grapevine, issue 42, august 2015

www.waterways.org.uk/chiltern

Chiltern Branch Newsletter

July 2015

Chiltern

Grapevine

Issue 42

Please see ‘Chairman’s Ramblings’ for background to this article from Simon and Pat Davis! We had a narrow boat on the canals for years and by coincidence one of our founding Trustees is Paul Wagstaffe who was then Vice President of the IWA and was very involved in helping us design the boat ‘Rivertime’. For some 20 years Simon and Pat Davis ran a boat company specialising in providing boats at hotels up and down the river as well as organising corpo-rate regattas, weddings, boating days and treasure hunts. In 2006 they sold the business to Hobbs of Henley and in 2007 formed the charity Rivertime Boat Trust in order to build and operate a specially designed boat for disabled and disadvantaged children and adults to cruise on the Thames between Windsor and Ox-ford. The boat has a ramp and a lift for wheelchairs and those with mobility problems and has a large saloon with a sliding roof and a toilet for the disa-bled. In order to build this boat Simon and Pat Davis raised £165,000.

Lucy Herbert, is the Senior Skipper and she is supported by some 50 volunteer skippers and crew. The boat has travelled 8,000 miles and has taken out 12,500 disabled people since its launch. The charity has received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services to-gether with an award from the Canal and Riverboat Trust. The BBC included ‘Rivertime’ in a Songs of Praise programme; a video of this episode can be seen at

www.rivertimeboattrust.org.uk. In 2014 Rivertime Boat Trust extended its activities to include bell-boating at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre. In its first year over 400 children from special needs schools attended sessions at the Abbey oper-ated for the Rivertime Boat Trust by Bisham Abbey Sailing and Navigation School. This is the first dedicated accessible boating centre on the Thames. In 2015 a wheelyboat was added to the fleet at Bisham along with a Pioneer safety boat. The wheelyboat enables up to 5 wheelchairs and their occupants to have access to the water. This project has been very successful and a club is being formed for those in wheelchairs and their families to be able to use the wheelyboat for days out.

From A Passing Conversation

Chairman's Ramblings

CHILTER N GR APE V INE

Something is wrong; here I am writing this column in the warm, at home, whilst outside there is our normal boating weather; yes it has been raining hard all day! However, we did get a short cruise in last month and shared a Thames Lock with Lucy Herbert, skipper of the Rivertime charity boat on the front page; another great volunteering opportunity; they need more people who just want to help with their needy passengers! Programme Cards for the 2015/2016 series of meet-ings are enclosed; once again we thanks Dave & Sue Wright of the Bounty pub for their generous sponsorship.

Some of the committee lazing in the sunshine? No, we are testing the new seat made and installed by Chiltern Branch volunteers; it was completed just in time for the 2015 ‘Lock-Aid’ at Lock 39, GU Canal, Marsworth. Carolyn (in the hat) sponsored the provision of this and a 2nd seat; they will have plaques in memory of her late husband Geoff Leonard. We are now looking for a suitable site for the 2nd seat, probably in the Berkhamsted area. Please see page 10 and visit the branch website for more photographs.

Last weekend several committee members and branch volunteers were lucky with the weather for the annual ‘Lock-Aid’ weekend; funds raised were down a little at just under £400 but we also signed at least one membership and John had a couple of Volunteer forms completed, so all in all a successful exercise. During the weekend, we worked through this immaculate pair (MB) ‘Towcester’ and (Butty) ‘Bideford’, trading as ‘Jules Fuels’; based as we are, on the River Thames, I could only envy the method of delivery and cost to fill the tank! You may recall we agreed to purchase a trailer on behalf of WAT; it is finally built but deliv-ery is pending receipt of type approval certification by the EU! See page 12; hopefully it will be delivered in time to be on show at WAT open day on Sunday 6th September. As Beryl and I were away, I was unable to attend the User Group meeting at the Aylesbury Boat Club (ABC), delayed until 21st May The User Group meetings are held twice yearly and are a good way to meet representatives of other groups with an interest in the waterways. ABC is a good location for these meetings, easy parking and good hospitality! There is a good range of updates from various CRT groups, including Fishing and Enforcement, with plenty of time for questions from the floor afterwards. At the User Group meeting I had wanted to meet Vicky Martin, CRT, Waterways Manager, South East Region ; unable to attend, I asked her to introduce herself to us in print, see page 5. The role of Waterways Manager has changed substantially since Geoff Wyatt moved to BWML; Richard Parry has tasked the new managers with a more Customer/User focus than was the case when they also managed the maintenance teams. Starting with the October issue of Grapevine, there will be a regular column from Vicky Martin to keep us abreast of activity across CRT South East Region. Dave Chapman

