in the on-board collection bucket for the work of WWT.
Decorated boats on the Whitchurch Arm [WWT]
Lots more dogs – and their owners – enjoyed the dog show, which has become one of the favourite attractions during the rally, providing a happy mixture of boaters and local residents. Thanks are due to Leonard Brothers Veterinary Centre of Whitchurch and Crewe for judging this for the past few years. Over £2,000 was raised towards the small mooring basin we are hoping to build.
It felt appropriate for the bicentenary year of the Battle of Waterloo to choose ‘Waterloo’ as the theme for the Best Decorated Boat, though it seemed to cause some amusement among the judges, who included Cllr. Malcolm Pate, Chairman of Shropshire Council, Cllr. Tony Neville, Deputy Mayor of Whitchurch, Wendy Capelle, Waterway Manager of CRT North Wales & Borders, Alan Platt, a member of our local Waterway Partnership and Cllr. Tom Biggins, our local Shropshire Councillor. The winner was nb Grapevine owned by a certain Mr & Mrs Aylwin, who will be familiar to your readership! On a more serious note, readers may be aware that the WWT’s bid for Heritage Lottery Funding was unfortunately unsuccessful, although as the trust has gained full planning permission from Shropshire Council for an extension of the canal into Shroppie Fly Paper
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a new basin, it is investigating the possibility of splitting the work into phases and applying for smaller grants. Quotes are being obtained and fingers are crossed. The maintenance team of two is itching to get digging! To help the trust in its endeavours IWA Shrewsbury & North Wales Branch has funded the printing of an information leaflet giving details of the plans. At the boat rally Bill Young, chairman of WWT, thanked David Aylwin who presented the cheque on behalf of the branch, and explained that it is hoped to proceed with the plans in two stages. The first is to reinstate the towpath and the second to create the basin, which it is hoped will provide more visitor moorings. It is estimated that ÂŁ200,000 will be needed for the towpath work and ÂŁ350,000 for the basin. You can help by joining the Trust; details at www.whitchurchwaterways.uk Finally, the date for the 2016 Whitchurch boat rally is the 20-21 August, again earlier than usual. Please put the date in your diary now.
Make a Difference... Meet new friends and learn new skills - there are plenty of opportunities in our IWA branch area to join in as a volunteer, so there's bound to be just the thing for you. If your inclination and interests are of a less physical variety, IWA Shrewsbury & North Wales Branch can offer you worthwhile and rewarding opportunities to help our local waterways. Many needn't involve membership of the branch committee, though if you would like to join the committee we would be delighted to hear from you. Simply get in touch with the branch secretary at shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk or call 01691 830403 and let us know what you're interested in. If you fancy lots of fresh air and some more physical tasks, you could choose from... Small Tasks Team Volunteers - smalltasksteam@hotmail.com Shropshire Union Middlewich Branch Adopters - sumbacanal@gmail.com Audlem Towpath Taskforce - 07771 831340 Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust - volunteer@sncanal.org.uk Friends of the Montgomery Canal - friends@montgomerycanal.co.uk Shropshire Union Canal Society - secretary@shropshireunion.org.uk If you like getting your hands really dirty and want to learn how to use seriously big toys, why not try IWA's very own Waterway Recovery Group for more information contact enquiries@wrg.org.uk Autumn/Winter 2015
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Shropshire Union Fly-Boats
The Jack Roberts Story
It was a happy coincidence that I started to read this book moored at Barbridge, which is where Jack Roberts lived as a boy. He came from a boating family with his grandfather having run away from the workhouse to hitch a ride on a boat near Llangollen aged about 12. The Shropshire Union Canal Company was unusual in that it operated boats itself, especially the fly boats, which travelled non-stop from Ellesmere Port all over the system, with priority at locks and for loading and discharging cargoes. Most memoirs of working boatmen have been about No 1’s (owner/drivers in modern parlance) who lived on their boats, whereas the fly boat crews lived ashore. Jack stayed at school until he was 14 in 1908. By then he had already helped out his father, and other relatives during the holidays, and had been to Newtown on the Montgomery, Birmingham, Manchester