Towing Path Topics Newsletter of the Inland Waterways Association Lancashire & Cumbria Branch
January 2020
DISCLAIMER The views expressed in Towing Path Topics are not necessarily those of The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) or of its North West Region or of the Lancs and Cumbria Branch. They are, however published as being of interest to our members and readers. Nothing printed may be construed as policy or an official announcement unless so stated. The Association accepts no liability for any matter in this newsletter. No reproduction is permitted without acknowledgment. Cover: The Lune Aqueduct, Lancaster Canal
Photograph acknowledgements: Simon Bambridge John Hewerdine Wendy Humphreys Robin Yates CRT LCRP The editor
Copy date for next edition 10th April 2020
The editor retains the right to edit any article or letter submitted for publication. Editor: David Faulkner 22 Moorland Road, Langho, Blackburn BB6 8EX Tel. 01254 249265 Email david.faulkner@waterways.org.uk
Inland Waterways Association
Registered office: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA Registered as a charity (No. 212342) 2
Editor’s comment Welcome to the first ‘Towing Path Topics’ of the year. This edition gives you formal notice of our Branch Annual General Meeting in February; see page 36 onwards. I hope you can attend. Once again we have had to include some sad news—the death of an illustrious predecessor of mine, Eric Sadler. Audrey Smith’s tribute is on page 10; thanks to his son Ian for the photograph. I put a photograph of the Lune Aqueduct on the cover to mark the Lancaster Canal entering its 3rd century. The many diverse events which were part of last year’s bi-centenary celebrations showed how much the canal is loved and admired by so many. Rennie’s structure is rightly famous but it is good to see that other structures along the canal are receiving recognition such as the Red Wheel awarded to Hincaster Tunnel and the horse path, see page 12. It’s also good to see that the Canal & River Trust continue to maintain the canal, see page 24. Let’s hope that they achieve sufficient funding to protect our heritage. The Lancaster Canal Trust are certainly doing their bit to preserve and improve the Northern Reaches of the Lancaster Canal, see page 17 for an example of the conditions they sometimes work in. We have a novel item on page 30, a crossword from our vicechairman Tony Dunning. Perhaps it will while away a little time during these grey days that seem never ending at the moment
Thanks to all of our contributors. I always welcome any item that will add variety to the content of your newsletter so please send in anything you like –jokes, recipes, photographs, anything, please. Wishing you a happy and healthy 2020. David Faulkner Walk 1st February from Johnson’s Hillock Locks on the L&L Canal. See page 35 3
Branch Chair’s Report Well it is Towing Path Topics time again, it comes round really quickly and I always find this one strange as I am writing at the end of the year yet I am aware you won’t get the magazine until the New Year. I hope you all had a merry Christmas and wish you all a happy new year. 2019 was a very busy year with all the festivities for the Lancaster Canal bi centenary with your branch taking an active role in planning for this and in taking part. The year finished with a Lancashire Evening at the Lansil Club in Lancaster, with Sid Calderbank and Tacklers Tales entertaining us with Lancashire songs and poetry plus a few canal based songs. This was really a Lancaster Canal Trust event although it was organised by me! Thanks to all who came, we had a great time. That is it as far as bi-centenary events are concerned but there will be other events next year although they won’t have a bi-centenary theme. I do hope to work with Lancaster Canal Trust on some joint events in 2020 and then 2021 will be the 75 th anniversary of the forming of the IWA so there will be celebrations for that to plan. As soon as there are any details we will let you know. But it is not all about social activities although they are important. I continue to attend Lancaster Canal Trust meetings as the branch representative, these are held monthly and the main focus is always on restoration and in particular the First Furlong. This is nearing completion and will be another cause for celebration once it is done.
I also continue to attend the Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership meetings but I have missed a couple due to holidays. They are chaired by Audrey Smith although she intends to give that up this year; many thanks to Audrey for all the hard work she has put into the partnership and for what she has achieved. Quite a few people from our branch attended the IWA national AGM in Stoke-on-Trent. It was good to see Paul Rodgers there, we didn’t know it at the time but he has since been elected as National 4
Chairman and has agreed to come to our September social meeting. At the AGM it was good to see our treasurer and magazine editor, (plus sales helper and lots of other jobs), David Faulkner awarded a Richard Bird Medal for all the hard work he has put into our branch over the years, well done David. The AGM is a good opportunity to meet IWA officers and fellow members and to find out what is happening in IWA. For those who have never attended I urge you to give it a try. It is always the last Saturday in September and the business of the meeting is always preceded by presentations and followed by visits. This year I went on a visit to a pottery near the canal. Relationships with Canal and River Trust continue to improve and I have said a bit more about CRT elsewhere in this magazine. The branch nominated Friends of Kennet for a Marsh award and we were very pleased to hear that they were successful in winning the volunteer award. Unfortunately no one from the branch could attend the award ceremony but Alison Smedley from Head Office attended on our behalf. The branch has also nominated part of the Northern Reaches for inclusion as a Silver Propeller destination. We have all been reading about this scheme in our Waterways Magazine and I have just heard that our application has been successful, look out for more information in Waterways and your bulletin. We hope it will encourage more people to come to the Northern Reaches. I want to take the opportunity to thank all the members of the committee who have worked so hard this year as well as others in the background who have supported our branch over the year, without you all we could not carry on. Tony and Janet Dunning are a great help at social meetings, thanks to them for that and for Janet for her role as membership secretary and Tony for supporting me as vice-chair. Then Audrey Smith who offers lots of support and experience to help me in my role as chair. David Faulkner has been brilliant as newspaper editor and treasurer, 5
both time consuming tasks but they have to be done, I was particularly pleased for our branch to nominate David for a Richard Bird Medal, it was very well deserved. Then there is our region chair, Sir Robert Atkins who usually attends our committee meetings as he lives in our area, thanks are due to him for all his efforts and support. We are also fortunate in our secretary Maralyn Nott who makes a great job doing the administration for our branch and for our meetings, thanks for this. Jim Nott has been our Planning Officer, a position which he has taken very seriously, making contact will all the planning authorities in our area and picking out projects that affect the canal and commenting on them. Jim has worked really hard and put a lot of time into carrying out the role, many thanks to Jim. I am sorry to say that Jim has resigned as Planning Officer although he will stay on our committee, so we now have a vacancy for planning officer. If anyone wants to take up that role they would be very welcome and it isn’t always necessary to attend our committee meetings to carry out that role. We also have vacancies for other committee roles including a Sales Officer. Some people are doing more than one role so here is my usual plea for more committee members, remember the more people we have the more we can do. Our social meetings continue to be popular and I am starting to think about the next year, September to April, if anyone has any ideas for speakers please let me know. I also hope to plan another outing as the one this year to the Lune Aqueduct was very popular. And finally we had a very successful Christmas meal at the Hoghton Arms on Thursday the 12th of December, an important day for lots of other reasons! The meal was very good and so was the company, thanks to everyone who attended and to those who wore their Christmas jumpers and thanks also to John Hewerdine for as always having his camera at the ready. So I will close by wishing you all a happy new year and I hope to see lots of you at waterways events during the year. Wendy Humphreys 6