John Brice, Carolyn Leonard, me & Liz Norris

JULY 2015 ISSUE

Diary & Notices

PLEASE Sign up for IWA Chiltern e-News The hardcopy version is normally available at our evening meetings.

Chiltern Branch Meetings 8pm start unless shown. Wed 23rd Sept Leonardo’s Canals Roger Squires

Leonardo da Vinci a waterways man? Well, he was involved in improving waterways in central Milan and navigation on the rivers Adda and Po; they now connect Lake Garda to the Adriatic. Roger Squires has an impec-cable waterways CV. Amongst his several responsibilities, he has been Deputy National Chairman IWA, Chairman of London Region IWA, Chairman of the National Navigation Committee, Vice President of the St. Pancras Cruising Club and a Director of the American Canal Society. Wed 28th Oct Coventry’s Canals & Coventry Canal Society Robert Nash The talk covers the development of industry in Coventry, then the construction of the Cov-entry and Oxford Canals. James Brindley was involved in the engineering and routing of both waterways. How did they do it and what problems did they face? Robert will also touch on the formation of the Coventry Canal Society and its involvement in putting a halt to plans that would have in-filled significant lengths of the Canal. After working in local industry, Robert became a lecturer in the Engineering Faculty of De Montfort University. Wed 25th Nov The Chesterfield Canal: Its Past, Present and Future. John Lower Opened in 1777; 46 miles from the River Trent to Chesterfield and known locally as ‘The Cuckoo Dyke’, a commercial success for most of the 19th Century; some 250,000 tons of local stone was shipped south to build the Houses of Parliament; it last saw cargo in the 1960s. Its route takes in some delightful scen-ery, the canal is being restored by the Chester-

field Canal Trust. John Lower was a Civil Engineer with Chesterfield Borough Council; he will cover the history, the current situation and the future of this waterway. Thursday 10th Dec ***7pm*** Chiltern B’ch Members Christmas Party Come and enjoy our usual Christmas extrava-ganza. Mulled wine, a quiz or two, some good grub and convivial company. Wed 27th Jan 2016 The Story of Navigation Jeremy Batch Wed 24th Feb Grand Union - 1960’s Cargoes and Fami-lies Terry Putnam Wed 23rd Mar AGM followed by Vicky Martin - CRT,

Waterways Manager, South East Region Wed 27th Apr Narrow Boats to Norway

Clive and Gill Field

Wendover Arm Trust See pages 11 and 12 http://www.wendoverarmtrust.co.uk/

Chiltern Branch -Committee/Volunteers: We still need a Newsletter Editor, Please contact Dave Chapman; see back page. New Members: we welcome Mr J Ward Mr & Mrs B Horridge Ms A Walters Mr S Hughes Mr D Ormrod

Copy Date for the next issue

Please send news items, articles, pho-tographs and advertisements to the Editor by 5th October 2015.

