Navvies 323

navvies navvies

volunteers restoring waterways volunteers restoring waterways Return of the Christmas Camp

R.I.P. Mr Mac - WRG legend

R.I.P. Mr Mac - WRG legend

Intro Christmas camp Intro Christmas camp

The WRG Christmas Canal Camp returned after a four-year absence, wth a week of clearing the channel of the Buckingham Canal at Cosgrove ready for the extension of the recently restored navigable length. These pictures (by the editor) show the channel at the start and end of the camp - see page 14 for the full report

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 020-8693 3266 martin.ludgate@wrg.org.uk

Subscriptions: Unit 16B, First Floor, Chiltern Court, Asheridge Road, Chesham HP5 2PX

Distribution: John Hawkins, 4 Links Way, Croxley Green WD3 3RQ 01923 448559 john.hawkins@wrg.org.uk

Navvies is published by Waterway Recovery Group and is available to all interested in promoting or supporting 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: Unit 16B, First Floor, Chiltern Court, Asheridge Road, Chesham HP5 2PX), a nonprofit 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, George Eycott, Helen Gardner, John Hawkins, Dave Hearnden, Nigel Lee, Mike Palmer, George Rogers, Jonathan Smith, Harry Watts.

ISSN: 0953-6655

PLEASE NOTE: subs renewal cheques MUST be made out to The Inland Waterways Association NOTE new subs address below

Cavalcade and more 6-10

Contributions...

...are welcome, whether by email or post. Photos welcome: digital (as email attachments, or if you have a lot of large files please send them on CD / DVD or contact the editor first), or old-school slides / prints. Send contributions to the editor Martin Ludgate, see contact details above left. Press date for issue 324: 15 March.

Subscriptions

A year's subscription (6 issues) is a minimum of £5.00 (please add a donation if you can) to WRG, Unit 16B, First Floor, Chiltern Court, Asheridge Road, Chesham HP5 2PX. Cheques must be made out to The Inland Waterways Association (although the proceeds will be put to WRG / Navvies use).

© 2024 WRG

Cover: The return of the WRG Christmas Canal Camp - clearing the Buckingham Canal between Cosgrove and the A5, ready for future extension of the navigable length. See camp report, page 14 (Pic: Martin Ludgate) Back cover (top) The first traffic - a convoy of historic vehiclescrosses the rebuilt Schoolhouse Bridge over the Montgomery Canal while (bottom) wintry conditions face the Shropshire Union Canal Socity team continuing restoration work nearby

editorial Coming soon...

The editor tries to tempt you with a weekend of clearing the BCN, a canal festival, some training... and could your canal host the WRG Reunion?

What, no restoration politics?

You’ll be relieved to hear that I’m not going to lead off with another great diatribe about waterway restoration politics this time; no orgy of Defra-bashing; no taking CRT to task... instead, I’m going to just draw your attention to a couple of forthcoming events...

The first of these is the BCN Cleanup coming up very soon on 16-17 March. As with most things in the WRG calendar, this regular annual event took a couple of years off as a result of COVID. Then last year it was back but at a slightly reduced level as a result of clashes with other events. But this year we’d really like to see it back at full strength - having boated on some of the quieter BCN canals in the last 12 months I can vouch for how much difference events like the Cleanup make to keeping these waterways open and usable. Not only that but (sorry to briefly bring in waterways politics when I promised not to!) it answers some of the critics’ suggestions that we should concentrate on keeping the existing canals open in difficult financial circumstances rather than trying to open any more. We can - and do - do both types of work.

It’s also an enjoyable weekend with a good evening ‘do’ in the accommodation that usually seems to involve a cheeseboard and a barrel or two of beer. So check out the article giving more details on page 6, and get your bookings in via the website.

The second is the WRG Training Weekend. See the article on page 7 for more information about the type of training that’s likely to be on offer, and think about how it might help you with whatever Canal Camps or other working parties you’re planning to take part in this year.

The third is Canalway Cavalcade at Little Venice, which not only needs volunteers for the site setup/ services / take-down as usual, but is also on the lookout for more people to help with the background jobs to keep the event running - see page 10. And just to show how important these roles are,

as we go to press our parent body the Inland Waterways Association (which is responsible or various events including Canalway Cavalcade and the Festival of Water) has just decided that it can’t run a Festival of Water this year as it hasn’t managed to fill the vacancies after a number of members of its organising committee retired. Hopefully it will return in 2025.

And finally, there’s the WRG Leadership Teams Day on 1 June. This is a really helpful day for Canal Camp leaders, assistants and cooks, especially those new to it, but also anyone thinking of putting themselves forward as future leaders on Camps, or with weekend groups’ working parties. See pages 8-9. And on the subject of leaders...

Take me to your leader...

As this issue goes to press we’ve already appointed leadership teams for most of the summer Canal Camps - and we’ve added them to the entries in the Diary on pages 2021 of this issue.

For the few Camps that don’t have leaders shown, we may well have filled some of the gaps by the time this appears. But as Mike Palmer says “we’re always interested in leaders” - new ones, old ones, returning ones who haven’t led for a while. So if you fancy a go, just get in touch with Mike.

We’ll meet again..

...don’t know where, don’t know when! Well actually we do know when - the first weekend in November, and the six days from Boxing Day 2024 to New Year 2025. But we don’t know where, yet...

Yes, we’re on the lookout for venues or our Reunion major weekend working party in early November - typically a ‘scrub bash’ attracting anything up to 100 volunteersand the Christmas Camp providing similar work for 20 or so. If your canal society has a suitable project, get in touch!

Martin Ludgate

chairman ’ s Comment

On the weather, ‘background processes’, and the passing of Mr Mac

Chairman’s Comment

I think it’s safe to say that the start to this year has been rather wet. As I write this the volunteers of our first Canal Camp of the year are venturing out on their first day and (right now) the weather is looking somewhat drier than the previous week – let’s hope it stays that way for them!

Because we can’t control the weather can we? Yes, we can mitigate for it with alternative/standby jobs but when it decides to pour it down there is little we can do. And let’s not forget that that ‘wrong sort of weather’ doesn’t just mean too much rain, in some cases it can be too much sunshine!

Why am I starting this Comment with a diatribe about the weather? Well, firstly it never does any harm to reinforce one of our basic tenets: sometimes there are things that mean you have to postpone / walk away from a job. The restoration project you are working on has a timeline of (say) 50 years: does it really matter if that is 50 years and a day?

But in this case I’m really addressing all the people who are involved in the planning of that work. Because yesterday was a classic example of ‘the wrong sort of weather’ for the people planning the work on one of our summer sites. There are good practical reasons that our construction activities tend to be based in the warmer half of the year. BUT one consequence of this is that the planning and preparation tends to be in the other half of the year. Which does lead to some extra challenges – access issues, environmental constraints and (as was the case yesterday) arriving on a site visit to discover the site is under an extra metre of water!

Equally there are those volunteers who are maintaining a site ‘out of season’. Even though there seems to be little activity on site, there are still fences and signs to be checked, access routes to be kept clear, dams to be inspected, and so on.

My last few Comments have deliberately focussed on what might be called the ‘background processes’ of Waterway Restoration – meetings, fundraising, admin, etc. I make no apologies for this - all of these

roles are vital if we are going to make good progress on site.

I thought I would finish this Chairman’s Comment with two messages. Well, to be precise, the same message but from two different sources:

Firstly the WRG Board would like to thank all of you involved in these background tasks. You have no idea just how much all those background processes mean that we feel can proceed with confidence.

Secondly the same message but from the ‘boots on the ground’ – we know that all those tasks are appreciated by the volunteers who are enabled by your preparation. This is shown not only by every survey we do but also by the fact that people keep coming back to our events.

That was where I thought I would end my Comment for this issue. But then I received the sad news of the passing of David ‘Mr Mac’ McCarthy. There is a fine obituary on Page 12 but, if I may be permitted, I’d like to pay tribute here. Because Mr Mac is the perfect example of everything I’ve been talking about. I’ve known Mr Mac for half of his amazing lifetime and in all that time I don’t remember ever seeing him put a shovel in the ground. BUT that does not mean he hasn’t been a key component of WRG. His support, determination, decency, biscuits, humour and his understanding that these ‘background tasks’ are essential for the success of the organisation have been be an example to us all.

Mike Palmer

PS I can’t quite leave it there – because Mr Mac is also responsible for one of my all-time favourite overheard radio conversations. During the Dig 95 event he was (inevitably) running one of the tea stations at a remote end of the site:

“Mr Mac to base, I’ve had soup delivered for lunch but nothing to serve it with. Can you get me a ladle?”, followed about a minute later by

“Mr Mac to base, ignore that last request, I’ve found a fish-slice.”

For every laugh I’ve had in your presence David – my thanks.

coming soon BCN Cleanup

Can we tempt you with a weekend of pulling junk out of the canals? It’s fun and you’ll be helping to keep the Black Country’s canals open...

BCN Cleanup, 16-17 March 2024

Bookings are now open for the annual weekend of throwing hooks into the murky waters of the Birmingham Canal Navigations system and pulling out whatever we can...

The BCN is a fascinating network of urban and industrial waterways covering Birmingham, Wolverhampton and the Black Country and totalling over 100 miles - with more under restoration. But unfortunately the less well-used parts tend to attract more than their fair share of rubbish thrown in by the local oiks. This builds up, making it harder for boats to get through, which means fewer of them turn up, which means the canals are even less well-used, so they collect more rubbish, and so on...

Another of Sainsbury’s finest is exhumed from its watery grave...

The annual BCN Cleanup event plays a very important part in breaking this vicious circle by ‘blitzing’ different known rubbish blackspots each yeara big team of volunteers turn up with grappling hooks, pulling out everything we can hook. It’s good fun and a challenge to pull out the most unusual item - we’ve found everything from the usual bikes, prams and shopping trolleys to more exotic stuff like computers, safes (sadly always empty!) motorbikes, a sword, a coffin, a toilet, a set of goalposts and more. For 2024 it’s the turn of the Wyrley & Essington Canal through Wednesfield and on to the junction with the BCN Main Line in Wolverhampton. What will we find this time?

