Ouse News - Autumn 2015

The Inland Waterways Association

Ouse News - Autumn 2015 The Great Ouse Branch Newsletter covering the Great Ouse and tributaries Contents: Branch Committee

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Chairman’s Corner

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Branch Outing

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Little Ouse Project

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Viscountess Bury

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River News from EA p9

See the ‘Swan Feed’ at Welney Wetland Centre with us.

Branch News

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Book Review

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River Cam Update

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Northampton Festivalp26 Branch Activities

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Photo: Carole Alderton

Campaigning for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of the Inland Waterways.

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Inland Waterways Association or of the Great Ouse Branch. They are, however, published as being of interest to our members and readers.

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Great Ouse Branch Committee: Chairman: Keith Alderton Tel : 01366 727236 email:keith.alderton@waterways.org.uk

Membership Officer: Peter Webb Tel 01353 658581 email:peter.webb@waterways.org.uk

Secretary: John Hodgson Tel : 01234 344884 email:john.hodgson@waterways.org.uk

Member: Stephen Foote Tel 01763 838936 email:stephen.foote@waterways.org.uk

Treasurer: Enid Hodgson Tel : 01234 344884 email:enid.hodgson@waterways.org.uk

Member: Derek Bradley Tel 01353 661601 email:derek.bradley@waterways.org.uk

Ouse News Editor: Carole Alderton Tel : 01366 727236 email:carole.alderton@waterways.org.uk

Member: Gail Mead Tel 01359 232603 email:gail.mead@waterways.org.uk

Sales Officer: David Anderson Tel : 01480 477227 email:david.anderson@waterways.org.uk

We are a small, friendly group and would welcome another committee member to help us organise meetings and events. Please contact the editor.

(Authorised to examine all private boats and in addition, residential boats provided they are fitted with a gas bubble tester) Additional contact : Ely Boat Chandlers 01353 663095

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Chairman’s Corner The Met Office recently stated that the summer of 2015 was the warmest on record. I don’t know where they take their measurements, but it was certainly not from around any of the canals I visited! To be sure, the early part of July was great; but the weather soon deteriorated throughout August causing us to light the solid-fuel stove on Watermist on more than one occasion.

Needless to say, this did not detract from our enjoyment of our circular cruise around the GU Leicester Section, Welford Arm, Market Harborough Arm, River Soar, River Trent, Trent & Mersey Canal, Coventry Canal, Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, Ashby Canal and North Oxford Canal. We ended our trip on a very wet August Bank Holiday weekend at the Northampton Festival of Water on the River Nene.

During the course of our travels, we spent several days in two cities that we have only ever driven quickly through by car in the past, i.e. Leicester and Nottingham. The simple, but impressive, tomb of King Richard the Third has been very sensitively placed in Leicester Cathedral which, together with the nearby visitor centre, made a fascinating day out; a follow-up visit to the Bosworth battlefield site later on in our trip provided added historical context. Likewise, a visit to Leicester’s National Space Centre proved to be one of the highlights of the holiday, with some awesome spacecraft and equipment on display. We were surprised to learn that Nottingham is situated on a sandstone outcrop that is riddled with hundreds of man-made caves and passages. Visitors can access the caves via an unlikely looking doorway in the new shopping centre and also from the castle battlements.

Both cities are well worth exploring in depth if your travels take you that way.

Ouse News Page 4 I am pleased to report that the long-awaited new mooring regulations on Ely Waterfront have at last been implemented. Boats can now stay for 48 hours without charge, after which the cost of mooring will be £100 per day.

Two wardens have been appointed to enforce the regulations. First impressions are that the scheme is working well and has been warmly welcomed by most genuine boaters. Please follow the link to find out more details: http://www.visitely.org.uk/content/east-cambridgeshire-district-councilowned-moorings We now need the Environment Agency to improve their enforcement activities at the sites for which they are responsible, in order to prevent the growing band of ‘continuous moorers’ from setting up camp further along the river.

On Thursday 22nd October we welcome back the well-known waterways speaker Richard Thomas to talk to us at the first of our winter meetings at Coles Road Community Centre, Milton, Cambridge. It should be a fascinating evening as Richard’s topic this time will be ‘The Highland Canals’.