From the Region Chairman


With summer here and the promise of good boating weath-er it is time to go and enjoy our wonderful waterway herit-age. This is a bit of a strange column as there are lots of little bits I want to tell you about, some of which do not directly affect our region; however, I think there're im-portant for the future of our waterways. During the Election way back in May we approached many of the candidates asking for pledges of support. 289 candidates from all the major parties signed our manifesto; of these 39 were elected as MPs. We also received many positive comments from candidates that indicated their understanding and knowledge of the importance of our inland waterways, which should be good for the long term future of the waterways There is still no information on the merger of the Environ-ment Agency (EA) with the Canal & River Trust. There are worrying signs that the cuts, being imposed on EA, are reducing their ability to operate and maintain the network for which they are responsible. An example of this was the sudden cancellation of the Spalding Campaign Cruise along the Rivers Glen and Welland this spring. IWA has sent a strongly worded com-plaint to the EA about this, if you have a boat on EA waters, can you please let me know if there are any structures out of use or in very poor condition in your area. I will arrange for this to be included on our “at risk” register and have the problem raised at a national level. WRG Van Appeal is looking to raise £120,000 to replace their four existing vans which form an essential part of running Canal Camps, etc. is doing well. A sponsored walk is being ar-ranged around the Droitwich Ring on 19 September. If you haven’t helped yet please do if you can. WRG is an important part of our association and needs all our support. Whilst on the sub-ject of WRG you might have seen that Mike Palmer, WRG Chairman, was appointed an MBE in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list. As you may know the Canal & River Trust (CRT) received stage 1 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) approval for the project for the restoration of Carpenters Road Lock on the Bow Back-waters at the end of last year. A few weeks ago CRT submitted their stage 2 application to HLF. This should be determined in September, along with a bid for some of the match fund-ing from a major donor. If both bids are successful, then CRT will start the restoration of the Lock; cost around £1 million. London Region has committed itself to a £4000 donation to the project; we look forward to seeing it moving ahead. Finally CRT have announced the location for this winter’s moorings for boats that don’t have a home mooring. They have decided not to designate any winter moorings in Central London. I am a little concerned about the lack of facilities near some of the proposed moorings in the London Region. In particular the Lea and Stort can be dangerous when in flood and some of these moorings are several locks and miles from water and effluent discharge points. The moorings will be difficult to service from trade boats for the same reason. We will need to monitor the situation, at the winter moorings, and if problems between boaters and shore based communities, and with rubbish and effluent disposal occur see if we can help. Paul Strudwick

IWA , Chairman London Region

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On Monday, June 8th at a brief ceremony at Berkhamsted’s Waitrose Bridge organised by Mr James Clifton, until recently Enterprise Manager of the Canal & River Trust (CRT), the tape was cut and the town’s newly resur-faced stretch of tow path was declared open. I was asked by Chiltern IWA to represent them at the gathering.

Originally budgeted for a distance of 500 m, lower than expected costs allowed for 1.1 km to be resurfaced, with improved access ramps at, Billet Lane, Stag Lane and Park Street and repairs to some edge coping. Close to the Waitrose Bridge 10 new mooring rings have been put in place and Chiltern IWA’s contri-bution to the cost was recorded and appreciat-ed. IWA has made the point that it sees these for the use of short-term visiting boats and should be managed in such a way that they are not taken over by long-stay residential boats.

The original tow path had a width of 1.2 m but the new surface is 1.75 m and has more sub-stantial edging timbers. This width makes possible the wheeling of two push chairs side-by-side. The Grand Union is very much a significant feature of the town’s character and attraction for local people and visitors alike and the resurfaced tow path and additional moorings are greatly welcomed. The town council’s Canal & Riverside Partnership (CARP) has for many years pressed for im-provements in the waterside environment to ensure the continuing attraction of this linear park through the town.

David Hilling

Berkhamsted upgrade!