The event is organised by WRG, the local IWA, BCN Society, Canal & River Trust who provide skips and workboats to take away the rubbish, and other local groups. Grappling hooks and gloves are provided. WRG Accommodation is available Friday night to Sunday at the Malthouse Stables, Tipton DY4 9AB. Cost of food is at £18 for the weekend, book online: go to the WRG website wrg.org.uk, click ‘events’, and scroll down to ‘Birmingham Canals Cleanup’. For more information contact 01494 783453 ext 607 or enquiries@wrg.org.uk Day visitors also welcome - just turn up at Minerva Wharf, Wolverhampton WV1 3LX.

coming soon Training & BCN

Do you want to learn new skills to help you on a Canal Camp? Or could you perhaps offer your assistance as an instructor? If so, get in touch...

WRG Training Weekend 18-19 May 2024

For this year’s Training Weekend, we are very pleased to be returning to the same site at Lichfield, with many thanks to our friends at the Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust who have welcomed us back for another year. Training is scheduled to take place on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May, with accommodation available from Friday evening for those staying over.

The site at Fosseway Heath provides us with a fantastic central place to give volunteers experience of a range of skills needed for the forthcoming camp season. We are aiming to provide initial training and refresher sessions in priority areas for this year: excavators, dumpers, vans and trailers, site tools and bricklaying, and may also add in other useful sessions identified over the next few months.

For those of you who have never attended a Training Weekend, it is ideal for anyone attending a Canal Camp this year where specific skills have been identified by your leaders, or you may volunteer regularly and need certain skills for your project to progress. Equally, volunteers may feel they need refresher sessions before the summer Canal Camps season starts. Perhaps you are considering becoming an instructor? Or if you are already an instructor and are able to volunteer and share your expertise over the two days, please do get in touch.

If you would like to discuss opportunities, book on, or volunteer as an instructor, please contact me via email: wrgtraining@wrg.org.uk

I look forward to hearing from you

Ali ‘Womble’ Bottomley

coming soon...

Formerly known as the Leaders Training Day, the LTD keeps its initials but

LTD: Leadership Teams Day 1 June 2024 – NOTE NEW DATE

This year’s Leadership Teams Day (LTD) has been changed to Saturday, 01 June at Rowington Village Hall, near Warwick, starting formally at 10:00. A slight change of the name for the day but no new acronym to remember!

Existing and aspiring WRG Canal Camp leaders, assistant leaders and cooks are invited to attend and those making up the leadership teams for this year’s Canal Camps are strongly encouraged to attend. Those leading work parties for WRG regional groups’ (and other mobile groups’) weekend working parties are also very welcome to attend to share and compare their experiences against WRG’s Canal Camps teams.

Breakfast rolls will be available from 09:30 and lunch and a dinner will be provided on the day. The hall is available on the Friday evening for those not wishing to travel on the Saturday morning and also for Saturday night sleepovers so WRGies can attend the WRG Committee Meeting on the Sunday morning to learn more about the administration and operation of WRG.

There will not be a meal provided on the Friday evening but the hall kitchen will be available and there is always the Tom o’ the Wood pub a short walk down the road where decent vittles can be had. Best to book if you want to eat.

The day’s programme will be concen-

LTD 2022: the serious and the not-quite-so-serious side...

WRG Leadership Teams Day

has a new name, a new date, and some new ideas for the 2024 camps...

trating on updating Leadership Teams with all sorts of matters relevant to running safe, happy and successful camps, which will include learning lessons from 2023’s Canal Camps and developing further the camps in 2024.

The draft programme is:

General Matters

· Legislation and WRG Policy – changes

· H+S – Accidents and Incidents in 2023

· Sites Group – role, responsibilities, interaction with leaders

· Camp Money and Accounts

· Practical Restoration Handbook Update

· Health and Safety Handbook Update

· Catering Kit Matters

Let’s Learn from the 2023 Camps

· Feedback on 2023 camps

· 2023 Camps – what were the unexpected and / or unusual challenges faced by the Leadership Teams

· Information requirements on volunteer applications – were they adequate?

Let’s Develop the 2024 Camps

· It’s a Cook’s Life

· Safeguarding

· Motivation Matters

· Setting Camp Objectives

· Canal Camps – Induction Process

· WRG and Host Societies – Division of costs, responsibilities, etc.

· Status of Camps in 2024

Any Other Business

· Questions, summaries, feedback, etc

Please would Leadership Teams from 2023 let me have brief contributions to illustrate the unexpected and / or unusual challenges faced by you and how you overcame them so I can combine and consolidate the different challenges for everyone’s future benefit. I would hope to be able to call on some of the leaders at LTD to spend a couple of minutes telling us a bit more about the example. Please send examples to me via Jenny and Verena in WRG HQ. It will be a very useful, even essential, day for this year’s Leadership Teams to increase their awareness of useful and mandatory matters. The day will go a long way to making sure the Leadership Teams are fully prepared and able to justify their actions should the need arise.

Please book on via the WRG website where places on the Canal Camps can also be booked. There is no charge!

David (‘Evvo’) Evans

coming soon Cavalcade

Spring is approaching, and with it the Inland Waterways Association’s Canalway Cavalcade festival at London’s Little Venice. And it needs volunteers...

IWA Canalway Cavalcade 2024 Volunteer Bookings are Open!

We are delighted to launch the booking form for volunteers to register your place at IWA Canalway Cavalcade 2024.

This year the event to be held over 4th - 6th May 2024 and as always we need plenty of volunteers to make sure we can run the event smoothly and safely. We need volunteers both during the event, and setting up beforehand and taking down afterwards...

During the event: Please could you spare some time to help with roles including...

· Running the information stands

· Collecting donations

· Distributing programmes

· Assisting the teams of commercial and childrens’ Activities

Whatever time you can offer will be greatly appreciated, even if it’s just a couple of hours.

What is Canalway Cavalcade?

It’s a lively and colourful annual waterways festival held by WRG’s parent body the I nland Waterways Association

When is it happening? May Day holday weekend 4-6 May Where is it happening? Little Venice, Paddington, London What is happening? Lots: floating pageant, illuminated boats, craft stalls, music, food, children’s activities and more Why is it happening? To celebrate the waterways and to help London to appreciate them. And this year, to continue putting the message across to Government department Defra to re-think its plans to cut public funding to the canals, which would see them in serious decline

To complete your booking please follow this link: https://forms.office.com/e/RTnLkgrM6T. Or if you would prefer to fill in a paper form, go to the IWA webpage and look under the Volunteer section https://waterways.org.uk/ support/ways-to-get-involved/events/iwa-canalway-cavalcade-2024

Before and after the event: If you can spare some time before or after the festival, the IWA/WRG Work Camp volunteers are always happy to welcome an extra pair of hands to help build the event on the Thursday and Friday and especially to dismantle the festival on the Monday evening and Tuesday morning. If you fancy building market stalls, gazebos and putting up banners please email pete.fleming@waterways.org.uk to register your interest. Committee roles: the jobs described above take place on site around the event weekend, however there are several opportunities for volunteers to help on our Organising Committee, such as Publicity, Marketing, Commercial, Volunteer Coordination, and Social Media. If you have skills or interest in these areas please get in touch!

We require all volunteers to complete a Booking Form prior to arrival so that we have essential medical and emergency contact information and can thoroughly plan for the event, even if you have discussed attending with any of the team leaders.

Thank you for your continued support.

Emma Greenall

safety A cautionary tale...

A change of plan...

There follows a description of a near miss last year. Although this was not a WRG site the near miss report was seen by the WRG Board who agreed it would make a good illustration for Navvies readers of the risks of sudden changes - even a simple change which at the time appeared to make good sense.

The site in question has a ditch which acts as a drain from a habitat pond, the ditch has become overgrown in places and clogged with detritus (mainly fallen leaves and branches). Present on the site is a 1980s era 1.5 tonne mini digger, and during the planning of the ditch clearance it was assumed that this would be the machine used. Running across the site are a number of high voltage lines which, although within the rules, are unusually low. The volunteers on site are familiar with the location of the lines and the maximum height of any equipment under them (3m). The 1.5t excavator has a maximum height of 2.6m so is known to be safe for use anywhere on site irrespective of the power lines. The site is maintained as a local amenity park with the usual care and maintenance activities, there is no construction work being undertaken anywhere near the electricity lines, all the kit on site is low enough to enter the exclusion zone safely and therefore there are no barriers or height ‘goalposts’.

Shortly before the work was about to take place it was identified that a much newer 2.7t excavator was available that would be more suitable for the task as it has a longer reach, greater capacity and better accuracy. Also, it would also enable the local volunteers (who until now had only used the somewhat ageing 1.5t machine) to get experience on a more capable modern machine. This was agreed to be a good idea so the 2.7t machine duly arrived at the site with an instructor/driver to give handover familiarisation. Due to a misunderstanding, both the person who had planned the job and the excavator driver were on a different site for the start of the session however a quick phone call between them and the volunteers on site gave a good understanding of the task so that everyone was happy to make a start with the visiting driver operating the

machine. A walk through of the job took place and the permissive path alongside the ditch was closed off before work started.

The driver then tracked the machine down the path to the far end to make a start working back up the ditch towards the pond, however as he pulled the first bucket full of brambles out of the ditch he realised that he was about to start working under power lines.

He stopped work and sought advice from the local volunteers who then realised the potential issue, the machine was then moved away from the lines and continued work towards the pond where no lines were present. It was later confirmed that the 2.7t excavator would indeed have entered the exclusion height zone by approximately 1m if it had been extended to full height.

Mitigating circumstances: (1) Due to the operation being a ditch clearance, although the machine could have entered the exclusion zone, it is very unlikely that it would have done so, as there was no need to reach up (though it is accepted that if work were to be carried out in the area of the lines with this machine it would need a physical restraint to prevent inadvertently exceeding the maximum height).

(2) The operator noted the problem before the situation became dangerous and altered the work accordingly, though he accepts he should have noticed the lines during the walkthrough before the job started.