Please note that in order to plan the catering arrangements for our visit to the Welney Wetland Centre on Wednesday 18th November we need to take advance bookings and payment. I would, therefore, be obliged if you could complete the form shown on page 5 and forward it, together with your cheque, to arrive at the address shown, no later than Friday, 13th November.

Our second lecture meeting on the 26th November will comprise a presentation by RiverCanal Rescue. This should be of interest to all boat owners as, in addition to outlining the services on offer, RCR will explain how to best avoid the most common problems encountered by their engineers.

Hope to see you during the autumn.

Keith Alderton

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W ELNEY W ETLAND C ENTRE Great Ouse Branch Outing on Wednesday, 18th November, 2015 See the swans arrive, have a Sausage & Mash Supper, then watch the Swan Feed.

Photo: David Featherbe

We shall be meeting at the WWT (Hundred Foot Bank, Welney, Nr Wisbech, PE14 9TN) at 3.30 pm on Wednesday, 18th November.

The inclusive cost will be £15.17 for adults, or £13.72 for concessions. Please send your cheque (made out to IWA, Gt Ouse Branch) to Carole Alderton, Holly Cottage, 57 Globe Street, Methwold, Thetford, IP26 4PQ together with the form below by Friday, 13th November.

We hope to see you there!

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Please reserve ...........places on the WWC visit on 18th November I/we would like pork & leek sausages /veggie sausages/gluten free sausages. (Please delete as appropriate) I am enclosing a cheque to the value of £ ...........................................

Name ...................................... Tel no ..................................................

Date ...........................

Ouse News Page 6 Little Ouse Navigation Thetford Town Council has resurrected the plan to restore navigation on the Little Ouse between Brandon and Thetford. Long serving members will perhaps recall that the Branch was heavily involved in the project some years ago, although at that time it did not come to fruition.

Branch committee members, along with other interested parties such as the Forestry Commission, Natural England, Sustrans, RYA, East Anglian Waterways Association, GOBA, the Little Ouse Group, the Environment Agency and Breckland District Council have attended meetings to gauge support for the project and to plan the way ahead. Considerable support has been expressed by the potential ‘user’ organisations, tempered by a more cautious approach from the environmentally focused bodies. There is a potential for conflict between the need to dredge and control the river for navigation purposes and the EA’s wish to promote the ‘wilding’ of such rivers with the construction of gravel bars etc. to hold back flood water in the upper reaches in order to minimise flooding downstream.

The scheme will involve the construction of four new locks and extending the existing lock at Brandon at an estimated cost of £12 million. Needless to say, there is not a pile of cash swilling around to fund such projects. It has been agreed that the sensible way to proceed is to develop an ‘environmental assessment scoping report’ (at a cost of £75-£100k) followed by a draft design of the scheme. Only then can grant funding be sought from the relevant EU, government and National Lottery sources.

It is likely that if the project were to proceed it would be broken down into bite-sized chunks, with work on towpath improvements, cycle routes and canoe access taking place before major capital expenditure on navigation structures.

It is good to see Thetford Town Council taking an enthusiastic lead on this ambitious long-term project and we shall be pleased to offer whatever support we can.

Keith Alderton

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The Viscountess Bury Sometime in the late70s or 80s a man named Kelly used to run public river trips in a boat called the Viscountess Bury and I went on one such trip from Victoria Bridge to Bottisham Lock. In the early 70s, Banhams used the boat to run trips from Elizabeth Bridge to Ely on Wednesdays and Saturdays during the summer months. I went on one of those trips with my mother, which I will come on to later.

The Viscountess Bury had originally been based on the Thames and was powered by an electric motor, but this was later removed and a diesel engine installed. The boat went by sea from the Thames to King’s Lynn and then on to Cambridge. I do not know if she sailed under her own power or was towed on the sea leg. I suspect the diesel engine had been fitted by then, as I doubt that an electric motor would cope with such a journey.

