Navvies 300

navvies volunteers restoring waterways

BCN Clean Up: Report and pictures Spotlight on the

Montgomery and the Cotswold Canals issue 300 april-MAy 2 0 20

Intro BCN Clean Up

Pictures by Martin Ludgate

A selection of pics from what turned out to be pretty much the “last dig before lockdown�: see report, p13

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In this issue Contents For latest news on our activities visit our website wrg.org.uk See facebook group: WRG Follow us on Twitter: @wrg_navvies Production Editor: Martin Ludgate, 35 Silvester Road, East Dulwich London SE22 9PB 07779 478629 martin.ludgate@wrg.org.uk Subscriptions: Sue Watts, 15 Eleanor Rd., Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 9FZ Printing and assembly: John Hawkins, 4 Links Way, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth, Herts WD3 3RQ 01923 448559 john.hawkins@wrg.org.uk Navvies is published by Waterway Recovery Group, Island House, Moor Rd., Chesham HP5 1WA and is available to all interested in promoting the restoration and conservation of inland waterways by voluntary effort in Great Britain. Articles may be reproduced in allied magazines provided that the source is acknowledged. WRG may not agree with opinions expressed in this magazine, but encourages publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as policy or an official announcement unless so stated - otherwise WRG and IWA accept no liability for any matter in this magazine.

Waterway Recovery Group is part of The Inland Waterways Association, (registered office: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA), a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee, registered in England no 612245, and registered as a charity no 212342. VAT registration no 342 0715 89.

Directors of WRG: Rick Barnes, John Baylis, George Eycott, Emma Greenall, Helen Gardner, John Hawkins, Dave Hearnden, Nigel Lee, Mike Palmer, George Rogers, Jonathan Smith, Harry Watts.

ISSN: 0953-6655

© 2020 WRG

PLEASE NOTE: Navvies subs renewal cheques MUST be made payable to The Inland Waterways Association Contents Chairman How we are making use of the extra time we have during lockdown 4-5 Editorial 300 issues of Navvies? Never mind that, what about the next one?

6-7 Ju Davenport an appreciation 7 Restoration feature: an in-depth look at the Montgomery Canal 8-9 Clean Up report from the BCN 13 Restoration feature: past, present and future of the Cotswold Canals 16-20 Diary, what diary? What’s on, what’s off 21 Progress around the system 22-33 50 years ago short of cash in 1970 34-35 Letters the editor gets it wrong again! 36-37 Infill 38 Outro Wendover progress pictures 39

Contributions... ...are welcome, whether by email or post.

Photos welcome: digital or old-school slides / prints. Contributions to Martin Ludgate, 35, Silvester Road, London SE22 9PB or martin.ludgate@wrg.org.uk.

Press date for issue 301: 1 May.

Subscriptions A year's subscription (6 issues) is a minimum of £3.00 (cheques to The Inland Waterways Association) to The Inland Waterways Association, Island House, Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA. Please add a donation if you can. Due to the current lockdown, the processing of cheques will be slower than normal; alternatively pay online here: https://wrg.cloudvenue.co.uk

Front cover Just some of 39 trolleys retrieved from one short stretch of the Walsall Canal on the BCN Clean Up. See Report, p13-15 (pic: Martin Ludgate). Back cover The Navvies printing press is feeling the strain of the current situation - but celebrating WRG’s anniversary! (John Hawkins)

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Chairman’s Comment As the lockdown hits us, Mike Palmer answers the question “What are we proposing to do during this necessary gap in our physical work?”

Chairman’s Comment Usually at this time of year I tend to start my Navvies comment by saying how the sun is shining, I’m looking out at a lovely site somewhere and I’m really looking forward to an excellent summer working on waterway restoration projects across the country.

Well the sunshine is still here but, as we all know, everything else has changed.

At our last meeting the WRG Board decided to suspend all our physical activities for an eight-week period with a rolling review for the period after that. The following day, the Government announced their lockdown conditions which made that decision seem rather academic.

As I write this, everyone is guessing at when (and how) these lockdown restrictions may start to be lifted. However I need to explain that, even if restrictions on travel and work are lifted and life starts to turn back to normal we may not be able to run events for quite some time after that. Because although the Canal Camps scheduled for the summer months seem a long way off, they don’t just occur ‘on the day’. In advance of every successful week lies a combination of careful planning, seeking of permissions, bespoke training and comprehensive preparation work (both on paper and on the ground). WRG has always taken the health and safety of its volunteers on site and back at the accommodation very seriously and we will not run an event where this is compromised.

In the most immediate sense this means the Corvid-19 virus is at the top of our list for risks and we will of course follow any guidance given. However, even if the current restrictions are lifted in the months to come, if we and our partners have not been able to complete the necessary preparations we may not be able to run these events safely and may have to reschedule or even cancel them.

It’s too soon to work out what that will look like – maybe we will be running camps through the autumn, maybe we will just put all our effort into running more camps next year. For the moment I can only say wait and see – I certainly wouldn’t be booking any advance train tickets right now.

So what are we proposing to do with this necessary gap in our physical work? Well you will recall that one of the most common themes in Navvies is that “it’s not just about boots on the ground”. Combine that with “every hour (or penny) you spend preparing for a project saves you a day (or a tenner)” and you have pretty much everything we’ve said of late.

So we are going to step up our work on all that stuff we never normally get around to: this is a crucial time to prove that there is more to restoration than ‘muck and bullets’ – there is that pile of documentation, that pile of planning applications, those funding applications.

This is also an opportunity to review what we have been doing and work out how to improve it. To have those discussions that are normally halted by some“Navvies is a key part body saying “can’t talk about that right now, too busy of our message to the doing it”.

This can already be seen: the revamp of the wider world that even Practical Restoration Handbook has sped up considerif there are no boots ably now we are all stuck at home. Alex Melson has started producing a series of Online Learning Modules on the ground, then that will be available soon. Those ‘big discussions’ that doesn’t mean that that I mentioned in the last edition are still going to happen – just online and not in the pub on a Saturnothing is happening” day night. (Just a reminder that the subjects were

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Biodiversity Net Gain and Regeneration vs Restoration).

All of this needs to be done loudly and publicly because it’s vital we make sure that everybody out there, both inside and outside of the restoration movement, don’t write off the next few months as “nothing happening”.

Which brings me neatly around to Navvies: several people have suggested that perhaps Navvies should be in abeyance whilst restrictions are in place.This is based on two separate arguments, firstly “We can’t produce it using our usual printing and assembling arrangements” and, secondly “What’s the point if we have no progress to report?”.

In response to the first point: we will be distributing this edition almost entirely online.

For the very few subscribers where we don’t have an email address for them, Alex in Head Office will be directly printing copies and mailing them out. Sorry to those (me included) that like to have something to physically hold and read, but we simply can’t produce it safely at the moment.

Regarding the second point, I think Navvies is a key part of our message to the wider world that even if there are no boots on the ground then that doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. So now is time for our volunteers to fill this magazine with discussions they want to see and, for the waterway societies we are so keen to support, now is the time to show that progress IS still happening. Even if your reports feature just one tiny example of how you have used this downtime to achieve better relations with key stakeholders, or improve your funding bids, or finish off that design that’s been on the backburner for ages, then they will be as important and inspirational as ever.

We had hoped and planned for this issue, being issue No 300, to be a truly momentous celebration issue: heading into our ‘fourth century’ as we begin to celebrate our 50th birthday. Sadly now it does look like a celebration will be a little tricky. However if these next few issues show how the restoration movement kept itself going during a global pandemic then they may well prove to be some of the most important editions of Navvies ever.

Mike Palmer

Introducing: the WRG Virtual Dig...

For those that are really missing the camaraderie of an actual dig I can recommend a ‘virtual dig’. I joined one that London WRG arranged via a Zoom call the other weekend. Whilst it was a little weird, it was tremendous fun and a brilliant way to check in on all your friends and laugh and joke about things. I really do recommend it: if you take a moment to think about just how many good friends you have in WRG, it’s only right and proper to make contact with those who may be feeling even more isolated than most.

Mike Palmer

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editorial

Issue 300!

What are we doing to celebrate 300 issues of Navvies and 50 years of WRG? Never mind that, how are we keeping Navvies going at all? resources while we wait for whenever things start happening again on site, as well as the importance So what are we doing to celebrate the momentous of using Navvies to put out the key message that achievement of reaching 300 issues of Navvies? the lack of practical progress doesn’t mean nothing is Well, you could say “not a lot”. But... happening. So I’ll give you the more detailed view of Originally, with this landmark falling during how we’re aiming to do that in the magazine...

Waterway Recovery Group’s 50th anniversary Just at the point where folks were starting to year, we thought we’d do ‘something rather spewonder how we would fill the mag, it so happened cial’ for it. Unfortunately, other than the series of that we’d assembled a real bumper-sized ‘progress’ articles looking back to 1970 as seen through section (and my thanks to Robert Goundry for issues 22 to 27 of what was then Navvies Notebook continuing to do an excellent job of rounding-up, (which begain in issue 299 and continues on pages editing and collating these), showing that right up to 34-35 of this issue), we never quite worked out just before the lockdown, canal societies all around what the ‘something rather special’ would be. We the country were making excellent progress. So that wanted to look back to WRG’s early days, but at was one third of the pages filled! Elsewhere in the the same time we didn’t want it to be a lot of self- magazine we’ve taken advantage of the period of absorbed navel-gazing or reminiscing about times enforced idleness on site to take a wider look at two that most present-day WRGies (myself included) major restoration projects - the Montgomery don’t remember, and more than anything we wanted Canal and the Cotswold Canals - which many of to still be very much looking forward to the future. you will have worked on. Both of them go right Oh, and we didn’t want it to be the same as anything back to the early days of WRG (the Mont goes else we’ve done to mark any of our previous anniver- even further back); both of them are projects we saries - which is a bit of a tall order, as there have have supported with many camps on numerous been rather a lot of them. Not only have we celworksites over the years; both of them have reopenebrated WRG’s 21st, 25th, 30th and 40th birthdays, ing plans for significant lengths of canal which they we’ve also marked Navvies 100, Navvies 150, and are developing right now; and both of them look in 2016 we ran a whole year of special issues for like having important volunteer-supported projects 50 years of Navvies. (One of many oddities of this in the forthcoming years which look set to become mag is that it was founded four years before the important worksites for WRG and other visiting organisation that it now belongs to!) groups. So read them and find out how our work And then, while we were trying to work out fits into the broader scheme of things. what to do, everything got overtaken by COVIDWe already have several more of these 19 and the lockdown not only putting the kybosh Restoration Feature articles in mind for future on our actual work on site, but threatening to do issues. And just as Navvies is heading off to press, the same to Navvies. With no camps or weekend we’ve already received a couple more progress working parties to report on, no certainty about reports for Issue 301. Don’t worry, these folks any future events for us to feature in ‘coming aren’t working on site right now: they’re either soon’ or ‘camps preview’ articles, all our forthcom- reporting practical work completed before lockdown, ing training put on hold, and no point in filling six or covering the other equally important aspects pages of diary with events almost all of which (planning, funding and so on) that Mike mentions in would be cancelled, would we have anything to fill his piece - and hopefully there will be more news of it with? And if we did, how would we print it, this sort of ‘behind the scenes’ progress to come assemble it and send it out without compromising please do tell us about it. We also hope to get the the safety of our head office staff and the many ‘tech tips’ and ‘toolbox talks’ technical articles volunteers involved? going again; among our plans are a piece about use In his Comment on the previous pages, Mike of geotextile membranes, and an article on insurPalmer has already covered the wider issues of ance (bet you can’t wait!) And if you’ve got some how WRG plans to make the best use of time and technical know-how and want to share it, feel free

Editorial

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to offer to write us another of these articles.