Richard Bird medal for David Faulkner (The committee have insisted that I put in a copy of the branch submission to H.O Ed)
David has been an IWA member since at least the 1980s.(Actually 1977) During his time as a member he and his wife came to all of our social meetings and events and offered support to the branch committee. David was a committee member for many years before pursuing other activities. He re-joined the branch committee in March 2015 and immediately volunteered to become editor of Towing Path Topics and produces 3 magazines a year to a very high standard. In 2016 David volunteered to become treasurer, he has worked hard at that role and done a very good job. At branch events David has always been a great help with setting up and dismantling the stand and taking his place on the branch stand to promote the IWA and the branch, he has attended most if not all of the sales and publicity events we have taken part in. At social meetings he always plays a role in welcoming members Without the support of committee members such as David the branch would not be able to function as well as it does and would certainly not be able to hold as many events and activities as it does. The branch would like to propose David as a recipient of the Richard Bird medal for all the hard work and long term commitment he has shown to the IWA and in particular for the cheerful, helpful way he carries out everything he does.
David in grasping treasurer mode 7
REPORT FROM THE REGIONAL CHAIRMAN
My wife and I recently celebrated our Golden Wedding Anniversary (I will take the congratulations as read!) but it reminded us that we had first met on a narrowboat in 1968. It was a 72 ft former Ovaltine workboat called the “Almighty� and was pretty basic in its creature comforts - chemical loo in a bucket etc.! There were eight of us on the vessel and, amongst other shenanigans, we set a world record time for traversing the famous Northampton Flight of locks. Absolutely true - it was in the Guinness Book of Records - and we raised money for charity. But 50 years ago the canals were very different to today - underused, under-resourced and, in many cases, derelict or out of commission. We have come a long way since then and it is to the great credit of members and boaters like you that the situation has improved so much. The IWA Trustees always want to know what you think about the waterways issues of the day, whether by way of User Forums, branch meetings or a pertinent e-mail. Please do keep in touch. You have an excellent, representative and hard-working Branch Committee and your chairman is very active in communicating about the issues of the day. The Trustees have just been informed that the present Chief Executive of IWA, Neil Edwards, has decided to retire and we are now considering the existing terms of reference for that position and 8
any possible changes that might need to be made. Your thoughts and views would be a help. We have a new National Chairman in Paul Rodgers and now that the General Election is over - which took up six weeks of my time in my daughter’s constituency(!) - I shall be talking to him about regional and national concerns. And, of course, our thanks are due to his predecessor, Ivor Caplan, for his hard work and commitment on our collective behalf. And I make no apology for mentioning again that, consequent upon the retirement of our esteemed Regional Secretary, Alan Platt, there is a vacancy. As I have indicated before, not a particularly arduous task but a good working knowledge of waterways and its people would be a help. I take this opportunity to wish you all the best for the New Year and I do so with pleasure. We will be in the Seychelles on our Golden Wedding Anniversary cruise but I shall be thinking of you!
Following David’s death at the end of December ‘18 I am now getting round to thinking of getting some of “his clutter” sorted out and disposing of it in various ways.
We have a full collection of Waterways World magazines since they started – all very tidy and presentable. We also have a goodly number of Navvies – every one going back to issue 66 July/Aug 1977 And – finally – there is a collection of the Card Collectors magazine [Gongoozler] going back to July 1982. Audrey Smith (See page 43 for Audrey’s contact details) 9
Eric Sadler [1927 – 2019] - a tribute from Audrey Smith
I first met Eric Sadler in Sep 1977 when David and I came along to our first branch meeting here in Lancashire. Suffice to say we have been close friends ever since. At that time Eric was editor of Towing Path Topics. Technology was very different in those days and Eric’s wife, Mildred, typed all the submissions onto Gestetner sheets and Eric had them printed off. A group of us then spent an evening at their house collating, stapling and folding and finally stuffing them into envelopes. Mildred produced prepared sticky labels which were then stuck on the envelopes. The following day Eric would take them all to his local post office. At that time both families owned identical fibreglass boats – Creighton 32ft – built in Nelson and we regularly cruised together. BW bank staff were surprised if they saw Muffin Too moored up without Zigeuner. Passage of Wigan Flight was agreed at the beginning and end of every season as they greatly welcomed the extra 3 teenager crew members that we brought to the party! My mind goes back to trips to York and Ripon when our youngest “abandoned ship” and moved on to the Sadler’s boat so that he could steer and “be in charge” without a big brother telling him how it should be done. In retirement Eric bought a steel shell and fitted it out as we had done a 10
few years earlier so off we went again to Peterborough, Bedford and Cambridge and other far-flung places. The NW Region was particularly active in those days and we had regular campaigning events in Castlefields; annual dinghy rallies on the Northern Reaches of the Lancaster Canal, in addition to supporting campaigns for the restoration of the Rochdale and Huddersfield canals. We hosted the IWA National Rally at Wigan in 1983 and in Salford in 1998 and the Smith/Sadler team were always an integral part of the delivery team. Eventually Eric and Mildred decided to sell their beloved boat and used the proceeds to sail the high seas but they still were active branch members until they moved to Scotland to be nearer to their son and his family. David and I visited them in Pitlochry on a number of occasions and I know our present Editor, when visiting Scotland, has received a warm welcome too. Our Branch would have been so much poorer without the Sadler family input – Eric was always smiling, always ready to offer his skills, a loyal friend and so very committed to the IWA. Derek Humphreys remembers Eric as a very enthusiastic member of the branch; always keen to volunteer for work parties particularly clean up sessions and made his own grappling irons for the purpose. Your editor and former branch member John Enser and his wife Rein were able to represent the IWA at Eric’s funeral in Pitlochry in October.