Ouse News Page 8 Perhaps there was a very good reason why they did not go via the inland waterways route, as I thought that it would be possible for them to have gone up the Grand Union Canal to Northampton and down the River Nene to Wisbech and then have a pilot take them on to King’s Lynn. Perhaps some readers could enlighten us on this and later matters. (Note :- If she was a broad-beamed vessel, she would not have been able to navigate the 7-foot wide locks on the Northampton Arm that connects the Grand Union Canal with the River Nene at Northampton. Ed.) W hy was she called the Viscountess Bury? It is apparently nothing to do with Bury St.Edmunds as I once thought. Where is she now? On Radio Cambridge a listener once said that her remains are at a local boatyard, although I was not able to catch where. I would not like to contradict him, but I would be very surprised if she was still around.

About the outing I referred to earlier. My mother and I boarded at Baits Bite Lock and had a very good day.

Not so for a family from Bedford. One of the children had fallen in the water and so the mother decided to take them home as a punishment. I think that this was a knee jerk reaction on her part as the weather was not wet at the time and the child would have dried out, possibly with the help of other passengers and the crew.

She had no idea how far Milton village is from Baits Bite Lock and she would have had to cross a railway line; not an easy thing to do with small children in tow! She could not have realised how bad the local bus service was and once having reached Drummer Street bus station they would then have to take another bus to Cambridge railway station and then catch the United Counties bus to Bedford. They would have been very dry by then!

Robin Adams

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Summer 2015 Response by EA to Issues Raised This Season on the River Great Ouse As the 2015 boating season draws to a close on the River Great Ouse it naturally becomes a time of reflection on how the season went. It’s fair to say that it wasn’t the smoothest of boating seasons on the River Great Ouse and not one I’d want to repeat in a hurry! However, that said, thankfully the multiple breakdowns of locks are a rare occurrence on our system.

Despite the mechanical and technical challenges faced this year, I am truly appreciative and proud of my team’s efforts to overcome what have been difficult circumstances. Without their passion for the job and keeping your interests at heart, river traffic would have been impacted much more seriously. As it turned out we managed the lock breakdowns, ensuring that structures were closed for as short a time as possible and we got river traffic moving again as soon as it was safe to do so. Where concerns still remained we put additional safe operating procedures in place and have provided assisted passage through affected sites.

Ouse News Page 10 I have heard, firsthand, the frustrations this may have caused people, where they have wanted extended locking windows (amongst other comments).

On the flipside, I have also heard genuine appreciation of a helping hand through those sites where our staff have been present and the fact that people like the opportunity to meet with Environment Agency staff on the river. This is something I am keen to see continued regardless of issues at locks and is also suggested in the feedback we have received from you, our customers.

Alongside the verbal comments referred to above, you may also have read much about the Environment Agency and the incidents on the River Great Ouse this summer. Unfortunately the majority of this has been negative. I can’t pretend that it hasn’t been disheartening to read, but my main disappointment has been for my colleagues for whom the limited views of a few could have had a very demoralising impact. All at a time where they had been working many days straight, without a break, to effectively keep the river open and boats moving. Thankfully the potential impact was not realised and it hasn’t deterred us from carrying on doing what we believe is the right thing for the majority of users on the river; keeping it open and moving as far as we possibly can whilst maintaining safety as our top priority.

I must say thank you and state that Ouse News was not involved with the negativity directed at the Environment Agency over the summer. We were also not offered the opportunity by those complaining to provide a response to any of the criticisms being levied at us. Hence the reason that most of the Ouse News editorial space usually devoted to us in this issue has been taken up with our position and response on the common causes for complaint and comment.

Enforcement on Anglian Waterways The Anglian Waterways Team carries out regular and effective enforcement of unregistered vessels. This is reflected, in part, through increasing numbers of registered vessels on Anglian Waterways; currently there are just over 7,000 vessels whereas in 2005 there were less than 5,000.

Ouse News Page 11 Effective enforcement is a high priority for us, as our registration process enables us to regulate safety standards which helps make boating safer on our waterways. Boats register with us every year and must meet our requirements; most need a Boat Safety Scheme Certificate (BSSC) and insurance. The BSSC is similar to a car’s MOT and covers essential minimum safety standards for items such as the gas system, electrical installations, fuel systems, ventilation etc. Boats that register with us must also pay an appropriate charge and this income is essential for maintaining and managing our navigations.

We also have powers to enforce against boats overstaying on moorings we own. Boats are allowed to moor, free of charge, for 48 hours on these moorings. After this time they are required to leave the mooring and find another mooring elsewhere. During busy times demand can lead to a lack of available mooring space, with moorings often filled by boats visiting the area.

