Endeavour - November 2022

Endeavour

Northampton Branch

NORTHAMPTON ARM

The Wootton We don

t just talk about towpaths, we improve them!

IWA Northampton branch adopted the Northampton Arm of the GU Canal in 2013. There are 24 regular work parties each year, and in recent years we have been partnered on the weekdays by staff from Cummins Power Systems in Daventry.

Over the years there had been a number of housing developments to the west of the town through which the Arm runs.

Over the last 10 years various council initiatives have used Developer Contributions to fund vast improvements to the towpath between lock 17 (Northampton Town Centre) to beyond lock 14 where the housing area now extends.

Continued on pages 10 & 11 Also see page 26 from CRT

waterways.org.uk/northampton

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With the cost of living going up and with everything costing more, CRT have incurred price rises on materials etc. So to cover their shortfall they have increased the licence fee from October by 4% in mid year so anyone buying a licence in October the increase is 8%. That seems OK for them to put up the licence fee without any consultation so that they can balance their books!

Johnathan Smith IWA Interim CEO says we are facing losses in our investments value that is critical to IWA. To mitigate these losses we have reduced staff but still need to increase the membership subscription from January 2023 to £51 from £36 per year; the first increase for 10 years. But that doesn't help boaters that are struggling as well!

Looking on the brighter side of boating it’s been raining and CRT have now opened the canals that were closed due to shortage of water, Then we get a message beware of flooding.

As you have seen on the front page, the Branch Adoption Team along with Cummins Power Systems have been busy repairing the towpath from a muddy walk to a nice dry hard surface making it safer for both walkers and cyclist. There is also a report from Adrian Lowe CRT Midlands Operations Manager on page 24.

If you would like to join them, they have work parties twice a month see page 10 for details.

This is your magazine for you to voice your opinion please send me anything that you would like to share with your fellow members /boaters.

Have you planned your cruises for next year? Don’t forget to take photos and send me your experiences of your trips all the mishaps and the good parts. Where there are good moorings or your favourite pub, it all helps others going on that stretch of canal for the first time.

Have a great Christmas and look forward to your New Years Resolutions Send your trip report to Endeavour.

IWA Northampton Branch has a Facebook page. It is at https://www.facebook.com/IWANorthamptonBranch Members will find posts there about our talks, Task Party dates and much more, as well as being able to use it for discussion purposes. We’d like to hear your views. We also have a Twitter account @northamptoniwa where you can leave us a message or engage in discussion on what’s happening.

DIARY DATES

December

13th 7.30pm IWA Northampton Branch Christmas Quiz at The Boat Inn Stoke Bruerne Quiz Master John Pomfret — Pit your wits against the brains of Northamptonshire at this seasonal Quiz Prize for best Decorated Christmas Table and Person.

January 9th 2.30pm IWA Northampton Branch meeting at The Boat Inn Stoke Bruerne –Film Afternoon. Bring along your memories of interesting boating trips or historic footage of the waterways in Northamptonshire DVD or CD Rom preferred.

February 14th 2.30pm IWA Northampton Branch meeting at The Boat Inn Stoke Bruerne – Roger Butler — A Romantic Honeymoon 1962 A romantic pioneering voyage across England and Wales with fascinating photos of urban and rural canals. Valentines Themed Talk and Quiz + Prize for Best Valentine Decorated Table, Person or Hat.

March 14th 7.30pm IWA Northampton Branch AGM at The Boat Inn Stoke Bruerne followed by Jane Hamilton — Bedford to Milton Keynes Update. An update on the work of the proposed Bedford to Milton Keynes waterway linking the Grand Union to the River Ouse.

IWA Northampton Branch web site www.waterways.org.uk/northampton

Branch Chairman’s Jottings

byBernardMorton

Here we are in what has been one of the mildest autumns that I can remember. It is now the middle of November, and the unseasonal weather leaves us with a dilemma as to what to wear. Do you need a thick jumper? Do you need a coat? And what about hats and gloves? Fortunately, with all the highly inflated costs for electricity and gas, we have hardly used our central heating so far long may it continue!

ANNUAL BRANCH DINNER. This event has just taken place and it was a most enjoyable evening. The Boat Inn did us proud with tasty food and good service which was acknowledged by all.