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Hincaster Tunnel on the Lancaster Canal Northern Reaches Awarded Red Wheel Plaque In September the Transport Trust acknowledged the heritage value of Hincaster Tunnel and its horse path, by awarding it a Red Wheel plaque. The event was organised by Bill Froggatt, Heritage Adviser at Canal and River Trust, who also provided guests with a fascinating presentation on the Tunnel's history before the plaque was unveiled by Cllr Dyan Jones, SLDC Cabinet Member and portfolio holder for localism and climate resilience. Guests, including Richard Parry, CEO of Canal and River Trust, then walked south towards Stainton, passing the site of Lancaster Canal Trust’s First Furlong worksite – and finally having a chance to see progress at Stainton Aqueduct.
Richard Parry CRT, Rob Shorland-Ball from the Transport Trust, William Froggat CRT, Dyan Jones, South Lakeland District Council and Peter Stone, Transport Trust. (Thanks to CRT for the photographs and to LCRP for the commentary. Ed)
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Similar plaque on the Lune Aqueduct, the largest allmasonry aqueduct in Britain. One of 100 red wheels on structures of important engineering and transport development.
The horse path over the tunnel from one end of to the other. 13
Lancaster Canal Trust Lancaster Canal Trust volunteers have been working hard on the First Furlong and the end is now in sight. The lining is almost complete and the last block is about to be laid, there might be some celebrations around that. There will still have to be stillage, (leakage), tests but hopefully the stretch will soon be open and the Trust can move on to other restoration projects.
2019 was a very busy year for LCT, there were lots of bi-centenary celebrations and the final one was a Lancashire Night and Hot Pot Supper at the Lansil Club in Lancaster where we were entertained by Tacklers Tales. We all enjoyed the evening although not as many people attended as we would have wished but those that did really enjoyed it. The bi-centenary celebrations have been hard work but lots of fun and it has been good to meet new people all of whom care about the canal and want to see it restored. The Milestone Project was an important part of the bicentenary events and CRT are working on erecting the remaining milestones, two more have been erected in the last couple of months, it will be good to see them all in place as a lasting legacy for the bicentenary. LCT has a new social and publicity group who will be planning activities for 2020, building on the success of 2019. News of events will be on the LCT website, lctrust.co.uk and hopefully in future editions of Towing Path Topics. IWA members are more than welcome to attend. LCT has two new gazebos, they are similar to the new IWA gazebo and they are more light and airy than the old ones. They include a map as these always draw lots of attention from the public . Look out for them at events. There are one or two days you can put in your diary for 2020 already, they are Country Fest on Saturday and Sunday, 30 th and 31st of May, LCT will be there with their new stand and there will be the trip boat. Then there will be the Westmorland Show on September 10 th where LCT will be there again. Volunteers are always needed for these 14
events so if you can help let LCT know. LCT will also be taking part in Heritage Open days which run from the 10th to the 20th of September although we don’t have the detail of events as yet. The Block Appeal is still running for those who want to help with the First Furlong but don’t want to join in with work parties. The blocks cost £1 each and approximately 23,940 blocks are required. Please will you assist in this major task by purchasing as many blocks as you can? And for those who wish to lay their own blocks that opportunity is available, just phone 01539 733252 to make the arrangements; as at September they had raised nearly £13,000 and laid over 22,000 blocks. (LCT has purchased some blocks using its own funds, that’s why more have been laid than the amount raised). You can send your payment by cheque to Lancaster Canal Trust, Lancaster District CVS, The Cornerstone, Sulyard Street, Lancaster LA1 1PX or you can check out the website for other ways to donate. And don’t forget to complete the gift aid form if appropriate. LCT produce a magazine twice a year for their members, this is called Waterwitch and the next copy date will be around April. If any one has any articles they would like to see included please get in touch with the editor at editor@lancastercanaltrust.org.uk . Waterwitch the trip boat is put away now for winter but it will be operating again in the summer months and hopefully will be sailing along the First Furlong. The crew of Waterwitch were asked to sail along the canal over the Stainton Aqueduct to test the depth and were happy to oblige. The repairs at Stainton Aqueduct are almost complete and the latest news about it is reported on the Stainton Aqueduct Facebook page for those of you who do Facebook. There has also been a lot of work at Hincaster Tunnel, this has been helped by Carrie House the project officer for Community
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Engagement, and she has built up a team of volunteers who have worked with LCT volunteers on stone walling and vegetation clearing. All in all a busy year for LCT and the canal, but there is a lot more to do! Wendy Humphreys
Silver Propeller Challenge, new location agreed at Stainton on the Northern Reaches Your branch, with the support of Lancaster Canal Trust has recently made an application to IWA Trustees to have part of the Northern Reaches included as an IWA Silver Propeller Challenge, and we can confirm that the application has been approved We pointed out to the Trustees that including part of the Northern Reaches as a Silver Propeller Challenge location would have massive benefits, including: It would get more users on the water. · Hopefully some trail boaters would come, there is a slipway at Millness. · For those without a boat there is the Lancaster Canal Trust trip boat, Waterwitch. It would interest more people in the restoration of the Northern Reaches and increased use will support the efforts of The Lancaster Canal Trust to reopen the canal to Kendal. It would increase visitors to Hincaster Tunnel, its Horse Path and Stainton Aqueduct. · Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership have been successful in promoting improvements to the tow path which are due to start soon.