The main cause of this near miss was a change of machine from the original plan that, although seemingly insignificant (and which on the face of it should have been a safer option), on this particular site triggered a potentially dangerous situation to arise. Contributing factors were a visiting machine driver not as familiar with the site as regular volunteers, and the person who planned the work not being available when the work commenced.

This shows clearly why if you decide to change something about the job that deviates from the plan, you should always take a step back and check that it isn’t setting up a problem. Also, even if the site has a regular volunteer force that know all the dangers in the area, they still need to be documented so if someone comes along as a visitor they will also be made aware of them.

‘

MR. Mac’ An Appreciation

David ‘Mr. Mac’ McCarthy MBE, WRG North West legend, died just 40 days short of his 100th birthday. Malcolm Bridge recalls his huge contribution...

R.I.P. David (‘Mr. Mac’) McCarthy MBE, 1924-2024

The death of Mr. Mac of WRG North West on 17th January, just 40 days before his 100th birthday, truly marks the end of an era.

Brought up in Crumpsall, Manchester, he attended Stand Grammar School before joining Barclays Bank, staying with them until retirement. During the Second World War he was conscripted into the Royal Signals, subsequently transferring to the Royal Artillery Corps and serving on spotter planes. After the war and following marriage to Nancy and the arrival of their son Ian, he moved to Woodstock, his home (and the spiritual one of WRGNW) for the next 60 years, only leaving ten years ago when he followed Ian and daughter Jane, to Rossendale.

His interest in canals aroused by a family boating holiday in the 1960s, he joined the Peak Forest Canal Society in the late 60s, serving for a time on their committee and starting providing his famed refreshments for volunteers in 1971. The appearance of him and Nancy, bringing near infinite supplies of hot tea and only slightly more limited ones of broken biscuits, was never more welcome than during the clearance of the ‘Rochdale 9’ locks through central Manchester in the bitterly cold early weeks of 1973.

After the ‘Cheshire Ring’ re-opened in 1974 he supported the Peak Forest volunteers as they became ‘PFCS Mobile’, travelling to work on other canals and ultimately morphing into WRG North West in 1977. Typical was his response to the poor washing facilities

As many will remember him: serving tea from his camper

Presenting a cheque at the 2013 IWA National Waterways Festival

in a hall in Droitwich one particularly muddy weekend. He bought the local hardware shop’s entire stock of washing-up bowls, boiled every urn, kettle and pan he could find, and produced bowl upon bowl of hot water for the returning ‘navvies’. That the bowls were placed on the car park wall in full public view was of minor importance.

As WRGNW’s work grew, more funds were needed so, in January 1978, he started the ‘paper chase’ - a waste paper collection, selling the paper for recycling. This continued until 2018, stopping only - 405 collections later - when the merchant could take no more paper.

80th birthday marked by a cake in the shape of his camper van

Throughout that time, with limited help, he wrote, duplicated and delivered newsletters, phoned volunteers, booked skips, claimed grants and, for most of the time, organised lunch and washed up after it. In the early days much of the paper was initially stacked in his garden, to be taken in, a load at a time, in the WRGNW van, for which he (inevitably) also cared. Collections ultimately totalled 4,000 tonnes, making it a significant environmental project in its own right.

If that was not enough, for much of this period he and Nancy also ran the WRGNW publicity/sales stand, raising yet more money while helping to recruit new ‘navvies’. Hopefully, the damage to the nation’s teeth caused by the thousands of Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls he sold can be forgiven. It’s impossible accurately to value his labours but, as the waste paper collections raised over £60K, the total must exceed £80K and might even reach £100K.

Receiving his MBE from the then Prince of Wales

His contribution to the waterway movement was recognised in 1986 with the Inland Waterways Association’s premier award, the ‘Cyril Styring Trophy’, with an MBE for “Services to Canal Restoration and the Environment in the North West” providing the icing on the proverbial cake in 2001. Never was such recognition more richly deserved.

The ‘Lads and Lasses’ of WRGNW salute his memory. Malcolm Bridge

Camp report Buckingham

The Christmas Canal Camp is back after a four-year absence, and heads for a new site on the Buckingham Canal, with bonfires, beds and broccoli...

The return of the WRG Christmas Canal Camp

Buckingham Canal, 26 Dec – 1 Jan

“Another small sign that things are gradually getting back to normal…”

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve used expressions like that over the last three years when describing the long, slow, drawnout process of recovering from all our practical restoration work having come to a complete standstill during the pandemic. We’ve seen local canal societies’ working parties return to work; the re-start of regional groups’ weekend digs; the careful reintroduction of summer Canal Camps, building up from the initial limited trial programme of small teams up to this year’s full-strength camps programme; the big weekend events on the way back with the BCN Cleanup restarting last year and very nearly the Reunion / Bonfire Bash too. But one of the last regular events to get going again was the Christmas Canal Camp – which finally returned in December 2023, four years after the previous one. There were a few changes from the 2019-20 Cotswold Canals camp. For starters, it wasn’t on the Cotswold Canals (the scene of the previous five or six Christmas camps) this time. It was on the Buckingham Canal (or to be historically pedantic, the route formed by the Old Stratford and Buckingham branches of the

Grand Union Canal), near the Cosgrove end where it leaves the Grand Union Canal’s main line. And while there was no change to the leadership team (regular Christmas camp leader Dave ‘Moose’ Hearndon, with Maria Hearndon in charge in the kitchen), the accommodation was also rather different from our usual village hall or scout hall. But more of that later...

Tuesday evening and Wednesday: I wasn’t actually there to witness the start of the camp, because I was still returning on a marathon train journey from central Europe as most of the rest of the volunteers convened on Boxing Day. So I’ll have to take their word for it that their brief description of their arrival on the evening of Boxing Day and the first two days on site are accurate: from my scribbled notes based on what they told me, it appears that on the first day they “cut down vegetation and burned it”, had a “big fire”, but that “rain arrived” and the “first shift” went back to the accommodation

Pictures by Martin Ludgate

for lunch. There was no “second shift” – the heavy rain had arrived, so they packed up for the day.

They were honoured by a brief visit from London WRG’s Tim Lewis, dropping in on his journey home after Christmas – he did even less work than he’d intended (but still managed to scrounge two meals!), as they’d already downed tools by the time he arrived. Oh and speaking of meals, Tuesday evening Maria produced spag bol followed by apple strudel, and on Wednesday it was “turkey curry (thanks Tom)” then “Trifle (not quite set)”. Wednesday sounds like a lively evening as my notes say “second jigsaw finished” and “all asleep by 11pm”!

Thursday: The second day was clearly much more successful as the notes mention not only another big bonfire and “more slash-and-burn”, but also that they had qualified chainsaw and pole-saw operators from WRG Forestry with them, and had a generally productive day’s work until the rain chased them back to the accommodation again at 2pm. Well, not just the rain; it actually says “rain and lack of Burco” while the notes also include the ominous words “progress hampered by the lack of tea and coffee”. I also appear to have a transcript of a conversation between leader Moose and assistant Pete: “Moose, what did you remind me to pick up with the van?” “The Burco”

fact file Buckingham Canal

Length proposed for restoration: 10 miles Locks: 2 (originally) Date closed: 1944 (see below)

The Canal Camp project: Clearing trees and undergrowth from the canal just northeast of the A5 main road

Why? To prepare for the next stage of opening up the east end of the canal, following completion of Bridge 1 and the length beyond.

The wider picture: What canal restorers call the Buckingham Canal was built as two branchesof the Grand Junction Canal (now the Grand Union): the Old Stratford Arm opened in 1800 from a junction with the main line at Cosgrove to Old Stratford, followed the next year by the Buckingham Arm which continued for another nine miles from Old Stratford via two narrow locks to Buckingham. It fell into disuse and was dammed at Cosgrove in 1944, but although the Buckingham Arm was officially closed in 1964 (and subsequently suffered infilling, blockages and demolition of structures) the Old Stratford Arm was never legally abandoned. T his didn’t prevent the demolition of Bridge 1 or the construction of the new A5 from blocking it, but might just help the case for reopening it. Buckingham Canal Society is already in detailed discussions with the road authorities regarding a new route around Old Stratford and under the A5, using one of the side-spans of the bridge that carries the road over the Great Ouse river, and incorporating new locks and a marina development. The work on the Cosgrove to A5 section of canal (including the Canal Camp site) is crucial to these plans. And if a diversion around Old Stratford can be achieved, that’s the trickiest problem on the whole canal dealt with.

Hyde Lane Lock and nature reserve

Bourton Meadow restored length

Bridge No 1 rebuilt

London Grand Union to Birmingham

Final length not currently proposed for restoration

Proposed diversion

Original line blocked by A5 and A422

Bridge No 16 Little Hill Farm Bridge restored

Beachampton

Deanshanger

Milton Keynes

Canal Camp site

“Oh shit, what have I done?” “You’re sacked!” [This was followed by one of a number of cryptic references to assistant leaders being sacked and appointed at intervals throughout the camp, sometimes without actually telling them. But please don’t take this seriously: in reality, the straightforward nature of the work on this particular kind of camp, and the availability of any number of ‘old hands’ meant Moose was happy to lead it without a formal assistant leader – amid the usual amount of banter that you might expect… ]

Anyway the business of the missing Burco perhaps explains why I was greeted with such a warm welcome when I arrived in the evening after the second day on site, having picked up a van from London, a passenger from Paddington (Fran had had almost as long a train journey as I had, having come from Cornwall), and the allimportant London WRG Burco from home. Yes, we would have tea and coffee making capabilities on-site from now on.

Meanwhile Emma also arrived the same evening after an even more convoluted train journey which actually involved her persuading Chiltern Trains to let her use a Euston to Milton Keynes ticket on a Marylebone to Aylesbury train, as the services were so badly screwed up.

On a less happy note, we were very sorry to lose Paul (‘Arry’) who had to depart at very short notice having received the sad news of the death of his father – our sympathies from everyone on the camp.