And then there’s the letters pages: come on, don’t hold back! If you’ve got something that’s been bugging you, an idea which will revolutionise canal restoration, a reminiscence of the early years, or a prediction for the future, Navvies wants to hear from you!

Ah, yes, I mentioned Navvies “heading off to press...” Well, it isn’t. As per our back cover, the printing presses are idle. This edition is being distributed online via an email link sent to as many subscribers as we have email addresses for (and by photocopying a limited number for the few that we don’t have). We fully intend this to be a temporary arrangement during the present emergency (unless everyone says “We’d rather have it like that all the time”, in which case we’ll need to think again), but we’ve taken advantage of the opportunity to move

just slightly towards the 21st Century by adding some colour all the way through (without going too wild just yet). We hope you like it.

Well, there you have it. We’ve ended up with feature articles looking right back to when WRG started - and they’re also aiming to look forward to the future. We’re adapting to not only cope with a tricky situation but take advantage of it and move forward with the times. And we’ve come up with an issue that’s certainly not “the same as anything else we’ve done to mark any of our previous anniversaries”.

So I guess that perhaps we kind-of managed the ‘something rather special’ bit after all.

Oh, and thanks to the way it’s being sent out, this edition might arrive a little earlier than usual. Truly we live in unprecedented times...

Martin Ludgate

Ju Davenport 1968 - 2020 As many of you will know, Ju sadly passed away on 11th March.

Ju attended many IWA National Festivals, before becoming involved with WRG and in particular WRG NorthWest in 2007.

All her life, she had battled with various illnesses, but despite this she became a stalwart of our community, and became not only a friend to everyone she met, but an inspiration to many because of the way she responded to her problems. In recent months, she was unable to go onto site with us because of slippery surfaces, much to her frustration, but she still attended events and helped out at the accommodation, such was her love of WRG and all things wrgie.

She touched the hearts of all that met her, and she will be sorely missed.

Because of the coronavirus outbreak, her funeral was only able to be attended by her close family. A celebration of her life will be held later.

Paul Shaw

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Restoration feature With little happening on the ground right now, we take the opportunity for Restoration feature: Cotswold Canals The restoration back-story: When the Stroudwater Canal Society was first launched in 1972, the canal had been closed for less than 20 years. You might have thought that reopening it would be easy after all, the Stratford Canal had been opened in three years after a similar length of disuse, and it was double the length of the Stroudwater, and with three times the number of locks. But unfortuately the early 1970s were not a good time for the Stroudwater: even as the society was being launched, parts of the 7-mile route from the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal at Saul Junction to Stroud were already in the process of being obliterated. In particular, a sizeable chunk disappeared as a result of the building of the M5 motorway and associated road improvements, leaving a ‘missing mile’ of canal, its route blocked by both the motorway and the A38 main road.

Undeterred, the Society not only set about beginning work on restoring the canal,

Cotswold Canals

but three years later it broadened its horizons to include the whole of the Thames & Severn Canal. Renaming itself the Stroudwater Thames & Severn Canals Trust which subsequently became the Cotswold Canals Trust (CCT) - it now aimed to reopen the whole 36-mile route from Saul Junction to Inglesham on the upper Thames.

If reopening the Stroudwater was no longer a straightforward job thanks to the road-building schemes, the Thames & Severn was even harder: most of it had been closed for almost 40 years, and the obstructions to contend with included demolished road and railway bridges, a missing aqueduct, the two-mile Sapperton Tunnel - built through difficult ground and suffering from multiple collapses - and plans for road improvements up the Stroud valley which looked set to create even more blockages.

Just to make things worse, unlike the Stroudwater which had remained largely in the ownership of the original canal company, the Thames & Severn had been sold off into multiple land ownership. Restoration would be a case of working where you could, rather

Length: 36 miles

Locks: 56

Date closed: 1927-54

The Cotswold Canals is the canal restorers’ name for the route from Saul Junction on the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal to Inglesham on the Thames, made up of the Stroudwater Navigation and the Thames & Severn Canal. The Stroudwater, opened in 1779, ran for eight miles via 12 locks (built for Severn trows - sailing barges - up to about 70ft by 15ft 6in) from the River Severn to Stroud. In 1789 the Thames & Severn Canal was opened, continuing the route for a further 29 miles to the Thames at Inglesham. Most of its 44 locks were built for upper Thames barges measuring about 86ft by 12ft 3in, but those between Brimscombe and Stroud were built to the same size as the Stroudwater locks, and Brimscombe Port was created as an interchange basin between different sized boats. In the 19th Century competition from railways, along with the poor state of the Thames, affected trade on the canals badly. Despite a last-ditch effort to keep the route open involving Gloucestershire Council, the Thames & Severn shut in stages in 1927 and 1933, followed by the Stroudwater which was abandoned in 1954.

Phase 1b: Saul to Stonehouse Phase 1a: Stonehouse to Brimscombe

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Phase 3: Brimscombe to Cerney

North Wilts Canal to Swindon

Phase 2: Inglesham to Cerney

Cotswold

Canals

than in a logical progression from one end to the other.

But by the 1980s work had got under way at various sites: on the Thames & Severn these included both portals of Sapperton Tunnel and the King’s Reach length immediately east of the tunnel, plus Cerney Wick Lock further east from Sapperton. And on the Stroudwater, the length in the Eastington area was a focus for work (including Blunder and Newtown locks) as was Wallbridge Upper Lock in Stroud.

In the 1990s the Dig Deep initiative (a scheme to co-ordinate work between visiting mobile groups, which at various times was supported by London WRG, KESCRG, NWPG, WRG BITM and Essex WRG) adopted various projects including rebuilding Boxwell Springs and Wildmoorway Lower locks in the Cerney area, some initial work on Valley Lock near Chalford, and more recently Eisey Lock towards the Thames end of the route.

And meanwhile CCT’s political campaigning saw success too, with more recent new road schemes making provision for reopening the canals to navigation - albeit sometimes after a major battle, such as the epic struggle in the 1990s to get a navigable culvert included in the new Latton Bypass section of the A417 / A419 main road improvement scheme. And some existing road blockages (such as Pike Bridge, Eastington and the bridge carrying the Cotswold Water Park Spine Road at Wildmoorway) got replaced with navigable bridges.

Come the 2000s, and following the major National Lottery backed canal reopenings elsewhere in the country, CCT looked to the Heritage Lottery Fund for support to open a longer length of restored waterway. Dividing the canal into three ‘Phases’ - Phase 1 (the western part from Saul to Brimscombe Port), Phase 2 (the eastern section from Inglesham to the Cotswold Water Park near Cerney) and Phase 3 (probably the most difficult part, the central length from Cerney via Sapperton Tunnel to Brimscombe Port) - a partnership involving the Trust, the local authority and British

Martin Ludgate

a wider look at a couple of restorations - starting with the Cotswold Canals

Dig Deep in the 90s: London WRG at Wildmoorway Waterways applied for a large Heritage Lottery Fund grant towards reopening Phase 1.

This section had the advantage that the land ownership wasn’t a major issue, that a fair amount had already been restored including a chunk at Eastington which was the base for a trip-boat operation, and that reopening it would enable boats from the national waterways network to reach Stroud and the start of the attractive Golden Valley.

It did, however, include the ‘missing mile’ with the M5 and A38 crossings, another blockage where a main railway line crossed, and a section in Stroud where the town’s bypass had been built on the line of the canal (athough at least the road had been built in a way which allowed for a possible canal diver-

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Martin Ludgate

sion - this had been seen as quite a victory canal craft (other than trailboats), but with for the canal at the time). Add that to the historic locks and bridges to restore, derelict usual lock and bridge restorations and assites to regenerate, and capable of being an sorted filled-in sections, and it was going to asset to Stroud even without any visiting be pricey. The HLF looked at the £22m bid, boats. And the bid was successful. and said “We haven’t got that kind of money To cut short a very long story - involv- come back and ask for half that amount”. ing the 2008 economic downturn, escalating This presented the canal restorers with costs, BW walking away from the project, a dilemma: if they could only afford to reStroud District Council taking over, and the store half of the Phase 1 length, which half volunteers from CCT, WRG and other groups should they choose? Ask any waterways having to step in and restore a whole series enthusiast for an answer, and it’s obvious: of locks (Goughs Orchard, Ham Mill, Griffin open the western part from Saul to Mill, Bowbridge) that had originally been Stonehouse, so that boats from the national expected to be done by contractors, and a network can get onto the canal. But the ‘de-scoping’ at the Brimscombe end (see organisations that were being asked to put below) - the Phase 1a length is now all but up the cash had different priorities from the complete. And with that done, it was felt that typical canal enthusiast. The Heritage Lottery the prospects for going back to HLF for more Fund was getting rather more tightly focused money for Phase 1b (as Saul to Stonehouse on the ‘heritage’ side of things, as more and has been dubbed) would be good. more groups were bidding for its limited So why would they stump up for it funds. And likewise the Regional Developnow, when they wouldn’t have done 12 or 13 ment Agency (which was being asked for years ago? Well, thanks to the work that’s most of the rest of the money) was going to been done on Phase 1a, Saul to Stonehouse be keener to support something with a bit of is now no longer just a dead end with no a regeneration angle, while Stroud District heritage or regeneration interest; it’s the key Council would want something that benefited link that will bring boats onto the alreadythe Stroud community, improved the town restored length through Stroud, and help it and created some local jobs. to achieve its full potential. And so the bid Unfortunately four miles of restoration for this length was successful too - but so far consisting largely of new construction work, it’s only passed the first stage hurdle... with very little in the way of heritage strucWhere are we at now? We now tures to restore, not much derelict land have almost six miles of very nearly restored reclamation, not a lot of permanent job creation, and nothing for Stroud town, wasn’t going to appeal to the funders.

So instead the funding bid went in for the eastern half, christened ‘Phase 1a’.

Running from Stonehouse through Stroud to Brimscombe Port, this would be an isolated length Phase 1a nearing completion: on the new diversion around Stroud bypass inaccessible to

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CCT

canal (the Phase 1a length) from Stonehouse through Stroud to just short of Brimscombe Port.