The Silver Propeller challenge was implemented before the 2019 Trail Boat Festival so boats attending could claim it. It is great news that Stainton will be included as a Silver Propeller Challenge. Tewitfield Marina is already included and now we have a location on the Northern Reaches, let’s hope waterways users will rise to the challenge! And if you do be sure to let us know and send a picture.
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Laying blocks on the first furlong.
(Hmmm…..perhaps easier to buy a few blocks after all. Ed)
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Lancaster
Canal & River Trust, Cumbria County Council, IWA, Kendal Town Council, Lancs County Council, Lancaster Canal Trust
Canal
Regeneration Partnership
The following items are taken from the LCRP newsletter with permission
In 2019, we said goodbye to LCRP’s first ever Project Manager Helen Moriarty, who now has a second daughter, Isla. Since joining us in 2016, Helen has raised the profile of LCRP and made a number of successful grant bids on our behalf. On behalf of the Partnership and our community, we thank her and wish her growing family well. In April, we appointed Morecambe Bay Partnership to deliver the future project management of the Lancaster Canal Towpath Trail. Richard Frank takes the lead role as Project Manager for LCRP. In addition to Richard's skills, the support of Morecambe Bay Partnership brings extensive experience regarding access, interpretation and heritage projects. Richard can be contacted via lcrp.richard@outlook.com A National Heritage Lottery Fund grant that has helped pay for repairs to the Stainton Aqueduct included funding for a Community Engagement Officer for a period of 2 years linked to the three historic structures along the Northern Reaches, namely Stainton Aqueduct, Sedgwick Aqueduct and Hincaster Tunnel.
Carrie House has been in post for some 6 months and she has organised a variety of community activities including dry stone walling, oral history sessions, bat walks and 18
various maintenance jobs involving scouts and local residents. We look forward to having a pool of local talent to continue taking care of these fabulous local assets and the canal towpath and its environs in the future. For opportunities to volunteer and get involved in community projects contact Carrie. Email: carrie.house@canalrivertrust.org.uk The successful NHLF bid gained in 2018 saw contractors on site at Stainton Aqueduct for almost 12 months. The weather was not always been kind to them and there was a period over the winter when they were off site for some three months. All the fencing and clutter of a worksite is now gone. For the latest progress see the Stainton Aqueduct Facebook page.
Rebuilt to withstand the next ‘storm Desmond’ and last at least 200 years, we hope.
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Dry stone walling volunteers in action After completing one of the three Dry Stone Walling Association courses that have been funded by the NLHF project, 10 volunteers have now been recruited to help with work along the canal towpath. Work parties have done a fantastic job uncovering the damaged wall by Bridge 173 at Stainton and rebuilding it.
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No small task! What have we taken on?!!
Left The wall was hidden beneath the undergrowth
Bottom Job done!
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Scouts at Hincaster Tunnel
Over 20 Lonsdale Explorer Scouts and their leaders volunteered for 2 days during the summer with Carrie to clear brambles and annual plants from the bed of the canal at the west portal and improved the view by removing overhanging branches. They also removed vegetation from dry stone walls on the west slope of the horse path, helped David Gibson (Lancaster Canal Trust) rake up cut grass and ate nearly 70 hotdogs. (Yes, that’s scouts! Ed)
Above Before & after The Scouts received a Lancaster Canal volunteer badge in recognition of their hard work. They did a fantastic job – thank you.
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IWA Merchandise trial During 2019 our branch took part in a trial of new IWA merchandise which we offered for sale at events we attended. Head Office have sent initial results of the trial. Nine branches took part in the trial, attending 26 events. In addition, merchandise was taken to Cavalcade, Trailboat Festival and Festival of Water. Only three branches notified any membership recruitment at events, meaning that over 48 days of event attendance we attracted only nine new memberships. The overall opinion was that the merchandise looked attractive and helped to improve the look of the gazebo’s appearance to the general public. However, most of the branches felt that the merchandise designs were too corporate and would only appeal to, at most, existing IWA members. There was a general view that, had the designs been more ‘waterway’ or ‘boating’ based, they would potentially have had more appeal to non IWA members. Several branches stated that the pens, button badges and bookmarks would have been better as marketing giveaways. On pricing, comparisons drawn with budget outlets on the high street suggested that we did not adequately explain the purpose of the merchandise trial as a charity marketing and recruitment aid. In fact, all the suggested selling prices were pitched below similar branded items offered by RNLI, but apparently we did not make it clear enough that participating branches also had complete flexibility to amend prices or use as promotional giveaways as they saw fit Head Office will now go away and come up with some new designs. Meanwhile there is quite a lot of stock left so expect some bargain prices at future social meetings and branch events. (Ed)
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CRT are currently working on the Lune Aqueduct embankments
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Regeneration of Lancaster Canal Quarter Lancaster City Council are currently considering the future development of the Canal Quarter within the City and representatives of the Canal & River Trust, the Inland Waterways Association, Lancaster Canal Trust and LCRP’s chair have attended a number of consultation gatherings to share their expertise. We have expressed concern about the use of the canal towpath as part of cycle ‘superhighways’. Increased use by cycles at commuter times could be a problem for pedestrians on some parts of the towpath, especially if electric scooters are allowed in the future. It’s fair to say there are mixed views about sharing towpaths with cyclists (well, some cyclists).
The height of the balustrade on the Lune aqueduct has been raised as a potential hazard but it looks safe enough from the above. Normally there’s nothing to stop you falling into the canal of course.
