Ouse News Autumn 2017

The Inland Waterways Association

Keeping our waterways alive

Ouse News - Autumn 2017 The Great Ouse Branch Newsletter covering the Great Ouse and tributaries Contents: Branch Committee

p2

Branch News

p3

Chairman’s Corner

p4

Letters to GOBA

p6

North Lodge

p10

Letter to Editor

p12

Book Review

p14

Friends of the Nene p16

Look out for our new logo and details of the ‘vision for the future’ of the IWA in our next edition

Campaigning for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of the Inland Waterways.

B&MK Trust

p17

Corinth Canal

p19

IWA Festival

p24

Nature Fights Back

p25

p26 RSPB The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Inland Waterways Association or of the Great Ouse Branch. They are, however, published as being of interest to our members and readers.

Ouse News Page 2

Great Ouse Branch Committee: Committee members may be contacted by email: e.g. an.other@waterways.org.uk Chairman: Keith Alderton Tel : 01366 727236 Secretary: John Hodgson Tel : 01234 344884 Treasurer: Enid Hodgson Tel : 01234 344884 Ouse News Editor: Carole Alderton Tel : 01366 727236 Sales Officer: David Anderson Tel : 01480 477227

Membership Officer: Peter Webb Tel 01353 658581 Volunteer Co-ordinator: Gail Mead Tel 01359 232603 Member: Stephen Foote Tel 01763 838936 Member: Derek Bradley Tel 01353 661601 We are a small, friendly group and would welcome another committee member to help us organise meetings and events. Please contact the editor.

(Authorised to examine all private boats and in addition, residential boats provided they are fitted with a gas bubble tester) Additional contact : Ely Boat Chandlers 01353 663095

Ouse News Page 3

Branch News November Meeting

8 pm at the Cole’s Road Community Centre, Milton (North Cambridge) CB24 6BL. T HURSDAY 23 RD N OVEMBER 2017 Ilustrated talk on the Littleport Riots

by Debbie Curtis from the Field Theatre Group entitled ‘Rebels & Rioters : The Butterfly Effect’. This is about the tumultuous events that tore a riverside town apart.

All future meetings: 8 pm at the North Lodge Pavilion, Milton, CB24 6UD. (See page 10) T HURSDAY 22 ND F EBRUARY

2018

Talk by Andrew Storar of Project Hereward on the renovation of Welches Dam and the Forty Foot River up to Horseway Lock.

T HURSDAY 22 ND M ARCH

2018

This will be our branch Annual General Meeting, together with an update from the Environment Agency.

S ATURDAY 28 TH A PRIL 2018 We are hoping to arrange a visit to the RSPB, Lakenheath Fen.

We welcome the following new members to the branch.

We hope you will introduce yourselves to us when coming to an event or meeting: Chris & Jo Mills, Bedford Simon & Susan Carter, Eynesbury, St Neots Gerald & Rosslyn Rager, Ingoldisthorpe, Kings Lynn

Ouse News Page 4

Chairman’s Corner Some good news! We have, at long last, managed to resolve the security and access problems at North Lodge Pavilion and intend to hold all of our meetings at the new venue from February 2018 onwards. North Lodge Pavilion is located at the end of the new residential road called North Lodge Park, the entrance to which is next to the Nokia building some half a mile north of Coles Road (see location map on page 10). It is a brand new building with all the facilities for holding a function in the one meeting room without disturbance from other noisy users. Our November meeting will therefore be the last to be held at Coles Road Community Centre. However it should be a memorable one, with a film and talk by the Field Theatre Group about the infamous Littleport Riots.

We are now formulating our plans for our annual branch ‘away day’ and we have followed up the suggestion that we visit the RSPB Reserve beside the Little Ouse at Lakenheath Fen. It is intended that we hold this event before the boating season gets underway in late April next year. Further details will be included in the Spring edition of Ouse News.