Not quite to the Port, though. Before the economic downturn, the big regeneration scheme for Brimscombe (historically a massive transhipment port where barges of different sizes swapped their cargoes; now a filled in canal basin occupied by a largely empty industrial estate with a lot of potential, described generously

by Mike Palmer as “like a murder set from Taggart”) was seen as so lucrative that a developer could be Part of the old canal is uncovered as work starts at the A38 roundabout expected to stump up the cost of restoring the adjacent length of canal in exchange for permisgoing on, thanks to an IWA funding appeal, sion to develop the site for homes and ofwith a huge amount of volunteer work espefices. Now, it’s needing Government support cially from KESCRG who took it on as a to make it anything like viable. So Phase 1a major project, and support from WRG camps has stopped below Hope Mill Lock for now. too, Inglesham Lock at the very far end of Meanwhile an unlikely source of funds the canal has been completely rebuilt. has popped up for part of the ‘missing mile’ And nearer the middle of the canal, Highways England. Almost half a century funded by a legacy given specifically for the after a mile of canal got trashed to build the project, Weymoor Bridge - a traditional M5, the roads body has come up with a hump-backed farm access bridge - has been sizeable pot of public money specifically for rebuilt from the foundations upwards, but putting right environmental damage from capable of taking modern heavy farm traffic national road schemes - and given it £4m. up to the 44 tonnes maximum. (see the next Work is under way (see Navvies 299) on Navvies for the full story of this bridge) putting two new canal bridges through the A38/A419 roundaboat near Whitminster.

So what next? Well, a lot of it depends And some time soon (it was going to on the NLHF grant being confirmed. And we be later this year, but obviously everything’s really can’t make any assumptions under the a bit up in the air right now) the final stage current circumstances. But if it is successful, bid will go in for £10m from the National then it will be full speed ahead with the Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF, yes, they’ve Phase 1b length. So what does that entail? changed their name!) And one piece of good Starting from the east end at news is that an eco-business-park scheme Stonehouse, the first serious obstacle comes which forms part of the route near the M5, straight away: the Birmingham to Bristol but which had been rather mired in the railway line crosses on an embankment with planning processes (creating the sort of just a small unnavigable culvert to take the uncertainty that funders such as NLHF under- water through. This will need to be replaced standably don’t like), seemed recently to be by a navigable sized span (sadly, I don’t see getting back on track. So fingers crossed! volunteers being let loose on this!) with the But it isn’t just about the west end. CCT work scheduled into Network Rail’s long-term has always been keen to take the opportuni- engineering plans. Next comes a length ties wherever they arise, and to make sure where our volunteers did a lot of vegetation that the other parts of the canal aren’t forgot- clearance a year or two ago, past Bonds Mill ten. So at the same time as all this has been (where the legendary plastic liftbridge needs

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Martin Ludgate

a bit of a re-vamp) to the restored Newtown and Blunder locks, then the part-restored Pike and Dock locks. And then it more-or-less disappears...

The final lock of the flight, Westfield Lock, lies part buried and part demolished, and had an added complication that on end of the chamber led onto a stream culvert, which has been demolished. Rebuilding this structure is looking likely to be one of WRG’s (and other visiting volunteers) important contributions to the Phase 1b length - and we’ll tell you more about it in future issues.

Beyond that, we’re into a The canal will pass under the M5 to the right of the river diversion to deal with the obstructions on the ‘missing mile’, and in particular the M5 motorway. The M5, ing at low level - will be replaced by a highrather conveniently, crosses the River Frome level bridge; and that brings you to the last via a bridge built to generous dimensions to few hundred yards of canal which are already cope with flood water - and the plan is to navigable and used as moorings off the squeeze a canal channel through the existing Gloucester & Sharpness Canal. bridge alongside the river, with a low wall And if the funding comes through, the separating them, so that at times of flood the whole lot - plus the deferred work up at the canal channel can accommodate surplus Brimscombe end of the Phase 1a length, water under the bridge. including the Port regeneration - could be But this channel will need to be set at a complete in under five years. precise level for this solution to work - and so two new locks will be built (one east and And then what? Well, having reopened one west of the M5) to put the canal at the the first ten miles there’s the small matter of right height and to replace the former Bristol the other 26 miles to restore, including the Road Lock. The locks and motorway crossing tunnel, a couple more railway crossings, will form part of the best part of a mile of several road bridges, and... But that’s an new channel, leaving the original line at unfair misrepresentation. Thanks to the Westfield Lock, and rejoining it at the A38 ‘work where you can’ early days, and the roundabout where the new bridges are cur‘take your opportunities as they arise’ attitude rently under construction. of more recent years, there are already a West of the A38, there’s another surviv- large number of completed structures and ing length of channel that’s seen a lot of cleared lengths all the way along the route vegetation clearance (it was the focus for our Wildmoorway, Boxwell Springs, Cerney Wick, recent Christmas Camp) but includes a Eisey and Inglesham locks; Rucks Bridge, the causeway across the canal where a liftbridge Spine Road Bridge; the King’s Reach; the is to be built. Beyond there, the original Latton Bypass navigable culvert. Hopefully it route has been obliterated where the River won’t be too long before they start to get Frome was straightened and diverted in the linked up into some longer restored lengths, past, so the canal will merge with the river as a step towards complete reopening. for half a mile.

And meanwhile let’s get the North Wilts Leaving the river again, the part-reCanal open too, to link the Cotswold Canals stored Eastington Lock will be completed; to the Wilts & Berks Canal, and re-create the another new liftbridge will replace a farm Wessex Waterways Network... crossing; Walk Bridge - a minor road crossMartin Ludgate To find our more or to join the Cotswold Canals Trust, see cotswoldcanals.org.uk

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cleanup report on the BCN One of the last working parties before work stopped was our annual weekend of clearing junk from the Birmingham Canal Navigations...

BCN Clean Up 2020 One weekend every spring, volunteers from WRG, the Birmingham Canal Navigations Society, the local midland branches of The Inland Waterways Association and other local canal groups converge on a section of the BCN network, armed with grappling hooks, to haul out trolleys, prams, old tyres and whatever other junk the local lowlife have thrown in. Meanwhile various groups provide work-boats and the Canal & River Trust provide skips and a loader to take all the trash away so it doesn’t just go back in the canal. It’s good fun and good publicity for the waterways, and provides an important function in keeping the less well-used parts of the fascinating BCN network (over 100 miles of formerly heavily industrial canals) navigable, and stopping it falling into a vicious circle of obstruction and dereliction.

Over to the leader Chris Morgan...

Team C met up with Richard from Coombeswood Canal Trust who was bringing the workboat Hawne down the locks for this event; his boat wasn’t empty for long...

The notorious footbridge, situated between the town of Great Bridge and its local Asda, hides its own lethal reef of manmade detritus: 39 shopping trolleys in various conditions were pulled out by the team. The local Canal & River Trust management have been asked to talk to Asda management about this issue.

Meanwhile Team B started from Walsall Town Basin but had a barren morning!

Amazing we now complain that the BCN is too clean! What would the older boaters say?

During lunch we decided to change our approach and attack certain bridge holes that had been recommended as problem areas by members of BCN Society and boaters taking part in their Explorer Cruises. So an area through Darlaston was agreed, and the two teams should meet in the middle!

Bull Lane and Hollyhead Bridges proved to be big dumping grounds. Tyres, bikes and domestic rubbish were pulled out.

Pictures by Martin Ludgate

We had another great weekend on the BCN, even if there were rather fewer volunteers this year - perhaps due to the increased awareness of the approaching Covid 19 Pandemic.

The Friday night saw a number of us making a trip to the Barge and Barrel, a canalside pub / Indian restaurant just a stone’s throw from the accommodation at the Malthouse in Tipton: a good pint of Young’s ale as well as a very good quality meal. (I’m back there now writing this while awaiting my main course!)

On Saturday morning, after a nice breakfast sorted by Pete and Maria, the two teams headed in different directions, but both working on the Walsall Canal. Dave ‘Moose’ Hearnden’s team B to Walsall and my team C to Ocker Hill moorings and One of 39 trolleys hauled out within a trolley’s throw of Asda the Ryders Green Locks.

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We also found:

. . . . .

A nice sack trolley with cast iron wheels Two bits of an invalid car (sans invalid!)

A bag of jewellery A DVLA wheel clamp A grappling hook (from our last Clean Up here five years ago) with snapped-off rope, still attached to a shopping trolley

The tenacity and enthusiasm of our volunteers never fails to amaze me, unfortunately there is minority in modern society who don’t share these virtues. Our work at Darlaston got cut short by a gang of feral youths who spat at us and drove motorbikes at us “for making more mess than they do!”

They also proceeded to throw back in some of the stuff that we had pulled out!

We were also let down by the CRT volunteer team on the workboat who were happy to cruise past us, failing to allow our volunteers to dispose the rubbish pulled out, leaving it on the side, thus sadly proving the point made by the feral locals.

Thankfully the BCNS workboat Phoenix appeared! Crewed by the ever reliable BCNS volunteers, they managed to pick up what was left of what we had pulled out; this made them very late back to Ocker Hill skip site.

Arriving back early at the accommodation because of our issues, some followed Nigel to the Fountain Inn to have a discussion about how old he will be at his next birthday (last year he’d managed to miscount!), some followed them and got lost and ended up in the Pie Factory pub.

As usual a great evening meal was served, followed with desserts and announcements. The hardest announcement of the evening was the most important, to remember our dear friend Ju Davenport who had passed away just a few days before the Clean Up by raising a glass. Ju loved the Clean Up and all her WRG friends. We toasted Ju in proper WRG style. RIP my lovely friend.

This event had two cakes celebrating the 50 years of WRG, both tasted amazing and (ahhum) they were gluten free: thanks to Ann Marie and Mrs Door [Chris’s work colleague] for these.

No clean up is complete without the evening cheese and port party, this occurred outside the accommodation on the canal bank by the boats, and went down very well.

Thanks to all who donated cheese, port, whisky and tequila!

Moving swiftly on…

Sunday morning came, with a few hangovers about and failures to get out of bed, and the slightly depleted teams headed for the Tame Valley Canal. A good three hours of grappling ensued, with a good haul of rubbish from bridge holes back to Ocker Hill.

Lunch was taken at our accommodation and we all helped clear up before we all went our separate ways.

Another great weekend together on the BCN. Lots of soul searching and discussions about the future of this event, and the local CRT guys certainly need educating before next year’s event. My thanks...

We pulled out at least two different kinds of chair: stacking chair and bullhead railway chair...

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. . . . . .

To Moose (team C) and Maria and volunteers on the catering (team A had to be, didn’t it?)

To all the van drivers, Aileen for doing the bit in the middle as usual.

To the volunteers from BCNS and Coombeswood Canal Trust and to Aaron from CRT for his work in getting everything into place.

To Alex & Co at head office for sorting the bookings To Ellen for getting us the grants that help with the accommodation costs and expenses.