Ah, yes, having arrived, I was going to say a word about the accommodation. And the word is ‘beds’. Yes, this is a permanent Scout camp accommodation, which comes with bunks in a number of separate six-berth dormitories, meaning we weren’t all sleeping in the same area we were eating / drinking / socialising in. Yes, there was the odd bunk that was a little unsteady when a rather heavier volunteer (compared to the usual Scout) tried to sleep on it, and my notes include some cryptic comments on possible strategies for coping with this (“Fall/arrest harnesses / parachutes / airbags”), but by and large it was excellent.

Maria served up a tasty stew and dumplings followed by pineapple upside down cake, and our evening was enlivened by a talk by Terry Cavender of the Buckingham Canal Society who explained all about the work we were doing and how it fits into

the Society’s plans to restore the canal – see previous page for more on this. Later a few of us tried out the Barley Mow pub in Cosgrove: if we’d known it was pub quiz night we’d have rounded up a team and gone down a bit earlier to take part.

Friday: So on Friday I finally made it to site, and had a chance to appreciate another difference between this year and previous festive camps. No piling into minibuses, no walking for miles across icy landscapes: the worksite was a short walk out of the front gate of the accommodation, across the road, and five minutes walk across a field to the canal, then along the towpath for a couple of hundred yards to where we were working. To explain exactly where this was, I’ll describe the route of the canal as it leaves the junction at Cosgrove…

Immediately next to the junction there are a couple of hundred yards of canal which have remained navigable and are used as private moorings. Next comes Bridge 1, which had been demolished in the 1970s but whose complete rebuilding has been the

Some of WRG Forestry’s trained chainsaw operators were on hand to deal with the big stuff

Canal Society’s main project in recent years, culminating in its reopening and the rewatering and connecting-up in 2023 of the next length of canal beyond the bridge. This ends at a ‘bund’ (temporary dam), beyond which the dry but generally clear bed continues for about three quarters of a mile, passing the site of Bridge 2 (which will also need rebuilding). At the end of this section is a quarter mile of canal which (prior to the camp) was still rather more heavily overgrown. This length leads up to the end of the surviving section of channel, where the A5 main road cuts through the canal bed and some rather more drastic measures will be needed to get it restored – see page 15.

Our job was to clear trees and vegetation from this “rather more heavily overgrown” section, keeping the bigger branches for firewood and burning the rest including some quite vicious thorn (apart from what Emma got her hands on… see later). For the larger stuff we had a chainsaw or two (plus operators), courtesy of a few of our trained WRG Forestry team who were with us for the camp, and a lot of bowsaws, loppers and enthusiasm to deal with the rest. That wasn’t the only job: there were also “a few small logs” of firewood to be shifted. To complicate matters, not only was there some mild disagreement concerning the definitions of ‘few’ and ‘small’, but they also had to be shifted as part of some weird triangular trade involving a dumper, some leylandii, and a bunch of boaters who already had some logs for their stoves but wanted some different ones that would actually burn (fussy or what?)

The dumper had to be got down into the canal bed and out again, which tested its capabilities (although I think the words “bumclenchingly steep” in my notes are a slight exaggeration), but also meant that it could be used to shift cut down vegetation to the bonfire, rather than us having to light multiple fires along the route. An added complication was a few hung-up

branches, dealt with by methods involving lassoing them with a weighted rope.

Good progress was made, and the presence of the all-important Burco (and some shortbread!) kept morale high. A late lunch (“waiting for soup”, apparently) was followed by the start of another extra job: moving bricks. About 10,000 were moved “by hand” according to my notes – although I’m pretty sure it involved the dumper too! –from the site compound at the completed Bridge 1 to the new compound at Bridge 2 where they will be used in its reconstruction.

The rain arrived at the usual time in mid-afternoon: the sky turned black, and everyone headed for the accommodation except the ‘Famous Five’ of Pete, Velcro, Hawk, Moose and RAF, who stayed behind to watch the fire (which, of course, had only got going really well just as the rain arrived!)

We were well fed by Maria with a delicious lasagne accompanied by garlic bread and “lashings of salad”, and also accompanied by a discussion on healthy eating and the idea of “five a day”. Did garlic count as one of your five? “No”, said dietitian spoilsport Fran. Not unless we ate two bulbs each, which would not only keep the doctor away, but any nearby vampires and quite probably everyone else too! The meal was rounded off with fruit salad and Angel Delight, which at least ensured a balanced diet in terms of which decades it was inspired by. We gave the pub a miss, hitting the games

Shifting the last of the 10,000 bricks

and jigsaws or (in the case of the author) the sack.

Saturday: My notes say “weather not bad – better than forecast (again)”, and in fairness other than the late afternoon rain to hasten us off site on some days, it really wasn’t that bad for late December in one of the wettest winters on record. Despite this, local Terry managed to get his Land Rover and trailer stuck, and the whole lot had to be rescued by Moose’s Land Rover (we were all ready to fetch the dumper and rescue all three, followed by the Tirfor…)

My notes mention “one doughnut”, but that wasn’t an indication of our depleted supplies of cakes, it was the state that the bonfire had ended up in at the end of the previous evening’s fire-watching. Once we’d got the fires lit again, not only did Fran manage to roast chestnuts on them (on the subject of food I see I also wrote the cryptic notes “ ‘You do not forage in Tesco’s’ said Moose”, “ ‘Name a Cheese’ – it’s not actually a game, it’s a plan for tomorrow night”, “mystery sandwiches” and “Mo lost the tuna”), but we made more good progress with the work, concentrating on clearing the section immediately west of Bridge 2, and leaving mainly the final section nearest to the A5 for the final day’s work. The brickshifting operation continued, enlivened by some imaginative stacking of bricks – “Emma built chimneys, Helen built pyramids”.

A small part of the complex log-shifting exercise

things we’d cut down on site.

We were visited by Tim Coghlan, well known in canal circles as the man behind Braunston Marina and the annual historic narrowboat rally that it hosts, but also a great supporter and benefactor of the Buckingham restoration, who was conducted on a tour of the site by Jenny. Meanwhile the wind got up, to the point where pushing a barrow of bricks along the towpath involved leaning into the wind.

For once we weren’t chased back to the accommodation by the arrival of rain. Early evening entertainments included Pete and his team attacking griddles with an anglegrinder (we’re planning a ‘maintaining griddles’ article for a future issue!) and Emma putting together a festive (and perhaps just a little bit Pagan) wreath from some of the

Paprika scrumpy stew was on the menu, followed by apple crumble, then as the jigsaw team completed their fourth 1000-piece puzzle, London WRG’s intrepid four (Pete, Fran, David, me) headed off to find a route via various footpaths, tracks and back roads to a different pub. This was the Swan at Old Stratford, where we appeared to be the only customers who weren’t there to watch the darts on TV. But the beer was decent and the walk there gave us an excuse for some canal-spotting – we found ‘Wharf Lane’, which together with a historic largescale Ordnance Survey map that was framed on the pub wall, enabled us to piece together the route that it used to take through Old Stratford. Oh, and it was tipping down rain by the time we left the pub.

Sunday: After the previous night’s downpour the ground conditions were described as “moist going on splodgy”, but we squelched our way onto site and finished the last bit of clearance around the bonfire site, before everyone concentrated on the final length to the A5. Many dumper loads of wet bramble and scrub were collected and delivered to the bonfire, creating much steam and smoke.

At lunchtime Emma and I escaped to do a bit more thorough exploration of the former route of the canal through Old Stratford, discovering three canal-related street names, old wharf buildings, an actual length of canal with water in it, and a modern

mock-up boat to show where it crossed the old A5, There we met a friendly local woman who lived in what had been a toll-house on the road, and who told us the rather surprising story that she had a very old photo of a bear tethered in her garden, with children watching it. Apparently it was a dancing bear, and was part of a travelling fair visiting the village.

Meanwhile back at the work site, the very last of the vegetation clearance was complete, and John was extracting his dumper from the muddy channel with difficulty (and with a Land Rover to help). An early return to the accommodation gave us time to sort out the kit and put up decorations (including Emma’s wreath or “pseudo hedge”, Rachel’s lights, quality napkin-folding by Jenny and Helen, and what my notes describe as a “holly-in-lager tree”) for the New Year’s Eve party.

Maria served up a splendid roast dinner, Fran had us playing a ‘guess the drink’ game with various bottles of sparkling wine that she’d been donated (none of us managed to identify the real champagne, so you needn’t waste money on posh drinks for us!) and among the more serious end-of-camp presentations, Claire gave everyone a rather more light-hearted award, from some spare pens for me (I kept losing mine) to some broccoli and baked beans for Moose’s 5-a-day, and lots of biscuits. New Year was celebrated with the singing of Auld Lang Syne, and I wrote down various random quotes including “The ground sucked me in” (Moose explaining how he managed to park Maria’s Land Rover in a hole); “Adrian three mattresses – the Princess and the Pea” and “I quite like it when the bed sways because it feels like I’m on a boat” (Emma).

Monday: We got up, we had breakfast, we packed up, we went home. Thank you to Moose for leading, Maria (and helpers) for food, all the volunteers for turning up and working hard, and Terry for finding us some good productive work on a restoration project that’s really moving forward. Happy New Year everybody!