Many in our branch are also members of GOBA and will have read in GOBA News the disparaging remarks made during the chairman’s report at their AGM regarding our efforts to support increased funding for the EA Anglian Region Navigations and to promote the restoration of Welches Dam. It is important that all waterways and boating organisations speak with one strong voice if we are to make progress on these issues. A robust response was called for and both myself and David Mercer of the EAWA have therefore sent suitably worded letters to GOBA News outlining the facts as we see them (see pages 6-9). We will have the opportunity to learn about progress being made by Project Hereward towards the eventual restoration of Welches Dam and the approach channel at our meeting at North Lodge in February.

Ouse News Page 5 Unfortunately, we have had to mount yet another campaign to try and influence the decision makers at the Environment Agency. This time we have been fighting plans to sell off three sections of the river frontage at Ely for an asking price of £180,000. We lost the public moorings on one of these sections a few years ago when it was leased out for residential use following East Cambs. District Council’s decision to hand it back to the EA. The other two sections are currently leased to waterways businesses for commercial use. One of these, Bridge Boatyard, has based its hireboat fleet there for some 45 years. One of the obstacles preventing CRT from taking over responsibility for the EA navigations has been the lack of a dowry of waterside property to help finance future operational expenses. It, therefore, seems to be perverse for the EA to be now selling off what little property assets they hold. At the time of writing, various bids have been submitted for the three sections, but no decision has yet been made as to which bid(s), if any, have been successful.

Plans are now well in hand for the IWA Festival of Water to be held at St.Neots over the August Bank Holiday weekend in 2018. You can find booking details and a link to the organisers’ website on page 24.

On the national front, you may be aware that the IWA has embarked on a comprehensive exercise to rebrand the organisation and project the association’s vision for the future. We will, therefore, shortly have a smart new logo and a stated set of values to guide us forward.

It is that time of the year when all but the most hardy amongst us will be draining out water systems, battening down the hatches and spending the winter months planning next year’s boating activities. The weather this year has been mixed to say the least and I do think that we deserve a better summer next time around. Still, no doubt we will brave the elements with true British stoicism and enjoy ourselves as usual whatever the weather Keith Alderton throws at us!

Ouse News Page 6 Let’s All Work Together (copy of letter sent to GOBA News

by Keith Alderton, Chairman, Great Ouse Branch, IWA) I regret that I must take issue with Sid Fisher regarding the inaccurate statements he made during his Chairman’s report at the GOBAAGM in April of this year.

Sid stated, ‘the IWA is claiming that the Agency is to close parts of the river.

This is a totally false remark coming from a misconstrued statement. This was really referring to the Old Bedford River which leads to Welches Dam Lock etc.etc.’ In fact, a spokesman for the EA had said that ‘an option which may need to form part of the discussion with government is the possibility that we may have to close some navigations in the future on health and safety grounds if we’re unable to fund the repair and maintenance of the assets’. This was taken to apply to any navigation in the Anglian Region and made no reference to the Old Bedford River.

The IWA fully support the need for the relevant navigation authority, whether it be the EA or CRT, to have the necessary funding to maintain the network in a safe and effective manner and have carried out an intensive lobbying exercise in order to try and inform and influence the decision makers. To this end, we have written to all of the relevant Members of Parliament and the Chief Executives of local authorities in East Anglia explaining the situation and expressing our concern. Locally, together with our colleagues from the IWA Peterborough Branch, we held a meeting in April with Alex Mayer MEP on site at Welches Dam to highlight the issue. Alex subsequently wrote to the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency and the Secretary of State for Environment Food & Rural Affairs on our behalf.

Ouse News Page 7 Welches Dam was chosen as a location because it represents a prime example of what can happen to a navigation once it has been subjected to a ‘temporary’ closure. In the case of Welches Dam, the navigation is still closed some 11 years later.

I was disappointed to read Sid’s disparaging remarks regarding the efforts of the volunteers from Project Hereward to restore and reopen Welches Dam Lock and the approach channel at little cost to the public purse. We, at the IWA Great Ouse Branch, did not support previous plans to force the EA to restore the navigation by means of potentially ruinously expensive litigation, but are fully behind the sensible approach now being made by Project Hereward. We know that because of the remote location, lock size and difficult terrain, the Old Bedford River always has been, and probably always will be, a little-used navigation. However, it is not the usage or the size of lock that is the issue. The point is that once we let an authority get away with quietly closing one navigation it is inevitable that sooner or later more closures will follow.

