Issue 266 • Winter 2019
waterways www.waterways.org.uk
SILVER PROPELLER IN SIGHT YouTubers on the brink of
becoming IWA’s first recipients
HELPING HERITAGE
LONDON ON FOOT
New campaign to preserve history on our waterways
Exploring the capital with IWA Towpath Walks
PLUS
2019 PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION WINNERS 001 Cover SH AH.indd 14
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Winter 2019 Contents Issue 266 • Winter 2019
waterways www.waterways.org.uk
5. Overview
17
Column of the National Chairman SILVER PROPELLER IN SIGHT YouTubers on the brink of
becoming IWA’s first recipients
HELPING HERITAGE
LONDON ON FOOT
New campaign to preserve history on our waterways
Exploring the capital with IWA Towpath Walks
The latest from within IWA and beyond
10. IWA's Digital Future
How we’re improving our website and communications
12. Campaigns update
Including a special focus on our newest project: the Value of Waterways Heritage
PLUS
2019 PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION WINNERS
COVER PICTURE: The Macclesfield Canal by Karl Kammett. 001 Cover SH AH.indd 14
6. News
24/10/2019 09:38
17. Silver Propeller Challenge The vlogging couple on the cusp of becoming IWA’s first recipients
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22. 2019 Photo Competition
All the winners from this year’s entries, plus an interview with judge Kieran Campbell
26. Talk the talk, walk the walk Exploring the capital with two of IWA’s Towpath Walks guides WATERWAYS EDITOR: Amelia Hamson Tel: 01283 742962 E-mail: a.hamson@wwonline.co.uk FEATURES EDITOR: Sarah Henshaw E-mail: s.henshaw@wwonline.co.uk ART EDITOR: Claire Davis ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER: Laura Smith Tel: 01283 742956 E-mail: l.smith@wwonline.co.uk ADVERTISING DESIGN: Jo Ward ADVERTISING PRODUCTION: Samantha Furniss E-mail: s.furniss@wwonline.co.uk REPROGRAPHICS: Waterways World Ltd, 151 Station Street, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 1BG. Printed in England by Warners (Midlands) PLC, Bourne, Lincs Articles may be reproduced provided permission is obtained and acknowledgement made. ISSN 0969-0654 A non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee (612245), Registered as a Charity (No. 212342) Founded: 1946, Incorporated 1958 Registered Office: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham, HP5 1WA Tel: 01494 783453 E-mail: iwa@waterways.org.uk Web site: www.waterways.org.uk Chief Executive and Company Secretary– Neil Edwards National Chairman – Ivor Caplan For press inquiries please contact: pressoffice@waterways.org.uk For all other contact details, including trustees and branch officers, visit: www.waterways.org.uk/about/ meet_team Nothing printed in Waterways may be construed as policy or an official announcement unless stated, otherwise IWA accepts no liability for any matter in the magazine. Although every care is taken with advertising matters no responsibility whatsoever can be accepted for any matter advertised. Where a photo credit includes a note such as CC-BY-SA, the image is made available under that Creative Commons licence; full details at www.creativecommons.org
Winter 2018 003 contents AH.indd 3
30. Restoration Hub
What our Restoration Hub has achieved over the last two years, and a look back at this summer’s WRG Canal Camps
35. on the campaign trail
In conversation with IWA’s policy & campaigns officer, Alison Smedley
26
40. Canals in Watercolour
Artist Dave Gardham on his IWA Christmas card paintings
42. Then & Now Pocklington Canal
44. Inbox
Your comments and queries
48. Branch Focus
A year with IWA West Country Branch Seven reasons why your membership contribution is vital 1. IWA Canal Clean-ups led by our branches keep many waterways clear of debris 2. Restoration is kept high priority through funding for the Waterway Recovery Group 3. Over 10,000 days of volunteering each year will be supported with the right training, tools and materials 4. IWA can defend the waterways from unwelcome development 5. We can pass on traditional skills and workbased experience for volunteering young people 6. We can lobby the Government and work with other organisations to repair, improve and protect our waterways heritage 7. Your voice is counted when IWA speaks up for all those who enjoy the country’s canals and rivers
40
IWA ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATE £36 More details are available from IWA Head Office. Join IWA at waterways.org.uk
IWA Waterways |
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overview
The Column of the National Chairman
I
recently returned from a trip to the IWA Festival of Water at Waltham Abbey, which enabled me to experience the current boating issues in London and explore the joys of the Lee & Stort Navigation. I must encourage boaters to continue visiting our capital city; it is still a great experience by boat. The cries that you will not be able to moor south of... are simply not true. Yes, Canal & River Trust has problems with managing its moorings, but I was encouraged by the new locations, including some that are bookable in advance, and the improved enforcement there. I am always fascinated when we pass members en route to note their obvious amazement at seeing the chairman actually cruising. Well, yes I do! And I see it as an important activity for judging for myself just how the waterways system is fairing. (Of course, I am not suggesting that future chairpersons must be boaters; others can bring different and valuable experiences to the post.) It is essential that IWA doesn’t get to the end of successful initiatives just to park them and move on. Ongoing commitment is essential. Earlier in the year, we heard a lot regarding Waterways in Progress, our restoration campaign emphasising the economic and community benefits of partially completed projects. It has been widely welcomed and I am pleased to say that we have continued our support of the
Winter 2019 005 Overview AH.indd 5
concept by holding a competition for grants from our legacy income, aimed at encouraging schemes which benefit or engage with local communities. We had an excellent response and the aim is for the successful projects to start next year. Elsewhere, our Restoration Hub’s High-Level Panel continues to support waterway restoration strategically by engaging with significant national agencies to get across the wider benefits of regeneration and achieve their support. Environmental issues are high on everyone’s agenda and we are discussing the likely impacts on the inland waterways and how IWA as a responsible organisation can contribute in a small way towards the future of the planet. Issues range from the effects of climate change on the delicate infrastructure of the waterways, water transfer and the difficulties of maintaining navigations sustainably, to the need to consider different forms of boat propulsion and energy sources. There is much for IWA to focus its efforts on in the future, either by practical intervention or through commissioning research programmes. I have referred previously to the importance of retaining our heritage and I am very excited by the plans being developed through our new Heritage Advisory Group. We want to move from a position of just protecting our heritage to one of also promoting the benefits that heritage can bring to the waterways
economy, tourism and the visitor experience. This may range from major conservation projects to simple information boards, or even an app to engage with mobile technology users. A little knowledge of why a particular canal is there and how it has contributed to the local economy and society can enhance any visit. Our 2019 Annual Members Meeting held on 28th September gave members, as in the previous few years, an enjoyable and interesting experience. So, as well as the essential business of the Annual General Meeting we had several speakers demonstrating the wide range of IWA achievements and challenges followed by a thought-provoking question and answer session to Trustees. The remaining visits, dinner and activities over the weekend were ably organised by the local branch, North Staffordshire & South Cheshire, which received the Branch Achievement Award for its work throughout the year. My congratulations go out to them and to all other award winners who have worked unstintingly to make IWA the success that it is.
Ivor Caplan
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Waterways News
HELD IN STOKE-ON-TRENT The Association’s 60th Annual General Meeting was held on 28th September 2019 in Stoke-on-Trent, and was attended by over 100 members. The formal AGM began with a short speech by national chairman, Ivor Caplan, followed by the presentation of the annual report and financial statements by chief executive, Neil Edwards. Alison Smedley, policy & campaigns officer, also provided an update on some of IWA’s campaigning projects over the last year. Members had the opportunity to ask questions to Trustees, which raised a number of important issues for further consideration. Attendees were treated to a number of different presentations at the meeting. Jonathan Mosse, one of IWA’s Scottish representatives, provided insight into IWA’s campaigning north of the border, including the recent success in gaining additional funding from the Scottish Government which enabled the Forth & Clyde Canal to be reopened to traffic earlier in the year. The importance of planning was a key theme in all of the presentations, and it was interesting to hear from Bob Dewey, one of our expert planning team, about how IWA volunteers and Branches can get involved in shaping local planning policy. This is something that, as an organisation, IWA will be focusing on more and more in coming years.
AGM WEEKEND ACTIVITIES To support the AGM, IWA North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch organised some local activities for members who were able to make a weekend of it. Following the formal meeting there were guided walks of the Burslem Arm and a heritage tour of Middleport Pottery on offer. Several dozen members took up each of these activities and learnt about the Burslem Port regeneration project, which is supported by the branch, as well as the history of the pottery industry and its relationship to the Trent & Mersey Canal. On the Saturday evening the branch held a social evening with pie and peas for supper followed by an illustrated talk about the Uttoxeter Canal from Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust chairman Steve Wood. Despite the wet weather on Sunday, North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch went ahead with its garden fete beside the Caldon Canal, which featured stands from canal societies and IWA, historic vehicles, heritage boats and fundraising activities. The indoor refreshments room and its offering of homemade cakes and Staffordshire oatcakes proved very popular. Over £250 was raised for the local waterways.
Graham Palmer
memorial plaque makeover On 21st September, a team from IWA’s Waterway Recovery Group fixed a new memorial plaque to the existing stone erected to commemorate WRG founder, Graham Palmer. The installation team included current WRG chairman, Mike Palmer, board member, John Baylis, and long-standing IWA volunteers Julie Arnold and Gary Summers. Flowers were provided by Beryl Arnold, Harry Arnold’s widow and Graham’s long-time friend. The new zinc-etched memorial plaque has been incorporated into the memorial stone situated on the Montgomery Canal at Graham Palmer Lock as a replacement for the badly weathered original carving, which was installed back in 1995. Commenting on the new plaque, Mike Palmer said: “After too long, we have finally repaired this memorial to the life and work of Graham Palmer. It is thanks to Graham’s vision that WRG was born almost 50 years ago and we now want to thank WRG supporters for their kind donations to fund this new plaque. We hope you like it.” WRG came into being in 1970 as the national coordinating body for volunteers restoring the waterways after the working party group of IWA London & Home Counties Branch began producing Navvies Notebook magazine in 1966, with Graham as editor. Navvies soon became the best way to get volunteers together for weekend work parties on different restorations across the UK, quickly building up a dedicated team of regular volunteers who became the first WRG participants. RIGHT: The original, carved memorial stone was installed in 1995. BELOW: The new plaque is a fitting tribute to WRG founder Graham Palmer.
WaterwayImages
IWA'S 60TH AGM
COMPOSTABLE WRAPPING
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WaterwayImages
The eagle eyed among you will have spotted that this issue of Waterways is enclosed in a compostable wrapping. The wrapping is made from corn starch and can be added to your compost bin or kerbside garden waste collection. We are grateful to our publishing partners at Waterways World for their advice; they have evaluated and trialled alternatives to plastic wrapping before settling on this method. We did consider using paper envelopes but while this would reduce the amount of plastic entering the waste system, it would have added to our carbon footprint quite significantly. We welcome any feedback you have on the use of this alternative method of enclosing your magazine.
Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:02
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Hottest ever
Over 100 boats lined the navigation at Waltham Abbey for this year’s IWA Festival of Water.
Temperatures reached a record high over the August bank holiday weekend when crowds came out for the IWA Festival of Water at Lee Valley Regional Park in Waltham Abbey. The free family-friendly event was packed full of activities, music and entertainment for boaters, campers and visitors, and over 100 boats gathered on the river, all decked out in their festival bunting. They made an impressive sight as they were moored up along the banks of the Lee Navigation. The illuminated boat procession on Sunday evening didn’t disappoint, with a long line of boats all lit up against the darkening skies. A festival favourite is always the free Learn to Drive a Digger sessions run by WRG, and many young visitors loved their taster session, with lots of them promising to become digger drivers when they grow up. IWA events team chair, Jane Elwell, said: “We all had an exceptionally warm and wonderful weekend and it was great to see visitors from the local community turning out to experience the IWA Festival of Water.” Musicians kept the crowds entertained.
WRG volunteer Rob teaching a young recruit how to drive a digger.
Jenny Morris
Tim Lewis
Festival of Water at Waltham Abbey
Waterways restoration showcase success On 21st-22nd September, IWA Chester & Merseyside Branch hosted a restoration showcase aboard the historic steam ship Daniel Adamson at Liverpool’s Albert Dock. Canal societies from across the North West, representing the Montgomery, Shrewsbury & Newport, Lancaster and Sankey canals as well as the River Weaver and Runcorn Locks restoration, set up displays and volunteers chatted to members of the public about their projects and opportunities. Chester & Merseyside Branch also had a prominent IWA-branded gazebo on the dockside. Over 600 visitors across the weekend enjoyed guided tours around the Danny and a talk by a steam ship expert. Jim Forkin, chairman of Chester & Merseyside Branch, said: “Everyone really enjoyed the event and the public got to meet the restorers from their areas and hear about their plans and the progress they are making. Many were surprised at just how valuable a restored canal is to their local economy.”
IWA Chester & Merseyside Branch promoted that waterways at its restoration showcase on board the Daniel Adamson this September.
Return to Worcester for 2020 The IWA Festival of Water 2020 will take place on 29th31st August 2020 at Perdiswell Park, Worcester, on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. Next year marks the 75th anniversary of the Association and where better to start the celebrations than on the waterway our founders first met. Bookings are now open for moorings, campsite pitches and traders. Find out more at waterways.org.uk/festivalofwater.
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Waterways News
IWA'S ANNUAL AWARDS
Each year IWA celebrates worthy individuals and hardworking Branches dedicated to helping the Association improve the waterways for everybody. Here are all the winners from this year’s awards: Richard Bird Medals – awarded to individuals who have brought significant benefits to the IWA over a sustained period of time. There were seven recipients this year: • Mick Butler, IWA Northampton Branch, for his work on the Northampton Arm • Geoff Wood, IWA Northampton Branch, for his work and organisational skills on the Northampton Arm • Steve Connolly, retired member of IWA Manchester Branch, in recognition of his long service to IWA • David Faulkner, IWA Lancashire & Cumbria Branch, for his hard work and long-term commitment to IWA • Pete Gurney, IWA Lichfield Branch, for his hard work in multiple roles for the Branch • Ian McDonald, IWA Leicester Branch, for his long-term commitment and devotion to IWA • Roger Sexton, IWA Peterborough Branch, for his relentless campaigning in the Eastern Region Christopher Power Prize – awarded to an individual, society or trust that has made the most significant contribution to the restoration of an inland waterway. This prize went to Roger Leishman of the Wendover Arm Trust, who has been instrumental in the restoration of the channel. Roger recently announced his retirement from active involvement but still retains a great interest in the project. The prize includes a cheque for £1,000 made payable to the Wendover Arm Trust.
