Cheshire Locks work party at Lock 64 in July. Photo: Tony Walker See the “after” photograph on page 15.
Let me start by drawing your attention to recent and forthcoming work on the Uttoxeter Canal.
On page 4 Alison reports on a June CRT work party clearing Himalayan Balsam along the Uttoxeter Canal towpath loop at Alton.
On page 5 there is news of a wrg/nw working party that will take place in November. The work is scrub bashing around Bridge 70 and on a new site near Alton. There is lots of work to do, so we would be very pleased to welcome any branch members (or even nonmembers) who would like to come along and help on either day. Please contact Alison for more details.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the Caldon Canal reopening, which was celebrated at the Etruria Canal Festival (photos of our stalls on pages 8&9). There will be a celebration day at Stoke Boat Club in September (poster page 10), and Steve Wood will be doing an illustrated talk in November (page 12).
Dave Broome’s report on Burslem Port (pages 6-7) includes news of future involvement by local students (from a local college and also from a university)!
Now to an apology. When you look at our social programme (pages 12-13) you may notice that it looks very different to the one printed in the Summer issue of Knobsticks. The dates are all unchanged (so no need to cross them out in your diary), but only our annual dinner and our AGM are still on the dates originally listed. Sarah explains some of the reasons behind the changes in her Social Scene article (page 11) and hopes to finalise the post-Christmas talks soon.
She would also like me to draw your attention to the December social which is now a celebration of the 50th birthday of our branch as we would “particularly like to invite members to bring along their own snippets of branch history”.
That’s all for this issue. I hope that you enjoy it and can attend some of our social meetings, which start in October.
Reporting Invasive Species to CRT
See the short response below from Beth Dawid concerning my report to CRT in June. I am compiling a list of other items for CRT responses to items noted in our UPLANDER II Log whilst cruising the Caldon and Trent & Mersey Canals this past two months, and will correspond when we are returned to our berth at Kidsgrove.
Jon Honeysett (Navigation Officer)
Subject: Giant Hogweed on non-towpath side of Caldon Canal
Hi Jon
Thanks for reporting the Giant Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed on the offside between Lock 3 (Planet) and Br5 (College Road) on the Caldon.
Our invasive species specialist has confirmed that the Japanese Knotweed is already on our system and is on a treatment plan. The Hogweed has been added to the list and will be treated.
Thanks again for bringing this to our attention.
Beth Dawid Volunteer Team Leader Canal & River Trust
Dear Branch Members, I hope you have all had a great summer enjoying our local waterways, whether on foot, by boat or any other means.
Branch volunteers had a great weekend at the Etruria Canal Festival in June, which this year was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the reopening of the Caldon Canal. As well as our usual information and fundraising stand, we also supported Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust with their 50th anniversary exhibition and “memories tent” – where many people came along with their stories of the restoration and other memories of the canal. See photos on pages 8 & 9
If you missed this event and have stories you would like to share by taking part in a recorded interview, you can come along to the Stoke on Trent Boat Club event in Endon on 21st September (see the poster on page 10) or if you can’t
make that then get in touch with me (alison.smedley@waterways.org.uk) and we can make a separate arrangement.
We’ll also be having the branch stand at the Stoke on Trent Boat Club event (Post Lane, Endon, ST9 9DU) where we’ll be brushing the cobwebs (figuratively, not literally) off an old fundraising activity from 20 years ago – a treasure hunt based on a section of model railway and canal, part of a larger model railway of the Churnet Valley made by Bill Young at Froghall in the 1970s. Put the dates in your diaries and come along for a fun day out with live music, food and drink, classic vehicles, stalls and archive photos.
This year is also the 50th anniversary of the formation of this IWA branch – part of a wider reorganisation of the Association in 1974 which saw the former North West Branch separated into a number of new branches. As the IWA Bulletin (the equivalent of today’ s “Waterways” magazine”) of June 1974 said “In a major administrative reorganisation due to begin next month, the Association is reformed into seven Regions and 28 proposed Branches…”. Before that, there had only been seven branches covering the whole country. At that time, the membership had nearly doubled over the previous three years, and a “Constitution Committee” had been set up to consider the internal organisation. The outcome of their report instituted the three tier system we still have today, of branches, regions and national level committees/board of trustees.