So let’s stop the harping and get all the interested parties together to fight for the future of our waterways.

Site meeting at Welches Dam with local MEP-Alex Mayer

Ouse News Page 8 Copy of letter sent to GOBA News by: David Mercer GOBA member M409 EAWA and Project Hereward It is rather a pity that the last issue of GOBA News included incorrect and misleading information on Project Hereward, so perhaps you will permit me to attempt to inform your readers a little better.

Project Hereward is an entirely voluntary joint venture between East Anglian Waterways Association, the Peterborough and Great Ouse branches of the Inland Waterways Association and the Middle Level Watermen’s Club. Its aim is to re-establish the historic navigation link between the Great Ouse and the Middle Level and onwards to the canal network via the Old Bedford River, Welches Dam Lock and the Forty Foot River to Horseway Lock.

This was once the only navigable route until Well Creek was restored mainly by similar voluntary effort. It also forms part of the preferred route of the southern section of the Fenland Waterways Link, a scheme once much trumpeted by the EA but now conveniently and apparently forgotten.

Navigation ceased in 2006 when the Environment Agency, without any notification, placed steel piling across the entrance to Welches Dam, citing water leakage through the gates. In fact, 12-years on those same gates are still holding back the Old Bedford water. The piling serves no purpose other than to prevent navigation as it has gaps on either side and in any case has been shown to be inadequately specified and installed for its stated purpose.

The project is not as reported to your AGM merely to rebuild Welches Dam Lock but also, and most importantly, to re-line as necessary the 3 km channel of the historic Forty Foot River between the locks. The channel currently suffers leakage into the underlying gravel. The process itself, by which sheets of geo-textile material with a non-permeable core are laid in short easilymanageable sections, is entirely appropriate and suited to voluntary labour without the costs of heavy plant. It is well-proven and has been used with great success on a number of canal restorations.

Ouse News Page 9 Welches Dam Lock was restored by Anglian Water and the IWA in 1991 and does now need some further repair work. The full extent of this is at present unknown but the Environment Agency is sadly being less than helpful by using rather spurious Health and Safety grounds to prevent our qualified engineer from carrying out a full technical survey at no cost to the Agency.

The entire project has no implications for the EAAnglian Waterways budget with all costs being met by fund-raising through Project Hereward. Substantial seed-funding has already been raised, more than enough for the full technical surveys and reports and safety equipment. Several major sources of funding have expressed interest in supporting the positive heritage and environmental and recreational gains.

The Great Ouse Boating Association has done tremendous work in its 60year history in safeguarding navigation on our river and seeking through its excellent “Navigating the Future” programme to extend opportunities for navigation wherever possible. It is sad to see GOBA now apparently complicit in, or at least accepting of, closure through neglect of part of the statutory navigation.

The Old Bedford River to Welches Dam remains a statutory navigation, required by law to be maintained for recreational boating. As part of the statutory navigation it can offer GOBA members, particularly the more adventurous, an exciting added dimension to their boating. Welches Dam Lock is the responsibility of the Environment Agency and were it to fail completely it would be necessary for them to fund and erect a substantial sluice structure in its place, destroying a heritage feature and navigation at a stroke.

How much more sensible it would be to encourage, hopefully with GOBA’s full support, an entirely voluntarily financed and expedited scheme to restore this unique historic navigation, one of Vermuyden’s first 17th century Fens drainage channels, for all to enjoy. More details at: www.projecthereward.org

Ouse News Page 10 North Lodge Pavilion North Lodge Pavilion is located at the end of the new residential road called North Lodge Park, the entrance to which is next to the Nokia building some half a mile north of Coles Road Community Centre.

Nearest Post Code CB24 6UD Beware - This is a new postcode and your satnav may not take you to North Lodge Park!