Hello – I am the new Waterway Manager for the South East Region. My background is in tourism, managing and developing attractions and destinations. I joined Canal & River Trust from the Olympic Park, where I was part of the team responsible for the post-Games transformation works. My bit of the ‘Olympic jigsaw’ was the mobilisation of the Arcelor Mittal Orbit and visitor facilities in the Podium as part of the Olympic Legacy. It has been heart-warming to see the great work of IWA, volunteers, canal partner-ships, adoption groups and restoration trusts, whose passion for their local water-ways is infectious. Only by working to-gether can we create living waterways, which truly transform places and enrich lives! My first 3 months have been a whirlwind as I have been getting to know my team, region and CRT. I’ve been busy hosting User Forums, visiting honeypot destina-tions and have enjoyed many sunny week-ends attending Open Days, community events and festivals. This has been a won-derful way to meet lots of people, listen to their views and deepen my understanding the issues, challenges and opportunities ahead. On my career journey I have found myself launching Heartlands, a £35m World Herit-age Gateway in Cornwall; Wollaton Hall & Park , a £9m restoration in Nottingham; and a £1.5m Steam Railway at Exbury Gardens in the New Forest. Designing visitor experiences and mobilising start-ups has given me a strong customer focus. I also fully appreciate the value of the visitor economy and the challenges of creating a sustainable future for our heritage.

Vicky Martin

Introduction to Vicky Martin


Day 2 up early, we slept in hammocks, men in one dormitory and women in another, hearty breakfast with porridge and fruit and up on deck to prepare for sailing, watch for slippery deck as hard frost overnight. Destination Do-ver Harbour Marina, but we would not be able to dock till 7.30pm due to tides, so to pass the time the Skipper got us practising man over-board procedures on the way. This is a team building yacht, so no easy options for sailing, no electric winches apart for the anchor, just hard slog winding grinder’s. The 2 forward sails were taken off their stays at end of day and folded up in their bags and stowed in the bow cabin. Each sail is heavy with 2 guys below to take the weight as we lowered them in, the fenders and the ropes were also stored there, and all had to be stowed neatly. The main sail took a team of 6 to fold onto the boom as it was lowered and then tied neatly. A younger member of the crew luckily offered to climb the mast about 6ft to release the hal-liard, all this was happening as the yacht con-tinued to slice through the waves.

Day 3 Bad news, we have to depart by 3am before the tide receded, the good news was we were not on the early watch so we got a lie in – till 5.30! Today’s destination Brighton Ma-rina, it was bitterly cold, it snowed overnight and the South Downs were white, but our several layers of thermals, wet weather leg-gings and ocean jacket did a good job. The one thing that let us down was gloves, an hour or so on the helm that is very open to the ele-ments froze fingers to the bone, regular sailing gloves were not up to the job. We arrived at Brighton after lunch and the crew were ready to explore the town, we all opted for a meal that evening at the pub in the marina, chosen because it had a blazing fire.

Day 4 Sensible tide today, we leave our berth at 9.30am, destination East Cowes Marina. More wind and swell as we leave the sanctu-ary of the harbour, waves breaking over. Once out in deeper waters it settled down and we hoisted the main sail and two forward sails

called “Yankee1 and Yankee2, similar to a “Genoa” but without roller furling. The sailing was good, although the weather was dull with black sky and low light, and we could see it raining on land, but had little at sea. At lunch time John and I drew the short straw and it was our turn to make the lunch, a pasta dish. In the galley it was horrendous the yacht heel-ing over at a dramatic angle and cooking on gimbals! Unfortunately we had a novice at the helm which made the situation worse, I have a good record for withstanding sea sickness but both of us had to put our heads out of the hatch on occasions to survive. In the afternoon John was given the opportunity to helm the vessel through the Solent to East Cowes arriv-ing after dark, and with light pollution coming from the mainland ports it was making identi-fication of navigation lights tricky. He has never sailed anywhere where there was so much happening as in the Solent, including one large beached car carrier ship the Hoegh Osaka surrounded by 4 tugs as they were making final adjustments for its tow to South-ampton which was scheduled for the next day. In the evening we all made our way to the nearest pub.

