The Inland Waterways Association
Ouse News - Summer 2012 The Great Ouse Branch Newsletter covering the Great Ouse and tributaries
Contents: Branch Committee p3 Chairman’s Corner p4
The Grand Union Canal near Northampton Photo: Leonard Lawson
Campaigning for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of the Inland Waterways.
Plague Ship
p6
Arctic Trip
p10
Freight News
p13
Branch News
p15
Obituaries
p16
Reach Fair
p19
River Update
p20
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.
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Branch Committee Chairman: Keith Alderton Holly Cottage, 57 Globe Street Methwold Thetford, IP26 4PQ Tel. 01366 727236 e-mail:keithalderton@sky.com Secretary: John Hodgson 9 Beaufort Way, Brickhill Bedford, MK41 7XQ Tel 01234 344884 e-mail: jhodgson@rivouse.fsnet.co.uk Treasurer: Enid Hodgson 9 Beaufort Way, Brickhill Bedford, MK41 7XQ Tel 01234 344884 e-mail: jhodgson@rivouse.fsnet.co.uk Ouse News Editor: Carole Alderton Holly Cottage, 57 Globe Street Methwold Thetford, IP26 4PQ Tel. 01366 727236 e-mail: carolealderton@sky.com Sales Officer: David Anderson 21 Cambridge Street St Neots PE19 1JL Tel 01480 477227 e-mail:david.anderson70@ntlworld.com
Membership Officer: Peter Webb 35 Norfolk Road Ely, CB6 3EJ Tel 01353 658581 e-mail: peter.c.webb@tesco.net Webmaster: Stephen Foote 14 High Street, Chrishall Royston, SG8 8RP Tel 01763 838936 e-mail: g4foh@tambourine.org.uk Member: Derek Bradley 24 Witchford Road Ely, CB6 3DP Tel 01353 661601 e-mail: bradleyd@waitrose.com
Ouse News Page 4 Chairman’s Corner Welcome to the first newsletter of the Great Ouse Branch! The change in name from Cambridge Branch was agreed at the branch AGM in March and has subsequently been endorsed by the trustees. It was decided to make the change because the ‘Cambridge’ label failed to reflect the fact that our branch area covers not only Cambridge but also the whole of the navigable River Great Ouse and tributaries from Bedford in the West, into West Norfolk and on to parts of Suffolk in the East. Due to the vagaries of the post code system, new members living alongside the Great Ouse can find themselves allocated elsewhere and may not be aware that they can opt to join their local branch. The change of name will help to make everybody aware of our full branch area and will hopefully encourage members to participate in local activities. The current overriding local issue concerns the new system of charging for navigation licences on the part of the River Cam controlled by the Cam Conservators. Previously, the Conservators had obtained their income from a proportion of the Environment Agency’s navigation licence fee, based on a count of the number of boats on the River Cam on one particular day. The Conservators have found this to be an inadequate way to fund the required maintenance work on the river. However, the system now devised to overcome this situation has been universally condemned by river users. EA licence holders who wish to navigate the Cam above Bottisham lock will now have to pay a 10% surcharge on their EA licence fee at the beginning of the year or subsequently pay a 15% surcharge for an annual visitor’s licence. Boaters based on the Cam will have to purchase a combined EA/ Cam licence from the Conservators at a rate equivalent to 110% of the EA licence fee. There will be no short-term visitor’s licence and fines will be imposed if a boat is found not to have the correct licence. From next year onwards, Gold Licences will not be valid on the Cam. Whilst it is appreciated that the Conservators must be able to meet their financial commitments and nobody deserves a free ride, there must surely be a better way of achieving the desired objective. The authorities in Cambridge have always done their best to discourage boaters from visiting the city and this action will only make matters worse!
Ouse News Page 5 After all of the doubts and worries over representation and finances, it now looks certain that the Canal & Rivers Trust will finally take over from British Waterways this summer! A satisfactory financial settlement has been reached with the Waterways Minister, charitable status has been granted and what appears to be a good mix of enthusiasm, experience and talent has been recruited in the list of trustees. We look forward to the next step when the CRT will hopefully take over the navigation duties of the Environment Agency in 2014. It is only when all such navigation authorities are absorbed into one body such as the CRT that nonsenses such as those currently being experienced on the Cam will finally be resolved. Water supplies have been very much in the news this year, with waterways being closed to navigation as a result of both too much and too little water! Regrettably, flooding prevented anybody getting through Upware Lock to attend the proposed boat gathering at Reach in May, although 12 of us did still manage to have a first class meal at the Dykes End pub on the Saturday night. However, by way of compensation, Carole & I have recently returned from a glorious week on the magnificent Caledonian Canal along with 13 fellow members of the Stort Boat Club. The Great Glen proved to be the hottest place in the country, with temperatures reaching 28oC. I hope that those of you also planning to venture further afield on the canal system will fare equally as well. Have a great summer afloat whatever the weather.