It is claimed that some boats overstay beyond 48 hours. The level of ‘policing’ of moorings by the Environment Agency is limited by available staff resources. Policing moorings is a time demanding activity (requiring several visits to monitor conformity) and is a lower priority for the Waterway Team than boat registration enforcement, safety inspection of locks/other assets, ‘day to day’ customer enquiries and the manning of locks, e.g. Hermitage lock at Earith. Our staff will endeavour to visit a moored boat when concerns have been raised, but there are those that feel we should invest more time, and be more proactive, in this area of work.

Our enforcement activity is a regular discussion topic at our Anglian Waterway Group (AWG) which meets approximately every 3 months. This Group is made up of representatives of boating organisations, clubs, boating trade and numerous others. At these meetings we report on registration and enforcement statistics for the previous period. This Group has also agreed our Anglian Waterways Customer Charter which identifies the importance of enforcement activity against unregistered boats, but acknowledges that enforcement against those overstaying on moorings will be a lower priority. In terms of enforcement we feel we are meeting our Charter.

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Maintenance of our navigations The management of our Waterways is reliant on Government funding which has reduced in recent years due to economic pressures. In 2013/14 Government Grant in Aid (GiA) for Anglian Waterways was over £3,400,000; in the current financial year it is just over £1,800,000. This means we have to prioritise and only complete the work we can afford. The income generated through vessel registration (and other activities) has grown steadily over the years, reflecting the growth in the number of participants, but also increases in the registration charges that boat owners pay. In the current year we expect the registration income to achieve £2,280,000 against our total spend of around £4,100,000, i.e. around 55%, with the remaining funding coming from GiA. In the current economic climate funding is under pressure and it is likely GiA for navigation will continue to decline.

We undertake a variety of maintenance activities on our rivers to facilitate navigation on the 568km of Anglian Waterways. The work we undertake includes, mechanical and electrical maintenance of locks, moorings and other navigation structures, management of overhanging trees, management of

Ouse News Page 13 floating vegetation using weed cutter and harvester boats, routine grass and vegetation maintenance around our locks, de-silting/shoal management etc.

We also respond to navigation emergencies and undertake work to repair faults etc.

As funding pressures have increased we have worked hard to increase our income and to make efficiencies. Inevitably, available funding has to be prioritised, but we have worked hard to reduce the impact on maintenance.

We have closed some of our navigation structures, but these tend to be on low use systems where the impact on customers is relatively low. We have also reduced work on de-silting and shoal removal, only undertaking work when there is a significant restriction to navigation. We regularly meet with boating groups and organisations that provide valuable feedback and direction on where we should invest our limited funds. Their feedback influences the maintenance work and repairs we undertake across all our waterways.

Ouse News Page 14 Lock Closures during the summer on the Great Ouse We normally undertake works to locks and other assets during the quieter months of the year (November to Easter) to minimise disruption to customers. However, on the Great Ouse system, 2015 has been unusual because mechanical faults resulted in emergency closures at 4 locks through the busy summer period. All the faults were identified during routine inspections and emergency closures were put in place to ensure that members of the public were not exposed to safety risks. At two sites the safety concerns were quickly addressed, but at St Ives and St Neots locks our staff kept the navigation open by safely locking boats through; although opening times were restricted. St Ives lock was operated by our staff for almost a month. St Neots lock is currently being operated by our staff and this has been in place since 30th June. Although there have been failures at these locks we have worked hard to minimise disruption to boating customers.

We presented a paper on these incidents at our most recent AWG meeting (19 August 2015). Our findings identified there was no single reason for the faults and that a lack of maintenance was not the root cause.

Preliminary Assessment of Faults - The faults we have experienced are all associated with vertical lift gates, commonly known as guillotine gates.

In total, we have 19 guillotine gates at locks on the River Great Ouse system.

Guillotine gates have a planned mechanical service every 6 months and an electrical service annually. The faults experienced during this period have varied between sites: Brownshill Lock - Cause: A component failure on the actuator which is used to power the guillotine gate.

Closed on 30th June 2015. Open on a restricted basis on 1st & 2nd July.

Re-opened on 2nd July 2015.