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Friends of Kennet win Volunteering Award IWA Lancashire & Cumbria Branch nominated Friends of Kennet (part of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society) for the National Historic Ships Marsh Volunteer Awards, for their hard work and commitment in restoring and operating Leeds & Liverpool short boat Kennet. Kennet is the only surviving Leeds & Liverpool Canal short boat which is in community ownership and is accessible to the public. The branch was thrilled when Friends of Kennet won the 'Engaging the Public' category of the awards, presented at a reception held at Queens House in Greenwich on Tuesday 26th November. The award, which is supported by the Marsh Christian Trust, is made to an individual volunteer or a group of volunteers who have made a significant contribution to a historic vessel through engaging the public and comes with a £500 prize which Friends of Kennet will put towards the running cost of the boat. Wendy Humphreys, Branch Chairman, said “We nominated Kennet as it is an historic boat well known to our branch and much valued by our members who have seen it in operation. The Friends of Kennet work so hard to maintain Kennet and to make it an important part of promoting waterways and historic boats to the public and especially as an education resource. We have been particularly pleased this year to work with the Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society and the Friends of Kennet in celebrating the bi-centenary of the opening of the Lancaster Canal.”
Alison Smedley, representing IWA; Colin Thunhurst of Friends of Kennet and vice-chair of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal Society receiving the award from Brian Marsh of the Marsh Christian Trust.
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Restoration Showcase at Albert Dock Liverpool This was organised by IWA Chester and Merseyside Branch and they have provided this report.
The Waterways Restoration Showcase, held on the Daniel Adamson Steam Ship over the weekend of 21st/22nd September at the Albert Dock in Liverpool was a great success with approximately 600 people welcomed aboard across the two days. The Societies present included the Montgomery Canal, the Shrewsbury & Newport Canal, Runcorn Locks Restoration, Lancaster Canal, River Weaver and the Sankey Canal. Each of these societies brought display boards for the public to look at and volunteer staff were there to chat with them and answer questions. The IWA Chester & Merseyside stand was also present on the promenade deck and there was a welcoming IWA branded gazebo on the dockside. Canal and River Trust User Group Meeting November 2019 On the 21st of November I attended a user group meeting in Manchester. The restructure at CRT seems to be settled now with most people in place, some new employees and some who have been with CRT (formerly BWB) for many years. The ones I met at the user group meeting seemed knowledgeable and keen on waterways, so that is good. Some of them did say that they have spent some time bedding down in their new jobs and finding their feet; they are now ready to meet people and start making a difference. I met Angela Parkinson-Green who is the new waterways manager for the Lancaster Canal and we had quite a chat, she has an engineering background and noted how beautiful the Lancaster Canal is. CRT also provided a copy of their new structure in the North West; all the posts are now filled and I recognise a lot of the names.
It is no surprise that CRT want to focus on well-being, they showed their new advertisement which I hadn’t seen before, quite a catchy advert showing the health benefits of the waterways for all users. This agenda for all is how they will attract funding. 27
Another focus is on volunteering, they are doing a lot with volunteers and trying hard to recruit more volunteers. CRT said they are having another look at vegetation management; they recognise that they haven’t been getting it right so are going to make changes. I think that will be good news for some of us who haven’t appreciated the growth along the water’s edge. Then CRT talked about the projects they are undertaking in the North West and there are a lot! Some of the completed ones in our area include Finsley Gate, and the ongoing ones include the work at Stainton Aqueduct and the relining at the Lune Aqueduct. There are other projects such as dealing with the sea lock gates at Glasson Dock which are upcoming. All in all the North West is getting a lot of resources. Toddbrook reservoir took up a lot of resources, we all saw that in the news and held our breath until the danger was over and there is an investigation going on. Any plan to deal with this cannot be formed until the investigation is complete; we were warned to expect restrictions because of lack of water. Then we had a ‘meet the managers’ session, where most of the new area managers talked to us about themselves and what they hope to achieve. I have already mentioned Angela, the other manager for our area is Mark Overurn for the Leeds and Liverpool Canal central. Magnet fishing was discussed, this is becoming quite a problem. People are using magnets and grappling irons to pull things out of the canal but are not always doing it in a responsible way. Items of value are taken away but other things are often just left at the side of the canal and can cause problems for tow path users with jagged metal edges for example, not to mention the possibility of them being thrown back in. CRT ask people to report any piles of rubbish at the side of the canal to them. I found the meeting useful and it is always good to meet other canal enthusiasts. Wendy Humphreys
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WRG 2020 Canal Camps Programme The IWA’s Waterway Recovery Group (WRG) has launched its new 2020 Canal Camp programme featuring 20 Canal Camps and a number of weekends across England and Wales. For 2020, WRG has chosen to run targeted Canal Camps on fewer sites but with more weeks at each. Sites include Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation, Cotswold Canals, Derby Canal, Lichfield Canal, River Waveney, Swansea Canal, Way & Arun Canal and Wilts & Berks Canal. Commenting on this new approach, Mike Palmer, Chairman, Waterway Recovery Group says, “Over the past ten years, we have been consistently expanding the number of work sites that we visit during our working holiday programme. This has worked well and has enabled us to help many different canal trusts but it does mean that we can only make a limited amount of progress at each of the sites. This year, we are reducing the number of canals that we visit but will be staying at each for a number of weeks to really help break the back of some more in-depth work such as bridge repairs, lock restoration, channel excavation and brickwork. We are hoping to not only bring significant support to each of the canals we visit, but also to give our volunteers the opportunity to learn new skills.” Canal Camps run for seven days and cost just £70 per person, per week. The cost includes three meals a day – a cooked breakfast, lunch on site and a substantial home cooked evening meal, plus an endless supply of tea and cake. Accommodation is usually in a village hall or scout hut and volunteers need to bring their own camp bed. All transfers to and from the work site are included but volunteers will need to make their own way to the camp location. If travelling by public transport, volunteers can be collected from the nearest railway station. First time volunteers will receive one year’s free subscription to WRG’s ‘Navvies’ magazine. To read the 2020 Canal Camps brochure online, or to request a copy, please visit: www.waterways.org.uk/wrg/canal_camps
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CROSSWORD
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3 VIEW (3)
1 EARLY CALCULATING MACHINE (6)
7 RUB (6) 8 CELESTIAL BODY (6) 9 RABBIT'S TAIL (4)
10 SPECIALIST SCHOOL (3) 12 VEHICLE (4) 13 RULER (4) 15 AFTERNOON MEAL (3)
17 STARE (4) 19 PRIME (3) 20 CHILLING SOLID (3) 21 OXIDISED IRON (4)
2 FOOD (4) 3 UNDERGROUND RESIDENCE (4) 4 TALE OF A HERO (4) 5 DESIRE (4) 6 LEAVE (6) 11 TIME OF DAY (3) 13 ANAGRAM OF 14 (3) 14 MAMMAL (3) 15 SOUNDS LIKE 15 ACROSS (3) 16 “ON A G STRING” (3)
23 LISTENING DEVICE (3)
17 OLD UK COMPANY, DEFUNCT 1999 (3)
25 CONTAINER (4)
18 COMPASS POINT (3)
27 UNWANTED RESIIDUE (4) 29 AN ANSWER (3)
22 EMPTY SPACE INSIDE CONTAINER (6)
31 ANAGRAM OF 31 DOWN (4)
24 MEASUREMENT OF TIME (3)
32 MAKE WORSE (6)
26 NOISE IN A PIPE (6)
33 PLEASED APPROVAL (6)
28 DAMAGING PARTIICLE (4)
34 SOLO (3)
29 TOY (4) 30 HERB (4) 31 ANAGRAM OF 31 ACROSS (4)
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From Liverpool to Goole by bike Simon Bambridge and his companion David cycled from Liverpool to
Goole, 180 miles in 4 days.