We were delighted to welcome Athina Beckett, a member of the Buckingham Canal Society for around 29 years, who gave a short talk on recent progress with their restoration. Also invited was Les Etheridge and his wife Anne. Les is IWA National Chairman, and it was gratifying to hear him acknowledge the achievements of our Branch and, in particular, our volunteering effort on the Northampton Arm.

Talking of our volunteering effort, I was pleased to meet Roger Ireland and his daughter Charlotte who were invited so Roger could be presented with our John Faulkner Award. Roger is a long-term volunteer who has clocked up an amazing 700+ hours since he began in 2013. A very worthy winner of the Award!

A guest requested that, in future, we move our Annual Dinner away from the Remembrance weekend and I would like to hear what other members feel about this. We moved away from the Bonfire Night weekend as people either wanted to celebrate with their children/grandchildren or needed to stay home and watch over their pets (our dog becomes a quivering wreck when the fireworks start). Avoiding these two events, this would lead us to Saturday 18th November in 2023. Do let me know your thoughts on this date.

BUCKINGHAM CANAL SOCIETY. In October, Sandie and I were happy to represent the Branch at an Open Day on the Buckingham Arm at Cosgrove. In 2020 Athina Beckett was awarded the IWA Christopher Power Award for canal restoration. She works tirelessly as Volunteer Leader and Work Party Organiser so another worthy winner. Because of covid, it was impossible to mark this

achievement with a public gathering, so this was delayed until October 2022. Along with the Award, Athina was presented with a cheque which she used to commission a mosaic plaque featuring a kingfisher. This plaque has been positioned on the newly restored Bridge 1 just down from Cosgrove Lock. Pete Winkleman, Chairman of MK Dons football team and keen supporter of BCS, was present to perform the official unveiling.

BRANCH SOCIAL MEETINGS. To update you all on our monthly Branch Social Meetings, I am pleased to say that, so far, attendances have increased, and people seem to like the switch to the Boat Inn. The October meeting was an afternoon talk by Mike Constable on Canal Boatwomen Trainees. We learned that we needed to tweak the room layout and manage the thermostat more effectively as the room got very hot (a far cry from The Walnut Tree!).

The November meeting was something very different for us a bit of an experiment. Phil and Denise Underwood entertained us with a musical and theatrical performance of The Boat Horse. The seating was arranged in theatre style and the thermostat turned down lessons learned.

I hope more members (and non members) give our future meetings a go. In December, we have John Pomfret with his Christmas Quiz starting at 7.30pm. There are prizes for the best dressed table and, this year, person an innovation from Lynda Payton, our Meetings Organiser. So, its time to dig out those Christmas jumpers and give them an early outing!

We will continue to trial afternoon meetings in the new year to see how attendances go. For details of these, please see page 4.

Although it seems really early, especially with all this mild weather, I will take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous 2023. Let’s hope our reservoirs are filled to the brim and that CRT has a successful period of repairs and restoration during their winter works programme. We are already thinking about our boating plans for 2023 and would like to head north visiting Lincoln and on up to York. So, we’d like full northern reservoirs with no flooding!

The IWA may not agree with opinions expressed in this magazine, but encourages publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as policy or aWith all the rain that we have had n official announcement unless so stated, otherwise the Association accepts no liability for any matter in the magazine. Neither the editor nor IWA can accept responsibility for any errors or omissions in the magazine, and opinions stated are those of individual contributors. We will, however, gladly publish corrections if notified. The editor reserves the right to shorten or modify articles published in the interests of clarity or space.

The Inland Waterways Association is registered as a charity (No. 212342)

Cummins helped fund and lay with us a recent small extension to the path in 2019.

The recent lockdowns have contributed to a vast increase in foot and cycle traffic along the towpath; many of these walkers and cyclists now use the towpath regularly. There remained a stretch of towpath which was still in its original state, and gets very muddy in wet weather, often passable only by the brave and/or mad!

The small stretch we completed made us think could we improve a bit more?

After many conversations we had a plan! The Parish council were very supportive, CRT were on board, and Cummins were keen to support us by paying for

After a couple of iterations of plans, calculations and

Giving, the organisation that coordinates and verifies Cummins charitable projects. This was duly approved in Early 2022. It was a great turn out of volunteers over the five days for this project, with a total of 518 hours and 95 volunteer visits. Cummins Power Systems contributed 205 of the hours and 41 volunteer visits. A great improvement to this stretch of towpath. to mechanical wheelbarrows in our plans, which also necessitat-

Roll on to May 2022; hot weather, 70 metres of path dug out and levelled, 35 tonnes of gravel barrowed along from the nearest access point, and 30 ice lollies consumed.