Martin Ludgate

New Year scenes including Moose’s award, and the cheeseboard resulting from the ‘name a cheese’ game

navvies diary

Canals Camps cost £80 per week or as stated. Bookings for WRG Camps with number Court, Asheridge Road, Chesham HP5 2PX. Tel: 01494 783453, enquiries@wrg.org.uk

Mar 1-14 WAT

Mar 2-3 KESCRG

Wendover Arm: provisional dates

Cotswold Canals: probably John Robinson Lock

Mar 16-17 WRG/IWA/BCNS BCN Clean Up, Wyrley & Essington Canal: Wyrley & Essington Canal, Wednesfield to Wolverhampton. See page 7 for more information

Mar 16-17 London WRG

Supporting BCN Clean Up

Mar 16-17 wrgBITM Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation: Clearing overgrowth and overhanging trees from the bank (to be confirmed)

Mar 17 Sun WRG

Mar 28-Apr 2 CC2024-02

Apr 5-18 WAT

WRG Committee/Board Meeting: 10:00am at Rowington Village Hall

Montgomery Canal: Thu to Tue ‘mini-camp’. Cost: £60. Leaders: Mike Pa

Wendover Arm: provisional dates

Apr 13 Sat IWA/CRT Waterway Restoration Conference 2024: 10:00-15:30 at Northampton

Apr 13-14 KESCRG

Apr 13-14 London WRG

Joint working party with London WRG on the Wey & Arun Canal

Joint working party with KESCRG on the Wey & Arun Canal

Apr 20-21 wrgBITM To be arranged

May 1-7 WRG/IWA Canalway Cavalcade festival at Little Venice: team needed to set up, su and take down. See page 10 for more details

May 3-16 WAT

Wendover Arm: provisional dates

May 11-12 KESCRG To be arranged

May 17-19 wrgBITM To be arranged (Rickmansworth Festival cancelled)

May 18-19 WRG

WRG Training Weekend: see page 7

May 18-19 London WRG Cotswold Canals, John Robinson Lock

Jun 1 WRG

Jun 2 Sun WRG

Jun 8-9

Leadership Teams Day: see pages 8-9

WRG Committee/Board Meeting: 10:00am at Rowington Village Hall

KESCRG To be arranged

Jun 7-20 WAT

Jun 8 Sat London WRG

Jun 29-Jul 6

CC2024-03

Jun 29-30 London WRG

Jul 5-18 WAT

Jul 6-13

Jul 6-13

Jul 13-20

Jul 20-27

Jul 27-Aug 3

CC2024-04

CC2024-05

CC2024-06

CC2024-07

CC2024-09

Aug 2-15 WAT

Aug 3-10

Aug 10-17

Aug 10-17

Aug 17-24

Aug 17-24

Aug 24-31

Aug 24-31

Aug 31-Sep 7

CC2024-11

CC2024-12

CC2024-13

CC2024-14

CC2024-15

CC2024-16

CC2024-17

CC2024-18

Sep 6-19 WAT

Sep 29 Sun WRG

Oct 4-17 WAT

Oct 5-6

Oct 19-26

Wendover Arm: provisional dates

Tool maintenance day at Stanstead Abbotts

Wey & Arun Canal: Rooks Bridge (NWPG). Leaders: Bill Nicholson / Gra

Buckingham Arm: To be confirmed

Wendover Arm: provisional dates

Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal: (week 1). Leaders: Jess Leighton / D

Wey & Arun Canal: Rooks Bridge (KESCRG). Leaders: Ed Walker / Step

Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal: (week 2). Leader: Ruth Harden / Sue

Cromford Canal. Leaders: Dave ‘Moose’ Hearnden / Pete Fleming, cook

Cotswold Canals: John Robinson Lock (week 1). Leaders: Mike Palmer

Wendover Arm: provisional dates

Cotswold Canals: John Robinson Lock (week 2). Leaders: Ruth Harden

Louth Navigation

Cotswold Canals: John Robinson Lock (week 3)

Lapal Canal. Leaders: Dave ‘Evvo’ Evans / Paul Harrowsmith, cook: Cla

Cotswold Canals: Weymoor Bridge (week 1)

Wey & Arun Canal: Bonfire Hanger Towpath (week 1)

Cotswold Canals: Weymoor Bridge (week 2). Leaders: Stephen Davis /

Wey & Arun Canal: Bonfire Hanger Towpath (week 2)

Wendover Arm: provisional dates

WRG Committee/Board Meeting: 10:00am at Rowington Village Hall

Wendover Arm: provisional dates

London WRG Shrewsbury & Newport Canal

CC2024-19

Coombeswood Canal. Leaders: Nigel Lee / Dave ‘Evvo’ Evans, cook: An

WRG and mobile groups

e.g. ‘Camp CC-202302’ should go to WRG Canal Camps, Unit 16B, First Floor, Chiltern . Diary contributions to Dave Wedd, Tel: 07816 175454, dave.wedd@wrgbitm.org.uk

Ken Palfrey

volunteer@wendovercanal.org.uk

Ed Walker 07887-568029 ed@edwalker.eclipse.co.uk

01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk

Tim Lewis 07802-518094 london@wrg.org.uk

Dave Wedd 07816-175454 dave.wedd@wrgbitm.org.uk

Mike Palmer mike.palmer@wrg.org.uk almer / Rick Barnes 01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk

Ken Palfrey volunteer@wendovercanal.org.uk University campus verena.leonardini@waterways.org.uk

Ed Walker 07887-568029 ed@edwalker.eclipse.co.uk

Tim Lewis 07802-518094 london@wrg.org.uk

Dave Wedd 07816-175454 dave.wedd@wrgbitm.org.uk upport site services Pete Fleming pete.fleming@waterways.org.uk

Ken Palfrey volunteer@wendovercanal.org.uk

Ed Walker 07887-568029 ed@edwalker.eclipse.co.uk

Dave Wedd 07816-175454 dave.wedd@wrgbitm.org.uk 01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk

Tim Lewis 07802-518094 london@wrg.org.uk 01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk

Mike Palmer mike.palmer@wrg.org.uk

Ed Walker 07887-568029 ed@edwalker.eclipse.co.uk

Ken Palfrey volunteer@wendovercanal.org.uk

Tim Lewis 07802-518094 london@wrg.org.uk aham Hawkes, cook: Su Webster01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk

Tim Lewis 07802-518094 london@wrg.org.uk

Ken Palfrey volunteer@wendovercanal.org.uk

Dave ‘Evvo’ Evans, cook: Ian Johnson01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk hen Davis, cook: Eli Mathieson01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk e Jones01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk k: Maria Hearnden01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk / Becky Parr, cook: Mitch Gozna01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk

Ken Palfrey volunteer@wendovercanal.org.uk / Will Radice-Horne, cook: Bev Williams01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk 01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk 01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk

ire Morton01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk 01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk 01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk

Sandra Horner, cook: Lou Kellet01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk 01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk

Ken Palfrey volunteer@wendovercanal.org.uk

Mike Palmer mike.palmer@wrg.org.uk

Ken Palfrey volunteer@wendovercanal.org.uk

Tim Lewis 07802-518094 london@wrg.org.uk

nne Lilliman01494-783453 enquiries@wrg.org.uk

Progress Montgomery Canal

On the Montgomery Canal, the Shropshire Union Canal Society’s volunteers report 2024 starting on the same high note as 2023 finished...

Montgomery Canal

Following last year’s completion and reopening of the section of the English length of the canal from the former limit of navigation at Gronwen Bridge to a new interim terminus at Crickheath Wharf, the Shropshire Union Canal Society’s volunteers are continuing with the ‘Crickheath South’ project to clear, excavate, profile and re-line the next section leading to the recently rebuilt Schoolhouse Bridge, the next major objective on the way to the Welsh border at Llanymynech. The Crickheath South length has been split into two phases (Phase 1 in the Crickheath area and Phase 2 towards the Schoolhouse Bridge end); Phase 1 (the current focus of SUCS work) has been further split into Phase 1A and Phase 1B. SUCS restoration manager Tom Fulda reports…

SUCS Crickheath South work party report - December 1-3, 2023: Frostbite? Thankfully not, but winter certainly arrived for the December work party with heavy frost and cloudless skies on Friday and Saturday followed by snow and mist on Sunday. Nevertheless there is much to report. The last work party of 2023 featured traditional winter activities and much to set us up for a flying start for the new year. Hedge-laying and bonfires are perennially popular activities over the winter months. This season, a length of hedge along the towpath is being laid. This was last worked on by volunteers eight years

ago and was ready for re-laying and rejuvenating. 23 metres were completed producing a very tidy result with some planting of new whips as gap fillers.

One group of volunteers spent a couple of days on the restored length of canal reopened in 2023 at Redwith (by Bridge 83) refurbishing the newt habitat originally developed in 2012 by relining one of the ponds that had leaked. The solar powered pump providing a water supply to the ponds was relocated to a more convenient location.

Back at Crickheath, over 75 metres of new mixed hedging was planted which concluded the last task funded by a grant from National Grid Electricity Distribution Community Matters Fund. The opportunity was taken to also fill a few gaps in previous years’ plantings.

In readiness for channel profiling and lining works to commence in the new year, a temporary haul road was constructed on the offside bank, to aid delivery of materials along the site. Thanks are due here to Tudor Griffiths who provided the material at cost.

Re-lining the newt habitat pond with multiple layers

Pictures by SUCS

On Saturday, we had a surprise visit from the High Sheriff of Shropshire, Mandy Thorn. We were delighted to provide a guided tour of the current works. Mandy commented on the high number of volunteers restoring the canal. “What an incredible bunch of people doing absolutely wonderful things.”

2023 started with a Memorandum of Understanding with the Canal & River Trust for a pilot scheme to inform and finalise the design for this project: Crickheath Bridge to Schoolhouse Bridge. The exploratory activities have been worked upon all year culminating with the water tests in October. Having now been assessed and evaluated by CRT, the specification is nearly concluded: the areas requiring waterproofing have been confirmed (where the towpath is on embankment), the waterproofing method agreed (lining and blocking) and a solution devised for soft banks to increase the net biodiversity gain beyond that already achieved by restoration.

2024 finished on a high note, with us all set up to start restoring the northern half of this length of channel (360 metres) in the new year.

SUCS Work party January 2024: The design for the channel is finalised and there is real momentum. The rain since the last work party has been almost continuous so the channel in Phase 1A by the tramway wharf [See Navvies issue 322 for the full story of the former tramway and wharf], was literally full to overflowing and volunteers arrived

Volunteers Josh and Charlotte planted hundreds of hedging whips

Constructing the temporary haul road for materials delivery

on Friday to find an overflow from the channel running through the compound gate, under the welfare container and out the other side. Thankfully, the deluges had stopped a week before the work party and the channel in Phase 1B was sufficiently dry to make a start on final profiling of the banks and for the channel bed to be graded to correct depth. Great progress was made, and waterproofing – lining and blocking - which is required in this section, will commence in early spring.