Ouse News Page 11

News & Views Do you have an article, comment or photo you would like to share? We would be very pleased to receive it! Contact the editor at: carole.alderton@waterways.org.uk

Ouse News Page 12 Letter to the Editor Dear Carole I have just downloaded the Summer 2017 issue of “Ouse News” and found it all very interesting and informative, as usual. Thank you!

One article was of particular interest, Stephen Foote’s review of ‘The Ouse’ by the Rev. A. J. Foster. I’ve had a copy of this book for some years and would certainly agree with Stephen’s comments – it really is rather odd.

I have quite a collection (far, far too many, according to my wife!) of Great Ouse and other East Anglian waterways books and find it interesting to research the authors. My research on the Rev. Foster might help solve some of your puzzle: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Source: Central Bedfordshire Library Service Albert John Foster was a Bedfordshire man, the third son of John Nathaniel Foster of Biggleswade. He was born about 1843, educated at Rugby and graduated from Pembroke College, Oxford in 1866. He was ordained in 1868 in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.

His first curacy was North Petherton 1867-9 and then St. Mary Magdalene, Taunton 1867-71, St. Gabriel, Pimlico 1872-73, Cholderton, Wilts 1874, Rector of Farndish 1875-80 and he became Vicar of Wootton in 1880.

In 1873 he married Edith Voules , daughter of the Rev T. Voules, Rector of Beer-cro-combe, Somerset. They had four sons and four daughters.

His first book was “A Tourists Guide to Bedfordshire” published in 1889, then followed “The Ouse” in 1891, “The Chiltern Hundreds” in 1897 and “Bunyans Country” in 1890; Foster illustrated all these books.

Ouse News Page 13 His first attempt at fiction was a joint effort with established writer Edith Cuthell “The Robber Baron of Bedford Castle” and was published in 1893.

The following year he wrote “Ampthill Towers”, an historical romance written for children.

He died at Totland Bay, Isle of Wight on the 26th July 1918; he had gone there with his wife to visit his sister.

The Heritage Library, Bedford Central Library has the following books by Albert John Foster :      

A Tourists Guide to Bedfordshire. 1889.

The Ouse. 1891.

Ampthill Towers. 1896.

The Robber Baron of Bedford Castle. 1896.

The Chiltern Hundreds. 1897.

Bunyans Country. 1901.

Avalon : a tale of the last days of Glastonbury Abbey. N.d.

And some other snippets from various sources: A. J.’s father was John Nathaniel Foster owner of the Bleak Hall estate in Biggleswade. He purchased the advowson (right to appoint a vicar) of Wootton, Beds. in 1873 and duly appointed son Albert John as vicar in 1880. A. J. also became Rural Dean of Haynes (Beds).

A. J. had a son, Laurence Talbot Lisle Foster, an officer in the Durham Light Infantry killed in action in the Dardanelles on 12th December 1915.

I hope that is of some interest.

Best regards David (Mercer)

Ouse News Page 14

Book Review

by Stephen Foote

‘Bread on the Waters’ First published in 1984, this engaging account by the late David Blagrove is rather different from those of the escalating number of authors (and TV luvvies) who want to share stories of their canal and river travels with us.

The writer describes how he abruptly resigned from his job in the City and joined the Willow Wren Carrying Company. His story is of his years and travels on the canals during the early ‘60s, when true commercial canal carrying was coming to its end. No chocolate-box images or folksy romanticising here though, David Blagrove has told it like it was. The life of a working boatman was a tough one; the hours long, the conditions harsh and uncomfortable; the remuneration barely adequate and job security nonexistent. All that said, the life clearly suited the writer and his story had me so enthralled that I read the book twice in case I had missed anything the first time around.

I must confess to a personal angle here. David Blagrove was born in Abingdon on the Thames and thence moved to Reading – where I was born and raised – and in both our cases, the flame of interest in the canals was lit on the Kennet and Avon. The scenes he describes were mine; High Bridge wharf, the Huntley and Palmers biscuit factory, the gas-lit tenements of Newtown, school trips on the converted narrow-boat ‘Enterprise’, being forbidden by my father to make any approach to the fledgling Kennet and Avon Association (‘bunch of bloody trouble-makers……’). It was strange to suddenly find that there was someone else who remembered all these things. Much that was long forgotten came flooding back.