Today IWA has eight regions and ostensibly 33 branches, though some of these are moribund, and it’s interesting that internal discussions are again taking place about the future of the branch and
Chair’s Report
region structure, not least at the most recent (video) meeting of Branch and Region Chairs that I represented the branch at. If you have any strong views about our branch and region structure do let me know.
As you will read about in Sarah’s social event round up (see page 11) we are going to celebrate the branch’s 50th anniversary at our Christmas social on 13th December. This will be an informal evening of sharing memories of the last
50 years of the branch, so whether you first got involved 50 years ago, 2 months ago or anywhere in between, do come along and join in the fun. If you have photos of any branch events or campaigns over the years you can just bring them along on the evening, whether in photo albums or digitally, so we can all share the memories.
Alison Smedley Branch Chair
CRT Work Party on Uttoxeter Canal
Huge thanks from the branch to the volunteers from Canal & River Trust who spent a day clearing Himalayan Balsam along the Uttoxeter Canal towpath loop at Alton in June. They did a fantastic job.
We'd love to be able to reinstate the monthly work parties on the Uttoxeter Canal. If you would be interested in
We have managed to arrange another visit from wrg/nw to do some more work on the Uttoxeter Canal.
It would be really great if we could also get a few extra people to come along and help.
When?
Saturday 23rd November and/or Sunday 24th November.
What sort of work? + Where?
Scrub bashing around Bridge 70 and on a new site near Alton. The new site is on privately owned land, so this will be an opportunity to see a part of the canal not normally open to the public.
Who do I contact?
Please email Alison on her CUCT email address: alison.smedley@cuct.org.uk for more information and to receive details nearer the time of how to get to the sites.
What to bring?
Be sure to wear old clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty.. Stout footwear is appropriate (and do bring along a waterproof in the event of rain!). If you are able to stay all day please bring a packed lunch and a drink.
Roger Evans
Margaret & I will be there on the Sunday. Hope to see you there too.
Photo of work last year: Alison
Smedley
A thorny issue!
You can imagine my horror when after only a few weeks of inactivity on our canal maintenance I struggled to walk down the path along the line of the old cut. Brambles and nettles had completely taken over and made it a “thorny issue” walking from our old bridge down to the Trent and Mersey Canal.
I’m afraid we are suffering from a lack of volunteers and then Dave having the nerve to go on his “Historic Houses” tours during the week of the work parties. So this Friday, 9th of August, we (Peter and I) had lots to do! In the first instance I had to clear the steps which lead down onto our footpath from the road. These were impassable! I was only able to clear one set of steps and a length of footpath before exhaustion set in and a cuppa cried out! Meanwhile Peter was clearing a way through to the old bridge.
Exciting Prospects
The need to clear the path is now more important because on September 19th we have about 20 students from Newcastle Technical College coming to view the site of their Autumn term project. Theirs is a course on surveying, planning and design and very relevant to our project.
Just on the off-chance I had approached the college lecturers to see if our project would be of interest. I was taken aback by their enthusiasm and following several meetings they now have a detailed brief ready to give their students, hence the site visit.
And even more exciting to me is the fact that following my approach to Staffordshire University Architecture Department, they are also showing great enthusiasm to use the old warehouse as
the centre feature of their Spring term design project. So watch this space for
Work party dates: Oct 4th + 18th, Nov 1st, 15th + 29th, Dec 13th, Jan 10th + Burslem Port
Photos: Alison Smedley
Caldon 50th Celebration at Stoke Boat Club
“In a change to our advertised programme…”
Social Scene — August 2024
Yes, you’ll see (on pages 12 and 13) that I’ve been reshuffling our social calendar since the last edition of Knobsticks, including slotting in an event to properly mark the 50th anniversary of our IWA branch.
However, I should start with a big “thank you” to everyone who helped out with our stall at the Etruria Canals Festival either by staffing it, erecting and disassembling the gazebos, or making or donating items for sale. The Etruria Festival is a good opportunity to showcase our work and share our waterways heritage with all ages and many different communities, and it was good to see so many historic boats present this year. Ann’ s “lucky dip” was, as ever, very popular with the children! Blessed with some unusual bright, dry weather by 2024 standards, we were part of a vibrant, fun and very wellattended event, and I understand we had quite a happy treasurer afterwards.