Hundreds take on
Himalayan balsam IWA would like to thank all of the volunteers who took part in its Pull Snap Stomp campaign for 2019, the annual battle against the spread of Himalayan balsam along river and canal banks. We called on our members, branches and also the public to help stamp out this non-native, invasive plant by pulling it up, snapping it in half and stomping down on it. This helps stop the spread of the plant, which grows so quickly that it crowds out native wildflowers and takes over large swathes of ground. It also makes the area more susceptible to erosion as it has no root stock. This is especially evident during the wet winter months when the banks are washed away. Over 2,250 people were sent information about Himalayan balsam and several hundred volunteers took part in an organised Balsam Bash. We also asked for the public to ‘Spot a Plot’ of Himalayan balsam when they were out and about and report it. All sightings have been recorded and the areas have been earmarked for clearing. The campaign will be running again in 2020 between May and July, when the plant is in bloom. If you would like to run a Balsam Bash next year, please contact nicola.kiely@ waterways.org.uk or phone 01494 783453.
John Heap Salver – awarded to an IWA member who has made an outstanding contribution to raising funds for the Association. This was presented to Mike Snaith from IWA Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Branch for his regular and effective fundraising efforts. Cyril Styring Trophy – this is the Association’s premier award, given to an individual IWA member who has made an outstanding contribution to furthering our campaigns. This went to John Gale from IWA Chelmsford Branch and Essex Waterways. John was celebrated for his 40-plus years work with IWA Chelmsford Branch, including the restoration of Springfield Basin, and his involvement with WRG, both nationally and locally. IWA Balsam Bashers were out in force this summer.
IWA Branch Achievement Award – this award is given to the Branch that has made the greatest progress in promoting IWA’s aims and objectives over the past year. The deserving recipient of this accolade was IWA North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch. Particular recognition was given to the Branch’s role in protecting an at-risk heritage bridge which has now been restored like-for-like.
Ivor Caplan (r) presents Mike Snaith with the John Heap Salver.
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The IWA Branch Achievement Award was given to North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch this year.
Correction There were two errors in the obituary for Robin Higgs OBE on page 10 of the Autumn 2019 issue of Waterways. The Woking Rally in 1962 was organised by the then IWA London & Home Counties Branch, and was the first of several that followed in the branch area over the following years. The 1962 National Rally was held at Stourbridge. A full list of IWA national rallies and festivals is at waterways.org.uk/events_festivals/past_ events/past_national_festivals. The lower photo was taken not on the Basingstoke Canal but on the Marple Flight during the restoration of the Peak Forest Canal.
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IWA'S
DIGITAL FUTURE Here’s how we’re improving our website and communications for you
I
WA is a campaigning charity and our work needs to be at the forefront of our communications for decision makers and supporters. As an independent organisation with no Government or regular external funding we rely heavily on membership subscriptions, donations and legacies, and so we need to be able to effectively attract new members and deepen our relationships with existing supporters. We have two projects underway to upgrade our communication with IWA volunteers, members and potential new supporters. The first is the redevelopment of our website, and the second is to combine a number of disparate contact databases into one database. With four separate databases, over 60,000 contacts, 3,000 website pages, at least 30 sub-sites for branches, plus a site for Essex Waterways, functionality which includes a shop, event bookings and the need for integration with our finance software, this is IWA’s biggest digital project undertaken in recent years.
The new website will be fit for purpose with easy-to-use search facilities and most content within three clicks of the homepage.
Getting ready to launch This is a significant project but the outcome will be a website and contact database fit for the future, that will enable us to better showcase our campaigns, improve our communication and give you more control over your own personal details. The project is due to launch in 2020. If you are interested in helping us to make sure things are working as expected for users and across different browsers and devices, please email joanne.mass@waterways.org.uk.
Reasons for change benefits for you
Benefits for IWA
• Better communication – Combining the databases will mean we can identify if you are both an IWA member and a WRG volunteer, or if you are the treasurer of one of our member restoration trusts as well as being a volunteer on a committee. This will enable us to be more informed and considered in our approach to the frequency and content of the communications that we send to you. • Everything in one place – The website and our contact databases are not currently linked. These areas will be fully integrated meaning that on the new website you will be able to log in to access and update your profile, see your transaction history and update your communication preferences. You’ll be able to book your boat into IWA Canalway Cavalcade as well as subscribe to WRG’s Navvies magazine and check your online account to see that they have both happened. • Three clicks – Each month at least 30,000 people visit IWA’s website with many of them coming to the site from a Google search. When they arrive, they get the information they were searching for and then leave. Our campaigns, volunteering opportunities and restoration work are all invisible to them. We want the new website to show clearly what IWA stands for and to have visitors to the site see quickly how they too could support our work. We want to bring as much content up to the surface as possible and ideally, within three clicks of the homepage. • Easier to find what you re looking for – Currently our site search gives you your search results in a pop-up window. If you are using a pop-up blocker, you can’t see the search results until you click to ‘temporarily allow pop-ups’. This function is provided by Google, so ads and sponsored content prevent you from seeing your search results at the top of the page. Our new search facility will be presented on the page with the opportunity for you to filter the results to get to exactly what you are looking for. No pop-ups and no ads!
• Mobile first – More than 50% of our online users now access the website using a mobile phone or a tablet. Although our website does resize for mobile devices, it is not necessarily easy to use, particularly for things like membership sign-up forms and the shop. This is not only frustrating for people but affects our ability to generate income and we lose all but the most committed supporters. • Rebrand – Our new vision and long-term objectives were launched in November 2017 but we held off spending money fully rebranding the website so that we could focus our resources on this project. We will now bring the branding of our website in line with our other communications. • Ongoing costs – Our current website is over ten years old. The software is bespoke to one company, meaning we pay an annual licence fee, and it can only be developed by its personnel. Modifications to the site also mean that we don’t benefit from standard updates to the core software. The new solution will be open source, meaning that there will be no ongoing licence fees and a large pool of experts who are able to make changes. • Focussing our efforts on what matters – Integration of the databases will allow for resource efficiencies within the staff team, meaning that we can focus on the work that really matters: our campaigns.
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Please let us know your email address
If we have your email address, we will send you new login information when the new website is live, enabling you to directly access your account to update your personal details and see your transactions, event bookings, communication preferences and more. Please contact the membership team to make sure we have the most up-to-date email address for you. Email membership@waterways.org.uk or phone 01494 783453, remembering to quote your membership number.
Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:03
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CAMPAIGNING WITH YOU The ruling over red diesel and the impact of the HS2 Phase 2b route are among some of the issues we’ve been campaigning on with your help. Here’s how we’ve been doing…
HS2 design refinement consultation IWA has responded to the Government’s latest HS2 Phase 2b consultation, with proposed changes affecting parts of the Coventry, Erewash and Nottingham canals and the Aire & Calder Navigation. Although there are some benefits for the waterways from these changes, there are additional impacts and several earlier concerns remain unresolved. On 21st August the Government announced a comprehensive review into the whole high-speed rail project, including its benefits, impacts, affordability, efficiency, deliverability, scope and phasing, with a report due by “the autumn” and a decision on whether or how to proceed expected by the end of the year. Meanwhile, various preparatory works continue, including archaeological digs, demolitions and utility diversions. Phase 2a has now been passed by the House of Lords, and changes to Phase 2b have also been announced. Our response was submitted to the latest consultation on design refinement proposals for Phase 2b, Crewe to Manchester and West Midlands to Leeds, which closed on 6th September. The proposed changes affect the Coventry Canal at Polesworth, the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre and Stanton Gate, the unrestored Nottingham Canal, and the Aire & Calder Navigation near Fishpond Lock. At Polesworth an access road is now proposed close to the Coventry Canal and the moorings at Pooley Country Park. We have asked for the road to be set back and access to the moorings maintained; the need for more noise fencing on the viaduct and embankment has also been reiterated. At Stanton Gate a change to the HS2 route avoids the need to divert the M1, so the motorway bridge over the Erewash Canal will no longer need to be demolished and replaced, saving much
disruption. However, there will be a new road-bridge. An auto-transformer station that needs screening, concerns about the height of the viaduct, the design of two very skew canal crossings and the need for noise protection are all issues affecting the Erewash Canal that remain. The Nottingham Canal at Trowell, although abandoned, is part of a longdistance footpath and local nature reserve, and could be restored back to Langley Mill. But the new HS2 route would sever it with a deep cutting and we have asked for an aqueduct to maintain the continuity of the towpath and the water supply. The Aire & Calder Navigation will be affected by moving the route onto a viaduct from Woodlesford past Fishpond Lock to Rodhill Corner. We have asked that the viaduct piers should not narrow this commercial navigation, for more information on the design and visual impact, and for noise barriers to protect recreational canal users. The full response from IWA can be viewed online at waterways.org. uk/lichfield/pdf/hs2_phase2b_dr_ response_2019.
A proposed access road will interrupt peaceful moorings at Polesworth on the Coventry Canal.
The M1 crossing over the Erewash Canal near Stanton Lock will no longer need to be demolished and rebuilt.
The transition to white diesel will make red diesel pumps redundant across the network.
Response to red diesel ruling As well as encouraging individual boatowners, boatyard operators and diesel suppliers to respond to the Government’s consultation about red diesel, IWA has now submitted its feedback to HMRC on the ‘Implementation of the Court of Justice of the European Union judgment on diesel fuel used in private pleasure craft’. IWA’s submission outlines a number of problems which will arise as a result of the implementation of the ruling. The key concern is that boatyards on the UK’s inland waterways, most of which currently only sell red diesel, will be faced with the choice of either installing an additional tank to provide white diesel, or changing their entire supply of red diesel to white diesel. It is likely that the majority of boatyards and marinas would continue to sell only red diesel, particularly those that operate a hire-boat fleet or have residential moorings. Consequently, owners of privately owned pleasure craft needing to refuel their boats with white diesel will struggle to find a boatyard that sells it. The likely rise in the use of portable fuel cans would present significant environmental risks arising from the inevitable spillages; the use of generators in confined spaces and in urban areas also poses a threat to the health and safety of waterways users. IWA has asked HMRC to mitigate these problems by: • Continuing with the current arrangements, which were reached after a significant period of consultation and discussions in 2008, until the situation regarding the UK’s membership of the European Union is clearer • Adopting the longest possible transition time to implement the ruling to allow sufficient time (including raising finance) for boatyards to install new or convert existing tanks, and for boaters to undertake any necessary modifications to their vessels • Providing written confirmation that HMRC will allow existing red dye in fuel tanks to fade naturally, and to allow time for existing stocks of red diesel purchased prior to any change to be used up without having to waste and dispose of any dyed fuel.
Why campaign with IWA? We strive to make the waterways better for all. 12
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Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:04
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23/10/2019 14:42
IWA’s new campaign aims to protect and record historic assets along the UK’s canals and rivers
Tim Lewis
VALUE OF WATERWAYS HERITAGE
Alison Smedley
Spotlight on...
Historic buildings like Govilon Wharf are what we typically think of as waterways heritage.
Conservation of heritage is always preferable to demolition. Left: These rope marks on the bridge at Autherley Junction on the Shropshire Union Canal tell us about the history of the waterway. Below: A bridge weight limit sign on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal.
L
Alison Smedley
aunching this winter, IWA’s Value of Waterways Heritage campaign will look at heritage that has been lost and heritage that has been saved as well as uncovering assets that are currently causing concern. It will explore how these can be better protected and the role that planning officers at local IWA branches can play in managing any developments taking place along our inland waterways.
What is waterways heritage and what does it means for IWA? Waterways heritage is much more than the locks, bridges and buildings that are common along any given waterway, especially the canals. It includes the signage and less noticeable canal furniture, as well as traditional skills and obscure remnants of the area’s industrial past. It is the grooves that have been worn into the side of a bridge from the ropes being drawn by the horses pulling barges; it is the metal supports across the towpath that were used to give the horses’ feet some purchase as the path went uphill; it is the pulleys and ropes inside tunnels that were used by the boatmen or ‘leggers’ to move the boats along. It is the stories that were told, the skills that were learned and the views that can be seen both from the water and the land beside the waterway. Ivor Caplan, national chairman and member of IWA’s Heritage Advisory Group, says: “IWA takes a holistic view of heritage to include the buildings, engineering structures, working mechanisms, artefacts, boats, people and operations. This view looks at the total operating waterways system, a ‘museum without walls’ with structures and artefacts in their correct location and, where possible, working as they should.” IWA’s Heritage Policy has been updated and now reads: “IWA considers that heritage is a vital aspect of the inland waterways and must be actively preserved for the enjoyment and understanding of present and future generations.” IWA supports the retention of the heritage of the inland waterways system as a high priority; the organisation is looking at the value and positive contribution it can make to different areas including well-being, tourism and education. Rather than just requiring protection in its own right, heritage also deserves recognition, respect and consideration.
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Why is IWA looking at the value of waterways heritage now? We are always looking at the heritage of the waterways – it forms the basis of the IWA Restoration Hub, which aims to bring derelict and forgotten waterways back to life. Recently IWA has been aware of new developments and redevelopments that are changing the face of the waterways, without due consideration of the heritage that is being lost. This was a key element of the recent Vision for London report produced by IWA London region; inappropriate and unsympathetic developments have caused waterways heritage in London to be lost. IWA is campaigning to prevent this from happening further, and will fight against any proposed developments with scale or character that will adversely impact the waterways. Derek Humphries has been appointed as Heritage Advisor for IWA London Region and also sits on the Heritage Advisory Panel. He is currently undertaking a review of the listed buildings along the waterways in the capital. IWA West London Branch is also focusing much of its attention on protecting waterways heritage in its area. This includes the vast development at Old Oak and Park Royal where the branch is heavily involved in the planning aspect and is looking at the project from the perspective of the Grand Union Canal as it travels through the heart of the building work. Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:05
The completed bridge is sympathetic to the heritage of the area.
