Camp reports Mont and Waveney

camp report Montgomery

A week’s unglamorous but vital preparation work ready for next year’s big project: the reinstatement of the important School House Bridge

Camp report: School House Bridge, Montgomery Canal 14 - 21 August

The canal camp accommodation was based at the Silver Band Hall in Porth-y-waen, with the work site at Schoolhouse Bridge in Crickheath. Schoolhouse Bridge is the last road crossing needing to be rebuilt before the Montgomery canal enters mid-Wales. The bridge reconstruction is being carried out by Montgomery Canal Reconstruction Ltd (MCRL), a company set up specifically to rebuild the bridge.

The tasks for the canal camp were in preparation for the reconstruction of the bridge from March next year, and consisted of building a soakaway for Schoolhouse Bridge Cottage (the existing soakaway will be destroyed during the construction of the new bridge); installing drainage across the entrance to the temporary trackway, which was built last year and caused flooding of the road; some placement of hardcore to extend the hardstanding in the compound; removal of brash cut down by WRG North West prepandemic; and the preparation and repainting of the site welfare container. MCRL provided a 13 tonnre excavator and 6 tonne dumper for the work.

Covid restrictions meant that the camp was limited to 12 volunteers. Aged between 17 and 75, they assembled from far and wide across the country at the Silver band Hall on Saturday. After the

Carreghofa Locks (restored)

Crickheath Pant Welshpool Newtown

Refail

Llangollen Canal to Llangollen

Former Weston Arm Aston Locks Gronwen Bridge (navigable limit)Llanymynech EnglandWales School House Bridge (to be reinstated)

Arddleen Burgedin Locks 12 mile isolated restored navigable length from Arddleen through Welshpool to Refail Final length into Newtown obstructed by sewer in canal bed, terminus basin built on, possibility of diversion to new terminus

fact file Montgomery Length: 35 miles Locks: 27 Date closed: 1936 (breach south of Frankton), 1944 (legally abandoned) The Canal Camp project: Preparation for rebuilding of School House Bridge hear Crickheath To Hurleston Why? Because the Frankton demolished bridge forms the first major obstruction to navigation beyond the end of the navigable section at Gronwen and the length under restoration from there to Crickheath Wharf. The wider picture: Reinstating School House Bridge will not only clear the next blockage and allow the navigable lenght to be extended, it is also the last serious blockage before the Welsh border. Getting the canal open 4 road blockagesinto Wales is likely to between Llanymynech unlock possible Welsh funding and Arddleen for further restoration. It improves the chances of putting together a package to reopen the more expensive Llanymynech to Arddleen section. This would link up with the 12-mile restored section Berriew through Welshpool to Refail - and open Garthmyl up the possibility 3 locks restored but of carrying on to several road blockages remain south of RefailNewtown

catering kit had been unloaded and the volunteers had chosen their sleeping area the two vans set off for a site visit to meet Roger (from MCRL) and look at the work locations. It was not very encouraging when Roger started by saying that he didn’t think that there would be enough work for the week.

We toured the site and Adrian got a chance to look over the excavator that he would be occupying for the next week. Then back to the hall for a hearty dinner and the safety briefing. The duty rota was prepared and volunteers assigned their duties for the week. A quiet evening followed.

Everybody was keen to get to site on Sunday and PPE was handed out and the trailer kit check carried out with ‘RAF Martin’ explaining the difference between a London and a Philadelphia bricklaying trowel. One group went off to start clearing brash, another to start the preparation for painting the container, and Adrian and Ian took a banksman to start digging the soakaway and trench for the connecting pipework. It quickly became clear that the brash was

going to be a lot more difficult than originally envisaged because of the vegetation that had grown up around and amongst it. The container preparation was made difficult because of the lack of bristles on the wire brushes in the kit. Sunday afternoon provided an opportunity for the young D of E’ers [Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme participants] to go offsite and help the historic narrow boats Saturn and Buckden up the Aston flight of locks. For most of them it was the first time they had operated a lock. They had the opportunity to haul Saturn through the locks and after the top lock they were given a ride. In the box below are some of their thoughts. Meanwhile back on site the soakaway hole become bigger and Mike and Christine removed more of the rust from the container. A good first day on site, but we didn’t know what was in store for us back at the hall…. The boiler wasn’t working so cold showers were taken….. very quickly! The building inspector was due on site on Monday to inspect the soakaway so the final On hauling boats by hand...