The failed component is a sealed unit with little maintenance recommended by the manufacturer. Our services plans meet the manufacturer’s maintenance recommendations. We replaced the failed component on 1st & 2nd July.

Ouse News Page 15 Denver Lock - Cause: Defective lifting chains. Closed: 18 June 2015 (late afternoon). Re-opened: 19 June 2015.

Guillotine gates undergo an annual Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) inspection. At Denver lock the inspection identified concerns with the guillotine gate lift chains which were showing signs of deformation (stretching). This is a result of the load they carry; if the chains suffered from corrosion or seized links this could indicate ineffective lubrication/maintenance. Following discussions with the independent LOLER Assessor it was concluded the lock was safe to reopen. The lifting chains will be monitored until they are replaced in the autumn/winter when boat traffic on the river is reduced.

St Ives Lock - Cause: A failed drive shaft fixing/coupling. Closed 3 June 2015. Open on a restricted basis (10:00-6:00 hrs) from 4 June to 8 July 2015. Re-opened: 8 July 2015.

The lock was closed during a site inspection because of the criticality of this component to public safety. This component was serviced during the week commencing 30 March 2015 and the LOLAR inspection of the guillotine gate on 14 May did not identify any issues with the coupling. However, during an inspection on 3 June the coupling had moved and partially disengaged. The coupling was repaired the following day, but because the cause of the fault was not understood, our trained staff operated and monitored the lock. An alternative coupling arrangement was subsequently designed, manufactured and installed.

St Neots lock - Cause:Yet to be established, but the result of the issue is a free running gate. Closed: 30 June 2015. Open on a restricted basis (10:00–16:00 hrs) for remainder of the season.

This is a relatively new structure and we are currently in discussions with the designer to investigate the root cause of the fault. Once this has been established we will undertake any necessary repairs. Until repairs are completed the lock will be open on a restricted basis and can only be operated by our trained staff.

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Ouse News Page 17 Stocks of spares – having standardised equipment means our stock of spares is easier to manage. The benefits of holding spares is clear and was demonstrated at Brownshill lock where fitting a spare actuator meant the repair was completed quickly and efficiently. This reduced inconvenience to boat users and avoided the need to manually operate the lock. The parts that failed at St Ives and St Neots locks were not held as spares as failure of these parts was not envisaged. We will, however, complete a review of the spares we hold across our waterways.

Procurement and design rules - A National led internal review of existing procurement and design rules will be carried out to assess the St Neots lock failure in more detail. This will also comment on the use of standardised equipment and how this would be managed through the procurement process. Relevant findings from the review will be fed back to AWG.

Ouse News Page 18 Volunteering - The Waterways Team, as with the rest of the Environment Agency, endeavours to provide best value for money for any work we carry out. Volunteers assist lock keepers at many ‘manned’ lock sites on the River Thames. It has been inferred that a similar volunteering programme on the River Great Ouse would resolve local issues such as river maintenance and enforcement. Such a programme would have to be different on Anglian Waterways as there are only a few ‘manned’ locks, all of which are tidal and are operated by experienced staff. In order to implement such a programme, a dedicated Volunteer Co-ordinator is required to manage and co-ordinate volunteers and funding for this post is currently not available.

However, Anglian Waterways is successfully working in partnership with other organisations to deliver work on our navigations which otherwise is unaffordable. For example, work with volunteers from the River Stour Trust where, with our support and guidance, a project has recently been successfully delivered by Trust volunteers to refurbish Flatford lock on the River Stour. This lock was previously closed due to structural failings. In 2014, we also put in place an agreement with the Trust to assist with maintenance work on the upstream end of the River Stour navigation. This work mainly focused on weed cutting and river vegetation management.

Following this successful trial we have once again engaged with the Trust to undertake similar work this year.

The Potential Transfer of navigation responsibilities to the Canal and River Trust - There has been and continues to be much discussion amongst river based communities about the potential transfer of the Environment Agency’s navigation responsibilities to the Canal and River Trust.

In 2011 the government set out its vision of a National Trust for waterways that included British Waterways and Environment Agency navigations. A phased approach to the delivery of this vision was intended. In phase 1, the functions, liabilities and assets of British Waterways in England and Wales would transfer into a new charity. In phase 2, the Environment Agency navigations would transfer. The government made it clear the transfer would cont’d on page 20

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Branch News Winter Meetings

are at 8 pm on Thursday evenings at the Cole’s Road Community Centre, Milton (North Cambridge) CB24 6BL. Members & Visitors welcome.