After a summer of further refining of our plans, came September; mixed but cooler weather (thankfully), a further 70 metres dug and levelled, 35 tonnes of gravel shifted, laid and compacted, countless cups of coffee drunk, and some new faces amongst the IWA volunteers.

The last full day of work brought heavy rain showers, a visit from CRT’s Richard Parry, and some thoughts on the missing 140 or so metres to lock 13. Roll on 2023…

Stop Press…

On the 10th November the volunteers again came to help CRT clear rubbish from behind the bottom gates and part of the lock chamber of Lock 2 on the Northampton Arm, and on Lock 1 helped repair the paddle gear on the bottom

Rob Westlake and a party from Network Rail worked very well pulling the rubbish out of the lock. There is a safe in the lock but unfortunately after trying it was just too heavy to lift .

Historic Narrowboat, Sculptor Part

II of her journey – Northwich to Ellesmere Port.

When I wrote the article for the February’s edition of the Endeavour, we had hoped that we would have been able to return Sculptor to Stoke Bruerne in time for this summer’s events.

Due to several factors, that was not going to be the case. However, she did return to Stoke Bruerne on 28th October, just 362 days after the start of her northbound adventure.

This is the story of her time in Cheshire and a report of what happened whilst she was there. The report of the work done by the staff and volunteers, along with the details of her journey back to Stoke Bruerne will be in the next edition of Endeavour.

After we left her on the River Weaver on the 8th November, she was taken into the Northwich Paint Dock, where Bob Hegenbarth commenced working on Sculptor. Everything was stripped back to bare metal or wood and all the fittings, portholes, cabin roof bullseye, cabin and engine room doors and slides were removed and most of the preparation work was done by Christmas as the photos on Bob’s Facebook pages show.

Sculptors forend and decks in undercoat

Kathryn Dodington and I had the privilege of visiting Northwich on 16th January and to see first hand the work that Bob was carrying out. By that time, the three primer coats had been applied and at least two of the undercoat colours had been completed. Over the next few weeks, Sculptor was fully repainted, and everything put back together in readiness for the short trip back out onto the River Weaver and up through Hunt’s Lock to take the sharp turn into the channel that leads towards the weir, where the Dry Dock is situated. There she was placed on the bostocks, and the water drained away so that the whole of the hull and bottom could be pressure washed and inspected by Mike Carter, the Waterways Museum consultant boat inspector and registered marine surveyor. Sculptor was treated below the waterline with a 2 pack epoxy resin and blacked above the water line and up to the gunnels. She was only in

the dry dock for a week and was returned to the moorings below Hunt’s Lock. Throughout this period, Sculptor was moored on the River Weaver and cared for by Matt and Rebekah Parrott and Reuban Carter, who kept the bilges pumped and ensured everything was safe and secure.

Plans were prepared for the return journey, but nothing was going to be simple. The Ellesmere Port Boat Care Technician who had been with Sculptor for the northbound trip left the museum and various plans were made by the Stoke Bruerne team. However, the prospect of Sculptor attending the Easter Boat gathering at Ellesmere Port seemed to be a wonderful opportunity, just too good to miss. This was welcomed by the team at Ellesmere Port and plans were put in place for Sculptor to join a small flotilla of historic vessels for the trip down the River Weaver and onto the Manchester Ship Canal and into the Museum.

All the required paperwork was put in place, though as anyone who has attempted this trip will know, this is not a simple process, Mike Carter made the necessary arrangements for Sculptor to have a certificate of sea worthiness and a booking

Sculptor in Northwich Dry Dock photo Sue Cawson

Sculptor on the moorings River Weaver

was made with Peel Ports, Liverpool along with the appropriate fee of £65. I was one of the named skippers, along with Nigel Carpenter, a fully trained volunteer from Ellesmere Port Museum. Arrangement were made for me to stay at the hotel within the Ellesmere Port complex and I travelled up on Maundy Thursday 14th April. Earlier that day I learned that Nigel had tested positive for Covid, so was unable to be with me. As the hotel had been booked, I travelled up but last minute plans and many phone calls did not enable the trip to be made. I have a standard assessment from the Canal and River Trust for taking an historic narrowboat on Class B canals, but this did not cover me for the River Weaver and the Manchester Ship Canal. Even a plan

Under Dutton Viaduct

On Manchester Ship Canal approaching Ellesmere Port Waterways Museum

was made for me to do the trip breasted up with another vessel, but this was finally discounted as the vessel were not of compatible length or height above the water.