As Mikk mentions in his report, the D of E volunteers had the chance to help work a pair of historic boats including the unpowered Saturn through Aston Locks. Here are their comments...

Pulling the narrow boats through the locks was quite interesting , I never knew how to open a lock properly before coming on the canal camp, or the fact you can pull a boat across water easily.

The people who owned the narrow boats were nice and I learnt a lot about the history of the narrow boats I was pulling, it was an enjoyable experience - Sam While volunteering with the Waterway Recovery Group, I was lucky enough to gain the opportunity, along with several other volunteers, to help with the passage of two traditional and historic canal boats through the locks of the Montgomery canal. This was a very special experience, as I had never seen such canal boats before, let alone used canal locks before. I learned how to use the canal locks and move the boats along safely, as well as use ropes to pull and guide an engine-less barge through the canal and locks. The experience was incredibly fascinating and taught me a lot about the history of the canals, and how they contributed to the industry of the UK and livelihoods of the people who worked and relied on the canals. Witnessing the beauty and splendour of the 100 year old boats moving almost silently and peacefully through the canals, leaving practically no wake behind, was something irrevocably mesmerising - Adam As part of our canal camp we were given the amazing opportunity to help the historic narrow boat Saturn, the only surviving wooden Shropshire Union fly-boat to travel through the Ashton locks. Not only did we learn how to use the canal locks we learnt about the history of Saturn. Saturn was built in 1906 and was used to transport cheese and other fresh products along the canal. To maximise the amount of space available for the produce Saturn was drawn by horses. However when we arrived to help with Saturn there were no horses in sight, instead Saturn was being drawn by another historic narrow boat.

As only one boat can fit through a lock at a time we got the opportunity to pull Saturn as the horses would have done. After helping Saturn through all of the Aston locks we were allowed to have a short ride on it which was an amazing experience as we discovered more of its history and really started to appreciate how the produce was transported. Saturn is now a travelling exhibit set up to look like it would have appeared when in use except now the cargo it carries is polystyrene rather than actual cheese and other produce - Libby

dig was undertaken giving Ben and James an opportunity to learn the subtle are of ‘boning-in’ using sight boards and a traveller. They also got ‘hands-on’ experience with shovels and rakes. The building inspector arrived and his comment was ‘How many houses were planned for the development?’ Needless to say the inspection passed. The afternoon was spent pegging out the lining in the soakaway.

The container had had all the rust removed, a wipe down with white spirit and the red oxide was liberally applied around the base and kk Bradleysides, the higher section couldn’t be reached because the only site ladder was in use in the soakaway pit. Picrutes by Mi

On Monday evening the New volunteer Adam receives instruction on the excavator volunteers had a photo shoot with the Silver Band who were having a rehearsal in the field adjoining the hall. Apparently it was a condition of using the hall and the photos were used for publicity. The requisite dress code was hard hat and hi-viz, which led to the quote of the week, if that’s all we are wearing is it ‘the FULL MONTgomerY’? No repair to the boiler so cold showers again!

The first part of Tuesday was spent waiting for a delivery of stone for the soakaway so more brash was removed from the channel using the excavator and dumper. D of E’ers enjoyed themselves building the bonfire under RAF’s watchful eye. The red oxide was completed to the container and the lower section was given the top coat of container paint.

Eventually the stone was delivered and placed and levelled in the soakaway. Pipes were cut and laid but there was only time to level one end. Painting the site container

Good news back at the hall, the boiler had been fixed so a hot shower for a change. The hall steward gave us permission to ‘have a blow’ on the instruments around the hall. The noise lasted a short time before Cath called ‘DINNER’ and the only blowing was to cool the next plateful of her delicious cooking.