Reconstruction of Bedford Street Bridge underway.
Case study
Bedford Street Bridge, Caldon Canal IWA has many examples of areas where we’ve campaigned for the protection of a heritage asset and saved the face of the waterways. Here is a recent success story from IWA North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch. The original Bedford Street Bridge (No 2) on the Caldon Canal had suffered years of neglect and vandalism and had become dangerous, resulting in it being closed to pedestrians. IWA North Staffs & South Cheshire Branch discovered that the original bridge had been cast in the ironworks in nearby Hanley. This local connection was important to both waterways heritage and the industrial history of the area. In 2014 (before it was closed), repair of the bridge had been included in a City Council funded project. Canal & River Trust initially said it would look to fund a like-for-like replacement but when this proved too expensive, came up with another suggestion. The modern, generic-looking bridge design it put forward looked like it belonged in a European city. If used as a replacement, the history and local connection of the original bridge would be lost.
Research IWA Trustee Nicki Schiessel Harvey recently published The Value of Inland Waterways. In this report, Nicki researched the vast amount of information that is available regarding waterways and heritage, but uncovered a gap in knowledge about the specific value of waterways heritage. Off the back of this report, IWA is planning to undertake further research to look at assigning a monetary ‘value’ to waterways heritage that quantifies the benefit it brings to the region.
Importance of views and visual character Sometimes it’s not the tangible things that need protecting; waterways heritage also covers views. The Mayor of London makes specific reference to the importance of protecting heritage assets and riverscapes in his New London Plan. IWA wants to take this a step further and protect waterscapes across London and beyond, taking into consideration the wider impact of development on the visual character of the waterway. This is not just the view in terms of the buildings that you see (whether newly built or redeveloped) but also things like hedges, railings, bridges, trees and pathways. Each of these has an impact on the heritage of the area.
Managing the change Where possible, IWA supports the principle of waterside buildings being used in a way that is compatible with their original function, e.g. boat-building and boating services. However, this is not always feasible. In these cases, IWA appreciates the need for sympathetic and appropriate restoration and conversion, for example into residential property. Local IWA branches, through their planning officers (where available), need to be aware of these proposals and get involved in early discussions to ensure the waterways heritage is not lost. Winter 2019 014 campaign focus AH.indd 15
The replacement bridge design proposed by CRT.
IWA North Staffs & South Cheshire Branch, led by Steve Wood, met with the project managers and advised that IWA would have to oppose such a proposal. IWA had been involved in the conservation area review in 2012, where the local importance of the bridge had been specifically discussed and agreed. After IWA voiced its concerns and opposed the proposal, CRT managed to find the additional funding and the bridge has now been restored to look just like the original. The story remains in place for future generations. You might look at Bedford Street Bridge and think that it isn’t the prettiest, and, in fact, you might prefer the look of the proposed modern bridge, but the historical value of this structure, in this location, with its local links to Hanley and the now non-existent ironworks, is more important than the look of the bridge itself. It is this that IWA will be fighting for in its Value of Waterways Heritage campaign. We need your help to make this a success. Do you know of any bridges that are in a similar situation to the Bedford Street Bridge on the Caldon Canal? Do you know of any heritage that is being threatened? IWA wants to hear from you.
Ivor Caplan comments: “Sometimes there needs to be change on the waterways, but IWA wants to be at the forefront of managing that change and working with local authorities to ensure they make informed and conscious decisions when looking at development plans and to acknowledge the value of waterways heritage in their area.”
Speaking for heritage before it's lost IWA recognises that navigation authorities and other owners cannot be expected to maintain unused buildings indefinitely purely because of their historical significance and appreciates that sometimes the only decision may be destruction. Demolition should only be considered as a last resort and when the building or structure is not a rare example of its type. IWA expects a full heritage and photographical survey to be carried out and archived, and that, where possible, artefacts associated with the building are conserved.
Canal conservation areas IWA’s Heritage Advisory Panel supports listing on the Historic England register as the means of ensuring the retention of significant buildings and structures, but has discovered that this protection brings with it a whole host of difficulties and restrictions. The panel is recommending that IWA looks at conservation areas as a way of affording a level of protection to waterways heritage. IWA will be encouraging local authorities to designate conservation areas covering the whole entity of related waterways assets, for example a lock flight or a complex of canal basins and warehouses or even the whole waterway.
Online Heritage Tracker
We would like to find out how you feel about waterways heritage and its importance, and we have launched an online survey to discover your views. Please visit: waterways.org.uk/ heritagetracker to fill out the form. IWA Waterways |
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23/10/2019 14:05
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Winter 2019 24/10/2019 08:50
Silver Propeller Challenge
SILVER PROPELLER CHALLENGE
STERLING JOB
Exploring the far-flung reaches of the network just got even more rewarding
Waterways meets the vlogging couple vying to become IWA’s very first Silver Propeller recipients
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IWA Waterways |
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Peace and quiet – and another point – at Gronwen Bridge winding hole, Maesbury.
“W
anted: A ‘go-anywhere’ boat for a ‘go-everywhere’ couple.” Such might have read the ad Jo and Michael Morehouse would have placed when, reflecting on their futures in 2016, they decided to ditch their ideas of a cabin in Alaska, or an RV road-trip across the States, and instead settle on the English inland waterways to sate their nomadic appetites.
Although both boating novices, by then they had plenty of experience of peripatetic living. The couple (Michael hails from Oklahoma while Jo is British) met in Vietnam while they were separately completing round-the-world solo trips. In December 2012, Michael had quit his job in Los Angeles and headed west, while Jo’s trip, kicking off in May 2014, was east-bound. After what she describes as a “very memorable conversation” in Phong Nah, the pair decided to meet up a few weeks later, spending ten days together in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Michael picks up the story: “Eventually, when Jo finished her trip, we met again in Los Angeles where I was working, and that’s when we became a couple. I subsequently had a job offer from New Zealand, so we moved there. But after a year-and-a-half I had another job offer back in LA, so we returned in 2015.” The move was to be short-lived. Having spent so long on the road, city life often felt stifling, compounded by Michael’s increasing dissatisfaction at work. There were other complications, not least the realisation in New Zealand that having a passport in common would make life a lot easier. The couple were faced with the options of staying in the US or Canada on Michael’s papers, or giving UK life a shot.
I’d never heard of a narrowboat and I didn’t even know there were canals in England. But the sight made a real impression and I remember thinking at the time: ‘Wow, that would be a really cool life.’ It was January, it was very cold, all the other moored boats had their fires going. It just all looked quite pleasant.” He recounted the story to Jo and jokingly suggested they get a narrowboat themselves. “And then I headed off to work. But when I came home that evening Jo had already waded through about 150 YouTube videos on the canals – everything from ‘Cruising the Cut’ and Daniel Brown’s ‘Sort of Interesting’ vlogs, to clips from Timothy West and Prunella Scales’ TV series. “I watched a few and I was sold,” says Michael. “We started looking for boats. When the Brexit referendum happened it dropped the price of craft by 30% in 24 hours for us, because of the exchange rate plummeting. All of a sudden my savings were worth a lot more – that was incentivising. And then Donald Trump got elected… We were already getting my UK visa by that stage, but that was the tipping point – the moment we really wanted to get moving fast.”
Fanatical It was another few months before they bought Perseverance, the 57-footer that has taken them around more than half of the canal network in the subsequent two years. “Michael’s aim was always to go everywhere,” Jo explains. “He’d never be happy going up and down the same stretches. He’s quite fanatical when it comes to travel.” “Yeah, I’m weird like that,” he concedes. “If you put me on a road, I need to go all the way to the end of it. And then back to the intersection and down the next one. For me it’s a philosophical thing, and it now extends to our canal cruising too.” Perseverance picked up its 19th Silver Propeller point at Liverpool Docks.
'Cool life' It was mid-deliberation that Michael recalled a memory from a trip to London some years earlier. “I was in Camden, standing on a bridge and watching a guy take his boat through a lock. Before that point
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Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:06
Silver Propeller Challenge Hest Bank, on the Lancaster Canal, was a highlight of the couple’s Silver Propeller journey…
…while the trip to Walsall Town Basin ranks among their worst.
However, the idea of channelling their boating towards a formal ‘goal’ didn’t cross their minds until much later. To begin with, they were simply content with exploring the system exhaustively and documenting their travels on a vlog to keep Michael’s mum back in the States up-to-date. But when their videos started gaining traction among the wider boating community, a recurring online comment set the wheels in motion for a slightly different approach. Jo explains: “People kept telling us that the more obscure places we were visiting were Silver Propeller locations, and that we should sign up for the challenge. Neither Michael nor I had any idea, at that stage, what the Silver Propeller was. It was only when we saw this suggestion for something like the fifteenth time that we decided to look it up.”
Don’t rain on their parade: reaching Winsford Bridge on the River Weaver.
Missed opportunities The challenge, which IWA launched at the start of 2018, aims to encourage boaters to visit 20 or more lesser-explored waterways. Participants can find a full list of all the locations (which include many on the unconnected network that are only accessible by local, portable or trailable craft) on the association’s website, which is how Michael and Jo discovered they’d ticked off eight or nine already without even realising it. “After that it was an easy decision to commit,” says Michael. “We had set out to go everywhere you can on the connected system anyway, so it didn’t really affect our future cruising plans. What was frustrating, however, was realising there were about three destinations we’d got tantalisingly close to, but due to lack of effort or obstructions in the channel, hadn’t made it all the way. Most of these were while we were on the BCN last winter. If we’d only known about the Silver Propeller at the time, we would have made sure we boated them and would probably have completed the challenge by now.” As Waterways went to press, Jo and Michael were just one shy of the full 20 points, with both Standedge Tunnel and the Springs Branch of the Leeds & Liverpool within their sights to complete the challenge. They’ll be the first boaters to do it, although plenty of others are hot on their heels (including the Windlasses, who featured in our Summer issue). Not that they’ll be resting on their laurels after receiving the coveted plaque, however, for Michael is determined to visit all the other places on IWA’s list too. “The only problem with doing so is that it’ll entail going over old ground – and going miles out of our way. We could dot off those few we missed on the BCN with three to four weeks’ travelling, but to get back to the Basingstoke (King John’s Castle, Odiham) is a bigger commitment. Perhaps a better idea might be to rent a boat for a day just to tick it off. To date, we’ve reached all the Silver Propeller locations in our own craft, but the Basingstoke might be one where hiring makes sense.”
Ethos As well as satisfying Michael’s compulsive travel quirk, the couple also appreciate the Silver Propeller Challenge’s cruise-it-or-lose-it ethos. “IWA is right,” says Michael. “If these canals don’t get visited they’ll get lost. Several of the ones we’ve been to are already problematic enough to navigate. The Dee Branch off the Shropshire Union, for example – we couldn’t progress much further than the first lock. The Slough Arm was another headache. It was difficult to boat and there’s no real impetus to as there’s no ‘destination’ at the end. It was mainly garbage.” There’s no love lost for Walsall Town Basin either – not because the city centre moorings were substandard, but because the journey to reach them was fraught with dodging “bits of cars, washing machines and kids throwing rocks”. Winter 2019 017 Silver Propeller sterling job AH.indd 19
The couple struggled to make much progress on the River Dee Branch in June.
Thankfully the pay-off at other destinations has been worth the odd struggle elsewhere. The Ashby and the end of the Montgomery (“especially after the over-boated Llangollen”) are Michael’s highlights so far, while Jo loved the novelty of cruising with a view over the Irish Sea on the Lancaster Canal at Hest Bank. These unexpected surprises, plus the gratification of knowing their ongoing vlogs are encouraging other people to follow in their wake, is enough to make the couple glad they stumbled upon the Silver Propeller in the first place. Their next challenge? “Wouldn’t it be great if IWA introduced a Gold Propeller?” suggests Jo. “Because we definitely plan to keep on cruising these routes.”
Find out more You can follow Michael and Jo’s progress via their YouTube vlogs at youtube.com/ MinimalList. For more information about IWA’s Silver Propeller Challenge visit waterways.org. uk/silverpropeller. IWA Waterways |
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Where the points were won SEPTEMBER 2019 Lancaster Canal, Tewitfield Marina “Despite the M6 being so close, Tewitfield is really nice, and the Lancaster Canal itself is lovely to boat on.”
leeds preston
OCTOBER 2019 Leeds & Liverpool Canal, Liverpool Docks June 2019 Shropshire Union Canal, River Dee Branch “You can’t get far up it at all. The Dee Branch has already effectively been lost to navigation.”
AUGUST 2019 River Weaver, Winsford Bridge
manchester
liverpool
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May 2019 Montgomery Canal, Gronwen Bridge winding hole, Maesbury stoke-ontrent
December 2018 BCN Dudley No 1 Canal, southern portal of the Dudley Tunnel “We went to the northern portal hoping to travel through, but our boat was too tall. Afterwards we headed to the southern portal instead, but were deterred by the three locks in our way. We ended up walking it instead, which doesn’t count.”
derby
leices December 2018 BCN Dudley No 2 Canal, Coombeswood Basin “A lovely place to visit, very friendly and good prices on fuel. Don’t try to turn on a windy day though!”
February 2019 BCN, Walsall Canal, Walsall Town Basin “The least said about our trip to Walsall Town Basin, the better!”
birmingham
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December 2018 BCN, Titford Canal, Titford Pools “It was great up there, with a nice little avian sanctuary. You do need to be careful of water levels but we were lucky and it was all good.”
November 2018 River Avon (Warwickshire), Alveston Weir “We didn’t know it was part of the challenge at the time, but we were still curious about going up there.” October 2018 Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, Saul Junction “In fact, we went beyond Saul Junction, so passed through it twice.”