T HURSDAY 22 ND O CTOBER

2015

We welcome the following new members to the branch. We hope you will introduce yourselves to us when coming to an event or meeting:

Our October meeting will be an illustrated talk by Richard Thomas on ‘The Highland Canals’.

John & Carole Greenwood, Bedford

W EDNESDAY 18 TH N OV

Doug & Sally Pell, Eaton Ford, Cambridgeshire

2015

Visit to WWT (Welney Wetland Centre) to see the Swan Feed, plus Sausage & Mash Supper. See page 5 for details.

T HURSDAY 26 TH N OV

2015

Our November meeting will be an illustrated talk by RCR (River Canal Rescue).

T HURSDAY 25 TH F EBRUARY

2016

Our February meeting will be an illustrated talk by Jed Ramsey, River Manager, Conservators of the River Cam.

T HURSAY 24 TH M ARCH

2016

Our March meeting will be our AGM and update from the River Managers of the Environment Agency.

Ouse News Page 20 only take place if sufficient funding could be found. Phase 1 was completed in July 2012 and the Canal and River Trust was formed.

As the financial situation at the time remained challenging, the government decided to conduct a planned review for 2013/14. They considered options for the transfer of Environment Agency functions, liabilities and assets and agreed that these should be postponed until there was a more realistic prospect of the transfer being affordable.

It is government policy that Environment Agency-managed navigations should transfer to the Canal and River Trust when it is affordable to do so and if the Trustees are willing. This will be a discussion between the Canal and River Trust and government. It is not the Environment Agency’s decision as to whether the navigation responsibilities should transfer. The Environment Agency will, however, fully support the government and Canal and River Trust should they decide to proceed and the finances are found to enable this to happen.

Paul Separovic

Book Review

by Anthony Marris

‘Narrowboat Nomads’ Narrowboat Nomads is Steve Haywood’s latest travel log, together with his musings on life and anecdotes about the places and characters he meets.

This time he and his wife, Em, have rented out their house in Blackheath and have decided to take a couple of years out to live aboard their narrowboat “Justice” with their cat, Kit. Steve and Em decide to head south, down the Oxford Canal from Banbury and then down the Thames during the hot summer of 2014. The descriptions of the places he visits are vibrant and his accounts of the people perceptive.

He says a lot in few words leaving the reader to imagine the scene he has painted.

Ouse News Page 21 At Wallingford, for example, he describes the local kids “having a whale of a time” in the river. He continues “I love their unadulterated happiness, their vitality. I love their noisy exuberance and their unselfconscious joie de vivre”.

Later on he wryly acknowledges his envy of their youth and the cruel truth that he really would like to be one of them.

I was pleased to read that on approaching Shepperton, they decide to explore the River Wey, something we used to do regularly in the early 1970s in, as Steve would put it, “our plastic boat”. His subsequent description strikes a chord with my memory of the river - “its loveliness like the song of the sirens, it tempts you to stay if not forever then at least another week or so”.

Eventually Steve and Em reach London and, after a brief sojourn at Little Venice, head off up the Grand Union Canal. At this point the book, like their journey, gets a little rushed as they try to get past possible winter closures. This is a pity, although I was pleased to see he had time to comment, if only wistfully, about having to pass what is most probably my favourite pub on the canal system, The Anchor at High Offley on the Shroppie.

Eventually Steve and Em reach their winter destination at Llangollen.

Doubtless there will be a sequel next year telling us how they get on over the winter months. What, however, makes this book an enjoyable read is his account of his relationship with Em and Kit where more often than not he comes off second best. In reality, the book is a tribute to his beloved Em, to whom he has dedicated the book.

Narrowboat Nomads is published in paperback by Summersdale Publishers Ltd 2015 Price £9.99 www.summersdale.com

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Ouse News Page 23 River Cam Update This summer has been a good one on the Cam. We’ve had a good number of visitors this year which is nice to see. Our visitor mooring at Clayhithe in particular has been well used and we are looking to expand capacity in the Cam over the next season to make it easier to find a mooring when you visit.