Keith Alderton
Do you own a powerpoint projector and screen? If so, would you be kind enough to loan it to us for our November meeting? Contact: The Editor on 01366 727236 or email: carolealderton@sky.com
Ouse News Page 6 Plague Ship 90 – A Heroic Tale of Man’s Triumph Over Adversity Who said that a boating holiday was a healthy, relaxing affair? Our trip during the extremely hot summer of 1990 was to prove the opposite in no uncertain manner! At the time, I was living near Chelmsford and working in North Wales. The first move was, therefore, for me to drop off my car at Cassiobury Marina near Watford on the way back from work and take the train home via London. Myself, my wife Carole, our daughter Mandy and our then baby son Russell were to drive from Chelmsford to Hallingbury Mill near Bishop Stortford, board our narrowboat Betsey Trotwood and join our friend Yvonne and her daughters Natalie and Chloe on their boat Poppy. We then intended to travel down the River Stort and join fellow members of the Lee and Stort Rivers Society at a barbeque at Amwell on the River Lee. We were then to go down the Lee, along the Hertford Union Canal and meet up with Yvonne’s husband Garth somewhere along the Regents Canal on his return from a business trip to New York. Ouse News
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Next, we were to travel North on the Grand Union to a convenient point for me to take a taxi to Luton to pick up our elder son Richard who would be travelling back from a youth camp in the Lake District. The ultimate objective was to join yet more friends at Marsworth Junction and all go down the Aylesbury Arm together. The return leg was relatively straightforward as we intended to leave our boat at Cassiobury Marina, drive back to Hallingbury Mill, pick up the second car and drive home. What could possibly go wrong with a simple plan like that?
Ouse News Page 7 The first day did not start well with Carole retiring to her bunk with a nasty chest infection as soon as we got on board, leaving me to steer the boat and operate all of the locks whilst Mandy looked after the baby. All went well until with a rope in one hand and a windlass in the other I slipped on a wet ladder and fell into an empty lock, landing heavily on the gunwales, severely injuring my ankle. The pain was intense and I really thought that it was broken! However, bearing in mind the complexities of the holiday plan, we decided that we should not just abandon the trip and return home after the first hour. We did eventually reach Amwell with Yvonne and the girls operating the locks and me sitting on a stool on the back deck with my right leg in a bucket of cold water, steering by peering along the boat through the open front and back doors. Luckily some friends had driven to the barbeque by car and they offered to take me to Harlow Hospital, where my ankle was thankfully diagnosed as being ‘severely sprained’ rather than broken. Next day, things went from bad to worse, Carole was still very ill, my ankle had swollen up like a football and Yvonne developed chronic diarrhoea. As we were in no fit state to travel on, we stayed put for several more days, letting the kids run riot in the woods whilst Carole lay on her bunk, I sat under a tree with my foot in a bucket and Yvonne was confined in the toilet compartment on Poppy. Eventually, we just had to get going and so devised a cunning plan. We found that if we breasted-up the two boats, I could steer both by sitting on a stool with my foot in my trusty bucket, once again looking ahead through the cabin. Luckily, Yvonne was beginning to feel a bit better and with help from the kids was able to push gently on a balance beam; however, I did note that she had taken the precaution of wearing brown shorts! It was whilst working the locks on the Lee that Chloe slipped and fell heavily gashing her knee. After removing the gravel from her wound and bandaging up her leg, we got on the move once again. Cont’d over
Ouse News Page 8 Cont’d from previous page We stopped for a welcome lunch break at Victoria Park on the Regents Canal, sheltering from the searing sun under the towering trees. I had just sat down to my lunch, when a pigeon that had obviously been gorging on elderberries, discharged the entire contents of its stomach from a great height right into the middle of the mayonnaise on my salad! For some strange reason, nobody fancied the summer pudding and cream the girls had so lovingly prepared after that. This incident just about summed-up the holiday so far! It was during this break that Nat decided to run across the park and attempt to jump over the railings, only to catch her foot and fall heavily on the concrete towpath and lacerate her knee. A few more bandages and we were on our way again, albeit with yet one more disabled crewmember. All went well through London until we came to a shuddering halt in Islington tunnel. We eventually found the problem to be caused by a baulk of timber jammed between the tunnel walls across the bows of the boats. Extracting ourselves in our enfeebled state in the dark took quite some time, but we eventually managed to get free without anybody falling in. By some miracle of timing, we managed to find Garth, having just flown in from America, standing waiting for us on the towpath at Uxbridge and with the welcome addition of an able bodied crewmember made quick progress up the Grand Union. At Watford, I picked up my car and drove to Luton, only to find a very embarrassed youth leader having to apologise for the state that Richard was in. Apparently, he had been in a pillow fight and had fallen off the top bunk, gashing his head on the way down. At least having a crew member with a bandaged head made a change! By the time we reached Marsworth our friends had long since given up waiting for us and had started their journey home. The trip down the Aylesbury Arm started well, but soon developed into the most frightening experience we have ever had in our many years of boating.