The lucky dip also did a roaring trade at Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival a couple of weeks later (courtesy of the Trent & Mersey Canal Society stall).
The next event where we will have a stall takes place at Stoke-on-Trent Boat Club on 21st September, with a further celebration of 50 years since the Caldon Canal was reopened – live music, classic vehicles, food and boat trips are advertised, so it sounds like an excellent family day out. [Ed See the poster on page 10 (opposite) for full details]
October 11th
Our revised social calendar means that the adventures of a certain small bear
will be starting the season, with Sonning sharing his adventures as a passenger on cruises along the Rhone and the Rhine at our October meeting. Since Sonning himself is rather shy and quietly spoken, he will need some help from his human guardians “Grizzly” and “Polar”, who will also ensure that there are plenty of photographs of locks, bridges and other waterway infrastructure and not just pretty views and cakes.
November 8th
We’re revisiting the restoration of the Caldon Canal in November with Steve Wood. We are promised some changes from the presentation shared at the Foxlowe Centre, although that was so good I would be more than happy to see the original again.
December 13th
The big change is our December meeting, which is now intended to be a proper celebration of our branch’s Big Birthday. We’re aiming for an informal evening with lots of reminiscences as we trawl our archives for photos and stories from the past 50 years, and would particularly like to invite members to bring along their own snippets of branch history.
As it will be our Christmas gathering, you ’re also welcome to bring and share mince pies and other festive fare.
2025
And hopefully, by that time, I’ll have finished organizing the rest of our social calendar!
Sarah Honeysett (Social Secretary)
North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch
Friday 11th October 2024
7:45 for 8pm
Sonning (assisted by “Grizzly” and “Polar”) “Bears Abroad” (Sonning’s adventures as a passenger on cruises along the Rhone and the Rhine)
There will be plenty of photographs of locks, bridges and other waterway infrastructure, not just of pretty views and cakes.
Friday 8th November 2024
7:45 for 8pm Steve Wood
Caldon Canal 50th Anniversary
The restoration of the Caldon Canal. (This will be a revised repeat of his presentation shared at the Foxlowe Centre)
Friday 13th December 2024
7:45 for 8pm
A celebration of 50 years of our IWA branch
We’re aiming for an informal evening with lots of reminiscences as we trawl our archives for photos and stories from the past 50 years. We would particularly like to invite members to bring along their own snippets of branch history.
As it will be our Christmas gathering, you’re also welcome to bring and share mince pies and other festive fare.
Friday 24th January 2025
7 for 7:30pm Annual Dinner
Provisionally at the Barchetta Restaurant, Wheelock
Friday 14th February 2025
7:45 for 8pm Talk
Speaker to be confirmed
Friday 14th March 2025
7:45 for 8pm Branch AGM followed by Waterways (mostly) Quiz
Friday 11th April 2025
7:45 for 8pm Talk
Speaker to be confirmed
Admission to AGM/talks is FREE Donations to waterway causes welcome! Refreshments available.
Non-IWA members are very welcome
Venue (unless otherwise stated): Stoke on Trent Boat Club Endon Wharf, Post Lane, Endon STOKE-ON-TRENT, ST9 9DU
For further information contact: Sarah Honeysett (01782 772295)
socialsec.nssc@waterways.org.uk or visit the branch webpages at: www.waterways.org.uk
Cheshire Locks Work Party
Ed There hasn’t been room in the last two editions of Knobsticks for a full report from the Cheshire Locks work party, so I apologise if some of this information has already been seen elsewhere.
Thursday 18th January
Our first work party of 2024 had to be cancelled because of bad weather.
Thursday 15th February
Also cancelled because of bad weather.
Thursday 21st March
Five of us attended Lock 53 this month. As you can probably guess, the weather intervened yet again. However, we soldiered on and were able to carry out prep work which will hopefully allow us to make good progress next time out. We eventually abandoned ship at about 13.00 (and, of course, it brightened up about an hour later!).
Thursday 18th April
Finally, after so many false starts, five of us managed to get some painting done at Lock 53. Thanks to the prep work done on our previous outing, we were able to start applying paint almost immediately. Good progress was made on Hammerite painting of the metal fence adjacent to Lock 53 and applying Sadolin to the woodwork of the Lock itself. We finished half an hour early due to inevitable incoming rain but we should be able to complete both next time out. Well done everybody.