Ouse News Page 15

This personal connection continued throughout the book. I have travelled all the canals described (with the exception of Regent’s Canal). It is fascinating to read about how it really was fifty years ago – working a commercial narrowboat on the GU through Milton Keynes when there was no Milton Keynes, through Thames lock at Brentford, then still thronging with lighters and cargo vessels but now deserted, the reality of being ‘frozen in’ on the canal at Stoke Bruerne during the ‘big freeze’ of 1962-63 – and much, much more. Wonderful stuff.

I asked myself – would someone who wasn’t familiar with the routes and places enjoy this book as well? Answer – yes. It is written with cheerful honesty and open-ness and describes a way of life that has been excessively prettied-up in recent years. A real pleasure to read.

David Blagrove passed away comparatively recently and the canal scene lost a pioneer and champion. I wish I had met him; we would have had much to talk about.

My grateful thanks to Elizabeth Bradley for the loan of the book to review.

Bread on the Waters by David Blagrove Published by M and M Baldwin, 1984; re-printed 1995 ISBN 0 947712 27 5

Ouse News Page 16 Friends Of The River Nene A group of enthusiastic boaters were looking to improve facilities on the River Nene; so, in September 2014 the “Friends Of The River Nene” (FOTRN) was established. Facilities on the River Nene have always been very limited. The Environment Agency (EA) don’t own much of the bank side so have always struggled to find places for facilities and mooring locations. In 2012 it became much worse when the Irthlingborough facilities, pumpout, Elsan, water and shower, were closed due to the nearby football club going into receivership. Luckily the moorings still remain.

FOTRN in the 3 short years have managed to create 6 new bankside moorings. For many years we had passed Woodford which looks very pretty from the river but could never visit, although there were some tantalising excellent private moorings. Now that FOTRN have a mooring there we are able to see this lovely village and visit the Manor Farm butchers and café.

Also within the village there is a shop, fish & chip takeaway and a good pub. Several other moorings are perfect for us, being in quiet open countryside.

FOTRN have been very pro-active with other groups and the EA in finally getting the very low footbridge at Islip rebuilt with much greater headroom.

This was frequently impassable due to river levels rising after heavy rains in the Midlands. Recent regulations (we have been told) have meant that EA has to make new footbridges wheelchair accessible. So the Islip bridge took a long time to plan as, on the mill side, it was very space limited.

Incredibly the new footbridge over the entrance to White Mills Marina on the Nene Valley Footpath is “wheelchair accessible” even though the footpath has styles within 100m of each side !!!

FOTRN now has a membership of over 400 and their Facebook group page has over 750 members. For £10 per year we certainly think it is value for money and well done to all the volunteers who run it.

Peter Webb

Ouse News Page 17 Waterway Trust Awarded Grant Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust has been awarded a grant of £8,300 by Central Bedfordshire Council Green Infrastructure Planning Obligations Fund to help fund its initiative to mark the route of the Waterway Park with thematic wood carvings and information points.

The award will help to fund 3 benches and a number of carved marker posts, depicting wildlife and waterway themes by local artist Carrie Yuen.

Carrie will commence work in September and the sculptures will be installed to mark the route of the central section of the Waterway Park in the Millennium Country Park, at the heart of the Forest of Marston Vale. The Trust will also contribute to the project with funds raised by the John Bunyan boat. Trust director Beryl Bennett said “The Trust is very excited about launching our Mark the Route initiative. We want to make sure that as many people as possible know about proposals for the Waterway Park and the benefits it can bring throughout the Marston Vale. This award gives us an opportunity to raise the profile of the Waterway Park and at the same time provide a unique artwork trail for visitors to the Millennium Country Park to experience.”

James Russell, Forest Director with the Forest of Marston Vale said “As a fellow charity, we’ve been working closely with the B&MK Waterway Trust for many years to promote the Waterway Park through the Forest of Marston Vale. It’s great to now help by allowing them to mark a section of the route where it comes through our Millennium Country Park. The new carvings will be an attractive addition to the Millennium Country Park and demonstrate the beautiful use that artists can make of timber as a natural resource.”