Last of all to all our fantastic volunteers old and new, I think you all enjoyed it, see you next year.

Chris Morgan plus extra contributions

The back of a 1960s invalid car... we think...

BCN from A to Z Following one of those late-night you-had-to-be-there type conversations on the Saturday night of the Clean Up when for reasons which remain obscure a bunch of us found ourselves trying to put together an alphabetical list of biscuits, one beginning with each letter (I said you had to be there!) we felt that actually an alphabetical list of things we’ve hauled out of the BCN over the years might be a rather more appropriate challenge. So we set the volunteers on a slightly more recent London WRG ‘Virtual Dig’ (you had to NOT be there!) to work on it. They did us proud...

Armco barrier Bike Coffin Dashboard Electric whisk Fencing Goalposts Hula hoop Insulation (stripped from cable) Jewellery Kitchen sink Lawnmower Motorbike Number plate Orange cone Park bench Quavers packet Railway sleeper Safe Trolley Umbrella Vacuum cleaner Wheelbarrow X – crosspiece (cheating a little) Yale lock Zebra (toy)

‘V’ is for... ‘Vacuum Cleaner’

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Restoration feature In our second restoration feature, we take a wider view of another canal Restoration feature: Montgomery Canal The restoration back-story: Another canal, another major road scheme. Rather like the Cotswold Canals, the subject of this issue’s first restoration feature, the birth of the Montgomery Canal restoration also coincided with a threat to its future as a result of a road project. But whilst the damage to the Stroudwater Canal from the M5 motorway is only now finally being put right, the threat to the Mont from the Welshpool Bypass plans of the late 1960s was successfully headed-off at the time.

But let’s go back a little further. In the early 1960s, a group was formed with the objective of reopening the Newport Arm of The the Shropshire Union Canal and the Shrewsbury Canal (which it Montgomery connected to), both of these having been closed relatively recently by the LMS Railway Act of 1944. Unfortunately, just Canal as they were trying to get this restoration scheme going, the rug was pulled from under their feet by British Waterways To Llangollen Canal selling off chunks of the canal - followed soon by the Llangollen To destruction of some important structures. Prevented Hurleston Frankton from achieving their original objective (an aim which was eventually taken up by the current Former Aston Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust - but Weston Arm Locks En that’s another story) the group broadened its g Maesbury W lan aims to cover the entire former Shropshire ale d s Gronwen Bridge Union network (which included the Crickheath (limit of navigation) Pant Llangollen and Montgomery canals as well as Llanymynech School House Bridge Carreghofa The Montgomery Canal as we know it today (to be reinstated) Vyrnwy Locks was actually built as four different waterways. The Aqueduct (restored) first half mile including Frankton Locks (along Old railway crossing with the long-abandoned Weston Arm) would Arddleen (removed 2017) have been part of the Ellesmere Canal’s original Burgedin planned (but never completed) main line to Shrewsbury.

Locks 4 road blockages The next section from there to near the Welsh border was between Llanymynech built as the Llanymynech Branch of the Ellesmere Canal, and Arddleen and opened in 1796. The Montgomeryshire Canal was planned to extend the route through to Newtown, but 12 mile isolated restored only got to Garthmyl before it ran out of money in navigable length from Welshpool Arddleen through 1797. Finally the Montgomeryshire Canal (Western Welshpool to Refail Branch) completed the route to Newtown in 1819.

The whole lot became part of the Shropshire Union system, which came under the London & North Western Railway - but was kept in good Berriew condition and worked hard by them, as it Refail penetrated into rival railway companies’ Garthmyl 3 locks restored but several road blockages territory. Eventually in 1923 it became part remain south of Refail of the LMS Railway, and by 1936 when a breach occurred below Frankton it Final length into Newtown obstructed by was little used. The breach was sewer in canal bed, terminus basin built never repaired and the canal on, possibility of diversion to new terminus Newtown was abandoned in 1944.

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Montgomery

Canal

where (fingers crossed) things are really going to move... the Montgomery

Harry Arnold

the Shropshire Union Main Line). It renamed itself the Shropshire Union Canal Society (SUCS) in 1966, and looked at instead restoring the Montgomery Canal, which had been closed under the same 1944 Act (although it had actually been unused and unusable for rather longer, after it burst its banks below Frankton Locks in 1936 and was never repaired).

So when the Welshpool Bypass was proposed, and a route for the new road was chosen which would obliterate the How it started: the Welshpool Big Dig in 1969 canal through the centre of the town, SUCS was ready to fight it.

Locks and then Burgedin Locks during the A major protest event and working 1980s. party was organised, which became known Unfortunately it wasn’t all good news as the Welshpool Big Dig. Over a weekend in though, with what was widely seen as a very October 1969, 300 volunteers including misguided decision by the authorities (deSUCS, local residents and other waterways spite their efforts to justify it) to demolish supporters, and by the end of the weekend Williams Bridge, a minor road bridge, and they had a boat floating on the canal. replace it with a low-level culverted crossing.

This helped to see off the threat from And this happened as late as the late 1970s, the bypass scheme, but that didn’t mean it just when it seemed like the tide had turned was going to be a straightforward restorain favour of restoration and there would be tion. Elsewhere on the canal there were no more blockages created. Despite protests already numerous places where road bridges the bridge was indeed destroyed - but amid had been demolished and the canal sufficient bad publicity for the authorities (it culverted, while two lengths had been aleven made the front page of The Times) that lowed to run dry. it looked certain to be the last new blockage However the Welshpool Big Dig, as well created. And so it has. as achieving its protest aims, kick-started the Meanwhile visiting volunteers from restoration project and led to a programme WRG (which hadn’t even been in existence of work to restore a seven-mile isolated when the restoration started) had got inlength through the town. volved with the restoration of Frankton This length was the focus for work in Locks, the first flight at the north end of the the early years, including the first lock resto- canal, where it connects to the Llangollen ration at Welshpool Town Lock followed by Canal and the rest of the waterways system.

Pool Quay, Bank and Crowther Hall locks.

And having completed Frankton, the SUCS’ volunteers then moved northvisiting volunteers moved on to restore the wards to completely rebuild Carreghofa next flight down, at Aston Locks - and to

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Steve Davis

build the adjacent nature reserve in the early 1990s.

Nature reserve? Yes, already the ‘nature versus navigation’ issue on the waterways had kicked off, and one place that it was being raised was on the Montgomery Canal. Without going too far into it (and for all that filling the column inches in Navvies might be a challenge in the coming months, I don’t think repeating all the arguments on both sides of this particular debate would make us many new fans!) there were those on the nature conservation side who took the view that the preservation of biodiversity and of the Montgomery’s rare aquatic plants in particular was sufficiently important that it couldn’t be sacrificed so that people could go canal John Craven and other dignitaries open Aston Locks, 2003 boating; on the other side the supporters of reopening to navigation took North Wales Branch held a ‘Dinghy Dawdle’ the view that if they hadn’t saved the canal which involved the Police holding up the and begun restoring it, there wouldn’t be any traffic while all the participants carried their biodiversity left to preserve. And while the boats very slowly across a main road!), with nature conservation view was supported by the authorities replacing several culverts with the powerful legal protection afforded by new bridges and BW restoring more locks, designation of canals as Sites of Special extending the Welshpool length to a total of Scientific Interest (and other similar designa- 12 miles of continuous navigable waterway. tion), the navigation interests could counter At the English (northern) end of the that the regeneration benefits of reopening canal the locks at Frankton and then at Aston (which were the basis of local authority were reopened, while the length in between support for it) would only be realised if them which had suffered subsidence was people could actually use the reopened canal. rebuilt, and a new lock commemorating As I said, I won’t go into the MontWRG founder Graham Palmer was built (to gomery’s particular nature issues too deeply, correct changes in level caused by the subbut the (very) long-term upshot was that all sidence), allowing visiting boats to access the parties eventually agreed to a Conservation first seven miles of the canal from 2003.

Management Strategy (CMS) which gave And that’s still as far as it’s got. Not none of them exactly what they wanted (and because folks have been resting on their therefore was probably as good an agreelaurels, but because the next section, the ment as it could be). And in the meantime infamous ‘Pant dry section’, won’t hold water WRG got to build a nice nature reserve by and has had to be laboriously re-lined with a Aston Locks, providing an alternative habitat waterproof membrane overlaid with a proto replace any nature interest lost by the tected bed of stones, for every inch of the restoration and use of the locks. way. One section was funded and done by Meanwhile, SUCS’ volunteers had fincontractors, while more recently a very welished yet another set of locks at Burgedin, come Lottery grant is paying for a section and headed for the far end of the canal including a new winding hole at Crickheath where they rebuilt Brynderwen and Byles Wharf plus more nature reserves and other locks. And the tide had genuinely turned as works, but the majority of the lining work regards main road blockages (helped by a has been a long slog for the SUCS volunteer rather unusual campaign event, where the team (see progress update p26-27). HowInland Waterways Association Shrewsbury & ever it’s getting within sight of completion...

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Where are we at now? To gauge the

way. It’s also a politically important section, current state of restoration on the Montas it straddles the Welsh border. gomery, let’s take a trip along the entire The trip-boat length ends at a minor length of it, starting at Frankton Junction. road crossing at Walls Bridge, one of four The first seven miles including Frankton road blockages in the next four miles - the Locks, the Graham Palmer Lock and Aston others are Willams Bridge (another minor Locks, are fully navigable and visited by road) and two crossings of the A483 at plenty of boats from the Llangollen. They’re Maerdy and Arddleen. Dealing with these last subject to a booking system and a maximum two will be tricky - it’s a main road, and limit on boat movements per year, but under raising it to provide navigable headroom the CMS this will increase, and just recently would be expensive, if it’s even acceptable to the Frankton lock opening hours have been the road authorities at all. Lowering the canal doubled to four hours a day. wouldn’t be easy either. There’s also a major The length open to boats ends at aqueduct over the River Vyrnwy requiring Gronwen Bridge beyond Maesbury, the limit attention. But on the plus side, the only two of navigation since the Aston Lock reopening locks on this length at Carreghofa have been in 2003. But two further lengths have since restored by SUCS. been completely re-lined and put back in The good news is that from Arddleen water - from Gronwen to Redwith Bridge, onwards the canal is now continuously reand on from there to Pryces Bridge. So why stored and navigable all the way through aren’t they open? Partly because of the reWelshpool and on to Refail - a total of quirement for fringe vegetation (which is around 12 miles and 11 locks. encouraged by the type of bank lining used) Beyond Refail there are a further six to be allowed to become established before miles in water to just beyond Aberbechan. the canal is put in use; but largely because There are several road blockages (including there would be nowhere for boats to turn more crossings of the A483), but SUCS have round. The length that SUCS is currently restored all three locks on this length at working on, from Pryces Bridge to CrickBrynderwen, Byles and Newhouse. heath, will connect it to a full-size winding This length ends where a feeder suphole (turning point) which has been built and plies it with water from the Severn, and the funded by the Lottery grant at Crickheath final two and a half mile length including the Wharf. There, the historic wharf walls which last three locks climbing into Newtown is dry. once allowed boats to interchange with Not only that but the canal bed is occupied tramways leading to the stone quarries have by a sewer, and the terminal basin has been been restored, and it will make a good termi- built on. But see later... nus for the canal when this length is completed in the nottoo-distant future.