Hedge-laying occupied most volunteers this month, and this continued along the towpath southwards from Phase 1B, where the shaping was also taking place, to a section leading into Phase 2, further down the canal towards Schoolhouse Bridge. A total of 36 metres of hedge was laid, with further clearance and preparation of the area beyond in readiness for the next month. With authorisation from the Canal & River Trust ecologist, a start was made on clearing piles of brash from the channel at the north end of Phase 2.

work that was started last work party at Redwith newt ponds, which were originally created some years ago and are now requiring a little TLC.

On Friday and Saturday, a handful of volunteers concluded the pump installation

Finally, For those who have followed the saga of the great tree stump, it’s over! The tree succumbed and is now ash – a little sad. If you want to get involved in this great endeavour, go to www.shropshireunion.org.uk and you’ll be surprised at the many ways you can help.

Tom Fulda

Profiling the canal channel

After three days the Big Stump is smaller... ...and finally it’s gone!

Progress Wendover Arm

With work on the canal channel currently in abeyance, Wendover Arm Trust have been concentrating on towpath work and expansion joint repairs

Grand Union Wendover Arm

The Wendover Canal Trust’s two-week December work party started on 1st December and concentrated on laying 200m of towpath at little Tring, on the length of canal leading on from the end of the navigable section.

Towpath work: Starting from the end of the section of towpath laid as a trial earlier this year, 200m of towpath was set out. This was the maximum distance that could be reached using a 13 tonne excavator running along the bed of the canal to lift bulk bags of ‘Type 1’ aggregate onto the towpath.

A 1 tonne excavator was used to scrape the shoulders of the existing path to create a 1.5m wide stone path. The ground was covered with a geotextile to prevent stone punching into the ground below the path. The Type 1 was laid in two layers. Each stone layer was compacted using a pedestrian drum roller. During the work party, Hertfordshire County Council offered 20t of loose Type 1. This was delivered and transported to the work area using the bucket of the 13t excavator.

Once the two layers had been compacted the surface was dressed with 6mmto-dust stone to bind the surface. The fine material was compacted using the roller.

Bridge 4, expansion joints. Loose silt and sandbags were excavated by hand from the back of the stop planks. The joints in the bed of the canal were exposed for inspection. Water was pumped out so that the bed joints could be seen.

The wall joints between the concrete bridge hole and brickwork were inspected. It was found that the sealant did not cover the full joint. The concrete make-up piece at the end of the bank blocks was broken out and showed no sealant.

The sealant in the wall joints was chiselled out so that a full inspection could be made.

Proposals for the repair of the joints

have been sent to Canal and River Trust. The repairs involve taking down some of the brickwork to form a better edge then installing the approved sealant. It is not intended to carry out any work to the joints in the bed of the canal.

Tidy Friday: Wendover Canal Trust have received 420 trees and 120 hedging plants from the Woodland Trust. On Sunday 26th November scouts helped plant 210 trees. A Tidy Friday event was held on 15th December and was spent planting more trees in the triangle area.

Mikk Bradley

Follow us: www.facebook.com/wendoverarm and www.instagram.com/wendovercanal

Delivering the Type 1 and (below) the finished path

Progress Hereford & Gloucs

Remember Over, where we helped the H&G Trust rebuild the canal’s entrance basin in 1999-2000 and extend it in 2012? We might just be going back...

Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Plans for Over Lock

There is a proposal by the Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust for a project to reconnect the canal to the main waterways network. At the October meeting of the Trustees, they authorised the creation of a sub-committee to manage the project and undertake negotiations with key organisations on behalf of the Trust.

The first part of the project will be to reconstruct the lock at Over, which connected the canal’s entrance basin (restored / rebuilt during a large-scale volunteer project with a great deal of WRG support in 19992000; then extended north westwards along the first section of the canal towards Her-

eford during the Vineyard Hill project, also with much WRG help, in 2012) to the tidal Western Channel of the River Severn – and hence to the rest of the waterways network. Very little is known about the 19th century lock at Over. David Bick’s history book The Hereford and Gloucester Canal has suggested that the lock was 30 feet deep. Other sources such as the book Rowing Holiday by Canal in 1873 also mention 30 feet. If we were to build such a lock now, it would be the deepest lock on the canal system, beating the current deepest lock, Tuel Lane on the Rochdale Canal, by a whopping 10 feet! However, other sources suggest that the lock was actually 13ft deep.

Our current idea is to replace the existing Bailey bridge (installed across the site of the head of the lock during the basin restoration at Over) with a traditional canal hump back bridge capable of taking machinery to maintain and extend the canal beyond Vineyard Hill. This is consistent with the historic bridges on the canal which are all made of stone. The lock beneath the bridge would be capable of seeing full-size narrow boats (70ft long) pass from the Severn into Over basin. Given the very large variation in river levels, we intend to build two floating pontoons between the lock and the river which will rise and fall with the river levels. We will need to build the lock to such a height that boats will be able to transfer through the lock for 2 hours either side of high tide at summer river levels. The window for use of the lock will be larger during the rest of the year as the river levels increase. The pon-

toons will also provide a safe haven for boats transiting the tidal Severn where river conditions can be unpredictable.

We need to undertake detailed engineering to decide the exact depth of the lock and determine whether we will, in fact, be challenging Tuel Lane for the record. We will do as much as we can using our band of volunteers, but inevitably the ground works and installation of the pontoons and their supporting pillars may well need a professional team and will not be cheap. We plan to make bids for funds from various agencies, but generally they look to help those who help themselves, so its important that we raise as much money as possible to support our project, a process known as match funding.

The lock closed to traffic in 1881 and with almost 150 years passing since boats passed from the Severn onto the canal at Over, we firmly believe that with our concentrated efforts that we can ensure that phase of its history does not reach 160. Hopefully getting boats back onto the canal from the main system will provide a major push to enable all the existing restored bits to be joined together.

As with many such projects, to be successful we will need a special combination of volunteers - not just the likes of digging and bricklaying but all those other essential skills with engineering, construction management, fundraising, artwork for posters, lobbying local people and politicians, the list is endless!

Roger Morgan HGCT

Over Lock upper wing walls rebuilt by WRG in 2000, and Bailey bridge to be replacedvby stone arch

Martin Ludgate

Progress Chesterfield Canal

Practical work is about to start on the restoration of a length of the Chesterfield Canal funded by a major Staveley Town Deal funding grant

Chesterfield Canal Staveley Town Deal project

The start of the main construction work on the section of canal being recreated under the Staveley Town Deal funding is approaching.

The project will reopen the canal from the current limit of the isolated restored Chesterfield to Staveley length at Hartington Harbour (below the new Staveley Town Lock) onwards to the embankment over the Doe Lea stream, including a second new lock and two new bridges. So far most of what’s been happening has concentrated on the large amounts of necessary paperwork and planning, but there has been physical work undertaken on the clay stockpile to be used in the construction work.

Most of the canal will be constructed on a large embankment crossing the valley of the Doe Lea Stream, historically known as the Puddlebank. It is formed of clay, but as the valley has suffered from a lot of mining subsidence, we need a lot more clay than is on site. A local landowner, Suon, has donated a massive stockpile of clay to the project, and we have done a trial to determine how best to place the material.

Cost inflation is naturally causing a few headaches, and some of the ‘nice-to-have’ elements that will finish the site off, such as landscaping, seating, interpretation and

wayfinding, would potentially have to be cut back if savings cannot be found. To mitigate this, the Chesterfield Canal Trust has launched a crowdfunder to raise additional funds for these elements. So far we have already raised £15,000. We’re also continuously applying for other funds, and two more applications have been submitted recently with further applications in preparation. We have appointed a contractor to clear the route of any vegetation that might attract nesting birds. This has to be done before the end of February. We have worked hard to minimise the amount of vegetation that needs to be cleared, including re-aligning some of the footpaths to reduce the extent of earthworks. However, some works are unavoidable. We are also making sure that we mitigate any loss with planting of new, native species at the end of the works. The tendering process for the firstphase contractor has now launched. The timescales are tight, because we have to make a start on site by the end of April to meet our planning deadline, and the contractor will need time to submit various documents and plan the construction process before then. This first phase will involve constructing the Trans-Pennine Trail (TPT) Bridge, improving the access onto site from Ireland Close, creating the site compound and re-aligning the footpaths.

At the end of this, the main works

Design for Trans Pennine Trail bridge

contractor will have a clear run at the main canal channel, earthworks and remaining structures. Main works tendering was due to open in early 2024. Speaking of the TPT Bridge, the design work has continued apace. An Approval in Principle has been submitted to the County Council, as the intention is that they will adopt this structure. That has been signed off, and detailed design is well underway - but we haven’t quite decided on the colour yet (it won’t be blue though!)

The bridge design is just one of many final approvals required. Information has been submitted to discharge the first batch of planning conditions, which have been

Chesterfield Canal

approved, and more will be submitted in the coming weeks. There is a lot of work underway – you can follow the project on social media for more updates.

George Rogers, Project Director

River Trent to the Humber

Length: 46 miles (26 miles stayed open, 12 miles restored, 8 miles left to restore) Locks: originally 65; 2 extras added during restoration, more needed Date closed: between 1907 (end of through traffic, Norwood Tunnel collapsed) and 1961 (officially abandoned)

Staveley to Chesterfield restored: 6 miles 6 locks (including new Staveley Town Lock)

Sawmills narrows work site

Killamarsh

Town Basin and Lock

Worksop to Kiveton restored and reopened in 2002: 6 miles 31 locks (including 1 extra added)

River Trent to Nottingham

Section being restored with Staveley Town Deal grant

Kiveton to Staveley unnavigable ‘missing link’ including current restoration sites: 8 miles 14 locks (orginally), diversions needed at Killamarsh and Norwood Tunnel

West Stockwith to Worksop saved from closure in 1960s: 26 miles 16 locks

Chesterfield

Worksop

Retford

Staveley

W Stockwith

Kiveton

Norwood Tunnel

Drakeholes Tunnel

Staveley

Renishaw

Morse Lock

Trialling the re-working of the donated clay before using it on the Puddlebank

Progress S & N Canals

The Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust’s team continue to make progress on warehouse restoration at Wappenshall where the two canals meet

Shrewsbury & Newport Canals

The Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust’s Wappenshall Wharf project (which includes restoring the historic transhipment warehouses as a canal centre and rebuilding the basin at the junction where the two canals met) is progressing really well now and the opening date for the café will be reached in the spring.