Day 5 We had an hour to explore East Cowes in the daylight, and although the shops were only just opening it was a very interesting sailing town. We got on board and dressed for the last time in our storm sailing wear and life jackets and then helped to cast off, there was ice on the pontoon and decks but the sea was calm and the sun was shining. The voluntary crew were now up to speed and trained in the procedures. Crossing the Solent to Ports-mouth our main preoccupation was watching for fishing pots, a nightmare for boat propel-lers. Fisherman throughout the world seem to be able to anchor their pots to any floatable object, so a large water bottle or any square container bobbing amongst the waves could cause a problem. Sailing boats do not have the luxury of a weed hatch, unfortunately some-one has to dive underneath to release the ob-

Mad Dogs and Briceys Go Sailing

JULY 20 15 ISSUE

the English Channel In January (Cont’d) struction. Not advisable in the English Chan-nel in January. I made myself comfortable in the snake pit, so named because a large num-

ber of the sheets (ropes) are taken back to this area, a sort of control centre. It is mid ship and slightly higher so giving a good look out point, although it is totally exposed to the elements (as is everywhere on deck). Now we were approaching Portsmouth we were again back in a buoyed channel, the Spinnaker Tow-er being a very good waymark for our destina-tion.

Friends always ask why we choose to CREW

rather than CRUISE, well I feel we have years ahead when we can enjoy the benefits of a luxury cruise, but as we age, only so many more years when we can enjoy the camarade-rie of the team crew. In the evenings we were not enjoying high class dining with wine, but wholesome basic meals produced by one of the team, followed up with a cup of tea. The twelve crew covered ages from 26 to 75 and came from all backgrounds, this gives such interesting dinner time topics, with opinions ranging well outside of our comfort zone. It is this eclectic mix of people and their views on life, which we so enjoy. We also came away from the voyage with a feeling of achieve-ment, sailing in conditions on the edge we have expanded our yacht knowledge, and sailed a new and different area.

On arrival at our pontoon in Portsmouth we moored, had lunch and packed, we also gave the yacht a good clean ready for its next voy-age. As we had not visited the Spinnaker Tow-er before, we chose to spend a few hours there, looking down on the waterways we had sailed. Anyone not having visited this, we can recommend it, below you, ferries, container ships and yachts are all busily working. Also anyone fancying a similar voyage (they do 1

day tasters) should log on to www.tallships.org

Article and photos by John and Jenny Brice

Note; the 1st half of this article can be found in Grapevine Issue 41 on

Chiltern Branch website.


2 1/2 hours behind! Each year, when we go on one of our longer boating trips, I do a check to see how the time we take compares with the time map that I publish. In 2015 our long trip has been from Cowroast to Braunston, during late June and early July; not very long if the direct route is taken, but we went via Leicester, Great Hay-wood and Tewkesbury. This route was cho-sen because we hadn’t done the Leicester Cut since 1996, and we also wanted to do the northern part of the Staffs & Worcs Canal between Great Haywood and Autherley, last travelled over in 2006. The map below shows our route superimposed on the time map. The time map shows that this should take 143¾ hours. Comparing our actual times with those on the map, we were 20 minutes behind the map by Gayton Junction, mostly lost on the 12 mile pound between Fenny Stratford and Cos-grove, where we took 23 minutes longer than the 3½ hours the map showed (but we are a fairly slow boat). This pound has gradually taken longer and longer over the years; at one time it was possible to do it in 3 hours but increasing numbers of moored boats now prevent this. We had a slow run up Buckby Locks so were 53 minutes behind by Norton Junction. But the Leicester Cut was in good shape, with all the pounds on weir, so by the time we reached Trent Lock we were ahead by 1h 25mins. The downhill run on the River Soar had also helped a little (rivers are always faster downhill). The Trent & Mersey Canal was queuing approaching Fradley, now one of the busiest parts of the system, but the volunteer lock keepers did a good job and we lost no more time, being ahead by 1h 30mins by Great Haywood. The start of the Staffs & Worcs was fine until we got to Deptmore Lock; here we were fourth in the queue as a boat had got stuck on a supermarket trolley in the canal at Radford, and the following boats had all caught up. It was slow going from here all the way up to Gailey, and we lost 2½ hours on this section, so by Autherley our 1½ hours ahead had changed to an hour behind.