The next two miles from Crickheath to just short of Llanymynech are also currently dry, and also includes one serious obstruction in the form of a low level road crossing at the former Schoolhouse Bridge - of which more later. It did have another blockage, an old railway embankment at Pant, but a WRG Northwest mini-camp a couple of years ago dealt with that.

A length through Llanymynech has been restored, and is home to a trip-boat, based in a heritage area which includes the surviving Hoffman Kiln (a rare type of limekiln) and Waiting for the boats: Byles Lock, restored by SUCS a reconstructed length of tram-

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So what next? As we’ve already mentioned, the SUCS team will (once the current restrictions are lifted) carry on with their work to line the canal from Pryces Bridge to Crickheath Wharf, enabling the length from Gronwen to Crickheath to reopen, and adding another mile and a half to the navigable length at the English end. But plans are already in hand to open the next section.

The ‘one serious obstruction’ we mentioned - the missing Schoolhouse Bridge - is the subject of a funding Appeal led by Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust (a partnership organisation bringing together SUCS, IWA, local authorities and other bodies involved in the canal) which is well on the way to raise the necessary costs. Meanwhile MWRT has been doing the detailed planning, recruiting skilled volunteers for project management, and working towards a rebuilding project which (subject to current issues) is set to rebuild the bridge during 2021. Although the basic structure will be built by contractors, the aim is that volunteers will do as much as possible - brick facings, earthworks, parapets, towpath and so on - and that WRG Canal Camps in summer 2021 will be an important part of this. Watch this space!

Reopening this two-mile length to Llanymynech will also require some more

channel lining work. At some point between Crickheath (where the canal definitely won’t hold water without re-lining) and Llanymynech (where it already is holding water) there must be a change in the underlying ground conditions that make the difference between whether or not it will need lining. And that will determine whether (as MWRT’s John Dodwell suggested) we could see boats through to Llanymynech within five years.

And then what? Get to Llanymynech, and it’s just a four mile gap between there and the 12-mile navigable length through Welshpool. But as we mentioned it will be an expensive one, although MWRT has plans for how to deal with the obstructions. And with the canal navigable to the Welsh border, it may well prove easier to attract support and funding from Welsh bodies, such as Powys Council, the Welsh Assembly, and the Mid Wales Growth Deal funding pot.

Beyond Refail there are are further blockages, as we mentioned above - and getting back into Newtown wouldn’t be easy at all. But recently Newtown Council has expressed its enthusiasm for the idea, and there are optimistic suggestions of the town’s 750th anniversary in 2029 as a target date.

Martin Ludgate

MWRT

To find our more and to support the appeal see restorethemontgomerycanal.uk

Next year’s job: Impression of the completed Schoolhouse Bridge and (inset) as it is now

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diary... what diary?

In the light of the current restrictions, WRG and other groups’ practical canal restoration activities have generally been curtailed.

Where’s the Diary? You’ll be used to turning to the centre-spread of Navvies for the start of six pages detailing all the forthcoming WRG, IWA, canal society, CRT and other working parties around the waterways network. But for obvious reasons, not this time...

So what’s happening then? The short answer is ‘not a lot’. But the long answer is slightly less pessimistic. We realise that even with the shorter lead times possible with electronic distribution of this magazine (see p6-7), the situation is changing so fast that it may well be out of date by the time you read it. But see below for a roundup of what’s been cancelled, what could (subject to the raising of restrictions) still be going ahead, and a few internet-based activities which can still take place without anyone coming into contact...

Canal Camps: WRG has taken the decision to cancel (or postpone) all week-long canal camps on a rolling ‘eight weeks ahead’ basis to be reviewed weekly until further notice. That means that while the May-June camps on the River Waveney are definitely off, no decision has as yet been made concerning the main summer programme. They remain open for bookings but that does not mean that they will happen: their status will be reviewed frequently in view of the changing situation (and bearing in mind the planning which needs to take place in collaboration with host canal societies, accommodation providers and volunteer leaders in advance of the camps happening). If camps are cancelled, anyone who has booked will be offered a free transfer to another camp or a full refund. Unfortunately we cannot offer refunds for volunteers’ travel arrangements made prior to cancellation, so advise volunteers not to book transport any earlier than four weeks before the camp.

WRG Training Weekend: The Training Weekend planned for 8-10 May is postponed.

WRG Leader Training: The Leader Training Day planned for 16 May has been postponed. We are looking at the possibility of running it as an online ‘webinar’.

Mobile groups’ weekend working parties: The mobile groups have also stopped running working parties within the next eight weeks: please contact the group leaders or see their websites / Facebook pages for the latest details.

IWA and canal societies: As far as we are aware, regular work parties run by IWA branches, canal societies and trusts have also been suspended until further notice.

Online seminars: Good news! Some actual additions to the diary! WRG’s parent body the Inland Waterways Association has set up a series of ‘webinars’ - online seminars aimed mainly at canal societies but which Navvies readers may be interested in. They include Bringing Waterways to the Attention of Government (21 April), Changing the Face of the Ashton Canal (28 April) and Protecting our Waterways Heritage (5 May). To book and find out more, see waterways.org.uk and select ‘online waterway talks’ from the ‘events’ pull-down.

IWA National Trailboat Festival: This was due to be held on the Wey & Arun Canal. It has been rescheduled for 2021.

IWA canal restoration conference: This has been rescheduled for 10 October.

See wrg.org.uk for the latest on what’s on, what’s off and what’s postponed

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progress on the S&N Understandably it’s all gone quiet now - but let’s catch up on restoration progress from earlier this year, starting with the Shrewsbury & Newport...

Much of the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust’s efforts in recent months have been concentrated on the approaches to Berwick Tunnel, near the Shrewsbury end of the canal (see map on our letters page).

The pictures by James Weir of SNCT show the south eastern approach cutting before work started, work in progress to build a landing stage, and a recent view showing the great improvement thanks to the Trust and visiting WRG volunteer teams.

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Pictures by James Weir

Shrewsbury & Newport Canals

progress

Wendover

Meanwhile back in February and early March the biggest worries for WAT’s concreting teams were storms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge - remember them? the canal itself things weren’t too bad, but our simple shelter looked to have been inThe Wendover Arm Trust’s February verted and completely flattened. The adjaworking party: completing laying the cent Heras type fence was also down. Whilst concrete channel base through Bridge 4. two members of the team carried on doing On Thursday we had enough volunthe hand finishing of the excavations the rest teers to hand mix concrete and lay the reof us made safe the area where our shelter maining length of hollow blocks through the used to be. The chairs and covering were put bridge. This allowed the ready mixed reininto the hut, heavy weights used to hold forced concrete bed to be carried to site by plywood sheets down, and all the damaged dumper and laid through the remainder of fencing was unbolted and laid flat. We’d lost the bridge on Friday. our shelter; with the weather predicted to get On Saturday seven volunteers arrived worse (the rain was getting heavier) we on what turned out to be the “calm before abandoned work and left site in the howling the storm” (Ciara, remember that?). 144 wind and rain at 11:30. solid concrete blocks were taken to the work Monday: picking up the pieces. There site, most of these were laid onto the conwere only four of us because of fallen trees creted hollow blocks except for the top row and flooding causing travel problems. The which was temporarily left off to allow water- concrete mixer had survived and was used to proof Bentonite paste to be mixed and put in make a ‘blinding’ layer of concrete in the area place behind the Bentomat (Bentonite matthat will have reinforced concrete added later. ting) at the top edge. The volunteer person This gave us much better working condiwho applied the paste also applied a lot of tions. weather proofing to her jacket (maybe in The Heras fence was rebuilt making our preparation for storm Ciara?). worksite secure. Our shelter components Concurrently, the sloping parts of the were beyond reuse so the hut was used as a old Swing Bridge wing walls were demolshelter instead. ished (in accordance with the CRT approved Tuesday: Wet but not raining all the drawings). time. The remaining part of the bridge banks On Sunday, Ciara struck! The six volwere solid blocked and concreted. unteers found a very windy morning, the car Wednesday: Due to the concrete park being very exposed, and the wind blinding needing more time to cure we stronger here than anywhere else. When worked on our latest memorial bench conloading a dumper with ballast (next to the crete slab. This was set up and cast in place. car park) we had to make sure that no peoThursday: Double trouble: After a ple (or cars!) were downwind - there was a quick pump out and clear up, we set about very real risk of the wind picking up ballast assembling the required double layer conwhilst we loaded. crete reinforcement mesh for the canal bed When approaching the work site on a slab under the bridge which will be 300mm dumper, the wind was gusting enough to thick. (It will form the foundations for the take sand from the ballast and throw it in the block and brick work walls and stop plank driver’s face - fortunately he was wearing channels). Faced with several bags of odd safety glasses, so no harm was done to him. shaped pieces of reinforcement, a pile of Well, not fortunately: full marks for wearing reinforcement sheets and a drawing, it was the right equipment! like solving a three-dimensional puzzle. After The wind seemed to be aligned with a false start, progress was made and around the canal line and it was relentless. It was a 80% of the reinforcement was put in place. scene of devastation when we got to site - in Friday: The tidy Friday team spent

Grand Union Wendover Arm

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add a roll bar and seat belt, but it should give us a safer way of transporting and offloading the many concrete blocks that we handle. Although the machine is smaller than the 6 tonne dumpers we normally use, the bucket is much lower to the ground, and being lighter and smaller it may be able to travel back to Whitehouses along the bed in winter when the larger machines would bog down.

We also tidied up the concrete pouring site, constructed a passing point to allow two dumpers to pass and ease the flow when delivering the concrete, and left it all ready to go for Monday.

Monday: Concreting day. We had rain overnight so there had to be yet another ‘pump out’ before work could start. The plan was that the ordered 12 cubic metres of concrete would be delivered by three readymix lorries. But even with each dumper loaded as full as the rough ground and slopes allowed, there would be many shuttle trips.

Things soon developed into “a busy time”. The volunteer-suggested method of tipping the concrete into wheelbarrows directly from the dumper worked well provided we didn’t completely fill them. It is not easy to control concrete being tipped out of a dumper! To the team on top of the reinforcing, the flow of dumpers appeared to be relentless, and there was little time to recover between deliveries.

The whole of the concrete was deaerated with a vibrating poker.

This tended to allow the wooden formwork to float up and some time was spent putting in more pins in strategic positions to show what the concrete level needed to be.

Fatigue amongst the volunteers was beginning to set in, but everyone worked hard on what was a very busy, tiring day. We did rotate the dumper driving February working party: the concrete bed is laid through the bridge to give people a Pictures by WAT

their time clearing up tree debris from the storm and had a warming bonfire: - there was a lot of wood around!