Our new 3-phase electricity supply was, at last, installed on 13th December (see photo right of National Grid guy making the connections at the top of the power pole ). Having completed the upper floor’s plaster-boarding, we moved to the ground floor to fix the glass fibre reinforced plasterboard to the walls and the sound insulation and plasterboard to the ceiling (see photo below right). The replacement timber staircase to the upper floor has been constructed off site and is being fitted (rather like a Lego kit) as I type this report (see photo bottom left). The three new external doors are on order and should have been delivered and fitted by the time you read this. The big green shed (Romney Building) should also have been dismantled by the time you read this and been transported to the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust’s site at Blist’s Hill. Here it will have a new life as a vintage machinery storage and workshop facility. This will permit us to crack on with rebuilding the stable block. The original stable block was knocked down to put the Romney Building up, so it will be great to see the wharf looking like it originally was over 200 years ago, once we complete the build.

I also attach a photo (bottom right) of the wharf looking across the re-filled east basin to the small warehouse that will become the café and meeting space in the spring.

Bernie Jones

London WRG A year in the life

Reporting the activities and antics in 2023 of one of WRG’s regional mobile groups... which you don’t need to live anywhere near London to join...

London WRG: a year in the life…

It isn’t just about canal camps! WRG also has regional mobile groups organising weekend working parties all year round – and there are a couple of independent groups doing the same.

In London WRG (don’t worry about the name, people from all over the country work with us!), as in the whole restoration movement, we’ve had a couple of quieter years as we’ve gradually got going again after the pandemic. But in 2023 we managed something vaguely approaching our normal schedule of holding weekend digs approximately monthly for most of the year. Here’s what we got up to…

January saw us on the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation, a rare example of us working on an actual working waterway (run by WRG’s parent body the Inland Waterways Association) rather than one that’s been derelict for decades. It also featured a journey to work by boat, the Essex Waterways workboats taking our volunteers and kit from the base at Heybridge Basin to the worksite a mile away, where we spent the weekend clearing overhanging offside vegetation.

Come February and we were off down to the Cotswold Canals, and the big ongoing project for visiting groups at John Robinson

Lock, near Eastington. Back then we were still in the process of clearing out 80 years’ worth of silt and infill from the chamber using various different sizes of excavator, as well as clearing vegetation from around the lock, prior to major effort on rebuilding the upper parts of the lock walls during the summer 2023 series of Canal Camps.

In March we managed to attend two working parties – both on the same weekend! That hadn’t actually been the plan, but the difficulty of finding suitable dates for both events that didn’t clash meant we ended up sending a vanload of volunteers to each. One headed further northwest to the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals to join WRG Forestry for a weekend of tree-felling, scrubclearance and Tirfor winching stumps out on a length of canal near Uffington, towards the Shrewsbury end. And the other went to the BCN Cleanup - a weekend of throwing hooks into the less-frequented parts of the Birmingham Canal Navigations network and pulling out bikes, shopping trolleys, prams and

Cotswold Canals: clearing John Robinson Lock

Off to work on the Chelmer & Blackwater

various other junk (see page 9 for details of this year’s event) and managed to squeeze in some exploration of remains of long-lost bits of old canal too.

To recover from our March efforts, April was a quiet month with no London WRG digs – but it ended on a high note with various of our volunteers involved in setting up and site services for IWA’s popular Canalway Cavalcade festival at Little Venice in London (see page 10 if you’d like to help at this year’s event) which opened on the 29th. It seems a bit of a cheat to count the third and final day of Canalway Cavalcade on 1 May as London WRG’s May activity, when we’ve already counted the first and second days under April, but once again we didn’t run a dig. This was partly because our planned joint effort on the Wendover Arm with our friends in the KESCRG independent regional group fell foul (if I remember rightly) of the Wendover’s issues with the Canal & River Trust regarding permissions; but also because the month was as usual rather full of other things that our volunteers took part in – the WRG leader training day, the WRG training weekend, and various events on the three bank holidays (including the extra Coronation holiday).

June saw us back at work again, on a different site. We joined KESCRG for a weekend on the Lichfield Canal, working on laying a towpath. This involved lots of machinery operation – dumpers, excavators, rollers –plus some carpentry for the path edgings and some old-fashioned shovelling and raking. It was also notable for the hot, dry conditions: the dig report in LWRG News (see below) sets the scene with some appropriate literary and film quotes (“What have

you done? Thousands of years of building and rebuilding, creating and recreating so you can let it crumble to dust!” “It is a barren wasteland riddled with fire, and ash and dust.” “Don’t they ever dust this place? Boy! A guy could make a fortune out here selling vacuum cleaners.”) And once again some of us went on a bit of an industrial archaeology expedition on the way to the pub, following the remains of the Walsall to Lichfield railway line.

There wasn’t a London WRG dig as such in July, but a few of us went on what turned out to be the first of a series of adhoc working parties on the Beggarlee site where a diversion of the Cromford Canal is to be built, putting in land drainage underneath where the new channel will run. This could be a major work site for Canal Camps and visiting groups in the coming years.

August also didn’t feature any London WRG weekend work parties as lots of us were doing other things for the summer, but at least those ‘other things’ included several of our regulars getting involved in the IWA Festival of Water, which was held at Pelsall on the BCN this time.

In September we finally went back to work on a proper LWRG dig (well, a joint one with Forestry actually), with our first visit of 2023 to the Wey & Arun Canal. Here, following a nasty act of vandalism to the existing backpumping scheme that keeps the locks and pounds on the restored Loxwood Link section topped up with water, a new and improved replacement system is being installed. This involves laying cables under the towpath, and our main job was to dig a trench, install the cable ducting, and fill the

All pulling together on the BCN Cleanup

Laying a new Lichfield Canal towpath

trench in again so that you couldn’t tell we’d been there.

October’s outing was to the Shrewsbury & Newport again: this time there was some epic Tirfor-winching to extract some enormous stumps from the canal bed, involving multiple winches and snatch blocks on a single reluctant willow, while other teams were involved in log-splitting and something involving a temporary bridge. The weekend was also notable for having no fewer than five first-time volunteers.

got up to all year, and a pint in the local afterwards. Oh, and a few of us made our final ad-hoc visit to the Cromford’s Beggarlee project.

As usual the year drew to a close with December’s joint Christmas party and working weekend with KESCRG (and WRG Forestry too on this occasion), this time back on the Wey & Arun again. The Canal Trust unfortunately have an enormous number of ash dieback diseased trees to get rid of, as well as lots of smaller stuff to clear, and we helped them to make some progress with this. We also had our traditional themed fancy dress party and games on the Saturday evening, with an appropriate theme to mark the Walt Disney centenary.

November’s planned WRG Reunion which we would have been supporting was sadly cancelled at too short notice for us to organise an alternative, so all we managed was to attend a Tim Lewis illustrated talk at the London Canal Museum about what we’d

So that’s eight working parties we managed to run in 2023 – not quite up to the good old days when we went out every third weekend and managed double that number, but as I write this we’ve already managed two (Chelmer & Blackwater and Shrewsbury & Newport) and are planning a third (Cotswold) before the middle of February, so we should beat that total in 2024. We’ve got outings planned to the BCN, Wey & Arun, Cotswold again, Buckingham, and Wey & Arun again – see the diary on pages 2021. We welcome new volunteers: as mentioned earlier you don’t have to come from London (we’ve got regulars based in Merseyside and Devon!) but if you do, we can usually provide transport from London in the van. Just contact Tim Lewis (see diary) or join our Facebook group London WRG, where we set up an ‘event’ page with details of each working party.

And to read the full story about our 2023 digs, download Fran’s excellent electronic magazine LWRG News from our Facebook page. Martin Ludgate

Wey & Arun: installing new cable ducting

Christmas scrub clearance on the Wey & Arun

Tirforing stumps on the Shrewsbury & Newport

Plant Excavator categories

We have made another change to the WRG Driver Authorisation scheme to cover different types of excavator. Machine operators please read this...

Excavators: changes to the WRG Driver Authorisation system

Last year we introduced changes to the excavator categories on the driver authorisation system which WRG (and some canal societies) use to help control who is authorised to operate various types of plant / vehicle / machinery on camps, working parties etc.

The changes were intended to deal with the situation where someone could be trained on a large 13 tonne excavator and then in theory jump onto a tiny 0.8 tonne machine which would promptly fall over due to its much reduced stability, which they weren’t anticipating as this isn’t an issue on the 13t machine.

We did this by making the small and large excavator categories completely independent from each other (previously large excavators superseded small excavators – in other words, if you were authorised on large excavators, you were automatically authorised on small ones too – but not vice versa); and also by tweaking the maximum weight of the small excavator category down from 7t to 3.5t. In order to avoid the situation where someone was trained on a 3.5t machine and then jumped into a 13t machine (which they really wouldn’t be prepared for) we specified that the minimum weight for a machine being used for instructing on large excavators was 6t.

Experience over the last year has shown that this approach is not actually working very well. The drawbacks are:

. If your camp has a 5t ma-

chine on site this is a large excavator, but you can’t train anyone on it.

. A 3t machine is normally quite stable so doesn’t help with the ‘micro digger’ situation (the 1.8t machine mentioned above) yet is in the same category.

So we are changing things again. Part of

Sumitomo H60. It may only be 6.5t, but the centre mounted arm alongside the cab makes it a large excavator

Volvo EC27. 2.7t, front mounted swivel arm, which makes it a small excavator

the issue that makes things difficult is choosing the weight at which a machine becomes ‘large’; in general we consider large machines to be the type that has the arm mounted centrally on the superstructure (coming past the cab window and thus significantly reducing your visibility) as opposed to small excavators which have the arm mounted in front of the cab (and can normally slew independently of the machine superstructure).