I enjoyed the next 3 days helping the staff and volunteers at Ellesmere Port to stage the Easter Event and to ensure all the other historic narrowboats and river craft were brought into the Museum, the majority travelling up from Chester on the Shropshire Union Canal in a long convoy of some forty narrowboats. Lock demonstrations took up much of the afternoons along with the raking out of the masses of floating reeds and vegetation floating down the Shroppie.

The closure of Anderton Lift due to mechanical problems now meant that the only way Sculptor could leave the River Weaver was via the Manchester Ship Canal.

Later on, Kathryn and I returned again to Northwich on the 31st May to check Sculptor over and ensure she was ready for the rescheduled trip to Ellesmere Port. Some of the essential crew equipment and the lifejackets were put on board. The Boat Care team had to re make all the necessary arrangements with Peel Port, Liverpool to enable Sculptor to travel along the Manchester Ship Canal to Ellesmere Port. Plans were put in place to undertake this unique trip on the 1st July. Nigel Carpenter, Mike Turpin, the newly appointed Boat Care Team Technician met at the Museum at 7.15am. We travelled to the Northwich Canal and River Trust yard and crossed the long footbridge over the Weaver to board Sculptor. After the basic running checks were completed and all the paperwork finalised and signed, we set off down the River Weaver for the 13½ mile and 3 huge locks to join the Manchester Ship Canal. A beautiful morning with warm sunshine and delightful scenery which lasted until we got to the industrial and commercial areas near Runcorn. These river locks are huge (to me) 196ft x 35ft, where Sculptor looked like a model boat! After a short wait in Weston Marsh Lock for the passage along the Manchester Ship Canal of the Mersey Ferries trip boat Snowdrop, we were out onto the hugely wide and deep channel. VHF radio communication with Eastham Locks was established which allowed us to proceed along the canal. Nigel handed me the tiller as we made rapid progress along the Ship Canal for some seven miles to the entrance into the Ellesmere Port Museum basin. Once into the basin, a sharp 90 degree turn was completed to moor up just below the entrance to the Bottom Wide Lock. Now, across this lock is a roadway swing bridge, which is operated by Cheshire West Council. A booking had been made for 15.30, but we had arrived at 13.30! Time to walk up into the Museum for lunch and to view the allotted space where Sculptor was to be moored in the Boatyard. At about 15.00, the man in his little white van appeared and released the bridge jacks and swung the bridge, which allowed us to enter the Museum complex. Up through the narrow locks, around the Island Warehouse and a short reverse brought Sculptor into the dock, which is where she remained until 16th October.

Details of the work done there at the Museum by the Boat Care Volunteers and staff, will be told in Part III which will be published in the next edition of Endeavour. Rob Westlake. Lead Sculptor Team of Volunteers, Stoke Bruerne.

All photos by Rob Westlake unless credited

The Branch is collecting old printer, toner and/or inkjet cartridges for recycling.

I would be most willing to take them off your hands.

This form of recycling may not generate large amounts of funds but, as they say, every little helps.

Please bring them to the Branch meetings or please email me on sandie.morton@waterways.org.uk

When you go cruising again let me know about your trip so we can all share in your experiences. This is where you can suggest new places to visit or to avoid. Write a report about your cruise, let others know the good and not so good places to moor, eat, drink, places of interest worth visiting and anything else that might help others to enjoy that area. Let us know of any mishaps or interesting things that happened on your journey. Include pictures of your cruise, unusual things scenery and anything else that you want to add. I am looking forward to receiving your reports. Or maybe you could tell us about the boats you’ve hired or owned. Email your articles to me, tony.clarke@waterways.org.uk

Roger Ireland receiving the award from Branch Chairman Bernard Morton

Northampton Arm from Adrian Lole CRT

Partnerships are essential to the maintenance and restoration of our beloved canal network. Simply put there are never enough hours in the day for Trust staff alone to address the regular maintenance, the ever growing list of faults or indeed the daily calls for urgent action.