In brief, we started on Saturday 5th October with trains from Bishops Stortford @ 5 am to London, Liverpool Street, cycled to Euston to catch train to Liverpool Lime Street. Once there, see the sights of Liverpool Docks and the famous Antony Gormley statues at Crosby Beach. Hit the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and ride; towpaths are excellent; pubs on the way; wild camping on a quiet lock, ideally right next to a pub. Massive thanks to Kirkless Arms at the top of Wigan Flight for good beer & a good laugh. Wild camped next to lock, outstanding. Monsoon rains didn’t dampen our spirits, Although launderettes came in handy for drying kit due to condensation/rain. Again wild camped next to a lock, wonderfully quiet and chilled for a nights peaceful sleep. Through Leeds, and then on towards Goole via Aire & Calder Navigation. (Slight detour from canal to Kings Head, Pollington for an absolute wonderful welcome, food, beer and crashed out in their garden; can’t praise Emma & Co enough for caring for muddy weary/hungry/thirsty travellers.) Few (or quite a few/loads of) beers in Goole, train back home to Henham/ Bishops Stortford. I can’t get over how fantastic it is to see our country by canal. 4 days, 180 miles of laughter and great boating people/pubs/ cafes. Can’t believe more people don’t do this. Simon & David When wild camping we are always careful to be discrete, respectful, pitch late, break camp really early, leave no trace, no fires and be prepared to move without hesitation if asked to do so. 32
Albert Dock
Crosby Beach.
3 miles to Leeds The Humber.
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Branch Christmas Meal, Hoghton Arms, December 2019
20 of us enjoyed a good meal and good company.
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Walk on the Lancaster Canal, 1st February 2020 As a follow up to the walk at the Region meeting last March there will be another, longer walk along the southern end of the Lancaster Canal starting at Johnson’s Hillock Locks. This walk will be led by Nigel Hardacre from the Lancaster Canal Trust and IWA. It takes a circular route ‘down’ the 6 locks, at Johnsons Hillock, and then turns onto the Walton summit branch (former Lancaster Canal). There is an option at this point for those who do not want the longer walk to return to the Top Lock pub, this will make a smaller 1.5 mile route. The main 6 mile route then follows footpaths and goes alongside the dry canal bed, through the M61 subway tunnel and under the old canal bed /aqueduct where the river Lostock flows through. We will be able to see both Whittle Hills tunnels as the route continues through Whittle to the old Duke of York basin. The highest point of the route at Brindle affords good views of Lancashire, and further afield. We will pass through ‘Top O th’ Lane’ and head back towards the L&L Canal as we cross the valley of the river Lostock. The last part continues back along the towpath to the Top Lock pub The Top Lock pub have kindly agreed that we can leave our cars there although there is some street parking as well and we hope that some of us will have a drink and possibly food before and/or after the walk. The Top Lock serves breakfast from 10am until 12 and other food from 12 onwards all day. Hiking boots are essential and please wear appropriate outdoor clothing/waterproofs, it is February after all. This is a pleasant walk and winter gives the best views. Meet at the Top Lock which is open from 10am for an 11am start. It is possible to just turn up for the walk but it would be better if you can let me know you are coming so we have an idea of numbers and it would help if you can give me your mobile number in case of any problems. My phone number is 07763561572 and my email is delwendwhm@btinternet.com Wendy Humphreys
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IWA LANCASHIRE & CUMBRIA BRANCH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Annual General Meeting of the IWA Lancashire and Cumbria Branch will be held at St Chad’s Parish Centre, 235 Town Lane, Whittle-le-Woods, Chorley PR6 8AJ on Thursday 27th February 2020 starting at 7:30 pm AGENDA 1: Apologies for absence 2: Present 3: Approval of minutes of the previous AGM held on 28th February 2019 4: Matters Arising 5: Chairman’s Report 6: Treasurer’s Report 7: Election/re-election to the Committee: Under the three year rule there are no committee members eligible for re-election. Applications to join the committee are welcomed. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 28th February 2019 in St Chad’s Parish Centre, Whittle-le-Woods, Chorley. 1. Apologies: Beryl Bowcott, Pat and Gordon Clapham 2. Present: Wendy and Derek Humphreys, Tony and Janet Dunning, David Faulkner, Sir Robert Atkins, Jim and Maralyn Nott, Audrey and Gillian Smith, Peter Simmonds, Barry Horner, Dave and Yvonne Hargreaves, Dorothy and John Hewerdine and Malcolm Sterratt. 3. Minutes of the AGM held on 22nd February 2018: The minutes were accepted as a true record. Proposed by Audrey Smith, Seconded by Tony Dunning