Ouse News Page 9 As we descended the Marsworth flight, a little girl from another boat shut a lock gate in our face and was duly told off by Garth. She ran past us back to her boat crying and there was a bellow of protest from her father. It was at this point that Garth thought that he would diffuse the situation by helpfully extending a middle digit in the father’s direction. The man, who was shaven-headed, tattooed all over and built like a gorilla ran down the towpath, leaped onto the back deck of Poppy, chasing Garth down into the cabin. It was quite obvious from the shouting and banging that a pretty serious fight was going on and so I made an enormous one-legged leap into the reedbed on the far side of the canal, hopped along the bank, hopped over the lock gate and made another giant one-legged leap onto Poppy to give Garth a hand. With me flailing my windlass around on one side and Garth thrashing around with a truncheon on the other, we eventually got the man off of the boat without anybody sustaining any serious damage. However, the incident left us all severely shaken and I shall never forget the look of fear on the ashen faces of the wives and children as they lined up on the towpath awaiting the outcome of the battle. After a very pleasant overnight stay in Aylesbury basin and a recuperative swim in the local pool, we began the journey home. You may recall that 1990 was one of a series of baking hot summers with temperatures well into the nineties for weeks on end. By this time, the heat really was getting to us and so we decided to moor up under the shade of a tree during the hottest part of the day and move on during the cool of the evening. The heat had also got at the Dynastart on Poppy’s engine, leaving them without propulsion or power. We then reverted to towing Poppy once again, only this time line-astern in the narrow locks. The plan worked well until we got back to the Marsworth flight at dusk, only to find that the paddles had been left open and all the pounds were empty. We began the long task of cascading water back down from the mainline, an exercise that took several hours by which time it was pitch black. Cont’d on page 14
Ouse News Page 10 A sojourn to the Arctic – in search of the Northern Lights
It was the afternoon of Thursday, 23 February when we cast off from Southampton aboard MS Boudica bound for the frozen north. The idea of spending some time in northern Norway, well inside the Arctic Circle in winter, was at the same time exciting and daunting, wondering if we would find the elusive northern lights and just how cold it was about to become! The first day was spent cruising across the North Sea to Bergen and was a rough passage, many seasoned sailors not making it to dinner on the first night. Your correspondent was not amongst their number; it takes a lot to put me off my food! Bergen is a lovely town with a very good fish market on the quay and typical multi-coloured buildings lining the street overlooking it. There is an impressive monument in one of the main squares, commemorating the country’s soldiers and sailors through the ages. Heading further north, after another day at sea, happily somewhat calmer, brought us to Trondheim. By now it was starting to get colder and we were coming to realise where we were! Trondheim is another of Norway’s major cities although very much smaller than cities as we understand them. The further north you travel in the country, the population becomes more thinly spread! Trondheim does, however, boast a small but remarkable cathedral by the side of the main waterway into the city.
Ouse News Page 11 Another day at sea, fortunately calm, heading to Tromso and on the way, crossing the Arctic Circle at 66° 33´ 44´´ north. Here there is a marker on a small island showing the position. It’s a bleak place but the weather was fine although there was always the increasing chill in the air. This cooled as we headed further north especially with the wind chill factor which was starting to make its mark. However, once inside the Arctic the prospect of seeing the northern lights became real! Tromso is the largest of the northern Norwegian towns and boasts a museum giving a very detailed history of Roald Amundsen, arguably the most well known Norwegian and the man who famously beat Scott to the Pole. There is also a church, known as the Arctic Cathedral set at the foot of some spectacular mountains. The pavements in the main streets are kept clear of snow by under-street heating fed from natural hot springs. The rest are treacherous when covered in snow; although the Norwegians have a technique of walking on them that comes with a lifetime of living with this amount of snow! As is the norm with cruises, the food, service and entertainment were superb, so it was after this that most made vigil on deck in search of the northern lights (some until the early hours of the morning). Alas at this stage they were absent. Experts advised that they show up better on a camera than to the naked eye. That being the case, it is difficult to see how anyone knows when and where to point the camera! Two days in Tromso failed to reveal the increasingly elusive lights!