Wednesday was Adrian’s birthday so we had to let him have a drive in the excavator but it was used as a counterweight for a plate compaction test on the canal bed where the gabions would eventually be built. Adrian was seen out of the cab! The D of E’ers all got to use shovels and rakes to level the stone in the soakaway until we decided that the excavator would be able to do it much more efficiently after lunch. The container had the roof red page 12

oxided so there was no more work to be done there. The afternoon was an opportunity for Adrian and RAF to use the excavator and dumper while everybody else went on an excursion to Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

Back at the hall Cath made and decorated a cake for Adrian and the heat from the candles nearly set off the fire alarm.

On Thursday we had a visit from head office and things started going downhill. Ben who sustained a blister early in the week got an infected arm and went to the minor injuries clinic where the doctor gave him a Tetanus jab, antibiotics and sent him home. Following that we had two near miss incidents, Adrian ran over a wheelbarrow in the excavator and Ian ran over the road brush in the dumper. The Hawk made an unexpected visit as well on his way to Anglesey. Christine and Mike completed painting the container between rain showers.

Highlight of the visit was the presentation to Adrian of his Richard Bird Medal for the significant benefits he has brought to IWA. In addition to the over 70 WRG camps, training events and weekend digs, he has trained over 200 volunteers as new plant operators.

Friday was a slow day, the hired-in cooker had to be returned to Walsall by 4pm. Adrian gave James, Sam, Libby and Adam ‘drive a digger’ training before they went off with Ian to return the cooker then back to the hall to start packing up the catering kit. James had remained on site to lay the last section of pipe and then help RAF with the timber edging to the towpath. Friday evening we all went off to Whittington for fish and chips and a walk around the castle ruins. It was at the castle that we found the new storage container for D of E’ers.

The camp achieved everything and set the site up ready for the main work to start in March 2022. Midweek excursion to the Pontcysyllte aqueduct Laying gravel in the new soakaway Mikk Bradley

camp report Waveney

Following on from the report on the first week’s camp in the last Navvies, week two very nearly finishes rebuilding Geldeston Lock’s first wall...

Geldeston Lock, River Waveney Camp 2: 7 - 14 August

In the last issue we included a report from the first of two weeks spent working on rebuilding the final section of the south wall of Geldeston Lock, written by the leader Dave ‘Evvo’ Evans. We’re following it up with a report from the second week, but this time written by the cook Ian Johnson...

rdThis was my 3 year cooking on the River Waveney Camps. A long time ago Dave ‘Evvo’ Evans asked me if I would do two weeks this year as it was thought a good idea to have as many people doing both weeks rather than separate groups for each week. It seemed a good idea at the time, but all of a sudden it came along and I thought about what I had committed to... was I mad?

The first week’s report will either be somewhere in this magazine or the last Navvies, Martin is apparently putting the magazine together as I am writing this and I’m still on the camp. The second camp followed directly on from the first, five of the first week’s WRGies left on Saturday morning while the remaining seven of us remained in Beccles to hopefully finish off the repair of the lock wall. Evvo, Hawk, Susan and Geoff went to site on Saturday morning, John performed taxi duties taking Dom to Beccles station and Darren to Norwich for them to catch trains home after the first week, John then returned to site. Andy had gone off to see some friends for a night to return with tales of a wonderful Sunday lunch, pfffffft, what was wrong with my roast pork last week?