4. Matters rising: There were no matters arising 5. Chairman’s report (Wendy Humphreys): see Appendix 1 36
6. Regional Chairman’s report: (Sir Robert Atkins): Robert began by thanking Wendy and her team for their hard work in the last year. He spoke of his time as Waterways Minister, when he learned much from the National Chairman of IWA –Audrey Smith, and becoming President of the "Ribble Link" which has brought many advantages to Garstang and other parts of the Lancaster Canal. Since becoming regional chair he has met with local branches especially Lancs. and Cumbria and, as a Trustee, suggested on-line meetings initially for Trustees and now for regional meetings, which have been successful. He expressed concern that the minister should be kept aware of problems affecting the waterways. We need to keep our eyes open with regard to planning applications affecting the canals and he asked everyone to be alert and act as appropriate. He is trying to ensure that MPs are aware of the importance of canals. The last IWA AGM had problems but steps have been taken to avoid these in the future. Robert had a meeting with Daniel Greenhalgh to discuss questions posed by members. Daniel is still new to the job and Robert suggested inviting him to the regional social. Gap Tracker has been completed and the concerns analysed. There have been 126 complaints, mostly concerning Elsan emptying and rubbish collection. This is ongoing and will be used to pose questions to CRT and other agencies. In conclusion, Robert urged us to be alert to lobbying at local and national level. We need to be involved and to act. 7. Treasurer’s Report: David reported a loss of £2397. We contributed £2250 to LRCP towards the cost of a project officer and spent £367 on casting replacement L&L plaques. Sales of these were down last year due to closures because of lack of water. Our income was down as we had been able to attend fewer events. Expenditure was low and David thanked Wendy for finding good speakers at low expense. David mentioned the IWA 500 club which costs £12 per year for a number. Anyone interested can get more information from him. 37
The accounts were accepted. Proposed by Tony Dunning and seconded by Derek Humphreys 8. Election to the committee: Under the three year rule Wendy Humphreys, David Faulkner and Audrey Smith were due for re-election and were happy to stand again. Proposed by Tony Dunning and seconded by Jim Nott. There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting with some notices. Reminders of : LCT Social – March 12th Branch trip – Monday 17th June Region Social – April 6th Wendy is working with LCT to provide a programme of events for the 200th anniversary. This will be circulated when approved. Appendix 1 Chairman’s Report for AGM 2019 We have had another busy year in the branch, we have had a varied programme of speakers and the branch has been to several events.
We took the branch stand to Country Fest in June and then to Burscough Heritage Festival and the branch was represented at Scarisbrick Marina Festival. Thanks to all the people from the branch who helped organise and attend these events and in particular to the branch members who came along on the day to assist with the branch stand, we couldn’t do it without you. We also had the branch trip to Portland Basin and that was very popular, the weather was lovely and the trip along the Ashton Canal was lovely and made more interesting by the commentary given by Martin Clarke from the Ashton Canal Trust. I have planned another boat trip this year on the Lancaster Canal. We had a litter pick and a Balsam Bash at Haslam Park. Then the Christmas meal which we held at the Hoghton Arms, everyone who attended really enjoyed that and we will repeat it this year.
Other things we have carried out during the year include; • We commented on various planning applications relevant to the canals in our area, and thanks to Jim Nott for taking such a keen interest in planning matters. 38
• •
•
• • • •
We gave advice and support to members about issues affecting them relating to the Inland Waterways. I attended IWA North West Region meetings so that we can share ideas and issues with the other branches in the North West. These meetings are now held electronically so that means no travelling to and from those meetings. We continued to administer the Leeds to Liverpool plaques for those travelling the Canal from end to end. Thanks to Audrey Smith for this, not many takers in 2018 unfortunately due to the problems with water, let’s hope 2019 will be better. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal Society are holding their AGM on Saturday 2nd March at 2pm and I am sure they would welcome people to that event. We attended Lancaster Canal Regeneration Partnership meetings and look forward to working with their new project officer. I attended Lancaster Canal Trust trustees meetings and am working with them on plans for the 200th anniversary celebrations. We also started planning for the Trail Boat Festival, more of that later. We saw our area and branch featured in Waterways magazine.