Carrie Yuen said “This is an exciting opportunity to showcase my work in Central Bedfordshire. I have a personal interest in the subject area and therefore I am delighted to have been selected to work on this project.”

Ouse News Page 18

Ouse News Page 19 Corinth Canal and Ancient Corinth On 2nd January 2017 we set off on a world cruise lasting nearly 4 months (114 nights), sailing approximately 38,888 nautical miles, visiting 39 ports plus full transit along the Panama and Suez Canals.

Whilst in Greece we decided to explore the Corinth Canal on a small boat trip and then visit the ancient city of Corinth. The canal connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. Construction began in 1881 and the canal was first used on 25th July 1893. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates Peloponnes from the Greek mainland, making the peninsula questionably an island.

The canal is only 70' wide at sea level, expanding to 81' wide at the top of the 300' high rock sides. Ships with a maximum width of

58' or less can transit this canal.

Due to the height of the sides there is no view from either side, apart from rock pools and tiny caves,

and an odd stone mooring bollard, but distant views only front and rear. The canal saves 430 miles cruising around the Pelioponnes.

Ouse News Page 20 Although the canal was not completed until 1893, the Greek rulers dreamed of making a cut many years beforehand and the first attempt was in the 7th century; although in 67AD Roman Emperor Nero attempted to construct the canal and personally broke the earth with a pick axe, removing the first soil. The Roman work force had 6000 Jewish prisoners of war who began digging 130-160' trenches either side. Although the construction at this time was abandoned, evidence can still be seen.

After the canal’s construction, it failed to attract the ships for many reasons; it is tough to navigate due to being so narrow and has frequent high winds and strong currents. The high rock walls suffered from landslides and thus the canal was often closed. During WWII the canal was damaged because of its strategic importance. In 1944 the Germans left Greece, then used explosives in “scorched earth” operations to put the canal out of action. In 1947 the Americans got to work to clear the canal and it was reopened in November 1948 for shallow-draft boats.

Today, about 11,000 ships transit the canal, mainly tourist boats and small cruise ships. The canal has submersible traffic bridges at both ends so when boats approach, traffic is stopped and the bridge submerges to allow the boats to transit through.

Ouse News Page 21

High above the canal runs a railway and a motorway which offers spectacular views of the canal far below.

After our boat trip, we drove to the bridge, stopping for a walk over it and photo opportunity.

Ancient City of Corinth: We ventured into the ancient city of Corinth which is surrounded by fertile plains and natural springs. It was first inhabited in 5000 BC and most densely populated in 10 BC. The historical founders of the city were aristocratic descendants of King Bacchis.

They were well known for their Corinthian pots, delicately painted which dominated the Greek market and are still reproduced to this day.

Ouse News Page 22 The site we see today was first excavated in 1892. The majority of walls still standing date from the Roman times and include a temple, baths and forum.

Many beautiful mosaics and statues were discovered, many now housed inside to protect them.

Mimi Alderman

Ouse News Page 23

.

Ouse News Page 24 IWA National Festival of Water Following the success of the Festival this year at Erewash, the Festival next year will be held in our branch area at St Neots. The event will be held over the August 2018 bank holiday week-end, Saturday 25th to Monday 27th.

As well as highlighting some of the work being carried out by the IWA finding solutions to funding threats in the Anglian Region, the main focus will be a week-end of fun for boaters, campers and anyone who enjoys spending time by the water. Boats will be accommodated beside the approximately mile long stretch, along Regatta Meadow, part of which is opposite the Priory Centre. The cost will be £30 per boat which includes 2 wristbands to include evening entertainment (4 evenings.) Further information and a booking form can be found at https://www.waterways.org.uk/ events_festivals/festival_water/IWA_festival_water or book directly online by visiting https://waterways.cloudvenue.co.uk/festivalofwater The Environment Agency is offering a “2 for 1” deal on temporary registrations for those not permanently cruising the Great Ouse system. For example, 4 weeks for the price of 2 for those booked in for the Festival. This can be booked at the same time as the Festival.