As Area Operations Manager for the South of the East Midlands (3 years in) I often find I am too busy to get out and simply see the good work being done by so many! Of course, I know it’s happening, I have a great team who tell me about all the partnerships, the volunteers, the progress and how satisfying the work is, but that doesn’t always help when you feel tied to a computer screen.

It was a great opportunity and pleasure for me to take some time out and see the recent towpath restoration work on the Northampton Arm. On a rather “temperamental” weather day it was inspiring to see the Team of Volunteers supported by staff from Cummins, mixing with Trust staff and making light work of the task and adding almost 100m of quality towpath. I don’t know how many hours were volunteered on that day or indeed over the duration of the project, but I do know it’s no small amount and would never have been undertaken without the commitment of the IWA and support from Cummins, making it easy for me to offer staff to support the work.

Every trip offers unique opportunities, this trip led to this brief article and opportunity to feed into Endeavour (thanks Geoff) but also a chance to catch up on progress linked to Alcott’s bridge and plans for the replacement. Perhaps we need a regular input on what’s going on across the “patch”?

With the boating season all but done I know a number of IWA Volunteers will be contributing many hours to the vegetation works we are committed to over the next few months and that again is greatly appreciated.

I really enjoyed my brief outing and I know I need to get out more and celebrate the many successes across the network in the South (maybe that’s my New Years resolution sorted). Now does anyone have a home for a second laptop?

Adrian Lole

Hard at work on the towpath

Area Operations Manager East Midlands (South) Interim Regional Operations Manager (East Midlands)

BUCKINGHAM CANAL SOCIETY

The BCS Open Day took place on Saturday 15th October and as well as showing invited guests around our site at Cosgrove and explaining our future plans it also gave them a chance to see the work already achieved.

The other main feature of the day was the unveiling of a mosaic of a Kingfisher by the very talented mosaic artist Melanie Watts. Pete Winkleman chairman of MK Dons had agreed to carry out this task and entertained the audience with a very amusing and informative speech about the work of the Buckingham Canal Society and it's future aims.

The mosaic was funded by the money received to the BCS from the IWA Christopher Power to Award for canal restoration to me in 2020 and I would like to thank the IWA and members who put my name forward for this award.

It was a very special day for me and the society with about fifty people in attendance with some specially invited guest including Richard Parry Head of CRT, local coun-

The other exciting event is the arrival of the dredger recently purchased from CRT which in future will be known as 'Diana the Dredger' Diana will join our other work boats Louise and Perseverance and a tug called Shoveler based at Cosgrove. If any Northants IWA members have been on the Milton Keynes IWA annual clean ups you would have seen 'Diana' in action and we hope she will soon be ' in action' again dredging the Buckingham Canal. Otherwise work parties continue at our Cosgrove, Bourton Meadow and Hyde Lane sites on Tuesdays, Thursdays and on the second Sunday of each month and as we always need more volunteers everybody welcome to join us.

Mosaic plaque Kingfisher on the wall of Bridge one on the Buckingham Arm

From left: Athina Beckett, Melanie Watts, Pete Winkleman and

Branch Chairman

Bernard Morton

07785 375787/ 01604 858294

E mail: bernard.morton @waterways.org.uk

Vice Chairman, Joint Task Party Organiser & Membership Secretary

Geoff Wood

E mail: geoff.wood @waterways.org.uk

Branch Secretary

Sandie Morton 01604 858294

E mail: sandie.morton @waterways.org.uk

Treasurer

Paul Lynam

E mail: paul.lynam @waterways.org.uk

Newsletter & Archivist

Tony Clarke

07305 893924

E mail: tony.clarke @waterways.org.uk

Committee Member

John Pomfret

E mail: john.pomfret @waterways.org.uk

Joint Task Party Organiser

Michael Butler

E mail: michael.butler @waterways.org.uk

Planning Officer

Helen Westlake

E mail: helen.westlake @waterways.org.uk

Committee Member

Catriona Butler

E-mail: Catriona.butler @waterways.org.uk

Non-Committee posts

Website and Media Officers

Gail Anscombe Email: gail.anscombe@waterways.org.uk

Lynda Payton Email: Lynda.payton@waterways.org.uk

Branch Meetings

Lynda Payton

E-mail: lynda.payton @waterways.org.uk