via the Bridgewater and down the Shrewsbury and Newport. These and later trips are all recorded in the book in exhaustive detail with full accounts of the loads carried, the horses used, and the various wharves where they made deliveries. Although employed by the company the skippers were paid piece rates and paid the crew and supplied the horse. The fly boats operated ideally with a crew of four, all of whom would be needed at locks, but otherwise there would be a steerer and a (horse) driver on duty. A typical journey when they were not working Fly, picked at random, was as follows: Left Ellesmere Port at 4.30am on Saturday, to Barbridge by 4pm and stayed at home on Saturday night. Fed and groomed the horse on Sunday morning and then left at 9am and by 8pm tied up at Goldstone for the night. The next day, they finished off the Shroppie and started down the Staffs & Worcs to Wombourn for the night. On Tuesday they started at 7am and arrived at Kidderminster at 4pm ready to unload. When they were working Fly with a full crew and, most importantly, a change of horses, they got there faster. Peter Brown has produced a detailed analysis of the book's journey times on page 26, so I will only remark that the fly boat ones in particular seem amazing to the modern leisure boater. But with four men in a crew, lock keepers aplenty and Shroppie Fly Paper
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priority at the locks they could get a move on; it also appears that modern protocols of lock working were not then in practice. Many boaters died from accidents on the cut, not surprising if you’re working a lock in a hurry at night in the winter. In a particularly gruesome recollection, Jack describes how he saw "a boatman's wife's head severed, when the windlass flew off the winch". Whether in mitigation, he observes that "the boatman was a hard case and very careless, and mostly had too much beer". Those who cavil at the modern emphasis on ‘health and safety’ should perhaps reflect on this. Jack was a skipper in his teens and served on the fly boats until World War 1 when he joined up. Until then there was plentiful trade, and the job paid well. After the war he went back to working for the SUCC, until suddenly in 1921 the company announced that it was ceasing to be a carrier. The Shropshire Union was owned by the railway, and Jack was re-deployed there for 14 years until he again got a job on the canal – now as a maintenance man. He found it very changed. He worked variously out of Norbury, Chester and Ellesmere and describes cleaning out the Chirk and Pontcysyllte aqueducts. Finally he was a lengthsman until retirement, when he went to live in Whitchurch. Two years later he was asked to skipper a horse drawn hostel boat ‘Margaret’ until 1968 when he would have been 74. He wrote his memoir in 1969 having taken part in the famous Big Dig at Welshpool, three years before his death in 1972. Jack describes his book as a ‘story of practical life on the Shroppie and other canals’, and that is a very fitting name for it; it is not an autobiography as such. He details the names of all his mates, skippers and horses but mentions the fact that he got married twice, (both wives predeceasing him) without telling us the wives’ names! He refers to them as ‘the wife’ or ‘Mrs Roberts’, just as when he earlier spoke of his father, he called him ‘the Skipper’. The book has been edited by Harry Arnold, Sue Cawson and Tony Lewery, (all Saturn stalwarts) and Peter Silvester of Audlem Mill, who also published it, and it is profusely illustrated. The editors have done an excellent job, resisting any temptation to make it a literary masterpiece, and it reads very well. To follow the journeys down well-known cuts is a pleasure, and even better is to realise that the narrative is on currently closed waterways such as the Prees or Weston arms or the Shrewsbury and Newport canals. There is also an excellent glossary so I now know what ‘baccering’ means. History to me is interesting only when it deals with people and in that regard, and as a general waterway enthusiast, I found it an immensely enjoyable and informative book, and I reckon an excellent source for the serious canal historian. Alan Platt Autumn/Winter 2015