This will make a summer of festivals as it follows the Bedford River Festival on Saturday and Sunday, 14th and 15th of July. Why not take advantage of the EA registration offer to attend both if you normally cruise elsewhere?

At St Neots the branch will be in evidence with the stand promoting the IWA in general and the Great Ouse branch in particular as at Reach and Ely Aquafest. However, this is a longer event so volunteers will be appreciated to help manage the stand as it will be difficult (if not impossible) for the small committee to do that alone. If you can help, please contact David Anderson.

John Hodgson

Ouse News Page 25 Nature Fights Back During our tour of the Birmingham Canal Navigation earlier in the year we spent a pleasant night at Pelsall Common on the Wyrley & Essington Canal, the site of the 2016 IWA Festival of Water. As Peter Webb wrote in his report published in the summer edition of Ouse News, the Curly Wyrley is a surprisingly rural canal that passes through a landscape that was once intensively industrialised. This is made evident by the many hump-backed bridges over truncated arms that once provided access to long-gone factories and the canal water still blackened with coal dust.

You can see from the accompanying photograph that Pelsall Common is now a very green rural country park with vast acreages of grassland, shrubs and trees. It is hard to believe that on this site one hundred years ago there were 2 blast furnaces, 40 puddling furnaces, 7 mills and forges, a gas producing plant, limekilns and a locomotive works! A non-stop 24/7 narrowboat service once supplied the local power station with coal from the many wharves. Here once stood the Dorman Long rolling mill that supplied the steel for the Sidney Harbour Bridge.

What a transformation!

Although it is sad to witness the loss of all that industrial wealth, we have gained so much with the return of nature in such abundance.

Keith Alderton

Ouse News Page 26

The breeding season that was: Well, it’s that time of year again when I report on how the breeding season has gone here at RSPB Lakenheath Fen. Doesn’t it come round quickly?!

I will start off with our bitterns. Just in case you are not familiar with the history of the reserve, bitterns were the reason why the reserve was created just over 20 years ago. They have had a fairly good breeding season on the reserve and we had a record number of “booming” males (males in

Photo: David Gowing

breeding condition) during the spring.

There were eight males holding territory and eventually, four nests were found.

Our resident marsh harriers have had a slightly disappointing year with only 11 nests being found on the reserve. We didn’t see males bringing much food in for their respective females. Hopefully they will have a better year next year! Whilst on the subject of birds of prey, there was better news for hobbys. A flock of at least 60 of these aerobatic falcons were seen feeding over Joist Fen viewpoint simultaneously on a sunny day in mid-May. Although this wasn’t quite a reserve record, it was an impressive sight to see nonetheless!

Ouse News Page 27 The sought after bearded tits that nest on the reserve seem to have had a reasonable year. Parties of gingery coloured juveniles started appearing from late May onwards and they are now a regular sight on still days. We haven’t surveyed this species on the reserve for a while now as it involves quite a lot of time out in a boat in the middle of the reedbeds. Sounds like fun!

It has been an interesting year for the two pairs of cranes that call the reserve home. Sadly, the pair of cranes that we know as “Little & Large” disappeared in early April and they have not been seen anywhere nearby since. However, the other pair, that we imaginatively know as “the breeding pair” fledged one young on 7 July, when it was seen taking its first flight with its parents. This means that this pair has fledged five young in the last three years on the reserve, which is a fantastic achievement. Hopefully, “Little and Large” will return ready for the 2018 breeding season.

David White Visitor Experience Officer, RSPB Lakenheath Fen / Communications Officer, Cambridgeshire & the Fens Buy your 2017 Christmas Cards at our November meeting and support branch funds. You will not only be saving on the advertised price, but you will also avoid paying for postage and packing when delivered from head office.

Also available at Ely Boat Chandlers.

Ouse News Page 28

The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee.

Registered in England No 612245.

Registered as a charity No 212342. Registered Office: Island House, Moor Rd, Chesham, HP5 1WA. Phone No 01494 783453.