Cooking was slightly different in that I didn’t inherit the ‘coffin’ box containing a mix of weird miscellaneous ingredients. After eighteen months or so of no camps, the rice, dried fruit, etc was even more out of date than usual. I had to think up meals instead of relying on the coffin’s contents and fuelling my imagination. In order to stay ‘Covid safe’ I was making sandwiches everyday for the team and taking them to site so mornings were pretty busy, breakfast then clearing up, shopping then usually baking a cake

Alex Melson

or biscuits before preparing the sandwiches listed on the whiteboard. I then drove to site and joined everyone for lunch before heading back to our luxury accommodation in the Beccles Sea Cadets building to prepare the evening meal. Evvo had enticed me with the promise of a ‘proper kitchen’ with plate warmers, hot trays, fryers etc however I couldn’t see the point of most of it when I was on site, preferring to do things in the traditional WRG way. All the extras seemed to just make more washing up, but then again we did have a dishwasher!

With fewer people to cater for I got the chance to do a bit on site on Sunday afternoon, which was particularly pleasant even if the weather wasn’t great. There is a pub on the other side of the lock, they had live music in the garden: that must be a first, live music on site (OK the odd whistle doesn’t count!) My WRG skills are definitely culinary meaning that I got the labouring jobs on site, moving bricks around etc but it was good to be able to contribute to the job. The bricklayers - Hawk, Evvo, Andy and Geoff needed a supply of bricks and mortar keeping John, Susan and me busy. When the rain started I returned to Beccles to start preparing dinner although the team stayed late on site to wait for low tide so that they could pour some quick setting concrete as a foundation for the a section of brickwork. Ian Johnson

The week carried on in the same way, As the tide came in, a swan arrived to help...

fact file River Waveney

Length: 4 miles Locks: 3 Date closed: 1934

The Canal Camp project: Completing the dismantling of unsound brickwork and rebuilding on the south wall of Geldeston Lock, following on from the previous three years’ camps.

Why? Because the lock walls were in a poor condition and could have collapsed if they hadn’t been repaired.

The wider picture: As long ago as 1670, the creation of the River Waveney Navigation saw three locks built to allow boats to continue from the tidal reaches (which were already in use between Breydon Water and Beccles), on up to Bungay. These lower lengths (plus their links to Lowestoft and the upper Yare) still form part of the Broads; however the length above Geldeston fell out of use and closed. There are no current plans to reopen the locks (the upper two of which have been replaced with sluices, making it more difficult), but Geldeston is to be restored as a historic feature - and hopefully a place to moor the unique preserved wherry (sailing barge) Albion, which traded on the Waveney in the early 20th Century.

Bungay Ellingham Lock

Wainford Lock Geldeston Lock

Canal Camp site: Geldeston Lock Tidal river to Breydon Water and Great Yarmouth

the work was simply laying bricks using lime mortar; however a lot of bricks needed cutting to fit. Slowly the brickies reduced the amount of wall left to be completed, despite the mixer or generator or both breaking down meaning that we had to hire perhaps the most well-used petrol mixer in north Suffolk. Or was it south Norfolk?

By Thursday, despite some help for John Hawkins from a swan [see photo], it was looking like we were not going to finish the job completely. So it was now a case of leaving the site in a state that would be OK until the work could be completed. A long weekend would probably do the job [see opposite page]. Tides would still have to be considered, not for where the water would cover where bricks needed to be laid but to make sure a selection of brickies are present – long arms at low tide, short legs at high tide – because work is mainly done from floating platforms.

When Geldeston Lock was last restored in 1910, the restorers put an engraved stone in the wall. This had been rescued by WRG in either 2018 or 2019 and kept safely by RWT. It was time to bring it out of hibernation and reinstall it in the wall, which was done without mishap and just above the high tide line for all to see. There was a different view of restoration 111 years as the text on the stone says:

Ian Johnson

This lock was concreted and new gates put down. 1910. WD and AE Walker, Proprietors.

‘Concreted’ gets a line to itself to give it a certain emphasis. Was there no NHL5 lime then?! Final thank yous match those from the first week’s report and raise them to include Frank and Jodie, landlords at the Locks Inn, who have been great and patient hosts to our vans in their car park and serve a lovely pint as well. Ian Johnson Ian Johnson

Martin Ludgate Top: the plaque recording the date of the lock‘s previous rebuild is reinstated. Above: close-up of the plaque. Below: breakfast: the cook’s view