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Winter walk near Nantwich Saturday, January 2, 2016 10.00 for 10.30am start The branch's annual New Year's walk will be on Saturday, January 2 when we will walk the approximately four miles from Cholmondeston Lock on the SU Middlewich Branch to The Badger Inn at Church Minshull, with the aim of arriving there in time for lunch! The walk will begin promptly at 10.30am, so those wishing to join the walk should arrive from 10.00am at Venetian Marina (CW5 6DD) where car parking is available. Branch member and co-ordinator of the Shropshire Union Middlewich Branch Adopters (SUMBA) – Graham Russell – has agreed to guide the walk, and he and members of his team will be on hand to explain the pleasures and challenges of adopting a length of waterway, the successes so far some eighteen months into the Minshull Lock on the Middlewich Branch [Andrew Tidy] adoption and what SUMBA still aims to achieve. The group has also kindly offered to provide notes for walkers on items of interest on our route. This year’s walk breaks with recent tradition in that it is not a circular route, so while energetic and enthusiastic walkers have the opportunity to retrace their steps back to Cholmondeston, IWA and SUMBA members have volunteered to provide transport from Church Minshull back to Venetian Marina for those who feel that the one-way walk is quite enough fresh air for one day! The Winter Walk is usually a popular event, so we hope to see plenty of members and their friends on the day. Please note that the trail involves crossing a small number of stiles, takes in the canal towpath and woodland tracks and is not hard surfaced, so please wear appropriate footwear. If you know you would like to join the walk, a quick text to 07801 415573 or email to michael.haig@waterways.org.uk would be much appreciated to help us plan transport logistics, and to give the pub an indication of how many lunch guests to expect. Sample lunch menus can be found on The Badger’s website at www.badgerinn.co.uk. Michael Haig Shroppie Fly Paper
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2016 Montgomery Canal Triathlon Saturday May 7th 2016
Complete one section or attempt all three Covering 35 miles of the Canal in one day: CYCLE 17 miles from Newtown to Pool Quay WALK 11 miles from Pool Quay to Morton CANOE 7 miles from Morton to the Weston Arm, Lower Frankton.
The triathlon follows the route of the Montgomery Canal. The cycling section is along cycleway-standard towpath. The walking section is generally flat but some lengths are unsuitable for wheelchairs. There are several fixed wooden stiles, tree roots and possible livestock on the path.
For entry forms visit MaesburyCanalFestival.co.uk
First Aiders will follow the entrants along the route. Refreshments and toilets will be available at Crowther Hall, Morton Farm and at the Weston Arm. All entrants who complete a section will receive a commemorative medallion made from local slate.
Organised by The Friends of the Montgomery Canal in support of The Maesbury Canal Festival
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CRT asks boaters to do the splits Some readers may have noticed that recycling bins – an unfamiliar species in the waterways habitat – have emerged at a number of ‘boaters’ waste’ locations in our area since the summer. CRT announced back in July that its North Wales & Borders Waterway (covering our branch area and a bit more besides) had been selected to trial the introduction of recycling facilities before a decision on a roll-out of the scheme nationwide.
Fly tipping at Norbury waste compound [Ira Theobold]
At the recent User Forum in Nantwich, waterway manager Wendy Capelle and her team provided some clarity that should help boaters make better use of the facilities and avoid the missegregation of rubbish that, in waste disposal-speak, ‘contaminates’ whole bin loads, meaning that the potential recycling is just dumped as general waste and the cost to CRT from waste disposal contractor Biffa is doubled.
So here is the boater’s guide to successful recycling, as explained to us by CRT. Boaters’ waste compounds now have separate bins, in addition to those for general waste, for mixed glass and dry mixed recycling (DMR). The mixed glass wheelie bins can accept empty bottles, jars and broken household glassware. The larger DMR “Euro-bins” can accept paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, hard plastics, aluminium and steel cans. However, importantly, plastic bags cannot be accepted in either of the recycling bins and must be placed in general waste. This includes any plastic bags that may have been used to hold and store boaters’ recycling. If any plastic bags are in the recycling bins Biffa will deem the load ‘contaminated’, charge CRT for a failed recycling pick-up and charge it again for collection by a different vehicle. [Don’t ask! Ed.] All food waste must continue to go in the general waste bins, and the normal prohibitions continue to apply for other waste materials, such as electrical appliances, engine oil, diesel fuel, used batteries and other toxic waste. These should be disposed of at a local household waste recycling centre. Shroppie Fly Paper