Well it was a Saturday in July in glorious weather so maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that it was so busy. The Staffs & Worcs be-low Autherley was busy too, and we lost over an hour down to Stourport, so were now 2h 13mins down. The prospects for getting this back before Braunston weren’t impossible, as we had an 8 hour downhill run on the Severn to come, and we had made good time on the Southern Stratford in 2014; the 15 hour as-cent of the Avon would be hard to keep up with though, and we knew that the map time for the Grand Union from Kingswood to Braunston was quite challenging. We duly got an hour and a quarter back by Tewkes-bury, but a rather unadventurous throttle set-ting saw us lose all of 2 hours up the Avon, so Stratford was reached 2¾ hours behind. On the way we saw the recent damage to Bidford Bridge by a crop-sprayer (see photo).

An early start out of Stratford ensured a good run up Wilmcote, and by Lowsonford we were down to 1½ hours adrift, but then we were behind 5 boats all the way to King-swood and the deficit there was 1hr 39mins. No chance of getting that back with Hatton etc. to come, and we finally reached Braun-ston in around 146¼hours, 2h 27mins down on the map time of 143¾ hours. The earlier splendid weather had been replaced by heavy showers for our last two days, a particularly heavy one catching us while working through the two locks at The Cape in Warwick, and

Bidford Bridge after damage, River Avon (Warwickshire), 9 July 2015 (Judy Clegg)

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lasting for the next hour; the proverbial wet Sunday afternoon in Leamington. Now you may be thinking by this time, if not a lot earlier, isn’t this supposed to be pleasure boating? So what’s all this obsession with time? Well, the reason I monitor how long we take, is to check if the times I publish in the map are realistic. If they aren’t borne out in practice then they are just some theoretical estimate of how long a boating trip might take. In business-speak, all this monitoring is a quality assurance exercise to ensure that the product is still fit for purpose for the custom-ers. And in fact the timings are just a by-product of the (mostly) very enjoyable boat-ing that we do. We don’t do the boating just to see how long it takes, we do the boating because we enjoy doing it, and the time re-cording is just a minor add-on. So it isn’t as obsessive as it seems. (Not sure if you’re all convinced…)

So what conclusions do I draw from this year’s trip? The map was about 1½ % out this time, so not bad, considering all the variables that are involved. And the map assumes a crew of 3 and there are only 2 of us. In earlier years we have tended to beat the map times; in both 2013 and 2014 we were 5% quicker on 300 hour trips. Are we just getting older?

The main reason for the lost time this year was the congestion on the northern part of the Staffs & Worcs Canal, where we lost the 2½ hours which we never got back. The 2015 trip on this section was probably untypical; the trip before, also uphill, in 2006, took 8½ hours compared to the 9 hours on the map. There are several “exclusion clauses” quoted on the map that imply that a trip may take longer than the map time, and the one which says “more than a moderate amount of other traffic” probably covers the situation on the Staffs & Worcs. I’m therefore happy with all the map times, except those for the Grand Union between Kingswood Junction and Napton Junction, which I think needs maybe another ½ hour adding in. The map time of 11 hours for this section has proved difficult to achieve even in normal circumstances, so will need to be eased a bit. Records of trips going back to 1968 show that of the 16 occasions I have travelled over this section, only 5 have taken less time, and 11 have taken longer, and that the more recent times have tended to be the ones taking longer (the 2015 trip took us 11h 43mins). There is now quite a lot of traf-fic on this part of the popular Warwickshire Ring, and there are new marinas at the Nap-ton end, so there is more chance of waiting at locks than in earlier years. Recent changes to the map in other areas have included addi-tional time through Milton Keynes, due to the large number of moored boats now, but a decrease in Thames times, as recent trips have shown that traffic levels, and hence the time taken at locks, are lower than they used to be, partly as a result of the loss of a consid-erable number of hire craft. So in summary, we enjoyed our trip this year, having mostly excellent weather, and finding the canal system mostly in good condition, and discovered that the time we took was pretty much as per the predicted time on the canal time map.