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FebRUARY 2019 BCN, Wednesbury Oak Loop, Bradley bristol “This one was really frustrating. We got halfway but a loose boat was blocking the channel. Because it was a CRT workboat we weren’t sure if it was there in an ‘official’ capacity, to show that the canal was closed. We also ran into silt. We rang CRT, which subsequently moved the boat, but by then it was too late.” Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:51
April 2018 Erewash Canal, Langley Mill Basin york
leeds
“We loved it here.” kingstonupon-hull FebRUARY 2019 Cannock Extension Canal, Norton Canes “We made it as far as we could before backing up because of the silt.”
Silver Propeller Challenge December 2018 Stourbridge Canal, Fens Branch “This is a really annoying ‘near-miss’. We wanted to do it, we were intent on doing it, but when we actually got there we were so tired. There were a bunch of locks ahead of us, some decrepit buildings, and then you just turn around and come back. So we made the (with hindsight, stupid) decision not to do it.”
March 2018 Ashby Canal, limit of navigation beyond Snarestone Wharf
JULY 2019 Caldon Canal, Leek Arm canal terminus “This is a beautiful canal and really worth visiting but it hasn’t been dredged in a considerable amount of time. As it’s already narrow and quite shallow we’re not sure how it can remain navigable long-term without investment.”
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nottingham AUGUST 2019 Caldon Canal, Uttoxeter Basin, Froghall “Froghall Tunnel is stupidly, dangerously low and you don’t know if your boat will fit until the last second.”
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July 2018 Grand Union Canal, Wendover Arm, current limit of navigation at Little Tring “This was an adventurous one – we got shot at! There were pellets pinging off the boat!”
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August 2018 Grand Union, Slough Arm, Slough Basin “We were probably the only boat that had been there for a while and we went right to the end – where there is absolutely nothing. We totally support any future development as being surrounded solely by fences and gravel isn’t great.”
August 2018 Lee & Stort (Bow Back Rivers), Carpenters Road Lock, Queen Elizabeth Park
June 2017 Basingstoke Canal, King John’s Castle, Odiham “Unfortunately this didn’t count as it was a) before the Silver Propeller Challenge was officially launched and b) we couldn’t reach the limit of navigation because there’d been a landslip and the entire canal was shut beyond Fleet.”
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September 2018 River Thames, Inglesham, junction with the Thames & Severn Canal
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On the Water and overall competition winner The depths of Braunston Tunnel by Adam Smith.
2019 PHOTO COMPETITION All the winning entries from this year’s contest, plus an interview with judge Kieran Campbell
I
n this year’s new look photo competition, amateur and professional photographers were invited to submit their images to IWA across eight different picture categories. We received a total of 337 entries from talented snappers capturing the length and breadth of the country’s inland waterways, with the landscape category proving most popular with 85 submissions. On the judging panel this year was Keiran Campbell from Jessops Photo who helped choose the top photographs from each category, as well as one overall winner. Congratulations to our winner Adam Smith, who received a £100 gift voucher to spend in IWA’s online shop and a canvas print provided by Jessops. Each of the category winners received a £25 gift voucher, and everyone shortlisted was sent an IWA T-shirt.
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Thank you to everyone who entered this year’s competition. Entries are now open for 2020 – please visit waterways.org.uk/ photocomp for details of how to submit your pictures of our inland waterways for a chance to win.
Built Environment winner
Millwall Inner Dock, Canary Wharf, London, by Mark Caldon.
Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:08
2019 Photo Competition
Landscape winner
Misty morning on the Montgomery Canal at Maesbury by S.W. Roberts.
Wildlife winner
Ducks on the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal by David Fuller.
We Want to be Together winner
Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation at Boreham by Mark Caldon.
Restoration winner
Ventiford Basin on the Stover Canal by Kerry Clarke.
Winter 2019 022 photo comp AH.indd 23
IWA Waterways |
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Up Close winner
Bridge 53 on the Trent & Mersey Canal by Pauline McGill.
Wonder in the Every Day winner River Crouch at Hullbridge, Essex, by Nick Thornhill.
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Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:09
2019 Photo Competition
Make sure you are passionate about your subject as this will be reflected in the photograph. Also, don’t be afraid to try something different.
When is the best time of day to take a photograph?
The ‘golden hour’ – approximately one hour after sunrise or before sunset – is the best time for most subject matters.
What do you think of the calibre of submissions in this competition? The standard of photography submitted has been really high; it was really difficult to judge the category winners.
What made you choose the overall winning photo?
FIVE MINUTES WITH
KEIRAN CAMPBELL
We ask our judge and retail operations partner from Jessops Photo for his top picture-taking tips
Tell us a bit about your photography background I have worked for Jessops for 12 years and in that time I have used a vast amount of photographic equipment from compact cameras costing less than £100 to more professional, £3,000-plus cameras and lenses. If I’m not working with cameras, I can usually be found out and about with one in my hand during my spare time. I love to take photos of my four-year old son and have recently found a passion for motorsport photography. I currently use a Sony A7MKIII and a variety of lenses. My Instagram handle is @Kieran_42 if you want to check out some of my latest work.
What do you look for in a photograph? When I look at a photograph, I ask myself a few questions: • Is the eye being drawn into the subject matter? This could be through leading lines or using contrasting light. • Is the subject sharp and in focus? • How does the photo make me feel? Does it trigger some emotion, whether it’s happy, sad, angry, nostalgic?
Is there a set of rules that a photographer should follow when setting up the perfect shot? The first thing to do is take your time. You need to work out what your focal point is going to be, and then move around to try different perspectives. Some of the best shots are taken from an angle rather than front on. Think about your leading lines and follow the rule of thirds to help with the composition of the photograph. Winter 2019 022 photo comp AH.indd 25
There were a few things that made Adam’s photograph taken inside Braunston Tunnel stand out as the winner. I loved the use of the canal as the leading line with the light following it, the symmetry of the reflection, and the way that the photographer used the convergence point with all the lines drawing you into the heart of the photo rather than pushing you away. It is a really technical shot which was very difficult to capture. It was shot in extremely low light with a bright lamp coming towards the camera – to get the exposure right and balance that with a shutter speed to freeze the moment is no mean feat. It shows a very talented photographer and a worthy winner of this competition.
What is the most popular type of camera for taking waterways photos?
I am slightly biased towards the Sony Mirrorless. It’s all about what feels good and comfortable in the hand; there is nothing worse than using a camera you find uncomfortable. You’d be surprised how many people use their phones and get great results. What’s more important is what you do with the photo once you have it.
Any other advice for budding photographers?
Do what makes you happy. If you want to progress into a more professional field then be prepared for, or even seek out, constructive criticism. If that’s not what you want, then as long as you’re happy with the progress you’re making then just keep shooting what you love. The biggest mistake most people make though, is that they keep their photos under wraps on their phone or on a hard drive. The greatest pleasure I get from photography is seeing a photo I have taken in print form and having something tangible rather than digital to show for it. Viewing a printed photo is completely different to viewing it on a screen; a screen is back lit and, as a result, photos always appear brighter. The true test of any photo is: does it look better in print than on screen? If the answer is yes (and it won’t always be), then you have nailed that shot. Generally speaking I print pictures at 9in by 6in and I stand back to admire it before getting closer. All that is left is for me to say is well done to everyone who entered the competition and congratulations to the category winners and to Adam Smith, the overall winner. There were some truly stunning photographs in the competition and everyone should be proud of their shots.
About Jessops Known as the high-street photography experts, Jessops has 47 stores across the UK, selling photographic equipment for both amateur and professional photographers as well as printing services including photo prints, cards, photobooks and personalised gifts through Jessops Photo. Jessops offers helpful advice on all your photographic needs both in-store and online through its friendly and approachable expert Photosmiths. Please visit jessops.com or photo.jessops.com.
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TALK THE TALK
WALK IWA’s Towpath Walks have been offering members, tourists and Londoners alike two-hour constitutionals in our capital city for more than 40 years. Charlie Forman gives a guide’s perspective
The guided routes are popular with people from all walks of life and nationalities.
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Marie Firestone
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IWA Towpath Walks guide Charlie Forman in action.
Marie Firestone
THE WALK
’ve been with Towpath Walks for five years, although the scheme itself has been running for much longer than that, since 1977. I joined as a newly qualified guide, realising it would be a golden opportunity to have a ready-made audience of walkers expecting a professional service, as well as to indulge my love of the waterways and social history. I’m very much fascinated by what makes places work, and canals were a critical part of the infrastructure of our cities. Understanding how they operated and supplied the city and the people who worked on them was my way in, rather than being interested in the boats themselves. I don’t go on the canals that often, but I do walk alongside them regularly. I’m a volunteer at the London Canal Museum too, so a lot of the expertise from there has filtered through and helps when guiding the walks. I think I’ve got more interested in some of the boating and warehousing details as a result. Our groups contain quite a mix of people. There are a few dedicated members of IWA who come along, and you have to be careful that you get your facts right! They sometimes know more than I do! And a lot of people are London locals who are just keen to explore their own city. They’re a great audience to have. You also get a number of tourists. The canals are effectively a linear park cutting through the middle of our city, so for the tourist it’s an amazing way to see the capital without the noise and pollution of walking the streets. Obviously the towpaths themselves can also get quite busy, but it’s certainly a very different perspective they offer. Thanks to the quality of our guiding, I think all our customers leave feeling satisfied they’ve gained an insight into London that they would never otherwise have had. Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:11
Towpath Walks
The Little Venice to Camden route is among the most popular walks.
Challenges
Weather woes
Because they’re based on a towpath, our walks aren’t difficult to follow, but they can be quite hard to manage because there isn’t a lot of space. Sunny weekends can be particularly problematic – a combination of lots of other people out enjoying the canal, and big groups on our walking tours. The two together can be challenging. Throw cyclists into the mix and it can become even more problematic. I don’t want to demonise cyclists (I can’t, because I am one myself), but a bit more courtesy and common sense from some of them would certainly help. Most, fortunately, are very respectful. King’s Cross to Camden and Little Venice to Camden are probably our two most popular walks, but you often get surprises. It’s hard to predict. You can do the same walk twice and on one occasion get five people and the next time 25 or even 30, despite the weather conditions being apparently no different. Other walks that can pull in a big crowd are West India Docks and the Olympic Park. The way the Olympic Park has developed is very much intertwined with the history of the waterways that are running through it, so that’s always a good story to tell.
Our service is a partnership with London Walks (walks.com), which has a year-round programme and gives us a guaranteed slot every other Sunday afternoon. The quid pro quo is that we always have to be available, whether it’s a lovely day in June or a snowstorm at the beginning of January. We’re there come rain or shine and, in one case, fog. On that particular occasion, in the Lee Valley, I could basically only offer an audio commentary. I had to describe what people would have seen had there not been such adverse conditions. Thankfully they all got into the spirit of it. The fog was so thick that when I went home at the end of the walk I got lost twice myself! We never cancel. What I say to people on a really bad day is that I’m going to carry on doing this walk until there’s no one left to listen to me. There is something in the walks for everybody, from primary school children right up to people who have memories of the canals as working, industrial waterways. It’s one of the things that make the walks come alive and keep them fresh for me every time. Another thing is that the canals are changing quite fast, so you have to stay alert to that. Part of their story is this change, and how we’ve managed to save the canals over the last 40 years from potentially being infilled and built over with new office blocks, specifically around City Basin. Finally, it’s important to recognise that another motivation for all of us guides is the fundraising aspect. If you’ve got 25 people per walk, you’re probably going to pick up the best part of £200 or more. That’s quite a significant contribution to IWA. Add all that together over the years and it’s a terrific sum we’ve raised – over £48,000.
“The fog was so thick that when I went home at the end of the walk I got lost twice myself!” Personal favourite As a guide, one of the walks I enjoy most is Kings Cross to Camden. You can chart more of the history of the canal in that walk than in any other. It’s all there. The great success of the planning of the area has been the preservation of some of the old goods yards and infrastructure, which you can highlight as something that connects the canal with its past. Of course, there are also disputes about how successful the whole development is, but I personally think it’s one of the areas that has been done best. The restored gas holders, for example, and the nature reserve. You’ve got everything in one spot, almost. It’s a great walk and I always enjoy it. At the moment we offer somewhere between 15 and 20 different walking routes. Some are a bit difficult to get to so aren’t run very often. We’re always looking for new places. The walks are relatively flat so can be excellent for people whose mobility isn’t good. Not all the access points to towpaths have ramps (some require getting up or down quite steep stairs) and sometimes the surface can be rough. Having said that, I’ve guided people who aren’t strong walkers and have still managed to finish pretty much on time. And I’ve done walks with people using mobility scooters, which is perfectly manageable if you can plan ahead. Winter 2019 026 towpath walks SH AH.indd 27
Join the team Towpath Walks is looking for volunteer guides to join the existing team at the IWA Towpath Walks Society, in London. The society, in partnership with London Walks, carries out a regular series of guided walks along London’s canals. The walks last just over two hours and take place on two Sunday afternoons each month starting at a tube or DLR station. They’re a great way to introduce people to the waterways, and to raise money for IWA. All that is needed is an interest in waterways, an enjoyment of sharing your knowledge with others and a love of walking. A full briefing will be provided for the series and each individual walk. You will be part of a team so you can do as many or as few walks as you like. There are a set of walking routes already planned and being carried out, so there is little preparation to be done. However, if you would like to add more walks to our programme then this may be possible. If you would like to help, please contact Roger Wilkinson at roger.wilkinson@waterways.org.uk or by calling 020 3612 9624.
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5B
KING'S CROSS TO CAMDEN
Four gasholders have now been re-erected above St Pancras Lock: three of which house apartment blocks. The fourth is a public open space called Gasholder Green. They were once part of the gasworks of Imperial Gas Light & Coke Co, a customer of the canal, which opened on the off-side bank in 1824, next to the site of King’s Cross Station. Coal was delivered, and ashes and by-products taken out, via a canal basin.