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Recycling bins are available at all CRT waste compounds in the North Wales & Borders area except Hurleston, Barbridge, Northwich town centre and Market Drayton (Betton Road). If you have any comments or suggestions about the idea of boaters recycling, or its implementation, we would be happy to hear from you (email the editor) and collate your views into a response for CRT. Michael Haig
A tale of two Lasses “Audlem Lass” began its fifth year at Overwater Marina at the beginning of April on Good Friday, a cold and wet start to the season. Despite some unseasonal cold and wet weekends, particularly during June and July, the service has remained popular and carried over 4,400 people as well as 300 dogs this year on the weekend/bank holiday trips between the marina and Audlem (enquiries to hello@audlemlass.co.uk or via www.audlemlass.co.uk). To provide for those using mobility aids, a second boat, “Maughan Lass”, entered service in July. The Maughan Lass Wheelyboat has ‘roll on-roll off’ wheelchair access with enhanced stability and an electric engine, making her quiet and comfortable. So far the Wheelyboat has carried over 300 people and for some this was their first experience of travelling on a canal. In 2016 the Maughan Lass at Overwater [Janet Farmer] service will run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays between April and October. At the moment advance bookings are needed through Overwater Marina on 01270 812677, info@overwatermarina.co.uk, or overwaterwheelyboat.co.uk More volunteers are always needed to help us maintain the boat service, and it’s very pleasing that our 2015 campaign has generated three new young crew members (under the age of 18) and five adults to give a total of 27 volunteers at present. Adults are RYA certified to helm the boat. Joe Hoyles Autumn/Winter 2015
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Horse boat timings Thanks to Tom Foxon and other writers, we know a lot about the practicalities of motor boating on canals. We know much less about horse boating, even something as simple as how fast did horse-drawn boats typically go. The recently-published Shropshire Union Fly-Boats: the Jack Roberts Story helps give a tentative answer. An appendix gives the timings of various journeys. After eliminating those where the timing is too vague or there are intermediate stops of unspecified length, we are left with twelve journeys: From Ellesmere Port Bunbury Welshpool Bunbury Audlem Brewood Ellesmere Port Barbridge Trevor Birmingham Ellesmere Port Chester
To Bunbury Frankton (below locks) Bunbury Ellesmere Port Goldstone Wolverhampton Autherley Knighton Calveley Wheaton Aston Cox Bank Trench
Hours 9½ 16 24½ 7½ 5 4½ 36 10 19 8 19 32½
Miles 21 33 55 21 9 7 66 22 46 23 36 54
Locks 14 23 34 14 22 21 42 27 21 25 29 70
Then, using a statistical technique called regression analysis, it is possible to estimate the average number of minutes it took to travel a mile or go through a lock. First, a few caveats. As the editors say in the book: ‘It must be borne in mind that Jack Roberts was writing from memory, so his timings can only be approximate. However, his long experience of boating must mean that these timings are realistic.’ Although most of the journeys were by fly boat working continuously day-and-night with a crew of four, changing horses every several hours, some were by stage boat, typically with a crew of two and no change of horses. The journeys were undertaken at all times of the year and in all types of weather. Between Chester and Bunbury the locks were broad; between Wappenshall and Trench they were guillotine; the rest were normal narrow locks — also some were single and some in flights. And just twelve examples isn’t enough for a really robust answer. The regression analysis showed that, to a 90% confidence level, one mile took approximately 24 minutes — a speed of 2.5 miles per hour — and locks took an Shroppie Fly Paper
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average of 7 minutes to go through. I think these figures feel right. My mathematical model of the country’s canal network, written in BASIC some thirty years ago, assumed default values of 2½mph, 8 minutes for a narrow lock and 12 minutes for a broad lock, and I found these gave reasonably accurate timings for my actual canal journeys with a crew of two. Peter Brown I am very grateful to my daughter Alex for doing the analysis. If anyone is interested in the detail, I can provide further information: contact me at peter.brown@waterways.org.uk .