Thursday 16th May
Despite the impending rain we managed to get a couple of hours work done
before we had to abandon site. The remaining lock woodwork was painted, as were the wooden bollards. The long metal fence adjacent to Lock 53 was finally completed, and some work was done on the lock bridge railings.
Thursday 20th June
At long last, we have finished our work at Lock 53. The five of us who were able to attend took advantage of the beautiful weather to prep and apply paint to the remaining section of the surrounding metal fence, plus touching up and applying second coats to areas we’d worked on previously. I think the result is a testament to the perseverance and hard work the CLWP have put in over the last few months. So thanks to one and all who contributed over that time.
Lock 53 completed at long last. Also see the picture (on the next page) of just a few of the railings round where the metal lock was situated.
Cheshire Locks Work Party
Thursday 18th July
A glorious Summer’s day as we began work on the Malkins Bank flight with lock 64. All the white wood was painted, as was most of the black wood (although we ran out of black paint before finishing). Both lock ladders were also painted and much of the other metalwork was rubbed down.
Article (and Photos): Tony Walker
Ed — Contact Tony Walker by email (walker.tony31@gmail.com) or by phone (07708-320470) if you want to attend future work parties.
Lock 64 after our July work party. See the “before” photograph on the front cover.
The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear
A Big Boating Adventure (Coming Home from Cavalcade)
The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear
It’s always a little bit sad when you reach the end of a waterway and have to turn around to come back, so we Bears all had rather sad ears when it was time to leave Bishop’s Stortford and head home. But we shouldn’t have been sad, as there were still plenty of great adventures ahead of us on our journey back to Kidsgrove.
On our way back down the Lee Navigation, we stopped at Waltham Abbey and our human guardians took us to explore the town, which we thought was very nice. The last Saxon king of England, King Harold, is supposed to be buried there. Polar liked the ancient abbey, Hanley Bear was delighted to find vintage Staffordshire china in the café where we had our lunch, and we all enjoyed some excellent cake.
Back in London, we ran into some very stormy weather. It rained so hard that, when we got to Islington Tunnel and started travelling through it, we found that the water had got into the tunnel light’s electrical circuit and it hadn’t lit up! Fortunately, Grizzly had a big torch which he could shine that out of the cratch, so any boats coming the other way could see there was already a boat in the tunnel.
We moored at the London Canal Museum again and, this time, we were able to visit. We learnt all about how huge blocks of ice were brought in by boat from the Arctic and stored there, as it had been belonged to an ice-cream company. But the best thing about our visit was meeting our new Bear Buddy,
The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear
Charlie. He had been living in the museum for a little while, watching the trip boats and visitors like Uppie coming and going through the window, so when we asked if he would like to come boating with us, he was very keen. We weren ’t leaving London straight away as
That still left us several days for adventures in London. Endon and I went to the Natural History Museum, I went with Polar and one of her friends to see an art exhibition at the Tate Gallery, while Hanley and Huddlesford had a super day out to Greenwich with our human guardians - and we met a big group of our Bear friends at Paddington Station. [Ed See photo on page 16]
She and Grizzly went home for a couple of days to check the house and garden, taking Hanley Bear with them for a little while at home, as he had been pining for Stoke-on-Trent.
The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear
We enjoyed our time in London but then it was time to go home. Our human guardians had thought of going via the River Thames, but I remembered travelling down the tidal section to Brentford in 2017 and was glad when they decided to stick with the Grand Union.
Because we didn’t have a deadline to get home again, our humans decided we could take our time and visit some friends on the way, both human and bear, and explore some more places along the way, including Berkhamstead and Milton Keynes.
Atherstone, Grizzly fell in the canal! Polar was filling a lock ready for Uppie to go in and Grizzly was steering. He decided to pull in to the bank while he waited and to step off and hold the boat on a rope, but a gust of wind moved the boat back out just as he was stepping off. Because we were in a short pound between locks, it was deeper than usual, so it was lucky that Grizzly was wearing his life jacket. This inflated as soon as he hit the water; without it, he might have sunk or gone under the boat. But, with his clothes full of water and unable to put his feet down to push himself up, Polar couldn’t get him out of the water on her own.