March Working Party: The primary work planned was to cast the main reinforced concrete slab that will eventually support the new stop plank channels and the rebuilt section of the Old Swing Bridge walls

by Bridge 4. This work was done in several stages including casting the “upstand” where the stop planks will meet with the bed, and casting in an expansion joint with the existing concrete slab under Bridge 4 (completed on the February working party - see above).

Thursday: The machines arrived early, and we got the pumps in place, the work area was pumped out quickly, so the opportunity was taken to pump out other areas of the bed.

Friday: Work commenced on sorting out the various pieces of the reinforcement puzzle including cutting the reinforcing sheet meshes and specially bent shapes to get the fit and height that was required.

Saturday: The four volunteers concentrated on getting the reinforcing etc. finished, including attaching the 20mm dowels which will firmly locate the block walls whilst the central area of mesh was finished off. After this we all moved on to installing wooden shuttering which took a while to get to the correct height and needed extra timber to fill gaps underneath.

Sunday: Dumper day. The ‘new’ dumper arrived by trailer. We will need to

page 24

March working party: one of many dumper loads of readymix (see back cover for more pics) break. Finally each dumper was pressure washed out.

Tuesday: We witnessed the amazing ability for wet concrete to attract footprints.

But before all that, we had to strip out formwork on the new concrete slab and pump out the area between the new slab and the existing slab under Bridge 4. As part of the preparations the “tail end” of the Bridge 4 slab reinforcement had to be uncovered and cleaned up. A foam expansion strip was assembled to the face of the new slab to allow each slab to “move” or settle over time.

So, we set to on mixing concrete with our onsite mixer and filled the gap and deaerated with a poker. This was followed by careful smoothing and lavish “finishing” by trowel.

All that smoothing was obviously vulnerable, so the area was covered with raised boards whilst we got on with the next bit.

The boards soon got in the way so were removed and everyone was told to keep away. That lasted about ten minutes when I was the first to “make an impression”.

Smoothing was difficult whilst laughing!

Three more footmarks duly came and went.

Then we had a volunteer who apparently wanted the shape of his face recorded for posterity... but no injuries, lessons learned.

The task that was causing the footmarks next door was to fabricate and assemble the form work for the cill that will be the sealing face for the stop planks when they are assembled. The form work was again set up using the surveying level. Extra reinforcing was added and then the form work filled with hand mixed concrete.

Vibrating the concrete to de-aerate it caused yet more problems with the formwork (we really should know by now?) and more time was spent correcting the movement and settling the concrete down again.

Wednesday: First task was to “strike” and clear away the various form work and boards. Work started on the first course of hollow blocks which were placed over the dowels cast into the concrete bed.

Thursday: As a continuation of the expansion joint between the two concrete slabs, some more plastic foam was affixed to the bridge abutment wall. Work started in earnest on the hollow block work. Most of the block work on the offside was completed.

Survey checks were done throughout the build. The cill “upstand” was surveyed for flatness and height and was found to be satisfactory.

Tony Bardwell

page 25

progress Montgomery Over on the Mont, the SUCS volunteers have been continuing with the re-lining work on the next section of canal to Crickheath Wharf started at the unearthly hour of 08:00 with the holes being dug using the 8-tonner. The excavations were supervised by a ground Worksite for the SUCS volunteers for the last investigation specialist and assisted by the few years has been the length from Pryces eight volunteers on site. Soil samples were Bridge Redwith to Crickheath, which needs to collected and the whole process photobe completely re-lined in order to make it graphed and recorded. The results will inwatertight (See our restoration feature on the form the final revision of the channel design.

Montgomery Canal elsewhere in this issue for Additionally the fence on the towpath access details and map explaining whereabouts this at Crickheath was extended. Some minor length is, and how it fits in with the remainworks on the Crickheath drain completed a der of the restoration). This section is diproductive day. vided into two parts - Phase 1 (completed) and Phase 2 (under way).

Work Party Report: March 2020 It is perhaps a newsworthy item in itself that Work Party Report: January 2020 this work party took place at all. Several The first work party of the new decade was weeks of more or less continuous heavy rain short in duration and all of the intended made life difficult both on and off site. Every tasks were completed in a day and a bit. The part of the site was, like the surrounding main job, the excavation of ten trial holes in area, completely soaked. An indication of the channel between the Oak Tree and Crick- how bad things were was that the lorries heath, was necessary to complete the ground bringing stone from the quarry, which is investigation on the Phase 2 length of canal. visible from the site, had to take a 20-mile The opportunity was also taken to complete detour to avoid the floods. Despite all of the a number of other outstanding jobs. problems, considerable progress was made The ‘bit’ of the day was the Thursday when three volunteers pumped out the channel. A jolly time was had digging channels in the mud to drain water to the pump. One volunteer took the opportunity to do a bit of freelance ground investigation (see photograph). The day was rounded off by a preliminary attempt to establish the line of the future towpath.

Cutting out the trial holes during the January working party Friday’s work Pictures by SUCS

Shropshire Union Canal Society Montgomery Canal Restoration

page 26

including the start of the permanent works and the installation of the first section of the land drain in the channel base.

The work started a day earlier than usual to clear the water from the channel so as to permit a flying start to construction activity on the Friday. Five volunteers got the pumps going and then entertained themselves by setting out a long section of channel. By the end of the day it was at least possible to see the bottom of the channel.

The pumps were hard at it again first thing on Friday clearing the water which had entered the channel overnight – mainly from the field on the offside which is several metres higher than the canal – and they were in continual use for the rest of the work party. The main work was on the offside bank at Crickheath. In this area the final configuration of the bank consists of layers of stone reinforced by geogrid. The present work involved putting down the first 300mm layer of this construction in such a way that it could double up as a haul road.

The stone was consolidated using a vibrating compactor attached to one of the diggers.

Creating the land drain sump on the March working party We now have the final design for the channel. The majority of the channel will be constructed of last day, the machines being employed clearcomposite earth/stone banks held together ing the offside bank of surplus spoil. Howby geogrid. Work started on Saturday shapever the submersible pump had coped well ing a small section where the construction is with the overnight rain, offering some hope specified as straightforward excavation/fill, a that the days of the Thursday pumping technique similar to that used on Phase 1. sessions might be numbered.

The vibrating compactor was successfully One final bit of good news! Lloyd’s tested on the fill on the banks.

Animal Feeds have kindly agreed that we can The other working area was in the bed stay at our present base for the duration of of the channel close to the Crickheath clay the project. dam. The remaining area of channel base was excavated, treated with cement grout In the event, this optimistic (if damp) start to and geogrid, and then covered with stone. work on the length leading to Crickheath Finally the sump for the land drain, together Wharf was the last working party on the with a small length of pipe was installed and canal before the ceasing of all work as a the submersible pump hooked up to the result of Coronavirus precautions. See our ‘juice’. restoration feature for a longer-term view Heavy overnight rain meant that further on how we hope the Mont restoration will work in the channel was not possible on the continue as and when restrictions are lifted.

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progress Buckingham Buckingham Canal Society’s project to rebuild Bridge 1 at Cosgrove has been progressing towards completion - and BCS has bought a boat! scaffolding to be removed from the bridgehole.

The rebuilding of Bridge No 1, the first In the bridgehole, the wooden cill laid bridge from the junction at Cosgrove where in the bed as a base for stop-planks (which the Buckingham Canal (technically the Old can be inserted to dam the canal temporarily Stratford and Buckingham arms of the Grand for maintenance) needs ‘dressing’ to make it Union Canal) leaves the Grand Union Main watertight. The planks then need fitting Line, and the dividing line between the few before the steel piling and earth dam (curhundred yards of canal remaining in water rently keeping out the water in the adjacent for moorings and the section under restoranavigable length) can be removed. tion, remains the Buckingham Canal Society’s ‘Upstairs’, the brickwork is being promajor project. A major milestone was gressed from ‘up top’ and also from scaffoldpassed back in November, when the towpath ing that is not in the bridgehole. A ‘wearing’ through the new bridge was opened, but course of 50mm of fine ballast concrete will after that work slowed somewhat, as winter be laid, This will allow any wear on the usually dictates, due to poor weather, volun- surface over the bridge to be addressed teer availability and operations. without touching the structural concrete - in As the brickwork has continued, the the same way as you will see the top layer of project has fallen naturally into three parts: a road surface planed off and replaced. ‘upstairs’, ‘downstairs’,and in the bridgehole As I write this, the railings that wil go (the void under the bridge where the water on the sides of the bridge have been powder goes). ‘Downstairs’, as in the underside of the coated and are due for delivery and bolting bridge, the painting has been completed, onto the concrete. with the final coat being applied to the new steel beams. Trimming and finishing work on the steel reinforcing bar and concrete trimming was under way as this report was written, and expected, weather permitting, [and subject to the usual proviso about the ‘current situation’ ...Ed] to be finished by March. This Workboat Louise on her way from Brentford up the Grand Union Canal would allow BCS

Buckingham Canal

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BCS (taken during essential site visit for safety-related work)

Although Bridge 1 at Cosgrove is our central project, work continues at Bourton Meadow near the Buckingham end of the canal to control the vegetation. We also plan to return very soon [Usual proviso ...Ed] to Hyde Lane Lock to do a little ‘gardening’ there too.

BCS has also acquired a boat! The workboat Louise is very nearly 100 years old.

Built in the 1920s (we don’t have an exact date) as a ‘beet barge’ for transporting sugar beet on the Fens, she has a concrete floor for both structure and ballast. Oh, and she also has a HIAB 085 L crane hook, a winch and a timber grab.

A few months ago we collected a grab bucket for Louise, which The suspension of regular pumping under Bridge 1 during the will be very useful for lockdown means it got water under it rather sooner than expected dredging (such as from Cosgrove Lock to Bridge 1), and removing we can evaluate those bits of brickwork with the earth dam as we can’t get an excavator in the stop planks in place for safety to stop any there with the stop planks in. inadvertent water loss.

Over Christmas our gallant crew set off The stop planks will also be subject to a to bring a tug named Woodstock (thanks stilling test, which is a way of establishing CRT!) from Braunston to Cosgrove, for our leakage measurements. If successful, we onward journey to Brentford to pick up then just have to remove the dam and piling, Louise. The intrepid helmsmen cajoled the using Louise and her crane. tug and Louise up the River Brent and onto Reproduced from BCS magazine the Grand Union. The good news is that The Buckingham Navigator cabled together, they both just about fitted in the locks. In 20 calendar days, we took Stop press: At the point where the possession of the tug, fetched Louise from Coronavirus lockdown stopped all construcBrentford, and returned the tug to Braunston! tion work, two out of four of the Bridge 1 The crane operates under Lifting Opparapet walls were compete with the other erations and Lifting Equipment Regulations two at 60%; the south approach ramp was 1998 (LOLER) and is subject to lots of paper- 80% done; the north ramp was waiting for work which we are currently collating. The the south ramp to be complete; and the first mission is likely to be paying back our railings were ready to fit. When work starts debt to CRT for kind provision of the tug by again, there are drystone walls to be built, helping with a project at Long Buckby. leading on from the end of the brick walls, Depending on timing, we’ll then be on both sides of the north ramp and the west back down to Cosgrove to transport the side of the south ramp (as per original). There bridge railings and stop planks mentioned are plans for a LANTRA instructor to get four earlier. We then aim to expose the towpath or five BCS volunteers up to ‘competent’ walls by gentle removal of the earth bund so drystone walling level to oversee students.