Wild Over Waterways Over 200 children (and several adults) took part in children's WOW activities at events throughout the branch area this spring and summer. The noise created by the ever-popular foghorns drew in crowds of children on Saturday at the Making Waves weekend in Welshpool. Having made the horns the children soon became fascinated by all the other activities on offer from brass rubbing to making a paper 'lace plate'. Especially popular was the crafting of animals, from knotted or woven dragonflies to paper plate creations of butterflies and other creepy crawlies. One fairly new WOW activity is the 'build an arched canal bridge' kit which was Perfecting a caterpillar [Dawn Aylwin] monopolised from time to time by adults (male and female) who thought it was easy but soon discovered to their shame that children were far better bridge builders. In fact Brandon outshone everyone and soon had bridge building down to a fine art - an engineer in the making? It was not just the children who enjoyed taking part, the volunteers who helped to supervise each activity also has a great time. The busier it got the more fun we had. If you would like to borrow the WOW kit for an event near you or join in and help at one of the regular waterways festivals please get in touch. Dawn Aylwin Autumn/Winter 2015
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The 2016 Eldonian Waterways Festival on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Liverpool June 11 & 12, 2016 The Inland Waterways Association is joining forces with local community groups, Eldonian Village housing association and Liverpool City Council to celebrate the bicentenary of the completion of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in 1816. The Eldonian Waterways Festival will provide a programme of cultural and family events, including live music, historic working boats, get afloat activities, arts & crafts and brass bands. There will be free boat trips for visitors to enjoy the spectacle of over 100 canal boats gathered together at the festival site. Some of the UK’s finest examples of historic narrowboats, motors and butties will line the canal side with many boats open to the public to showcase our unique narrowboat heritage. Visitors will be able to view the unique boatman’s cabins that were homes for whole families, experience historic engine demonstrations and get insights into the working lives of the old Leeds & Liverpool boatmen, who contributed so much to power the Industrial Revolution, developing Liverpool as one of the world’s leading industrial cities and ports. With the proximity of the historic Stanley Locks, the festival will be given a whole new dimension with boats arriving from Liverpool Waterfront and the River Mersey. The Mersey River Festival, at which IWA will also be present, takes place on the waterfront the preceding weekend (June 4-5). We are expecting high demand for boat entries for the festival. If you would like to come and join in the fun, you can get boat entry forms from Scarisbrick Marina office or online at www.waterways.org.uk/chester/eldonian_village_canal_festival_2016 Mike Carter IWA 2016 Eldonian Festival Entries Officer mike.carter@waterways.org.uk - 07795 617803 Shroppie Fly Paper
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Kiwis on the 'vine Michael Green tells how a long-distance holiday swap paid off My old granny used to say ‘Fair exchange is no robbery’. My partner Penny and I emigrated from the UK to New Zealand forty odd years ago. Still hankering for holidays in ‘the old country’, we placed an advertisement in ‘Waterways World’ offering to swap our motorhome for a UK-based canal boat and received a reply from David and Dawn Aylwin, the owners of nb Grapevine. It may sound a bit of a gamble swapping your ‘prized possession’ with someone half a world away, but with modern technology and a simple agreement it proved relatively painless. It was Penny’s first canal boat trip, and since she had been suffering with sore shoulders I was a little apprehensive about her ability to wind the 125 locks and 15 lift bridges that we had planned during our five-week adventure. Before you criticise me for expecting her to wind the locks at all, I should point out that I did offer to do the winding and let her steer – but in reality Penny managed the locks well and I was the one who ended up with a shoulder problem thanks to standing at the tiller for five weeks! As a keen walker (probably walking Flying the flag at Gailey [Michael Green] half the towpath we cruised) Penny often had the gates open as Grapevine arrived. Occasionally I was in time to assist but was told ‘go back to the boat’. She also enjoyed meeting and talking to other boaters at the locks. At the beginning boaters were showing her what to do, by the end she was showing others what to do. We found a lot of similarities between motor-homing in NZ and canal boating in the UK (including the ‘enjoyable’ ritual of emptying the toilet cassette). We found the service points on the canal excellent (as are the dump station facilities in NZ). Similarly, being able to moor freely in beautiful locations on the canal is comparable to our ability to free park in designated parking zones in NZ – often right on the beach. I am sure most readers will know more about the lovely canals than we do after only Autumn/Winter 2015