Chris Clegg

2 1/2 hours behind!

CJC map for 2015 route article

Marsworth Lock 39 tree seat


There have been hexagonal seats at Mars-worth bottom lock for over 20 years; a fea-ture appreciated by the many visitors who come to this beauty spot. Sadly over time the seats had decayed and fell apart. IWA Chil-tern have been holding events here for over 20 years engaging boaters and public in fund-raising activities. It was decided to do some-thing about it, it was time to give something back to Marsworth and build a replacement. One of our commit-tee Carolyn Leonard offered to sponsor the materials, and other IWA Chiltern members volun-teered to build and install a replacement hexagonal seat around the tree, so the project was start-ed. 2014, the wood purchased, a start was made, it soon became obvious that cut-ting the materials to size for a hexagonal seat was an exact science, needing more compli-cated tools than a set square and tenon saw. This task was undertaken by Dave Chapman our Chairman who has a comprehensive woodworking workshop where he construct-ed the seat. The new seat has been built using Iroko, a very hard wood, second only to Teak in longev-ity; we believe the old seats were also built using Iroko. The seat was assembled with glue suitable for under-water installation and stainless secu-rity screws. Four other volunteers, John Brice with Eddie Evans, Jack Fisher, and Brian Ing took on the task to install the seat on site. It was an interesting project that sounds simple enough to do, but it had its challenges; uneven ground with tree roots

above ground, so laying a concrete slab wouldn't work. Natural stone looks good but is hard to cut, but the decision to use stone was made because top quality materials have been used throughout this project. Six stone slabs were cut to fit radially between the roots with tailored cut outs on the edging stones to let the roots pass through, followed up by profiling the soil level around the out-side of the plinth to bury the roots. The spac-

es between the 6 stones were then in-filled with Staffordshire pink decorative gravel to cover and to let rainwater through to the roots. C&RT have been supportive for this project, in particular Wayne Moore for assisting with logistics for storing materials and tools at Bulbourne and assisting with transport to site and Miriam Lin-forth (Tedder) for sourcing and delivering topsoil to site to enable us to complete the landscaping;

thank you both. The seat has been made entirely by volun-teers from The Inland Waterways Associa-tion-Chiltern Branch. The amazing thing about this project is that all the volunteers were amateurs, they had never made anything like this before, and it’s a testimony to what

volunteers can achieve if they put their mind to it. A big thank you to all who took part in this project, you have constructed something beneficial for all users of the canal, and that you can be proud of. The seat was commis-sioned by IWA Chil-tern Chairman Dave

Chapman on Saturday 18th July and is dedi-cated to the memory of Geoff Leonard an IWA volunteer who spent much of his leisure time at Marsworth.

The worst of the 2 seats removed.

John Brice

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Well, the trailer we are purchasing for WAT is built at last, some 2 months later than prom-ised by the manufacturers, who will now de-liver it free of charge instead of collection from Manchester! When will it be delivered? Not until the EU has provided the necessary type approval cer-tificate, which should arrive week starting Monday 27th July! So, we cannot even build and supply a trailer in the UK without EU approval!!! Who would want to belong to this club?

WAT will have to fit-out the trailer before it is finally fit for purpose but hopefully you will be able to see it at the next open day on Sun-day, September 6th.