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progress H&G and Gipping The Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust have acquired a couple more pieces of land, while the Gipping Trust are planning a new bridge Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal

H&GCT

In 2019 the Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust focussed primarily on land with acquisitions at Newent and Malswick. The building of some bridges for the farmers gave us access to land for further development of the canal.

We are now the happy owners of a swing bridge that will be installed along the Malswick length of canal once repairs and painting have been done.

Just up the road at Oxenhall, just north of Newent, volunteers have been investigating to see if there are any hidden historical Oxenhall Lock No 2 remains of locks prior to proceeding with work on building Lock 2.

Malswick Between Malswick and Oxenhall the Newent Station has given our engineering team lots to talk about and they have devised a new way of taking the canal over the road at Newent – a double inclined plane. Taking boats through the old station on tracks rather than on water.

At the River Severn end of the canal, the team in Over have started further work on the boats and recently our Trip Boat has come out of the water for blacking and work on the cabin. The Herefordshire end of the canal has a number of ongoing projects that we hope to engage with the WRG in the near future.

The Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust continues to focus on rebuilding a sustainable canal from Hereford to Gloucester, with the emphasis on ensuring there is a built-in income to keep the canal maintained once it is A swingbridge destined for the Malswick area of the canal restored.

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River Gipping We are very pleased to be able to report that the River Gipping Trust has been granted planning permission to build a new bridge over the River Gipping just above Baylham lock. The new bridge will sit on top of existing 230-year-old bridge abutments which are in generally good / repairable condition. The towpath bridge itself disappeared some 50 years ago, which resulted in the footpath being diverted away from the river, alongside a railway line.

With planning permission now granted, the Trust are now able to apply for a £25,000 grant to fund the bridge.

We continue to work on the lock and bywash at Pipps Ford, Saplings at the ready: preparing for planting including creating a ford across the bywash suitable for heavy equipment to cross, to get access to the lock. The installation of stop planks into the lock has proved very challenging and the damming off of the lock proved to be beyond the Trust’s capabilities, so we are now getting Portadam to do the damming off at the end of July, for two weeks, whilst the Trust install the stop planks inside a dry lock, subject to Environment Agency permits, which have been applied for. [And, as with all plans at the moment, subject to the lifting of the current Coronavirus related restrictions ...Ed] The Trust’s volunteers continue to meet up along the river every Wednesday. We have around 20 volunteers, with each work party averaging out at around ten volunteers a time.

Early on in the year the Trust’s volunteers planted over 50 trees alongside the land side of the towpath, away from the river, and plan to plant more later this year. When not working on the bywash and the new bridge we continue to carry out maintenance work along the towpath between Needham Market and Baylham. We meet at Pipps Ford or Baylham every Wednesday (weather permitting); any new volunteers are very welcome to come along!

Ian Petchey Stowmarket Restoration Manager, River Gipping Trust

Needham Market

Bosmere Lock Creeting Lock Pipps Ford Lock Baylham Lock

Stowmarket Navigation (River Gipping)

Ipswich

Length: 17 miles Locks: 15 Opened: 1793 Closed: 1934

The Stowmarket Navigation Opened in 1793, the Stowmarket Navigation was a 17-mile waterway based on the River Gipping linking the tidal river at Ipswich Docks to Stowmarket. Successful at first, it was leased to a railway from 1846 to 1888, by which time there was little trade on the upper lengths.

Some traffic at the Ipswich end continued until 1922, and it was abandoned in 1934.

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progress Lichfield & Lanky The Lichfield has been making progress at the Gallows Reach and Fosseway Heath worksites, while the end is in sight for the Lancaster’s First Furlong Lichfield Canal

Pictues by David Hodgkinson

Work moves at such a pace with Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust that it’s difficult to summarise the last few months! The Trust has its own volunteers out most days of the week, and also corporate group volunteers and the wonderful WRGies from time to time, all working on a number of sites. In the last quarter work has concentrated on two sites: Fosseway Heath and Gallows Reach.

A major challenge (all challenges are major challenges to LHCRT!) is engineering the tight turn between the ‘new’ route of the canal (because the old route has been extensively built on) and the original route at our Fosseway Heath site. This will be a tight turn for 72ft boats when restored to water, so the engineering and brickwork is necessarily very carefully calculated and then put into correct setting-out. Right now, the extent of what we’ll refer to as the ‘Lichfield Haven’ en-

Above: newly exposed original canal wall and towpath on the Gallows Reach length of canal Below: view back from Falkland Road towards new channel earthworks and new tight turn

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?

HS2

A4 61

Lichfield Canal

A3 8

trance/exit is indeed Length: 7 miles Locks: 30 Date closed: 1955 well defined with a tightly engineered curved wall, with Swan To Fradley Island (the old site of Diversions to be built to bypass Coventry Lock 19 – now not obstructions to restoration Canal Huddlesford needed, but its location preserved for both LICHFIELD To Coventry heritage and turning A51 Byp ass purposes) all now Tamworth evident. We’ve some Road Locks To Anglesey super master builders Basin and setting out guys!

Gallows Reach A5 Housing develOgley work site opments mean that Junction M6 Toll Fosseway Heath the canal must take a Summerhill work site new route from work site Fosseway and hence Wyrley & Essington Canal the tight turn to to Wolverhampton proceed alongside The Lichfield Canal is the name given by canal restorers to the abanFalkland Road (part of doned eastern six miles or so of the Wyrley & Essington Canal. The the Lichfield Southern canal originally stretched from the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Bypass). So far, conLine in Wolverhampton to a junction with the Coventry Canal at siderable earthworks Huddlesford, but this eastern length which included all 30 of the canal’s have been done to locks was closed in the 1950s to save the cost of maintaining the locks. create the channel and With the remaining length (and much of the northern part of the BCN to use removed turfs system) still navigable but very quiet, reopening the abandoned length is to green the raised seen as a key to getting more boats onto these underused waterways, bank. Our record while also connecting the historic city of Lichfield. number of Duke of Edinburgh volunteers have spent a number of Saturday mornings filling and placing sandbags and turfing.

At the other end of Fosseway Heath, construction students from South Staffs College are busy gaining real work experience by rebuilding the original canal wall to support the Heritage Towpath Trail’s westerly extension.

Our other very active site is on the original canal route between Gallows Wharf and Cricket Lane/Tamworth Road junction. A new nature trail was created to divert the many walkers away from where our regular volunteers are finding and restoring the original canal wall and preparing to restore the towpath as a further extension of the Heritage Towpath Trail. We’ve had invaluable help from WRGies and Corporate Days, and our young volunteers planted daffodil bulbs and transplanted snowdrops – all now in beautiful bloom.

Finally, Storms Ciara and Dennis filled Pound 27 in hours, proving the value of canals as flood attenuation.

Lancaster Canal Lancaster Canal Trust have completed block laying on the ‘First Furlong’ length being rewatered at the start of the northern dry section of the canal at Stainton. Some 25,000 concrete blocks have been laid on top of the waterproof liner. Aluminium stop planks have now been installed at Bridge 172, but require some minor fettling before they are fully water tight. The stillage tests can then take place to test for any leakage in the section. The remaining job before connection to the main line is to earth up the offside profile. This involves transferring soil from the towpath bank to the offside bank. Unfortunately we are unable to access the offside bank so it has to be transferred over the canal as we cannot use vehicles on the canal bottom. Any suggestions for achieving this would be very welcome.

Once these tasks have been achieved we will get permission from the Canal & River Trust to remove the bund and connect to the present isolated navigable section of the canal at Stainton.

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1970: “Facing a financial crisis” Part two of our series marking WRG’s 50th year in which we look back at what was happening in 1970, and how Navvies Notebook reported it...

Slough Arm, and the River Wey (where preparations were under way for the IWA National Rally “FINANCE, I’m sorry to say, is my topic this at Guildford - of which there will be more in the issue,” began the original editor of Navvies (or next couple of these articles).

Navvies Notebook as it then was), the late Graham One new appearance in the list was the Palmer. His leader column in issue 23 (dated Caldon Canal, while another was the Montgomery.

March 1970) went on to point out that “the only Monty in the balance: The Welshpool Big way in which you will ever be really effective is Dig just a few months earlier had generated plenty when we can afford to hire or of publicity for the threat from purchase the necessary meplans to build a bypass chanical aide to help us in road on its route (as reour work”. ported in the Montgomery By “We”, he meant the Canal feature elsewhere in volunteer canal restoration this issue), as well as kickmovement in general, and in starting the working parties particular the mobile volunby Shropshire Union Canal teers for whom the magazine Society that appeared in the was published. There wasn’t Diary. But in March 1970 as yet such a thing as WRG, the canal’s future was still but later in his column very much in the balance. A Graham proposed a “Nareport describes a public tional Working Party Fund” meeting where “the panel of which perhaps showed the experts on the platform from way things were moving. the Welsh Office and the Meanwhile Navvies Consultants got far more Notebook itself was “facing than they had bargained for” a financial crisis” as the in informed questions from annual subscription rate the floor, with the panel had already been kept artificially low at 5 shillings being forced to admit that (25p), and the postal rates were set to rise and some of their figures were in error. They finally got “knock us strongly into the red.” away after three and a half hours having underWhere did we work? Last time I mentioned taken to do a lot more investigations, “enough to the sites that appeared in the Diary, which I rekeep them busy for some time to come”. marked was “one thing that’s remained a feature in Bath hotting up: Restoration of the flight Navvies ever since”. Well, that was tempting fate, of seven Widcombe Locks on the Kennet & Avon wasn’t it? This is the first issue without a Diary!

Canal in Bath (yes, I know, there are only six locks The list in issue 23 included all the restoranow, but in1970 the rebuilding of locks 8 and 9 tion sites I mentioned last time (Kennet & Avon, into Bath Deep Lock was some years in the future) Bugsworth Basin, Upper Avon, Erewash, Pockwas a major volunteer work site. Work was prolington, Dudley and Marple Locks) plus several gressing “steadily” but there was “a vast amount more sites. Four of them remind us that volunteers of work for volunteers to do, including completely didn’t just work on restorations but on navigable clearing pound 7-8, restoring the canal/towpath waterways too - the Stratford was a regular, as wall, and of course completely clearing the lock owners the National Trust had limited resources to chambers”. maintain it), but also in this issue were working An idea of how mobile canal volunteers party dates for the Staffordshire & Worcestershire were becoming can be gained from the editor’s Canal, the Shropshire Union Canal at Ellesmere note: “The Bath & Bristol K&A and the South Port (ready for an IWA rally), the Grand Union Western IWA groups in my experience are among

50 years ago...