Roger Wilkinson highlights points of interest along the popular towpath walk Hawley Lock Hampstead Lock Camden Lock
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Kentish Town Lock
Walker’s Quay
Camden Road Bridge
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Canal Information Centre/Starbucks
Elm Village
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At Camden Road Bridge, then Camden Street Bridge, note the grooves worn by tow-ropes picking up grit from the path. The River Fleet passes in a culvert under the canal between these bridges.
In 1810 William Agar bought Elm Grove, an estate across the intended line of the canal. He was possibly related to George Agar, one of the canal’s proprietors. He refused access to the Canal Company for a long time, until eventually, after law suits and payment of compensation, he relented. Later, his son built a huge shanty-town on the land (Agar Town), described by Dickens as the worst slums in London. They were demolished in 1868 for Midland Railway’s goods yards. After they subsequently closed, the area was redeveloped as Elm Village.
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Kentish Town Bridge is followed by Kentish Town Lock and Hawley Lock (named after the landowner, Sir Henry Hawley). The building of the former Camden Brewery (off-side, 1900) was rebuilt in 1982 as the studios of new breakfast TV company, TV-AM. It’s now MTV’s studios. Walker's Quay (left, off-side) is where the Jenny Wren trip-boat has run from since 1968.
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Hampstead Road Locks are the only surviving pair of locks and the top locks of the 12 taking the canal down 86ft to Limehouse Basin.
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The former lock house is an 1815 castellated cottage, now Starbucks and a canal information centre. Regular through freight traffic on the Regent’s Canal continued until the 1960s, while some timber trade continued until 1970.
Winter 2019 24/10/2019 09:51
Towpath Walks
3
Turn off the towpath and up a ramp on the right, which leads to the former Great Northern Railway Co’s Goods Yard, on the high ground to the north of the towpath. This includes the Granary Building (Lewis Cubitt, 1852) which once had an interchange basin leading off the canal, with wharves for barges under the building. The Goods Yard redevelopment, as King’s Cross Central, is one of central London’s biggest developments. The basin (infilled at the end of WWI) is now the site of Granary Square.
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On the west side of Granary Square, the Eastern & Western Coal Drops (1850s) have been refurbished to a Thomas Heatherwick design. With the Fish and Coal Offices (1852-7), this area is now a smart precinct of shops and cafés.
5a
Walk past the Fish and Coal Offices at basement level, turning left to re-join the towpath below St Pancras Lock. This basement was the coal depot’s extensive stables (400 horses) which included a hospital for horses. Camley Street Natural Park (off-side below the lock) was set up in 1985 by London Wildlife Trust & LB Camden on the site of the old railway coal chute area and accommodates hundreds of plant species. St Pancras Lock itself, like all locks on the Regent’s Canal, was built as a pair to cope with heavy traffic. It was singled (with the second lock chamber rebuilt as an automatic weir) as part of economising measures in the 1980s. The waterpoint (behind the lock house) is a George Gilbert Scott design (1872). It was the water tank for locomotives. The structure was moved from St Pancras Station in 2001 to its present site to make space for Eurostar. It is presently in use (temporarily) by St Pancras Cruising Club as its clubhouse.
Gasholders St Pancras Lock
5b
St Pancras Cruising Club Camley Street Natural Park
5A
Granary Square
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York Way/ Maiden Bridge
Kings Place
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Walk to York Way / Maiden Lane Bridge for a view back (east) to Islington Tunnel. Some 960 yards (878m) long it has no towpath, so boats were legged through until a tug was introduced in 1826. This tugging service operated until the 1930s. The unusually large dimensions of the tunnel and waterway stem from its design as an ‘import-export’ canal, able to take Thames lighters bringing cargoes from London Docks. The stop gates next to Maiden Lane Bridge were installed during WWII to lessen damage by flooding in the event of a breach. This was critical, as main lines serving King’s Cross Station go under the canal just the other side of the bridge. Maiden Lane Bridge itself now carries York Way. Nearby were the dust-heaps that feature in Dickens’ Household Words magazine.
Islington Tunnel
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Battlebridge Basin London Canal Museum
St Pancras Station
King's Cross Station
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The walk starts at Battlebridge Basin, which takes its moniker from the original name of the area, and a legend of a battle between Boudicca and the Romans. The basin was completed in 1825 for landowner William Horsfall. Two warehouses remain: one was Porter’s bottling works (once the London bottling plant for Guinness, now a design studio), the other houses London Canal Museum. London Canal Museum is halfway along the basin. Formerly Carlo Gatti’s warehouse, it still has ice wells and dates from 1856. The museum itself was opened in 1992 by HRH The Princess Royal, who continues to be a patron. Swanky King's Place is also worth a mention. It opened in 2008 with concert halls, a restaurant and café, and is the HQ of the Guardian and Observer newspapers.
Winter 2019 026 towpath walks SH AH.indd 29
IWA Waterways |
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restoration HUB:
Actions and Achievements
T
wo years ago we launched a five-year plan, part of which presented ‘restoring’ as one of four key strands of our work. As we come to the close of the second year of our objectives and to the final quarter of our twoyear Historic England National Capacity Building grant, we review where we are and share plans with members about what’s coming up next for restoration.
Hub foundations
IWA’s Restoration Hub was established before the announcement of the five-year plan. The Hub seeks to champion, enable and support the restoration movement, and its direction is focused by the Hub’s strategic advisory team known as the High Level Panel. The team is made up of influential and experienced leaders of the restoration movement who meet to consider the key issues facing the sector. Their latest thinking is summarised in the graphic [right] and can be boiled down to a small number of core areas: funding, leadership, stakeholders and legislation, and finally resources, which includes volunteers, their skills and training. These areas have become the basis of the Restoration Hub’s plans and the foundation for our five-year objectives.
Raising awareness The five-year plan looked towards the creation of an exciting, vibrant and robust restoration sector that can deliver successes as well as reopenings. To support this aim, IWA will continue to build its reputation as the go-to provider of knowledge, advice and resources for waterway restoration projects. In fact, the last few years have seen some significant reopenings, such as Lock 15 on the Grantham Canal and Phase 1a of the Cotswold Canals, and these certainly go some way to delivering excitement in the sector. However, it’s important to remember that all of these are significant, long-term, often multi-million pound construction projects, which in many cases operate without broader public recognition or support. IWA is ideally placed to raise awareness of the sector overall and to access specific audiences, such as national government, local
issues facing restoration resources Succession Planning
knowledge
funding
Issues: • Recruiting volunteers at all levels • Finding the right people for the right projects
Issue: • How to share best practice across a national movement
Issues: • How do restoration groups secure adequate funding to deliver their projects • Post-Brexit heritage funding may be affected
one voice skills
champion restoration
Issue: • Developing volunteer competency and expanding the sector’s skill base
Issue: • How to gain high level political visibility as well as recognition and support from the public
strategic Planning & priorities Issues: • A finite set of resources needs to be used for maximum benefit • How does a fragmented sector respond to national issues
stakeholders & legislation environment
Heritage & Planning
working in partnership
Issues: • Demonstrating environmental benefits of restoration • Environmental rules and regulations challenge to navigate, creating barriers to progress
Issues: • Limited understanding of waterways heritage • Route security of derelict canals threatened by developers and local authorities ignoring local plan
Issue: • Ineffective relationships with important stakeholders
authorities, a greater diversity of volunteers and national media, to bring new attention and support to the work of the movement. In the last year we have secured coverage for restoration on BBC’s Country File as well as in national newspapers such as the Observer and Guardian.
Training and skills-sharing Site health and safety has been an area where IWA has invested considerable resources to provide a lead to restoration groups. One of the largest investments has been in the recruitment of the Hub’s technical officer, who provides technical support to restoration groups on project planning, risk assessment and method statements. Since the five-year plan was published the restoration team has worked on three core health and safety tuition videos: Creating a Culture of Safety, Construction, Design & Management Regulations 2015, and Project Planning. They have been shared with restoration volunteers and video training has been supplemented by workshops on technical topics such as working at height and temporary works. This type of training aims to lift the skill and knowledge base of volunteers across the sector. The technical officer takes his skills and advice direct to restoration sites to provide technical support and knowledge-sharing in situ. Recently they have also been invited to undertake independent health and safety audits for several restoration groups to identify gaps in paperwork and propose an improvement plan. Meanwhile, restoration volunteers have been given the opportunity to attend site supervisors safety and first aid training schemes, run by external trainers and organised by IWA’s restoration team. Training volunteers on plant and machinery allows restoration groups to become selfsufficient.
The Restoration Group has produced health and safety videos to supplement their onthe-ground training courses. Learning bricklaying on a WRG training weekend.
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Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:17
restoration hub
Canal Camps for all Waterway Recovery Group provides the hands-on practical support for restoration groups nationwide through its week-long, working holidays known as Canal Camps, as well as through weekend digs provided by WRG’s regional groups (see page 32 for details of this summer’s camps). Since our five-year plan was published, 41 Canal Camps have taken place, delivering over 30,000 volunteer hours to restoration groups across 15 different sites. The objective is to deliver “inspiring, high-quali restoration work, using a skilled and motivated volunteer workforce”. Inglesham Lock, the gateway to the Cotswolds linking the River Thames to the Cotswold Canals restoration, has enjoyed concentrated WRG camps over the last two years and is now close to completion. The WRG team is looking forward to 2020 with some anticipation as there is the potential for teams to work on two similar-sized projects. This pe of work, where our volunteers can make a significant difference to a restoration and where all the skills and experience of our volunteers can be employed in a much more involved and coordinated way, should bring new levels of motivation and upskilling. The team behind Canal Camps has looked to extend its reach to try and aract new, diverse audiences to restoration volunteering and to use the working holidays as a gateway to the wider waterways volunteering sector. Family camps, shorter three-day events aracting three generations of families in some locations, are aimed at children aged six to 14 years old and their guardians. Run on the Uoxeter, Grantham and Wendover canals, these camps have allowed young volunteers and their families to be introduced to the world of canal restoration through a programme of activities such as Himalyan balsam clearance, archaeology and habitat creation. The camps have received fantastic feedback and we plan to continue running them for the foreseeable future. There is a new, teen programme in the planning stages, which will be focused on providing basic skills to 16- and 17-year-olds, preparing them for Canal Camp aendance when they reach 18. The hope is to include this programme in a broader youth engagement scheme and grant funding will be sought to support this project in coming to שׁuition.
Expert advice Planning expertise, through the Planning Advisory Panel, and engineering advice, through IWA’s Honorary Consultant Engineers, have been supplemented by fundraising, public relations, marketing and environmental skills offered by a broad panel of professionals. The Restoration Hub team has answered an enormous range of questions, fielding around ten detailed requests per month on topics as diverse as waste management for dredging operations and winding hole specifications. The Heritage Advisory Group has most recently established a שׁamework for its remit and plans to issue a report which spans both restoration and navigable waterways heritage in 2020. The advice takes the form of reports, detailed professional advice, verbal recommendations and training. A Governance Advisory workshop was offered in October 2019 as well as fundraising digital clinics in September. Detailed plans are being hatched for IWA’s annual restoration conference organised in conjunction with Canal & River Trust, offering the opportuni for more than 120 restoration volunteers to learn directly שׁom the experiences of other sectors with similar experiences as well as specific learning שׁom waterway restoration specialists. The programme of training is ongoing and is organised at least six months in advance. There are plans in place to expand the breadth and depth of expert advice offered. One of the five-year objectives proposed the development of a ‘wiki’ for restoration, accessible by waterway restoration volunteers. This proposal has been superseded by plans for a new online resource to be developed as part of IWA’s new website plans (see page 10).
Supporting the sector The final objective has collaboration and partnership working at its heart. The launch of the Waterways in Progress report has been a great example of how IWA has supported the sector to ampli the benefits of restoration Winter 2019 030 hub strategy AH.indd 31
CASE STUDY
Buckingham Canal Society
How the Restoration Hub has supported this waterways project: • BCS has received fundraising advice via our Virtual Funding Surgery and receives the Grants Online Newsleer arranged by IWA • Weekend work parties on the canal have been carried out by WRG’s regional groups • Volunteers שׁom BCS have aended IWA’s Restoration Hub workshops on high-risk activities, including temporary works and working at height • The Hub has funded one place for a BCS volunteer to aend a CITB-approved Site Supervisors Safe Training Scheme course • The Hub partially funded one volunteer’s PRINCE2 and MSP Foundation Level qualifications via a training grant • Our Driver Authorisation Instructors have trained BCS volunteers on plant and vehicles. Some have been trained up to instructor status so the socie can be self-sufficient in regards to their future requirements • Hub experts have conducted an environmental site habitat survey for BCS’s proposed route, providing a supporting statement, and audited the socie’s works project plan, liſt plans and risk assessments.
activi. Presentations at the World Canals Conference and to MPs and Lords, and a stand at the Socie of Local Authori Chief Executives annual conference, have meant the message of ‘restoration today’ has been shared widely. Restoration schemes have circulated the report and video generously to local legislators and quotes שׁom the report have been used as part of grant funding applications. The High Level Panel has asked for reports wrien by the Inland Waterways (Ameni )Advisory Council to be updated/reviewed and recirculated as much of the content of these reports has value for other organisations outside of the restoration communi. IWA is planning an event for the construction/developer communi in 2021 as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations and the benefits of restoration will be a central message at this conference. Opportuni knocks at every stage of a restoration and IWA is keen to ensure that each and every one is seized along the way.
More information
To read the Waterways in Progress report visit waterways.org.uk/ waterwaysinprogress. IWA Waterways |
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restoration HUB:
Looking back on summer 2019 with WRG
T
he nights are drawing in and the temperature is dropping – a sure sign that summer is over. Although the weather was a bit of a mixed bag this year, our dedicated Waterway Recovery Group Canal Camp volunteers turned out in force to help restore navigations all over the country. This year, volunteers spent time on nine different sites across 20 week-long working holidays. A total of 303 volunteers joined the WRG Canal Camps spending 1,818 volunteer days in all working on the waterways. That’s a staggering 14,544 volunteer hours on practical restoration.