Ouse News Page 12 So off to points further north at Alta; a smaller town, almost as far north as you can get in this wonderful country. It was cold here, particularly with the vicious wind chill factor. It was interesting to see the reactions of some of the crew, particularly the waiters and cabin staff. Coming, some from India and a great proportion of them from the Philippines, many of them had never seen snow before and wanted to know if we had this in England too! After yet more late night vigils there was still no sign of the lights. Now the start of the journey home began with a full day at sea and the further south we travelled, the less the chance of seeing the lights. Back across the Arctic Circle we went after more fruitless vigils. Still a chance, although diminishing now. Then arriving in Alesund, a charming town sporting a new arctic small wildlife centre where we were treated with the sight of some remarkable fish in huge aquaria, where you can come face to face with some amazing fish! The penguins were up to their mischievous reputation. Whilst we thought it was cold in Norway at this time of year, by the time we were back down to Alesund it was less so and by now it was early March. Talking to some of the local people (who fortunately all speak better English than we do) it seems that it has been rather too warm for them over the last 3 years or so. Children here, especially further north, are said “to be born with skis on”. Generally they have to learn to ski at an early age to be able to get around later. However, temperatures have been a little higher, i.e. 5°C instead of the usual -5°C. There was not the snow there should have been. Hence the children were not learning to ski, which was a concern for them in the future if the snow returns and they have not developed their skill on skis.
Ouse News Page 13 Now heading further south to Stavanger and still no lights! Here we took a trip on a smaller boat into Lysefjord. There were some spectacular cliffs at the summit of one, a feature called the Pulpit Rock. This is a piece of rock with a flat surface on the top at the edge of a cliff above the fjord 604m below. It attracts thousands of visitors every year and there is no barrier around it. Here people know how to be careful and things are not spoiled by a Norwegian H & S E wanting to close everything that they can! At the time of writing nobody has fallen off. So, finally coming to the end of this cruise, of which by necessity, this has been a much truncated account, we headed back to Southampton. We never did see the northern lights, what a pity; we will just have to try again! John Hodgson Freight Waterways in East Anglia There have been a number of movements of freight on East Anglian waterways in recent months. There has been a trial run moving sewage sludge from Ely to Clenchwarton near Kings Lynn, although the outcome is not known. One thing I did see, was some sheet piling being moved by water from Clayhithe to Milton ready for the new staging being constructed at Baits Bite Lock. This was being carried out by Drake Towage, based at Peterborough. On a recent trip to the Norfolk Broads, I saw building materials and rubbish being transported by barge. A cargo of cement has also been shipped from Ipswich to Burton- upon-Stather on the River Trent. I recently suggested that the subject for the readers’ debate in the magazine Ships Monthly should be ‘The UK should make more use of inland waterways and coastal shipping’. This idea was accepted by the editor and a very good debate took place with two other readers responding, one being in favour of the motion and the other one against it. I was glad to be able to contribute as this subject had been chosen amongst others, and was in fact the last debate Robin Adams they had.
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(Plague Ship Continued)
Our progress was interrupted by a loud scream from Garth who had stepped into a pothole in the darkness, twisted his ankle and opened up an old wound. We duly carried Garth back to his boat and put the bucket of cold water back to good use. We arrived totally exhausted at the top lock well after midnight and pulled into the nearest mooring. However, when checking the ropes before getting into bed, I discovered that we had moored right behind the gorilla’s boat! As we were far too tired to move on that night, we set off at first light, pushing the boats off into the morning mist, only daring to start the engine when we were well clear of gorilla territory. The journey down to Watford progressed as well as can be expected, with the boats breasted-up and Garth assisting steering in the now familiar position with his foot in the bucket. However, we had one last disaster during our final lunch break at Cassiobury Park, when Mandy stepped off of the back deck carrying Russell, missed her footing and fell heavily, striking the baby’s head against the sharp edge of the steel piling. The wound looked awful, with the side of his head covered in yellow, purple and black bruising. Fortunately, although it looked terrible, the injury turned out to be relatively superficial, with no lasting damage. And so, we arrived at our final destination, left Garth to sort out his engine and thankfully caught the train home. Of the nine intrepid holiday makers who had set out, only Mandy remained unscathed, although she was totally distraught at the injury she had inadvertently inflicted on her baby brother. Any onlookers seeing our two crews saying our goodbyes as we parted must have been reminded of those old First World War photographs showing pathetic lines of soldiers, bandaged from head to foot, stumbling along with their hand on the shoulder of the man in front! Two bandaged knees, two bandaged ankles, two bandaged heads, a dodgy stomach, a chest infection and a traumatised daughter must surely be a record for a two week boating holiday! Looking back, I am amazed how, in the circumstances, we managed to complete a journey of some 118 miles and 166 locks in 16 days. However, we must have enjoyed it in some perverse sort of way, as we have so far gone on to clock up a further 21 happy years boating! Keith Alderton
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Branch News Winter Meetings are at 8 pm on Thursday evenings at the Cole’s Road Community Centre, Milton (North Cambridge) CB24 6BL.