We were almost back to Staffordshire when a very scary thing happened. Towards the bottom of the locks through
Fortunately, another boater from below the lock saw they were in trouble and helped get Grizzly ashore. After a shower and change of clothes he was back on the tiller and ready to get through the lock to a safe place to moor overnight, but it had
The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear
been a very close thing and we all gave Grizzly an extra hug before bedtime.
A couple of days later, we arrived back at Huddlesford Junction just in time to see The Flying Scotsman pass over the railway viaduct. We guessed something interesting was happening because there were lots of people on the canal bridge, and several of them asked us to keep going so they could get our boat in their photo too!
We stopped at Shugborough on Polar’ s birthday and celebrated with a cream tea in the café in the grounds and mini cakes for small bears back on the boat.
From there, we were back on very familiar waters and, a few days later, we were home again. We had enjoyed a marvellous adventure and brought home a new friend, but the best thing was knowing that our human guardian Grizzly was safe and sound.
Article: Sonning Bear
Photos: Sarah Honeysett
Ed Apologies for the quality of the picture of The Flying Scotsman, which is actually a screenshot from a video taken by Polar.
VisitEngland graded 2-8 berth quality narrowboats. Weekly hire and short breaks available. Wide choice of excellent routes; E.g. Four Counties Ring, Caldon, Cheshire Ring. Beginners and experienced crews welcome; Full tuition given.
Please ring for a brochure or visit: WWW.CANALCRUISING.CO.UK
North Staffordshire & South Cheshire contacts
If any of the roles shown as vacant interest you, please contact Alison Smedley for further information.
Sarah Honeysett 01782 772295 socialsec.nssc@waterways.org.uk
Publicity Officer + Website Editor
Sarah Honeysett 01782 772295 publicity.nssc@waterways.org.uk
Newsletter Editor
Roger Evans 01606 834471 nssc-newsletter@outlook.com 10 Long Lane, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 0BL
Planning Officer
Dave Broome (for Stoke on Trent City Council only) 07974 966253 dave.broome@burslemport.org.uk VACANT (all other areas)
Contact Alison Smedley
Membership Officer
Mary Smith membership.nssc@waterways.org.uk
Navigation Officer
Jon Honeysett 01782 772295 navigation.nssc@waterways.org.uk
Heritage Champion
Sarah Jones sarah.jones@waterways.org.uk
Burslem Port Work Party
Dave Broome 07974 966253 dave.broome@burslemport.org.uk
Caldon + Uttoxeter Work Parties VACANT
Contact Alison Smedley
Cheshire Locks Work Party
John Lawson 07940 878923 john.lawson@waterways.org.uk
Other committee member: Julie Arnold
West Midlands Region Chairman
Helen Whitehouse 01543 491161 westmidlands@waterways.org.uk
The Branch committee meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 2nd Tuesday of March, June, September & December at Stoke Boat Club, Endon Wharf, Post Lane, Endon, Stoke-on-Trent, ST9 9DU. All Branch members are invited to attend.
Our Branch runs 3 work parties each month, helping to maintain and restore our local canals :-
• Cheshire Locks (Trent & Mersey Canal, Kidsgrove to Wheelock) (jointly organised with the Trent and Mersey Canal Society) 3rd Thursday of each month (except December), 10am to 3pm. Contact: John Lawson Phone: 07940 878923
Email: john.lawson@waterways.org.uk
• Uttoxeter Canal work parties (held in partnership with Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust) are unfortunately no longer running due to lack of a work party organiser. If you are interested in getting involved (full training and support are provided) please contact: Alison Smedley Phone: 01538 385388
Email: alison.smedley@waterways.org.uk
• Burslem Port, Stoke-on-Trent (working in partnership with Burslem Port Project) Fridays: Aug 23rd, Sept 6th + 20th, Oct 4th + 18th, Nov 1st, 15th + 29th, Dec 13th, Jan 10th + 24th, Feb 7th + 21st. Contact: Dave Broome before attending Phone: 07974 966253
Email: dave.broome@burslemport.org.uk
See the IWA website www.waterways.org.uk under “Events” for dates. Volunteers are advised to wear stout shoes and old clothes, and to bring waterproofs (and a packed lunch and drink if staying all day).