WRG has had a successful summer across the board, here are some of the highlights: Wey & Arun Canal Camp dates: 6th-27th July across three different camps
This was WRG’s most technical project this summer, and volunteers worked on the creation of a new lift-bridge that will eventually allow boats to reach the new Birtley section of the canal. During these camps volunteers supported the Wey & Arun Canal Trust in creating the foundations for the lift-bridge. Over 5½ tons of reinforced steel, 7,000 ties and 22m³ of concrete were used during the three weeks.
Lichfield Canal Camp dates: 6th-20th July and 3rd-10th August across three different camps
Cotswold Canals: Weymoor Bridge Camp dates: 3rd-17th August across two different camps
A small team of specialist WRG volunteers supported the Cotswold Canals Trust on the final push to complete Weymoor Bridge at Latton. Experienced machine operators landscaped the site and profiled the new roadway running over the bridge, allowing for the temporary diversion route to finally be removed. In preparation for resurfacing of the road, volunteers also put in place new kerb stones.
Groups of volunteers spent three weeks at Fosseway Heath Nature Reserve where they excavated the Lichfield Canal channel and repointed and restored the old towpath wall using the original bricks. In total, WRGies dug out a 120m channel and reinstated the towpath.
Grantham Canal Camp dates: 6th-27th July and 10th-17th August across four different camps
With the restoration of Lock 15 completed in 2018, attention was shifted to Lock 14 on the Woolsthorpe Flight for this year’s Canal Camps. Supporting the Grantham Canal Trust’s rebuild, WRG volunteers laid bricks, completed concrete pours, landscaped and repointed the wingwalls among other tasks. WRG provided external bricklaying training during the Canal Camps to help develop volunteers’ skills. With excellent progress made this summer, it is expected that the whole lock will be restored by early 2020.
The completed Weymoor Bridge.
Derby Canal Camp dates: 20th-27th July on one camp
Volunteers supported the Derby & Sandiacre Canal Trust’s work on the derelict Borrowash Bottom Lock and were involved in uncovering and rebuilding the original stone walls above and below the lock chamber, installing large coping stones and landscaping the area surrounding the structure. WRGies even spent one evening abseiling down an old aqueduct!
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WRG’s efforts on Weymoor Bridge will allow restoration of the Thames & Severn Canal to continue.
Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:18
restoration hub
Still to come in 2019 Reunion Weekend
Digger operator Adrian Sturgess excavates the Lichfield Canal channel at Fosseway Heath.
Cotswold Canals: Dudbridge Lower Lock Camp dates: 17th-31st August across two different camps
After a last-minute relocation of a Canal Camp, volunteers arrived at Dudbridge Lower Lock to uncover and begin repairs to this structure, which had developed a void behind the brickwork. Volunteers erected the scaffolding and began deconstructing the lock chamber. The team also had awaydays to work on Weymoor Bridge, Ryeford Double Locks and Goughs Orchard.
Swansea Canal Camp dates: 23rd-31st August on one camp
Moving from Ynysmeudwy Lower Lock, where the 2018 Canal Camp was based, to the Upper Lock, volunteers cleared vegetation, repointed the lock chamber with lime mortar and rebuilt one of the paddle arches. Working alongside Swansea Canal Society and Canal & River Trust, the team helped secure the future of this old lock.
Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation Camp dates: 23rd-31st August on one camp
This wasn’t a typical Canal Camp as volunteers worked on an active navigation to support the ongoing efforts of the small and committed team that manages this waterway. Over the course of the week, tasks included improving facilities at Paper Mill Lock, renovating a storage shed, building canoe racks, improving landing stages and helping repair the weir.
This will take place on the Uttoxeter Canal on 2nd and 3rd November. This annual get-together is a working party for up to 80 volunteers who have attended a previous Canal Camp. Known as the Bonfire Bash, the weekend is usually spent clearing vegetation along the line of the canal and then burning it. It is a fun weekend and a great way to catch up with old friends as well as making new ones.
Christmas Canal Camp If you are looking for something different to do over the festive season, then why not sign up for the Christmas Canal Camp? The camp runs from 26th December to 1st January. The site hasn’t been confirmed yet so keep an eye on the website for details. If you would like to find out more about the WRG Canal Camps, just visit our website waterways.org.uk/wrg.
Looking for leaders with 2020 vision The WRG Canal Camp team is already planning for 2020 and is looking for your help. Every year, WRG needs over 80 volunteer leaders, assistants and cooks to ensure that the camps are fun, well planned and, most of all, safe. If you think you, or someone you know, have the skills to become a Camp Leader, we would love to hear from you. Full training is given. Email WRG at enquiries@waterways.org.uk to find out more.
Monmouthshire Canal Camp dates: 31st August-14th September across two different camps
Volunteers returned to the lock-keeper’s cottage at Ty Coch to continue the archaeological excavations on this canalside heritage structure. The team meticulously uncovered and documented artefacts that helped show what life was like for those who lived in the area when this part of the canal was navigable.
The WRG team on the Mon & Brec.
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Volunteers on the Lichfield Canal restoration.
IWA Waterways |
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23/10/2019 14:18
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23/10/2019 14:43
RUPERT SMEDLEY
Alison Smedley
Aboard her historic tug Sandbach.
ON THE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Alison on her dinghy.
Can you tell us briefly what your job entails? There are four main strands: coordinating IWA’s parliamentary campaigning, leading on IWA’s national navigation campaigns, I’m part of IWA’s press office and I also do the secretariat for IWA’s Navigation Committee. I was first employed by the Association seven years ago with the sole remit (as branch campaigns officer) to get IWA branch work parties up and running. Since then my role has gradually evolved to become what it is now. I’m away from home once or twice a month at meetings either in London (at Westminster), or with navigation authorities. I also try to spend a day a month at IWA head office in Chesham, which enables me to catch up with colleagues and have meetings about specific projects or campaigns we’re working on. The rest of the time I’m working from home in Staffordshire overlooking the Caldon Canal.
Waterways talks political wrangling, MBEs and WRGie marriage with IWA’s policy & campaigns officer Alison Smedley IWA has a long history of successful political campaigning. Do you still think it's one of the organisation's overriding strengths? Definitely. In particular our campaigning for the future funding of the publicly funded waterways. Canal & River Trust enjoys the good contract with Government that it has directly as a result of IWA’s work in the years leading up to the charity being launched, and we continue to campaign for better funding for the Environment Agency navigations too.
Have ongoing Brexit negotiations impeded these efforts recently?
Alison (l) talks to MPs at IWA’s annual parliamentary dinner.
Winter 2019 035 alison smedley intervew SH AH.indd 35
They certainly haven’t helped, especially all the good work concerning the potential transfer of EA navigations to CRT. And there’s been a lot of change in politics as a result of Brexit, not least a new waterways minister [the previous incumbent, Therese Coffey, was moved to secretary of state for work and pensions following Amber Rudd’s resignation in September]. Hopefully, however, the new one will be a breath of fresh air as we certainly haven’t had much interaction with the waterways minister in recent years, which has been frustrating. IWA Waterways |
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Rupert Smedley
above: Alison being interviewed for local TV news on the Old Bedford River Campaign Cruise in August 2018.
Martin Buckland
Left: Leading a Himalayan balsam work party in 2013. Stuart Collins
right: Alison (second from left) joins volunteers on a BCN clean-up in 2014.
Would you say IWA's policies and campaigns are generally more reactive or proactive? In the past they’ve tended to be very reactive, but we’re trying to change that. One challenge is the sheer breadth of issues we campaign upon, everything from very small things to do with lock ladders or paddle pawl stops, for example, all the way up to the big issues like waterways funding – and everything else in-between. A recent example and success story can be seen at Ely, on the River Ouse, where EA was looking to sell off some river frontage – despite it actually bringing in a regular income for EA, and providing valuable visitor moorings for people using the river. We wrote letters to the waterways minister and encouraged our members to do the same to the MPs and the local authorities who would be impacted by it. One of the businesses that was going to be affected was a hire-boat company – the last remaining hire base on the Ouse. If that disappeared, a number of businesses along the entire River Ouse would suffer. Ultimately we were successful and the local authority ended up taking it on. And so those moorings continue to be in use.
How do you pick your battles? Where people write to IWA we always try to offer advice, responding to enquiries from people as diverse as riparian landowners and cyclists. A lot of this correspondence gets directed to me, and invariably I can give advice based on the information we already have available on the website (policies, briefing notes etc). They can often use this on their own to campaign locally, or I’ll notify the relevant IWA Branch to support them. If it’s something significant I’ll take it to the next meeting of Navigation Committee, who will then give a view on whether it has national implications and whether we should get involved more formally.
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What are the best parts of the job? One of the most exciting parts is visiting the Houses of Parliament. I tend to go for the meetings of the All-Party Parliamentary Waterways Group, which IWA supports by providing the secretariat, and we also organise at least one parliamentary event a year – either a reception or a dinner – where we invite targeted MPs who we know are particularly supportive of the waterways. After the last two general elections we’ve held a more informal drop-in reception, to which we’ve invited all the new MPs. This has followed on from IWA’s introduction, in 2015, of a Waterways Manifesto, which has proved a great way of engaging MPs. I’ve since created a spreadsheet of all the constituencies that have waterways (whether navigable or restoration projects) in them, and we’re in the process of making this resource available on the website. Of the 650 constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales, there are 408 with either navigable waterways or active restoration projects. It takes quite a lot of updating – every time an MP changes political party, for example, which has happened more than usual in the past few months! I’m tempted to just take that column out!
What areas do you think IWA's campaigning will focus on over the coming years? Waterways funding is always going to be important, as is affordable boating (whether that be licensing costs or simply the ease of getting small boats out on our canals and rivers). We’ve also recently set up a sub-group at Navigation Committee to look at alternative forms of propulsion, not just in the light of the red diesel tax situation, but also looking at greener boating. Although diesel engines on inland waterways comprise a tiny, tiny proportion of what is impacting the environment, by the time everyone else has cleaned up their act (cars have gone electric etc), we’ll suddenly be a relatively bigger part of the problem. We need to be doing research, getting advice, and then lobbying navigation authorities to provide whatever’s required. In the short-term it might just be many more electric hook-up points whereby boaters can plug in and avoid having to run their engines to charge batteries, or to use electric heaters instead of smoky solid-fuel stoves.
How did you become interested in the waterways? My parents were IWA members before I was born and used to hire regularly. When I was seven they bought a Humber keel, which we lived in on the Thames until I was 11. That left me with a real love of the waterways. When I left home, aged 19, it was to move onto a boat of my own. My dad immediately Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:20
Alison Smedley
we went boating there that year too. My role as IWA campaigns officer is now influencing where we cruise!
Are there any waterways remaining on your boating bucket list? There are still some places I haven’t done, and some Rupert hasn’t done. Between us we want to tick them off – places like the Yorkshire Ouse up to York and Ripon, for example.
Alison Smedley
What’s been your biggest waterways achievement to date?
Bellanoch Swing Bridge on the Crinan Canal – Alison’s favourite Scottish waterway.
bought me IWA membership, although I didn’t get actively involved for some time. The following year I quit my job and spent the year travelling around the network. I’d also started boating to IWA national festivals and I’d often enviously watch volunteers in their red T-shirts relaxing in the beer tent, without quite plucking up the courage to chat to them. In November 1992, while living aboard in Uxbridge, I went along to my first IWA meeting and it changed my life entirely. The speaker that night was Tim Lewis, talking about London WRG, and I got recruited to the fledgling IWA Middlesex section committee, attending its inaugural meeting a few of weeks later. I also went along to my first London WRG dig too. In fact, in 1993 I went on almost every London WRG dig I could, and that’s how I met my husband, Rupert. A few years after marrying we moved to Staffordshire. We wanted somewhere near the water for our boats and, to cut a long story short, we ended up on the Caldon Canal with moorings at the bottom of the garden. We have frontage to the Leek Arm and the main line, but they’re not adjacent to each other, it’s not on a junction. In fact, it actually takes an hour to boat from one end of the garden to the other, which always gives everyone completely the wrong idea about the size of our property! Another canal curiosity in the garden is the remains of a staircase flight of locks from one of the earlier layouts of the canal.
“I went along to my first IWA meeting and it changed my life entirely” Do you still find time to boat? Absolutely. Last year we did a mammoth three-week trip on Sandbach, a 35ft historic tug. There were three of us – me, Rupert and our 14-year-old son, Peter – plus Peter’s kayak, my dinghy and the cat. Despite the cramped quarters we had a fabulous time! We cruised all the way from Hemel Hempstead, up the Grand Union and down the Nene, across the Middle Level and up to the IWA Festival of Water at St Neots, and then onto Bedford, where Sandbach has taken up a mooring. It was great having the kayak and dinghy and exploring the backwaters, and also using them to take part in IWA’s campaign cruise on the Old Bedford River, which I’d helped organise. Although I’m very familiar with CRT waters, I’m much less so with EA ones other than the Thames. When, in 2015, IWA’s campaign for better funding for EA waterways started kicking off, I realised I didn’t know enough about them, so that was one of the reasons Winter 2019 035 alison smedley intervew SH AH.indd 37
One of the most satisfying things I’ve done is boating through locks Rupert and I both worked on as WRG volunteers on the Droitwich Canals in the late ’90s. To finally take a boat through there was a lovely feeling. It’s a similar story with the restored lock at Froghall on the Caldon Canal. I led the volunteer input there and seeing that lock reopened is still probably one of my biggest waterways achievements.
Not your MBE?! How did that come about? I received it nearly ten years ago, before I was an IWA employee. I suppose it was in recognition of 18 years of volunteering with IWA and other organisations, such as local canal societies and the Historic Narrow Boat Club. At one point, before Peter was born, I was on about six different committees, taking the minutes for all of them, as well as being an IWA trustee. Throughout this I worked in boring, mundane admin jobs because I spent all my spare time messing about on the waterways. That was my real priority – not pursuing a traditional ‘career’. Funnily enough though, the secretarial skills I learned enabled me to excel on the admin side of my volunteering. I still pride myself on my minute-taking! As far as I can gather, the MBE was awarded because I was always behind the scenes. I wasn’t the chairman or the person standing up taking the credit, but I did all the form-filling, minutes, coordination, planning and other donkey work. I kept doing it even after I had a baby. I only missed one IWA Trustee meeting – and that was four days after giving birth! I still volunteer for IWA with my local Branch, and Rupert and I are both actively involved with the Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust, so I’ve been volunteering on the waterways for 27 years now!