The problem is that the weight at which the change happens can vary by manufacturer and age; for instance the 6.5t Sumitomo is built and operates like a large machine, yet an 8t Kubota is built and operates like a small machine. To get around this we are now defining large machines by the

design rather than by weight; we are also adding a third category of “Micro excavator” for machines 2t or under. So the new categories are as follows:

29:Micro excavators (up to 2t)

30:Small excavators (over 2t, front mounted swivel arm)

31:Large excavators (over 2t, central mounted fixed arm)

In general, with modern machines the change from small to large occurs at the 10t mark, but do check the design of the specific machine you are using.

In terms of ‘grandfather rights’, anyone who currently has category 30 (small excavators) will get the new 29 and 30. Anyone who currently has category 31 (large excavators) will get the new 30 and 31. As ever, remember it is your responsibility to stand up and say “Yes I have that category on my ticket but this machine you have given me is nothing like anything I have driven” and either decline to drive or take the time and space away from the job to familiarise yourself with it, possibly with the help of someone who has more experience.

Bucyrus 3RB (picture by the late great John Bayliss). No idea what weight! Fixed arm mostly in front but also alongside the cab, non swivelling so classed as a large excavator. Example of a machine that although you may have a DA that covers it, you will need familiarisation from someone who has driven it before!

We will be making the changes on the database over the next month or so and sending out replacement cards after that to those affected (basically anyone gaining category 29) but any applications coming in from now on will be treated as being made under the new system.

One other thing: for the first time ever we are ‘re-using’ a category, 29 was previously for MPV’s (now part of category 1) so you may still find old documents referring to it along those lines. It was either that or change all the category numbers to get them sequential.

Incidentally, if you have any queries regarding driver authorisation, these are not at present handled by staff at IWA head office so please email da@wrg.org.uk

George ‘Bungle’ Eycott and Ed Walker

Kubota KH31. 1.5t excavator, decidedly unstable, this is classed as a micro excavator

Ruston

transport Tachographs

If you tow a trailer with a WRG van, you need to use the tachograph. George ‘Bungle’ Eycott has written this refresher to remind you how to do it...

Tachographs

Our WRG van / minibuses are all fitted with tachographs. Our vans and the way in which we use them mean that there are some activities where we definitely DO NOT need to use a tachograph, some where we definitely DO need to use a tachograph, and some where it is a somewhat grey area (as we were advised by the government department at the time, it will need a court case to decide - and we do not want to be that court case!) So the WRG policy is: for the avoidance of confusion and to promote good practice, whenever you tow a trailer with a WRG van you must use the tachograph.

This means that you will need a tachograph card. If you tow trailers for WRG we will happily pay the fee for obtaining a card; just send the proof of payment to head office either with a completed expenses form or an accompanying letter. Note that you must use your own card, never anyone else’s, and it must not have expired.

The general rules for use normally apply to someone who is driving all the time professionally; but for our purposes we only need to know the basics.

However, if you do drive and use your card professionally, it is possible that you will breach your responsibility by towing the trailer. Please get advice from either your employer or someone within the WRG organisation

Basic rules

. Don’t tow for more than 4½ hours without a 45 minute break. Splitting this into one break of 15 mins followed by a break of 30 mins is allowed; other splits aren’t – for example 1hr driving, then 10 mins break, 3½ hrs driving, 35 mins break still totals 45 mins break but isn’t acceptable

. Don’t tow for more than 9 hours per day.

. Remove your card (see below) if you’re not towing, including if you stop for more than 45 mins. If you leave your card in, it is possible that this will cause an infringement of regulations.

. Don’t tow for 7 consecutive days. You are only allowed to tow for a maximum of 6 consecutive days (with a maximum 56 hours in total over those days). So if you have towed the trailer to site at the start of a week-long camp, and are planning to take it home after

the camp, then you will need to have a day off towing during the week. If the trailer needs to be taken to site on that day, you need to get someone else to take it, or make arrangements to leave the trailer somewhere.

Use

Before doing anything, the unit should be showing the main screen, with the current time, speed and odometer reading for the van.

Unless the van has previously been used for towing, it is likely that something different will show on the screen (driving without card, overspeed etc). Clear this by pressing the ‘OK’ button (C in the illustration on the opposite page) until the main screen appears

Insert your tacho card (not your driving licence!) into slot 1 (left hand slot) with the chip facing upwards, (so your name should not be showing) and the chip forwards - towards the unit (as per the illustration at the bottom of this page).

The unit will take a few seconds to read your card, then will show your surname and the time the card was last used. It may ask ‘Manual Entry?’ In our case the answer is always ‘no’, which should be showing, so press the ‘OK’ button (C ) again and you’re ready to drive!

To eject your card, press and hold the ‘driver 1’ button ( A). This will show ‘Ejecting card’ then ‘End country United Kingdom’. Press ‘OK’. The unit may then show ‘24h’ and ‘no’. This is actually asking if you want a 24h printout. In our case, as above, the answer is always ‘no’, so press the ‘OK’ button (C ) again and the card will be ejected. Make sure you take it with you!

Switching between British Summer Time and Greenwich Mean Time

If you’re not sure about this, then leave it! Either someone else will do it, or the time can be left as it is. It will be right again in a few months…

From the main screen as above, press the ‘OK’ button to access the menu, then the down arrow (E) 3 times until ‘Vehicle Entry’ shows. Press ‘OK’ ( C )

Press the down arrow (E) again until ‘Local time’ shows. Each press of the up or down arrow then changes the local time by 30 minutes so in spring press the up arrow (D) twice, and in autumn press the down arrow ( E) twice. Press ‘OK’ (C ) to confirm the time, then the back arrow (B ) until ‘Leave main menu’ shows. Press ‘OK’ (C ) and the display should return to the main screen.

At any time, if you’re not sure what you’re doing with the tacho, please feel free to get in touch with Head Office who will know the best person to contact

George ‘Bungle’ Eycott

navvies News

WRG driver authorisation scheme: administration changes

Elsewhere in this issue you will see that we are making some changes to the driver authorisation (‘DA’) scheme (the system used to help control who is and isn’t authorised to operate various categories of vehicle, plant and machinery on WRG and some other groups’ working parties) regarding excavators. But there has been another change as well, to the administration of the system. Since the new scheme was introduced back in 2004 it has been entirely administered from the head office of WRG’s parent body the Inland Waterways Association. Prior to this it was done by various volunteers from home, but the great data merge where everything got put into one big database meant that everything had to be done in one place (in those days the head office connection was dial-up so remote access was a non starter).

Things have now changed with the introduction of a new database (some people may be aware of some of the teething issues with this but we have worked through a lot of them now) which means everything is online so the administration of the system can be done by volunteers remotely.

We are gradually digitising the archive of paperwork and from now on anything sent to head office is being scanned before being sent to the volunteer DA team for processing. Although at the moment renewals are still being sent out by post, there is no problem with you completing forms (whether renewals or applications), scanning it in and emailing it to da@wrg.org.uk; it saves you a postage stamp and saves us some time.

There has been a bit of a backlog which we are working to clear, but by the time you read this we should have caught up with sending out renewals and new cards. So if you think you should have had something but haven’t, drop an email to da@wrg.org.uk and we will look into it.

One last thing: the bit which takes the most time is dealing with application forms that have not been filled in correctly or are missing information; the most common faults being no signature, no date of birth, and not

crossing out ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on the medical section. Please double check your forms before sending them in.

George ‘Bungle’ Eycott

Restoration conference

Connected Working in Restoration is the theme of this year’s Inland Waterways Association / Canal & River Trust waterway restoration conference, at Northampton University on Sat April 13th - see waterways.org.uk/ restorationconference.

The Message for the Day: Given the current funding restraints, working in partnership and maintaining positive relationships with a broad range of people from landowners, local authorities, navigation authorities, community groups and volunteering bureaux, waterway and towpath users can be crucial. This year’s Restoration Conference will explore challenges and opportunities through examples and practical insights; going through a process of challenges, highlights and the future.

The conference is particularly aimed at those involved in local waterway restoration societies and trusts, but representatives of other bodies including WRG groups may also be interested.

Those wishing to attend are requested to prebook and pay £10 contribution for lunch, refreshments, venue and parking (bookings are open at the above email address. If there is space, anyone arriving on the day will be charged £15

Topics include positive ways to address the regulatory side in a fast-changing restoration environment, together with the need to meet the challenge of finding financial sustainability post-restoration with case studies to support the talks.

Volunteer recruitment will be looked at, how to broaden inclusion and work with diversity, encourage youth engagement and how to overcome mental health and physical challenges. Hard skills trainings and toolbox talks will be part of the agenda.

An overview of invasive species in our waterways will be explored, including ways to identify them and stop spread with practical demonstrations.

infill including ‘Dear Deirdre’

Dear Deirdre I was shocked to discover from reading a recent camp report in Navvies that volunteers on the Christmas Camp were provided with BEDS to sleep in! I feel this is a shocking display of the declining moral fibre of the typical volunteer. But I mentioned it to my WRGie friend and she said “About time too! I’m glad to see WRG is at last dragging itself forward into the 20th century”. So which of us is right?

-GS, Hadfield-on-Avon

Deirdre replies I don’t know which of you is right but I bet I know which one of you is younger. The average age of WRG volunteers seems to be getting older so I think we ought to start making things a bit easier for those of us who are starting to wear out our hip joints. I’m also pushing to get some nice picnic chairs in the kits as it’s getting harder to get up off the ground after a tea break.

Dear Deirdre every time my boyfriend goes on the BCN Cleanup he brings home something that he pulled out of the canal and thought “might be useful”. The house is now full of knackered bikes, broken furniture and stuff I can’t even identify. How do I stop him?

-AK, Upper Wolversbury

Deirdre replies I don’t know how to stop men doing this but if he’s got an engine splash shield that would fit a Land Rover can I have it please?

From the Buckingham Canal comes this picture by the Canal Society’s Terry Cavender which appears to show Waterway Recovery Group’s own John Hawkins about to dematerialise in the society’s newly acquired time machine...

...while still on the Buckingham, a WRG volunteer on the Christmas Camp returns the favour with this picture of Terry Cavender demonstrating that whatever alternative dimension WRG has disappeared into, he appears to still be living in the real world. ...or can you suggest some better captions? If so, please email the editor