Members & Visitors welcome. Our October meeting will be an illustrated talk by Ivan Cane, on the ‘North Walsham & Dilham Canal 1825-2025’ and will be held on:
T HURSDAY 25 TH O CTOBER 2012
Our November meeting will be an illustrated talk by Ian West, Chairman of the IWA Festivals Committee and will be held on:
T HURSDAY 22 ND N OVEMBER 2012
Our February meeting will be an illustrated talk by Mike Petty, C a m b r i d g e s h i r e R e s e a r c h e r, Lecturer & Historian on ‘The Great Flood of 1947’ and will be held on:
We welcome the following new members to the branch and hope they will introduce themselves to us when coming to an event or meeting: Mr P Ellis, Bedford Mr & Mrs B Elliott, Sandy, Bedfordshire Mr & Mrs D Cope, Bedford Mr & Mrs J Cowan, Barrington, Cambridge Mr & Mrs P Dixon, Moulton, Newmarket Mr A & Mrs A Gardner, Haddenham, Cambridgeshire Mr O Hockin & Miss C Prince, Swavesey, Cambs Mr P Dawkins, Soham, Ely Ms R H Nicol , Oakington, Cambridge
2013
Members who have moved to Branch
We are a small, friendly group and would welcome another committee member to help us organise meetings and events. Please contact the editor.
Dr P & Mrs G Thurlby, Great Wilbraham, Cambridge, Mr & Mrs T Clarke, Brickhill, Bedford
THURSDAY 28TH F EBRUARY
Ouse News Page 16 Obituaries Sadly, the deaths of two well-known friends of the local waterways have been reported recently: Charlie Fox, founder of Fox Narrowboats at March died at the end of February after a long illness. It is true to say that without the efforts of Charlie and the like, it is doubtful that the Middle Level ‘through route’ from the River Nene along Well Creek to Denver would now be open to navigation. Charlie’s contribution to the development of pleasure boating in the Fens has been legendary and he will be remembered with much gratitude by the many people he introduced to the waterways. Sid Merry, the last traditional eel catcher on the River Ouse also died in January. Sid netted eels in the Ely area for over 60 years. I remember discussing the subject of Roswell Pits with him when all the controversy was going on over the proposed moorings. He refuted the claim that the water would become stagnant with sewage as there was no flow from the pits, stating that ‘at times he could hardly row against the current to get under the bridge in order to fish in the lake’. He also said that in all that time he had never seen a Bittern in the Pits! Sid’s knowledge of these waters was second to none and his passing will be a sad loss to those interested in the history of the local waterways. Keith Alderton
Due to the ever increasing cost of producing and posting our newsletter, we would like to encourage more members to receive their copies of Ouse News electronically. If you are willing to do this for us, please contact tracy.higgin@waterways.org.uk who will be pleased to arrange it for you. Thank you for your help!
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Ouse News Page 19 Reach Fair - Saturday, 5th May 2012
Unfortunately, all the IWA activities for the weekend had to be cancelled due to heavy rain, swollen rivers and lock closures. We did, however, manage to get to Reach by car for our Saturday evening meal!
(Non-residential boats only)
Special Summer Deal for boats within 20 mile radius of Ely:Inboard Engine with gas or heating £125 Inboard engine with no gas or heating £110 Small boat with outboard only from £95 Return visit in all cases £20
Additional contact no: Ely Boat Chandlers -01353 663095 Our newsletter is printed by:
Phone 01638-613102 www.burwellprint.co.uk Registered Charity No. 1053026
Ouse News Page 20 Nathan Arnold, Rivers Manager, gave an illustrated talk after our AGM in March showing work being undertaken locally. St Neots Lock St Ives Lock
St Ives Lock
Bedford Lock
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 01494 783453