Which waterways will always be closest to your heart? From my 1990 trip around the country the Caldon Canal stood out as my favourite, which is why many years later when the opportunity came up to buy a house there we seized it. And I’ll always have a soft spot for the entire length of the River Thames. But I also have a love affair with Scottish waterways and the Crinan Canal is probably my favourite. I’ve never boated it, and that remains one of my dreams. IWA Waterways |
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Winter 2019 p038-039_iwa.indd 39
22/10/2019 16:45
CANALS IN
WATERCOLOUR Artist Dave Gardham tells us about his wintry waterways scenes that feature on IWA’s Christmas cards and his love of boating
I
Above: The Packet House at Worsley is Dave’s personal favourite Christmas card painting. Right & Below: This painting of Dave’s grandchildren fishing at Great Haywood brings back happy memories.
’ve been an IWA member for many years and my paintings first appeared on the Association’s Christmas cards in 2013. I had a selection of waterways scenes and thought they would make a good calendar so got in touch with Neil Edwards who advised me to submit a picture for the cards instead. To my surprise, it was accepted and I’ve added a new painting to the collection each year since.
Creative beginnings I’ve been creating art for as long as I can remember. I used to draw all the time when I was a kid – I loved to draw horses and I’d be sat in class doodling. Once I started painting, I always included water of some kind if I could, as I’m fascinated with the canals, but I do other things too. Years ago I took on commissions as a hobby. I did some family pet portraits and at one time I had quite a number of requests for tigers. It was around the time Esso had the ‘Put a Tiger in Your Tank’ slogan and I got fed up of painting them! People like having their boats painted in a favourite spot, and portraits of anglers holding a net full of fish – probably more than they’d ever caught – were popular as well. Since being introduced to the waterways, canal scenes have been my favourite things to paint. While out boating, I do some painting and sketching on location if I see a view that I like; I look at the scene and move things around a bit on the page to get the best composition. Mostly, though, I work from photographs. I do the majority of my paintings during winter after we’ve closed up the boat. It can take a month or more to complete a painting, although it probably only takes around two weeks of actual work. You have to have a break or two; coming back to the piece after a few days means you notice things that aren’t quite right that you might not otherwise have seen.
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Kings Bromley Marina.
Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:21
Waterways Artist Dave Gardham
Chirk Aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal.
Inspiration I prefer to use watercolours or gouache, although I have worked with acrylics and I want to get back into painting with oils again this year. I’m a bit of a traditionalist and am inspired by artists like Constable and Gainsborough, but I absolutely love Banksy’s modern work too. I’d describe my style as realism with some interpretation. I like to get the light, perspective, composition and detail as close as I can, then add things like snow to make it wintry. Gouache paint is good for this as you can layer paler colours over the top of darker ones, producing more vivid results than traditional watercolour paintings. The Christmas card picture I’m most pleased with is the Packet House at Worsley on the Bridgewater Canal. The photograph was taken in mid-July and I used a bit of artistic licence to make it wintry – I wasn’t sat out in the cold. Another painting that brings back nice memories is one I did of my grandchildren. We’d stopped at Great Haywood and the boys were fishing in the canal. Later that evening we listened to a Jools Holland concert that was taking place at the nearby Shugborough Hall and watched the firework display from across the fields. My favourite painting, however, is always the next one – as long as I don’t get bogged down with it. I always start off saying I won’t add in so much detail but then I do – I just can’t help myself.
Above: Kidderminster Church. Right: Winter in the Potteries – Dave’s first IWA Christmas card. Below: Cruising Home for Christmas.
Going for guild
Adventure
I’ve been a member of the Dave’s paintings on Guild of Waterway Artists display in Newark. for three years. While out on the network, I display my paintings outside the boat and on separate occasions I got talking to two Guild members who suggested I submit my work. It’s a prestigious group as there are only ever 25 members and you have to be voted in, so I was honoured to have been accepted into the Guild straight away. Among the founding members was Alan Firth, whose paintings also appear on IWA’s Christmas cards, and I’d admired his work for years – I’ve even got a few of his wall plates inside the boat. As part of the Guild, my work is on show alongside that of the other members at various exhibitions around the country including Audlem Mill in Cheshire, Ellesmere Port and the Black Country Living Museum. We keep in touch throughout the year and meet up at the Braunston Historic Narrowboat Rally every summer where we have our own stand. I also have my own display at the Arcade Art Shop in Newark-on-Trent.
During the summer, my wife and I enjoy exploring the network on our narrowboat Eliza Rose (named after my mother-in-law Eliza and wife Rose). We bought the boat around 12 years ago after going on a few hire-boat holidays and we’re now spending as much time as possible cruising the canals while we can. The boat is based at Kings Bromley Marina, which is very rural but also quite central and means we can choose almost any part of the network to visit. We love the adventure of being out on the waterways and have been to most places except for London. Cruising into Liverpool and staying at the newly opened docks in the middle of the city in 2008 was a memorable experience. We love the area that we’re in too; Tixall Wide is not too far away and Rose recently took a fantastic photograph of it that we’re going to print out to put up on the boat.
Winter 2019 040 xmas watercolours AH.indd 41
Rose at the helm of their boat Eliza Rose.
To buy Dave Gardham’s most recent card designs visit waterways.org.uk/shop. IWA Waterways |
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Then and Now: celebrating restoration success stories
Pocklington Canal Cruising the canal after another stretch was restored in 2018.
T
he Pocklington Canal is 9½ miles long and currently a little under 7 miles are navigable. It runs through East Riding of Yorkshire from Canal Head near Pocklington, down to the River Derwent, which it joins near East Cottingwith. The vast majority of the canal (with the exception of a small stretch near Hagg Bridge) lies within designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The waterway’s stunning natural surrounds boast three SSSIs, as well as a Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area and a Ramsar site (a wetland of international importance). These internationally recognised protection orders mean that any work undertaken on the canal is subject to an in-depth environmental assessment under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations (2010) and must comply with all rulings.
THEN: the history of the Pocklington Canal The Pocklington Canal was a late addition to the waterways network of England and Wales. Work did not start until 1815, despite proposals half a century before, and the canal was completed in 1818 at a cost of £32,695. An extension to its eponymous town proved prohibitively expensive, so its terminus remained just a few miles outside of Pocklington. The canal was mainly used to carry coal and agricultural produce. It was never a great financial success, partly because goods had to be transferred to horse-drawn carts at the terminus of the canal, adjacent to the Hull-York turnpike road, to continue their journey. The canal was sold to the York & North Midland Railway in 1848 and, like many canals in railway ownership, deteriorated through lack of dredging and other maintenance. Subsequently, in the hands of the North Eastern Railway, the canal gradually fell into disuse early in the 20th century and the last commercial craft to use the Pocklington was the keel Ebenezer in 1932.
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Pleasure-craft stopped using the canal soon after due to the deterioration of the lock gates, and from the mid 1930s until the early 1960s, the Pocklington was all but forgotten. In 1963, ownership passed to the British Waterways Board. A proposal, in 1959, to infill the canal with “inoffensive sludge” from a water treatment plant angered landowners, local residents and vocal members of IWA. With support from the Inland Waterways Protection Society, MPs were lobbied, there was extensive publicity in the press and even the House of Commons learned of the Pocklington Canal and its plight. The canal was saved. Waterways enthusiasts began to explore the possibility of restoring the canal and, in 1969, the Pocklington Canal Amenity Society was formed. Restoration began in 1971 with the repair of the entrance lock near East Cottingwith. In 1980, the Shell Oil Company funded a new set of gates for Thornton Lock, under an awards scheme. Further assistance was provided in 1986 when PCAS provided two swing-bridges and East Yorkshire Borough Council funded the work to fit them. The canal as far as the Melbourne Arm was formally opened on 19th July 1987 by Brian Dice, chief executive of BWB. In the same year, the first of many WRG Canal Camps was held on the canal. Negotiations to restore Walbut Lock took months to complete, but permission was finally granted in 1992, and in 1995 PCAS launched a fund for new gates at Coates Lock, which were fitted in 2000. The section nearest to Pocklington benefitted from a new set of bottom gates on the Top Lock in 2002 after which British Waterways dredged the pound above.
Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:22
A wintry scene on an unrestored section of the Pocklington Canal.
NOW: ongoing restoration and wildlife protection In 2014, WRG visited the Pocklington Canal on two occasions. In March, scrub-bashing took place near Bielby and over a week in August, as part of the Canal Camp programme, much of the towpath between Giles Lock and Sandhill Lock was repaired. In 2015, a partnership between PCAS and Canal & River Trust, supported by a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, created a three-year ‘Gem in the Landscape’ project. It ran between September 2016 and August 2019 and highlights included the volunteer-led restoration of the Grade II-listed Church Bridge and the installation of new signage to tell the canal’s story to visitors. CRT also carried out substantial dredging and tree works to enhance wildlife habitats within the SSSIs, and the swing-bridge on the Melbourne Arm was modified to reflect its traditional Georgian heritage. The 2018 Bicentenary Appeal, which raised £250,000 that included a grant from the IWA Tony Harrison Legacy Fund, made all this possible. Restoration work continues with the renovation of the currently derelict Sandhill Lock, with which WRG volunteers will be involved.
Boats in Melbourne Basin.
The restored Gardham Lock.
Wildlife on the Pocklington Canal
water surface including yellow waterlily, soft hornwort, flatstalked pondweed, narrow-leaved water plantain, fan-leaved In March this year, IWA launched its Waterways in Progress water crowfoot, flowering rush and arrowhead. The canal is report which looked at the many different benefits that a noted for its wide variety of fish stocks, among which can be canal restoration can bring to an area. One of the categories found tench, bream, perch and roach, as well as its 15-plus identified was ‘Enhancing Heritage & Habitats’ and the species of dragonflies and damselflies, including the rare redPocklington Canal was used as a case study to show how the eyed damselfly. There’s also an impressive range of bird restoration provided a ‘second chance for wildlife’. life with kingfishers, grey herons, moorhens and coots Ironically, it is almost because of its abandonment making regular appearances along the waterway, that the canal is such a treasure trove for wildlife. as well as curlews, barn owls and swans. It remained relatively unchanged for 150 years The Pocklington Canal was named one of and so retained many species of flora and the top sites for spotting wildlife on waterways fauna that were lost in other areas. It is now managed by CRT and was chosen the sympathetic restoration and ongoing by John Craven of BBC’s management of the natural habitats that have Countryfile as best for led to it being such an environmental success wildlife in his top ten story, which is thankfully now fully protected British canals. by SSSIs and other designations. Above: Arrowhead is among the For more Along the route, natural banking plants found on the canal. information about the provides ideal habitat for water voles and LEFT: Flowering rush. The Pocklington Canal, visit otters, and there is a wealth of important Pocklington is protected by SSSIs and internationally recognised pocklingtoncanalsociety.org. aquatic plants that live above and below the protection for its variety of wildlife.
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inbox
Do you have something to say about IWA or Waterways? It’s your magazine so please write and tell us your views. We will aim to publish responses to letters that ask questions about any aspect of IWA policy or decision-making. Please write to The Editor, Waterways, c/o IWA, Island House, Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA, or email a.hamson@wwonline.co.uk.
Leamington mystery I read with interest in the recent IWA magazine about the grand reopening of the Forth & Clyde Canal. When I was in Edinburgh recently I visited the newly refurbished Leamington Lift Bridge. This has enabled boaters on the Union Canal to reach the heart of the city. It was clear that the reopening has had a significant effect on enlivening that small bit of canal. A year ago there was little sign of life, only a few moored (semi-derelict) boats. But on this visit I could see that quite a few narrowboat-owners were clearly enjoying the new opportunity. Also it’s an interesting and probably unique structure which deserves a proper recognition and would surely be worthy of an in-depth report. The whole area around the Leamington Lift Bridge in Edinburgh is named Leamington: Street, Terrace, Lane etc. No one has been able to tell me why. Truly bizarre! It is of particular interest to me as I’m the person named on the certificate given by Canal & River Trust for the adoption of 3km of the Grand Union Canal which runs through Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. The other reason I’m taken with canals is that I spent five years of my life (the early years of the war) living on a farm in Little Leigh, which as I remember it was situated between the Manchester Ship Canal and what must have been the Runcorn Canal. I seem to have canals in my blood. Although I can picture both canals in my head from those early years, I’m darned if I can find the place on a map. Good wishes to you for all that you do for IWA. Janet Alty, Green Group leader, Royal Leamington Spa Town Council Leamington Lift Bridge is named after Leamington Road and Leamington Terrace, which both lie immediately to the south-east of the bridge (although we don’t know why they were named Leamington). Like the correspondent, I’ve always been intrigued by the name as I moved up onto the Scottish Lowland Canals from a mooring close to Leamington Spa! Of interest (to me at least) is the fact that when constructed in 1906, the lift-bridge was located ¾ mile or so further east in the Fountainbridge District of Edinburgh, close to the original terminus of the Edinburgh & Glasgow Union Canal. It was moved to its present location in 1922 – replacing a wooden drawbridge – when the canal was truncated. Jonathan Mosse, IWA deputy Scottish representative
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Leamington Lift Bridge.