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five weeks, so I will not bore you with a detailed description of our journey but relate one or two incidents that were special for us. Some days into the cruise we moored at Wheelock and caught the bus from Sandbach to Crewe. On arrival we called into the bus depot office for a timetable and asked the Depot Manager, “is there a medieval or interesting part of the city we can head for?” “This place is a dump,” he replied. “Just jump on that bus over there going to Nantwich, it’s a much more interesting place.” We took his advice. During the conversation we also mentioned our intention to walk to Little Moreton Hall, the National Trust Property near Congleton. A walker himself, he offered to draw us a map with directions for a circular route that would take in the historiv manor house, and delivered it to us at Rode Heath later that evening. What a star! Next day we set off, map in hand. His route took us alongside the Macclesfield Canal where to our amazement we spotted nb Rangitoto, named after one of a group of volcanic islands near Auckland. Two months before our visit we had invited the NZ owners of Rangitoto to our house to pick their brains about canalboating. We knew they were in the UK, but had no idea where. So with over 3,600 miles of navigable waterways in Britain to choose from we stumbled across them, also visiting Little Moreton Hall. And all because we met a man in Crewe. We flew the New Zealand flag on Grapevine and as we passed boats with Australian flags, of which there were a fair few, we would challenge them with the Hakka and give them some good hearted heckling about their rugby team. Heading back towards Whitchurch towards the end of our cruise I hung back at a bridge hole as a downstream boat came through, also flying the New Zealand flag. “Gidday, where you from?” asked the skipper. “Whangaparaoa.” [A peninsula north of Auckland, Ed.] “Whereabouts on the Whangaparaoa? It turned out that not only did we live only three miles apart, but we had both swapped our New Zealand motorhomes for UK canal boat holidays. It’s a small world. So we thank Dawn and David (and, of course, Grapevine) for a great experience and look forward to meeting them at Auckland Airport early next year. If any reader has any questions about holidaying in NZ or would like to consider swapping for a trip of a lifetime for the cost of the airfare, please feel free to email me. mikegreen.theauthor@gmail.com Shroppie Fly Paper
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Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch Calendar 2016 The 2016 calendar has been selling well at the events the branch has attended over the summer and at our outlets at Aqueduct and OverWater marinas, Audlem Mill and Kings Lock Chandlery, which have been restocked as necessary. If you can't get to one of these or if they sell out, we also happily supply calendars by mail order at a cost of ÂŁ6.30 including p&p from: IWA SDNW Calendars, 7 Barnton Edge, Stone ST15 8ZR Phone 01785 813550 to confirm availability and make cheques payable to The Inland Waterways Association, please. The calendar will also be available at the Shrewsbury Christmas Card Shop in St Mary's Church during November. If you haven't already got a copy for yourself or your friends and family, now is your chance to do so. It's a perfect Christmas gift or stockingfiller, with twelve super pictures on its A4 pages of scenes from around our branch area on the Llangollen, Montgomery and Shropshire Union canals. All the money raised from sales of the calendar, as well as from our other fund raising activities, stays locally, helping us to support the waterways in our area and the top restoration causes on the Montgomery, Shrewsbury & Newport and the Whitchurch Arm. The calendar is our single largest fund raising project in the year and we are very grateful to all of you who support it so generously. We are also very grateful for the goodwill and generosity of our sponsors who underwrite the production costs and make the calendar possible. Please in turn support them when you can: Aqueduct Marina 01270 525041 - Bluerhodfa Consulting, Web Design & Hosting 07803 164802 - Cheshire Cat Narrowboat Holidays 07867 790195 - Kings Lock Chandlery 01606 737564 - M & L Canal Services and Mobile Engineer 07970 384047 - Mercia Marine Insurance 01684 564457 - Midway Boats 01270 528482 - Morris Lubricants 01782 410391 - OverWater Marina 01270 812677 - Swanley Bridge Marina 01270 524571 - Talbot Wharf 01630 652641 - Venetian Marina 01270 528251
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In support of Maesbury Canal Festival
A super selection of songs, Sketches & Silent cinema 7.30pm at llanymynech village hall Friday 4th december
Méliès A Trip to the Moon A silent film named as one of the 100 greatest films of the 20th century
Flanders & Swan Songs Sketches by Nostalgia Part of the Llanymynech Amateur Dramatic Society
g
Includin 6 £pie & mulled wine
mince
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Tickets:- Village shops, The Iron Works, Herbarium, Rowenthorn, Old Chapel Court, Oswestry. Angie 01691 662216 Judith 01691 831455
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