Looking forward to 2019, I am starting to plan the social evenings for the season from September to April, look out in the next Towing Path Topics for further details. Those of us who were looking forward to hearing about the restoration of the Daniel Adamson will be pleased to know that we have booked the talk again for October this year, the Daniel Adamson will also be taking part in a restoration event at Albert Dock on the 21st and 22nd of September, the previous planned one fell through because of water shortages. Lancaster Canal Trust and LCRP will be there. The weather was very much against us in January of this year and although it was a hard decision to cancel the social meeting I think it was the correct decision. Thanks to Sue from St Chads and John Hewerdine for going to St Chads on the evening just in case anyone turned up, fortunately no-one did but the lesson for me after all the emails and phone calls is to say to people to check with me if the weather is bad in future. Hopefully it will not happen again and to my knowledge it hasn’t happened before. And of course 2019 is the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Lancaster Canal, we are very much involved in the planning for this and will participate as much as we can in the celebration events. CRT have a page about the Lancaster and the celebrations, it is worth looking at and celebration events will be detailed there. Lancaster Canal Trust and IWA are also working together to plan a series of celebration events, in fact just about everything we do will be labelled LC200 this year, the details of these events will be in the next edition of Towing Path Topics and also on IWA events pages and the Lancaster Trust website. Lancaster Trust are having a social evening at Longlands on Tuesday 12th 39
March and our members will be welcome at that. Then the big event of the year for us will be the IWA National Trailboat Festival which is being arranged by this branch with help from LCT volunteers. It will be held at Country Fest on 1st and 2nd of June with events for boaters on Friday 31st May and Monday 3rd of June. There will be all the fun of Country Fest and then events on the canal including boat trips by the LCT trip boat, Waterwitch and an illuminated boat parade on Sunday Evening. We hope to see many of you there. The Trail Boat Festival is an important event in the bicentenary celebrations. Region Social: I am pleased to announce that the Region Social meeting will be held in our region this year, this will be here at St Chad’s on Saturday the 6th of April, there will be an opportunity to meet members from other branches, a lunch and an opportunity to have a walk around the Lancaster Canal here near Johnson’s Hillock, guided by Bill Froggatt, C&RT Heritage Advisor. If anyone wants to book a place for that have a word with me later or email Alan Platt, the Region Secretary. Then just as we get things in place for 2019 we need to start thinking a bit further ahead! 2021 will be the 75th anniversary of the forming of the IWA and we will need to start thinking about that. For the 50th anniversary which many of us here were around for, we held some very special events including a vintage coach trip, a trip on the Lancaster canal and a dinner dance. All ideas for 2021 are welcome. It hasn’t been all good news however: We have lost two of our valued members, Brain Holden, who was a member of this branch and came to many meetings and events, he was active in getting the Rochdale opened even if some of us thought it was an impossible dream, and closer to home David Smith who did so much for the branch and will be very much missed. The repairs to Stainton Aqueduct have been delayed, plans are to start again in March with an October completion date. We haven’t made any progress with the Mooring Rings project but we are talking to C&RT about it still and haven’t given up hope. The changes within C&RT are still going on, the new regional manager, Daniel Greenhalgh has been appointed and seems keen to liaise with us. Other parts of the restructure are not in place yet though. Perhaps this is a good time to say how much we rely on the committee to keep our branch running and make a plea for anyone who is interested in helping out on the committee to make yourselves known to us. The more 40
active members we have the more we can achieve. Peter Jones attends our meetings to represent the Lancaster Canal Trust and I would like to thank Peter for all his valuable input and for keeping us up to date on what is happening with the Lancaster Canal Trust. I would also like to thank David Faulkner for his role as treasurer; he is doing a brilliant job of looking after our money. David is also the branch magazine editor and thanks to him for that. I think we can agree that David is doing a brilliant job of the magazine.
I would also like to record my thanks to Tony and Janet Dunning who despite their very busy lives have always got time for IWA and our branch. Janet has also helped with our website and importantly the raffles and is now our membership officer. Then our relatively new members to the committee, Jim and Maralyn Nott, they have provided a useful addition to our team, Jim as planning officer and Maralyn as secretary, plus they have given us lots of help with our activities. I have already mentioned Audrey, her help with the distribution and administration of the Leeds Liverpool plaques is really appreciated as is her expertise and experience.
The branch continues to have bi monthly committee meetings, these are held at The Willows near junction 5 of the M65, and we meet at 12 for lunch and then start the meetings at 1. We consider IWA business, activities and planning applications. I would like to take this opportunity to thank once again all the members of the committee and all of the people who support them, I would like to thank those people who turn up to meetings and events, especially those who turn up to help, thanks for your support, without you we couldn’t carry on. Wendy Humphreys. (The accounts do not fit easily into this page size so if you want a copy of the 2018 accounts please contact the editor.
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IWA Lancashire & Cumbria Branch Committee nomination form Volunteer/Nominee…………………………………………………….. Please print Signed……………………………………………………………………. Date………………………………… Address…………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… Telephone Numbers: Home………………………………. Mobile………………………………………………. Email…………………………………………………………………… Volunteers / Nominees must be an IWA member of this branch and be in good standing.
Please return this form before Monday 17 th February 2020 to: Maralyn Nott, Sunnycroft Cottage, Dowbridge, Kirkham, PR4 3RD or by email to lancsandcumbria@waterways.org.uk or present the above at the start of the AGM Under the bylaws volunteering/nominations can be accepted from the floor at the AGM
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Branch Committee Chairman
Wendy Humphreys Darwen
07763 561572 01254 703553
Vice-chairman
Tony Dunning Egremont
07730 113894 01946 820875
Secretary
Maralyn Nott Kirkham David Faulkner Langho
07912 249265 01254 249265
Treasurer & Newsletter editor Membership secretary
Janet Dunning Egremont Vacant
01946 820875
Publicity
Audrey Smith Wheelton
01257 274440
Sales
Vacant
Social secretary
See chairman
Lancaster Canal Regeneration P’ship
Audrey Smith & Wendy Humphreys
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Audrey Smith
Lancaster Canal Trust
Vacant
Wild over Water & Web Master
Janet Dunning
Region Chairman (ex officio)
Sir Robert Atkins
Environment & Planning
Email addresses are firstname.surname@waterways.org.uk We no longer publish addresses. If you want to write to us please use the editor’s address (p2) 43
Branch programme
Date
Speaker
Talk
Notes
30 Jan 2020
Paul Hindle MBBCS There is a lot going on with the Chairman of through time MBBC, come along and hear what Manchester the enthusiastic team of volunteers Bolton& Bury have been up to. Canal Society
27 Feb
Harvey Hamilton Thorpe, Ribble Life Together Manager
26 Mar
Carrie House Her role and Carrie is the Project Officer working on Community Engagement for the the project Stainton, Hincaster and Sedgewick Project. She will have been in post a year and will have lots on which to report.
30 Apr
Bill Froggatt CRT Heritage Advisor
AGM followed by a talk about the Ribble Rivers Trust
Canal Heritage
The Trust,was formed in 1997 to restore the River Ribble and its surrounding flora and wildlife to its former glory
Bill gave us a short talk at the Region Social in April ‘19, he is very knowledgeable on his subject and has lots of interesting archive material to show us.
Venue for meetings: St Chad’s Parish Centre, 235 Town Lane, Whittle-le-Woods, Chorley PR6 8AJ. There is ample parking in the car park. The parish centre has a very pleasant meeting room and a bar. You are welcome from 7.00pm for a drink and a chat, the meetings start at 7.30pm
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