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the few organisations that can always be relied upon to turn out on waterways anywhere when asked. Ashton, Welshpool and the Upper Avon have benefited from their labours. Now it is OUR turn to repay some of this unstinting help. PLEASE make the efort and help at Bath when you can.”

Looking forward: The eagerly awaited start of volunteer work on the Basingstoke Canal was mentioned in the diary, with the news that Woking Council was hoping to organise working parties.

However there was also a warning that “The future of the canal is still in the balance” as regards the proposed takeover of the waterway by the local authorities from the New Basingstoke Canal Company which had acquired it in the late 1940s but showed no interest in restoring it to navigable condition.

In the event it was another three and a half years before official restoration working parties could begin, although there were some unofficial ones before that date.

Getting a little less serious: the following, which appeared under the heading ‘Sit. Vacant’ didn’t actually mention what position in which organisation it referred to, but it was signed ‘Brian W Bloke’ (a common Navvies pseudonym which happened to share the initials of the then British Waterways Board) and it’s pretty clear that there was no love lost between Navvies and the waterways authorities... and IWA wasn’t exactly treated reverently either...

Please sit down, Mr err... Have you ever managed anything before?

I used to run a junior football team.

Oh really? That must have been interesting.

We need a chap who’s prepared to make the odd decision or two. Now, do you know anything about our waterways? Do you know where Bull’s Bridge is, for example?

Ah yes, that’s out near Southall.

Is it? Oh good, I was hoping someone would tell me, I’ve got to go there and look at something or other next week... Have you a boat yourself ?

Yes, I’ve a thirty foot cruiser, inboard/outboard, 2ft draught.

Ideal,really.

Oh, I don’t know, I sometimes start stirring up the mud.

Well, err, it’s not as bad as it is for barges.

Anyway, are you in any waterway organisations?

Yes, I’m in the IWA actually. That’s the Inland Water....

Quite. Do you go on these “working parties”?

Err, you mean the...

Working weekends; they go and mess around in canals that we’re trying to get rid... err... that nobody wants. They sleep on the floor.

Sing and drink a lot I believe.

Oh no. I don’t have anything to do with that.

Ah, then you won’t have any unrealistic views on the Ashton Canal?

The which?

Ashton. Goes from Marple to Manchester.

Forty or fifty locks, factories and waste ground all the way.

Sounds ghastly.

Believe me, it is. So they tell me anyway. Now I must make it clear to you that if you take this job, you could get quite a bit of mud slung at you...

I’m not worried about loudmouthed hooligans.

Well, err, no, but to be honest with you we have done some bloody sil... err... ill-advised things once or twice. Anyway I’ll report to the old... my superiors that your heart seems to be in the right place and we’ll let you know. Goodbye.

And on that same subject... the following cartoon appeared. Just in case it isn’t immediately obvious who it’s having a dig at, the wake of the boat is in fact the then British Waterways ‘wave’ logo, which some longstanding readers may recall being known colloquially as the ‘flying fart’.

And finally... a reminder that the individual mobile navvy tended to need to be a bit more selfsufficient in those days: “Please bring safety helmets if you have them plus Wellington boots, or better waders, waterproof gear for rain, tools of trade if possible as well. Should you be staying overnight - sleeping bag, plate, cup, knife, fork and spoon etc.”

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letters to the editor Hello Martin section from Wappenshall up to Trench was The latest issue of Navvies (page 26) repeats never rebuilt, necessitating loads to be tranthe error that the warehouses at Wappenshall shipped at Wappenshall.

Wharf were built by Thomas Telford. This Regards was a private wharf, part of the estates of the Peter Brown Duke of Sutherland. The two-storey 1835 warehouse was probably designed by the My apologies for repeating the error concernDuke’s surveyor who normally worked on ing the designers of the Wappenshall warefarm buildings. The three-storey 1838 ware- houses and my thanks to Peter for putting house was designed by James Trubshaw the record straight. Regarding the lock sizes, (1777-1853). As a contractor, Trubshaw is I did specifically say that they were “origiprobably best known for Grosvenor Bridge nally” built to different widths - but anyway, over the Dee at Chester, still the largest the map below shows the full story. ...Ed masonry arch bridge in Britain, and for what is now Manchester Art Gallery. He engineered several significant bridges and was consultant to the Trent & Mersey Canal. As an architect he is less well-known though he designed several churches and country houses.

The article implies that the canal between Wappenshall and Shrewsbury was too narrow to be used by normal canal narrowboats. Though originally built for tub-boats 6ft wide, this section was rebuilt in 1831-33 to accommodate boats 7ft wide. However, the Not built by Telford: the Wappenshall warehouses

Shrewsbury & newport canals

Shrewsbury

A5

Berwick Tunnel

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‘Newport Canal’: Shropshire Union Newport Branch from Norbury to Wappenshall, opened 1835, built to take standard narrow boats of around 70ft by 7ft.

Shropshire Union to Ellesmere Port

1 A4

Shrewsbury Canal: Trench to Shrewsbury, opened 1797, built to take trains of tub-boats about 20ft by 6ft (four at a time in the 81ft long locks, or singly on the Trench Inclined Plane boat lift). Section from Wappenshall to Shrewsbury including Eyton Locks widened in the 1830s to take standard 7ft width narrow boats.

Section from Wappenshall to Trench remained at its original width, and saw some use by special extra-thin narrow boats about 70ft by 6ft. However the Trench Inclined Plane could only ever take single tub boats.

Locks 1-17

Norbury Junction

To Autherley

Newport

Eyton Locks (widened 1830s) Wappenshall Trench Locks (never widened)

Trench

Inclined Plane

Former Shropshire tub-boat canals (not proposed for restoration)

letters to the editor Dear Martin I was surprised to read in Navvies, page 36, of “the Ashtac Big Dig which kicked off the Cheshire Ring restoration 1972”…??

Surely it was the Big Dig, Operation Ashton, (the first of these) in 1968 which started the Cheshire Ring restoration. Four years before Ashtac, which I also attended.

I attach two pics showing the front page of the Droylsden Reporter reporting on Operation Ashton and a scan of the cover of the booklet The Ashton Grafter which we were issued with prior to the event. My diary for 21 and 22 September 1968 reads: “Continuous heavy rain all day Sat and frequent heavy showers Sun. No need to search for rubbish! Canal bed had been drained to a foot depth. Worked all day in Lock 14 and pound below. Huge bonfires along the length, and relays of dumpers removing spoil to dispersal points for clearance to tips. Substantial refreshments available all day from control tent. Evening meal was provided in Scout HQ. We slept(?) in Printer Street schools, well heated and got clothes almost dry on radiators. Much steam generated.”

“Sun: Breakfast in gym, we had bread and marmalade. Facilities for cooking were available but they were crowded. [before camp cooks were invented!]. Walked into Droylsden ordered and paid for a local paper to be posted on. Continued to work in our section until a violent thunderstorm at around 3.00. Returned to billet for a wash before setting off for home.”

All best wishes Val Roberts My apologies for getting my big digs mixed up, and my thanks to Val for putting the record straight and sending me scans of the press cutting and booklet cover. The Editor

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infill and the Virtual Dig The News Cranium-lines...

A news alert came pinging in to the editor’s in-box recently, with a headline describing the canal towpaths in Devizes as “Like the middle of Tesco”. (And they’re talking about a serious lack of social distancing, not a surfeit of trolleys).

But we’re not here to make light of a serious issue. On the other hand, we couldn’t help noticing that this story includes a picture of Devizes Locks, curiously credited to “Canal and River Belief ”. Err, excuse me, who are they? Some new church dedicated to inland waterways? Reading on, the locks were “closed by the Canal and River Have confidence in”. The WHAT? And that’s when the penny dropped. Yes, the story had been nicked off the BBC website by someone unheardof called ABC14NEWS, but in an attempt to avoid getting caught, they’d run it through some paraphrasing software which replaced “Trust” with what it mistakenly thought are appropriate alternatives - and several other similar howlers.

Of course here at Navvies we don’t give a Welches Dam (*) about nicking stories, so don’t expect to see any reports in these pages that “Microphone Palmer, Seat-person of the Waterway Convalescence Ensemble, said that there was a fair amount of brick egg-depositing to do, but he thought one more canal tent-holiday might finish it...”

The Virtual Dig Elsewhere in this issue you’ll have already read about the London WRG Virtual Dig. In case it isn’t already clear, we didn’t actually go to the Wey & Arun - that was the point. We held a video conference call one evening, and spent the rest of the weekend talking about it on social media, without actually going to a canal. We’ll probably have another - in fact we may already have had a virtual Navvies Assembly, where we put together the electronic issue you’re reading, and stuffed them all into electronic envelopes...

The high points of the virtual dig were: The van wasn’t late picking people up.

Paul didn’t wake us up at 6am making brekkie Tim Lewis didn’t lose his camera, or his phone, or his keys, or...

We didn’t get rained-off on site On the downside we didn’t actually do any work either. But you can’t have everything. And actually, seriously, it was a good fun way to keep in touch and we recommend the other mobile

. . . .

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groups to try it. We’ll be having another one. Fran wants us to hold it on the canals of Mars. And why not? (The virtual van might have to leave Waterloo a little earlier than usual, as it’s quite a long way.)

Unfortunately the editor let the side down by genuinely skiving off and working on his magazine during the fun, but having seen his ‘evidence’ folks weren’t entirely convinced it was 100% legit...

And finally...

I’m indebted to Tim Lewis for an 1893 pamphlet making some remarkable proposals for the canals.

No, not another one like Pownall’s Grand Contour Canal, hoping to revitalise the network with new routes for 300 tonne barges, or whatever.

No, this was a bit more radical...

Headed “An Improved Method of Utilising Canals for Traffic”, WB Cook and F Willoughby’s proposal involves doing away with a large part of the canal network, draining the waterways and laying railways along the beds. But no, not like the Croydon, the Uttoxeter, and other canals which suffered the ignominy of being reused as railways.

These would be “Canal Boat Railways” The authors noted railways were faster over long distances, but that many canals, with all their arms, wharfs and basins, reached into the heart of the industrial centres. So these arms would be retained, while trunk routes would be turned into railways. And here’s the clever bit: boats would be loaded, and head down the local canal to the start of the trunk route, where they would be floated onto railway wagons on a submerged length of track, then towed in trains by locomotives for the trunk route, before being floated off the railway wagons on another submerged length of track at the far end of the main line, to complete their journeys by water.

It’s amazing the country never adopted this system. Perhaps we should speak to HS2 about it...

(*) it’s midway between a monkey’s toss and a flying foxtrot

outro Wendover Arm

Two pictures of the Wendover Arm Trust’s volunteers setting up and pouring the Bridge 4 concrete base: see Progress section

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