Marple Aqueduct railings
I was interested to read the interview with Nigel Crowe on waterways heritage in the Autumn issue of Waterways, particularly the paragraph about the Marple Aqueduct with its new railings. In a copy of my father’s book, Water Highways by David E. Owen, published in 1967, there is a photograph of the aqueduct credited to the Guardian, which appears to show railings across the structure. Did the new railings replace the ones in the photograph? Or did those disappear at an earlier date, and if so, does anyone know when? Jennifer Hindshaw IWA did, in fact, object to the proposal for railings on the off-side parapet of Marple Aqueduct when Canal & River Trust consulted on the plans back in 2015, on the grounds that railings could actually create a greater hazard, as well as the precedent it might set for other similar aqueducts on the canal network. There would appear to be no historic evidence that it ever had permanent railings, although photographs do exist of some temporary railings in the 1960s while work was being carried out, which is presumably what can be seen in the photo in David E. Owen’s book. Photos in IWA’s archive from 1966 and 1978 clearly show no railings on the off-side parapet and so far as we are aware there was nothing until these new railings were installed. Alison Smedley, policy & campaigns officer
Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:23
Inbox
Tree protection Linda and Martin’s moorings in busy Stratford-upon-Avon.
Stratford moorings
We have recently returned from a very enjoyable trip round the Avon Ring. One of the highlights was spending a night in Bancroft Basin in Stratford-uponAvon; but only just. When we arrived mid-afternoon we were lucky to find a boat leaving and secured the last mooring spot. The above photo shows the great setting – convenient for the town’s many attractions and one lock away from the idyllic Avon. However, it was obvious that a number of the boats had been moored for well above the 48-hour limit as many still bore dated Avon Navigation Trust licences from the Stratford River Festival a week previously. Volunteers from ANT on board the William James confirmed the regular overstaying of boats but it is not their job to police another navigation authority’s waters. Indeed, they said one boat is often left for several weeks unattended until the owners feel like returning it to its home moorings. There are always occasions (such as illness or mechanical breakdown) when over-staying can be unavoidable but the blatant disregard for fellow boaters of many of those in the basin left a sour taste in the mouth. Hopefully Canal & River Trust will eventually up its game and take action against the minority of selfish boaters who spoil it for others. Martin and Linda Dixon, nb Dragonfly
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Marple Aqueduct without railings in 1966.
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I read the article on WRG Forestry in the Autumn issue of Waterways with interest, as both a keen boater and as a local authority tree officer. While greatly welcoming the highlight on trees and the good work undertaken by the WRG Forestry group, I thought it might be useful to draw attention to the law relating to ‘protected trees’, which was not mentioned, in the hope of avoiding inadvertent ‘transgressions’. In accordance with planning legislation (the Town and Country Planning Act, 1990 (as amended) and associated Regulations), trees can be protected by inclusion in a Tree Preservation Order or by the more general provisions that apply to trees in a conservation area. For most types of treework, formal consent for treatment is required from the local planning authority (usually the council) for TPO trees; prior written notice needs to be given of intended work to conservation area trees. Undertaking or causing/permitting unauthorised treework are strict liability criminal offences which may carry a heavy penalty. While most reputable tree surgeons (and undoubtedly WRG Forestry!) would be aware of the legal situation, it seems possible that eager volunteers may be caught unawares, not realising the potential ramifications – especially as a number of canal corridors are designated conservation areas in their own right, and in some places a section of canal is included in a wider conservation area. If anyone is considering treework, it is worth checking whether any protection is in place to avoid the risk of unauthorised treework taking place through well-meaning ignorance. Timescales may be affected as TPO applications can take about eight weeks to be formally determined and conservation area notifications usually six weeks – although the legislation does include some exemption provisions, for example the removal of deadwood. Many local authorities have publicly accessible interactive mapping systems on their websites, allowing people to check for themselves whether TPOs and/or conservation areas are in place; otherwise it may be a case of asking the council for information (in which case the relevant contact details should be on their websites). There is separate legislation relating to the protection of wildlife, which may also be relevant in terms of nesting birds, bat roosts etc. Ann Currell, principal planner trees & environment, London Borough of Barnet Thank you for highlighting the importance of Tree Preservation Orders. When WRG Forestry is invited to, or plans to work at a site, a nominated volunteer undertakes a site visit with the client (in most cases a restoration group/society) to assess the requirements, machinery and, most importantly, the permissions needed to undertake the works. Our team regularly works in conservation areas with TPOs in place. One example is our very own Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation, where Essex Waterways Ltd works closely with Maldon’s tree preservation officer to ensure legal obligations are met and that we do not undermine the local aesthetics or other ecologically important aspects. We share your concern regarding the potential for felling unmarked trees and are aware that unfortunately this does happen across the forestry sector. We always endeavour to make sure trees marked for removal meet the right criteria. IWA is currently updating our Practical Restoration Handbook, which includes producing a guidance note for vegetation clearance and felling. This will be freely available to all restoration groups when complete as part of our ongoing commitment to improving best practice across the sector. We would be delighted for individuals with your level of knowledge and experience to review this document once it is drafted. Alex Melson, volunteer coordinator, WRG
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The Bridgwater & Taunton Canal.
Branch Focus:
A YEAR IN THE
WEST COUNTRY It’s been a busy year for IWA’s West Country Branch. We take a look at their campaigning and other activities in 2019
C
overing the South West, IWA West Country Branch’s waterways encompass a huge area spanning Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Cornwall. Totalling just 29½ miles, the branch’s off-network Grand Western, Exeter Ship and Bridgwater & Taunton canals, River Parrett and River Tone Navigation offer plenty of volunteering potential, and two long-term campaigns keep members busy: the regeneration of Bridgwater Docks and the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Scheme. In addition, West Country Branch has helped secure funding for infrastructure improvements on the non-tidal River Parrett in Somerset, is campaigning for the replacement of bridges over the Exeter Ship Canal and keeps up a year-round schedule of work parties, towpath clean-ups, walks and events. All in all, it’s one of our most active branches. Let’s look back at the year so far.
NEW YEAR'S DAY WALK Kicking off 2019 was the New Year’s Day walk, which took place for the second year running along the Grand Western Canal. Twentynine IWA members, volunteers and Friends of Grand Western Canal assembled at the Globe Inn at Sampford Peverell and headed north-east along the towpath through the Devon countryside towards Burlescombe, a small village adjacent to the canal on its way to its current terminus at Lowdwells. The winter walk was led by Robert Hodgson, chairman of Friends of the Grand Western Canal, who talked about their vision to restore just over 2 miles of the Somerset section of the canal, with ambitious plans to include a replica James Green lift and a Park ’n Glide facility to take visitors into the centre of Taunton.
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GRANT FOR RIVER PARRETT IMPROVEMENTS The Branch received some good news in February when a £179,000 grant was awarded to Langport Town Council by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and Defra. This represented the culmination of four years’ hard work by local councils, IWA and many others. The funding went a significant way towards the £220,000 required for installing infrastructure along the River Parrett to improve the visitor experience and enhance the use of the waterway. Commenting on the success, Ray Alexander, chairman of West Country Branch, said: “Our congratulations go out to everyone involved in this multifaceted project. It has taken a lot of hard work and determination to get to this point, but once the improvements are made they will open up 7½ miles of navigable river and bring an increase in leisure, recreation and tourism attractions to the town.”
A new pontoon on the River Parrett.
Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:54
West Country Branch
Julian Gibson
IWA West Country work party, Bridgwater Docks.
SUPPORTING PULL SNAP STOMP This summer West Country Branch volunteers supported IWA’s national Pull Snap Stomp campaign to help eradicate Himalayan balsam along the UK’s waterways with work parties in June and July. The Balsam Bashes held by the branch over the past few years have gone a long way to helping stop the spread of the fast-growing, invasive plant in the area but pockets of it still spring up along the waterways. Looking ahead to next year, Mike Slade commented, “We have a significant problem with Himalayan balsam in our area and really welcome people who want to get involved in our Balsam Bash work parties over the summer months. The stems pop out of the ground really easily, making this a great activity to share with the whole family.”
Alison Smedley
Activity has already started since the grant was awarded. Four pontoons with access ramps, two sets of steps for canoeists, solar lighting on the footbridges and a fitness trail have already been installed. In addition, there are plans for three fishing platforms for disabled anglers, benches, picnic tables, bins and cycle racks to be included along with interpretation boards and new signage. Improvements to a 550m right of way between Langport and Huish Bridge will also be made as part of the wider project. The benefits are already being reaped with locals reporting greater use of the river and its corridors, and visitor numbers on the rise as more people are being attracted to Langport. The council hopes to have the work completed by spring 2020.
The volunteers from West Country Branch are often found out on the towpaths, and in early May it was calculated that they had worked over 6,000 hours in Volunteers at Firepool Lock, the last year. The volunteers Bridgwater & Taunton Canal. work tirelessly to protect, maintain and restore the rivers and canals across the region, and over 220 work parties were held from May 2018 to April 2019. Working in partnership with many of the waterways trusts that operate in the area, the volunteers not only bring enthusiastic manpower to work parties and events, they also provide expertise, with many having in depth knowledge of specific requirements of canal restoration. They also regularly work with local businesses who have chosen to donate their time to help with canal clean-ups as part of their corporate social responsibility. Commenting on the activity of the IWA volunteers, Mike Slade, the branch’s volunteer coordinator, said: “We are extremely grateful to our volunteers for the time that they give to help us maintain our local rivers and canals. Their dedication has enabled us to make a significant difference over the years and we wouldn’t have these open and active waterways if it wasn’t for their help.”
Stefanie Preston
Below: Boat on the River Parrett.
VOLUNTEERS GIVE OVER 6,000 HOURS
Stefanie Preston
Right: Val Saunders, chair of Langport Town Council, with Ray Alexander, chairman of IWA West Country Branch.
Winter 2019 048 branch focus west country AH.indd 49
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West Country Branch
BRIDGWATER TIDAL BARRIER SCHEME For several years, West Country Branch has been campaigning on issues relating to the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Scheme. In September 2019, IWA noted its concerns that a formal request to reserve land within the bypass channel as part of the scheme had been refused by the Project Board. A bypass channel is to be constructed to divert the flow of the River Parrett while the main tidal barrier structure is built on the existing riverbed. More than three years ago IWA requested that Sedgemoor District Council and the Environment Agency retain some of the bypass channel land-take in public ownership to enable future construction of a lock and approach channels, intended for boats to use when the barrier is closed to navigation. A formal request was included in IWA’s response to the Preliminary Environmental Information Report, submitted to EA on 18th September 2017. While the number of occasions that the Tidal Barrier will be closed will be modest to begin with, EA’s own projections show that as sea levels rise over the lifetime of the barrier, the number of instances that the barrier is closed to navigation is likely to exceed 60 times a year. In May 2018, EA responded to IWA’s request for the relevant land to be reserved, stating that this would not be possible due to its access, operational and craneage requirements on the west side of the barrier. Detailed consideration by an IWA consultant engineer showed that EA’s access requirements and a lock channel could co-exist and this has subsequently been discussed in detail by IWA, Bridgwater Town Council (on behalf of the community) and EA on three separate occasions, in September 2018, December 2018 and June 2019. At the latter of these meetings, EA raised – for the first time – its land acquisition policy which would have prevented part of the relevant land being acquired, but in conjunction with SDC a potential solution to this was found. The extra land area concerned is approximately 365m². A recent meeting of the Project Board found further impediments to reserving the land, leading to a decision not to include the reservation of the relevant land within the scheme. Having reviewed the issues, IWA has a clear view that each of these issues could and should have been identified, addressed and resolved by EA over the last two years and that EA should now urgently rectify its failures to deal with these in a timely manner. Ivor Caplan, IWA national chairman, commented: “As an organisation, IWA campaigns for all users of the waterways to receive the maximum benefit from our canals, rivers and linked tidal estuaries, both now and in the future. Operation of the proposed Tidal Barrier is expected to rise significantly over its lifetime and will have an increasing effect on the established right of navigation on the River Parrett. “IWA believes that the decision to refuse the request to reserve land to enable the future construction of a lock within the Bypass Channel as part of the Tidal Barrier scheme is a short-sighted decision by the Project Board and should be reversed.”
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EXETER SHIP CANAL BRIDGES At the end of July, West Country Branch gave its support for a funding application, which includes replacing the two existing low-level bridges across the Exeter Ship Canal which would bring benefits to boaters, cyclists and pedestrians in the city. The application was made to the Department for Transport’s National Roads Fund Programme to upgrade the A379 Exeter Outer Ring Road. Both the existing steel swing-bridge and bascule bridge, which carry traffic over the canal, will need replacing in the next ten years. This presents an opportunity for the new structures to be designed with modern use of the four-lane road and waterway in mind; representations have been made for the height of the bridges to be raised to enable boaters to pass underneath without requiring them to be moved and provide a safe alternative to the road crossing for cyclists and pedestrians. If the application is approved, construction could start in 2025 and be completed by 2027.
WEST COUNTRY WATERWAYS FORUM A West Country Waterways Forum, organised by the Branch, saw nearly 30 volunteers from local organisations gather at the Globe Inn on the Grand Western Canal in Sampford Peverell. In attendance were representatives from Bude Canal & Harbour Society, Bude Canal Trust, Friends of Exeter Ship Canal, Friends of Grand Western Canal, Langport Town Council, Rolle Canal Society, Somerset Navigators Boat Club, and Stover Canal Trust. The aim of the forum was to provide an opportunity for waterways groups to meet, exchange information and ideas, and to hear about current and proposed developments affecting canals and rivers. Ellen Hawes, IWA fundraising officer, also gave a presentation.
BRIDGWATER DOCKS The second of West Country Branch’s ongoing campaigns is the regeneration of Bridgwater Docks, in particular the restoration of the bascule bridge and barge lock. IWA believes this is an underused and undervalued tourist attraction and that by restoring the link from the docks to the River Parrett, there would be increased use of the area for both tourism and navigation purposes. As discussions continue, the branch is ensuring its voice is heard and that it is speaking for all users of the waterways.
GET INVOLVED IWA West Country Branch is always looking for volunteers to get involved in its broad range of activities, and is currently seeking a treasurer, fundraiser, event organiser, membership secretary and heritage officer to join its committee. If you’d like to become part of the friendly team, find out more at waterways.org.uk/westcountry. If you have any questions or comments on the information contained within this feature, please contact Ray Alexander, chairman of IWA West Country Branch, on ray.alexander@waterways.org.uk.
Winter 2019 23/10/2019 14:24
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