River Crew Members of the River Crew have been hard at work through the summer. Most of their time is spent on vegetation management at this time of year – particularly weed cutting in the channel and along the towpath. We’ve also managed to secure around £10k of funding from the Environment Agency to remove pennywort from the Cam. We’ve made some initial efforts using Berky, our Weedharvester boat, and will be focusing on this over the next couple of months.

There were also the usual mix of random objects to be removed – including a pickup truck in bits and a floating tent. The crew are also really pleased with the new frontage that has been completed at Clayhithe so we now have a fully functioning mooring.

Events A recent analysis has shown that the Cam has perhaps the highest density of registered boats per mile of any river in the UK. This is also reflected in the popularity of events on the Cam. We’ve been working with event organisers to ensure that there are good systems in place to allow river traffic to pass through during races and other events. This has worked well this season and I hope will continue to in the future. If you do experience any issues when on the Cam with events, please get in touch as we are always looking to improve this area of management of the River.

Wildlife The Cam has both urban and rural settings. This makes for a wide range of wildlife on the River. Recently we were really pleased to be able to confirm the presence of otters on the Cam. They have been spotted up and down the Cam, both in the town and further out.

Ouse News Page 24 Nobody has managed to get a photo yet of these elusive creatures, but if you do we’d love to see a copy. We’ve also got new breeding barn owls in the Waterbeach area and the new eel passes that the Environment Agency has installed at Baits Bite Weir have yet to be measured, but local fishermen have told us they are catching eels, so that is encouraging.

Diary Dates Upcoming events and works on the Cam. Please see our online calendar for full details of times and locations.

Please note that for all events the river is still navigable and where possible we try to publish contact numbers of event organisers to help arrange passage.

Sunday 25 October – Canoe Race Monday 26 - Friday 30 October – Baits Bite Lock Closed for maintenance works

Jed Ramsey River Manager Conservators of the River Cam

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IWA Christmas Cards You can, once again, purchase your IWA Christmas cards direct from the branch at discounted prices!

These will be available for sale at branch meetings in October and November. They will also be available at Ely Boat Chandlers.

You will not only make a saving on the advertised price, but also avoid paying the normal ÂŁ2.50 or ÂŁ4.50 postage and packing charge from head office.

Please support your branch!

Ouse News Page 26 Northampton Festival of Water The Branch mustered a good turnout to support the Northampton Branch at the Northampton Festival of Water over the August Bank Holiday weekend, with at least four boats attending and further members travelling by other means. A total of ninety-eight boats had applied to attend, although I suspect that some may have dropped out after listening to the weather forecast.

The run down from our base at Blisworth Marina, although through very pleasant countryside, is not an easy one, with 17 narrow locks in just over 5 miles. However, the journey both ways was aided by the much appreciated efforts of the many volunteers manning the locks. A heart-felt thank you to all you ladies and gents who not only helped the constant stream of weary boaters on their way, but also made the event function throughout the weekend!

The festival followed the familiar programme of boat handling competition, illuminated boat parade, interesting talks, live music and, of course, the provision of a plentiful supply of (rather dodgy) real ale. The festival was officially opened by Timothy West assisted by Prunella Scales, both of whom have provided much support to the waterways cause over many years.

I am pleased to report that branch members Peter and Jean Webb were awarded the Robert Aickman Trophy for ‘The most meritorious continuous journey from May 2015 to the Northampton Festival of Water’. The journey in their narrowboat Arachne involved visiting Liverpool, crossing over the Pennines twice, clocking up over 1200 lockmiles on the way from their base at Fox’s Marina in March. Well done Peter and Jean!

Keith Alderton

Ouse News Page 27 Branch Activities - 2015

We had our usual stall at Reach Fair this year, and with good weather, an improved pitch and lots of WoW (Wild over Waterways) activities had a successful day!

The branch gave ÂŁ1,000 to the WRG appeal (see Summer edition of Ouse News). Although not on our river, we saw two examples of projects undertaken on the Ashby Canal.

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The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee.

Registered in England No 612245.

Registered as a charity No 212342. Registered Office: Island House, Moor Rd, Chesham, HP5 1WA. Phone No 01494 783453.