Dave Chapman

Friday 25th September 08:30 Depart High Wycombe—Swan Thea-tre 08:45 Depart Amersham - Gore Hill Bus Stop 09:00 Depart Chesham - The Broadway 11:15 Arrive at Devizes Wharf where we will board the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust's Trip Boat 'Kenavon Venture' for a three hour cruise to the top of the Caen Hill flight of locks. 12:00 A buffet lunch will be served aboard. The Trip Boat has a fully licensed bar for wine and beer as well as non alcoholic bever-ages. 14:30 Disembark back at Devizes Wharf and rejoin our coach. A possible visit is proposed to the Crofton Pumping Station which will be preparing for its 'Open Weekend'. 16:30 Rejoin our coach for the onward jour-ney to Falfield in Gloucestershire.. 18:00 Arrive at the Best Western 'Gables' Hotel for dinner and overnight accommoda-tion. 20:00 Dinner in the Hotel Saturday 26th September 08:45 Depart from our hotel for the Cots-wold Canal Trust's Visitor Centre in Stroud. We will be met here by Clive and Jill Field. Clive is Chairman of CCT (Trading) Limited and he and Jill Field will be our hosts for a day of comprehensive visits to sites of inter-est. 09:30 Arrive at the Visitor Centre for coffee. 10:00 Introductory talk by Clive Field. 10:45 Depart for a gentle walk from the Visitor centre during which we will view Wallbridge Upper Lock and Stroud Brewery Bridge, both opened by Princess Anne in 2012, the Lower Wallbridge Lock and Fish Pass. The walk then passes the historic head-quarters of the Company of Proprietors of the Stroudwater Navigation, the terminus of the Stroudwater Navigation and the start of the Thames and Severn Canal. Finally, we will see the Lodgemore Mill, still manufacturing cloth to this day.

Chiltern weekend away 25th to 27th SEPTEMBER 2015 WAT Trailer

JULY 20 15 ISSUE

To the Kennet and Avon Canal, The Cotswold Canal Trust and the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway

11:45 Re-board our coach to visit the hydro electric scheme at Dudbridge Locks and the Ebley Mill area. 13:15 Buffet Lunch at the 'Clothiers Arms' Inn in Stroud. 14:15 Re-board our coach to visit Chalford and one of five canal Roundhouses. 14:45 Visit Brimscombe Port, site of the former headquarters of the Thames and Sev-ern Canal. 15:15 Re-board coach to view Ham Mill Lock, currently being restored by CCT volun-teers. 15:45 Re-board coach to view Bowbridge Lock, another restoration project underway by volunteers and WRG. 16:15 Re-board coach for return to Wall-bridge and afternoon tea. 16:45 Re-board coach for our return to the Hotel. 20:00 Dinner in the Hotel Sunday 27th September 09:00 Depart from the Hotel for the Glouces-tershire Warwickshire. Railway. 10:35 Arrive at Cheltenham Race Course Station. We will have ‘All Day Rover’ tickets for our visit to this restored section of what was once a route on the Great Western Rail-way from Birmingham via Stratford on Avon and Cheltenham to Penzance 10:55 Depart on the first steam train of the day. Passengers can disembark at the interme-diate stations at Gotherington and Winch-combe if they wish, taking a later train to the terminus at Toddington. At the latter, lunchtime meals and snacks can be taken at the 'Flag and Whistle' cafeteria. The last train of the day leaves Toddington at 15:55, Winchcombe at 16:06, and Gotherington at 16:18. 16:29 Arrival of the last train of the day at Cheltenham Racecourse Station. 16:45 Rejoin our coach for the jour-ney home.

THE COST The cost of the weekend excursion will be £250 per person, based on two people sharing a twin or double room. The single room sup-plement is £20. The cost includes:- All coach travel. Two nights accommodation on a half board (bed, breakfast and dinner) basis at 'The Ga-bles'Best Western Hotel, Falfield in Glouces-tershire. A 3 hour cruise aboard the trip boat ’Kenavon Venture' from Devizes to the top lock of the Caen Hill flight of locks. Buffet lunch aboard the 'Kenavon Venture' A Day Rover ticket on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. Coach driver’s gratuity Donation to the Cotswold Canals Trust The cost does not include:- Travel insurance. Morning coffees and afternoon teas if taken. Pub buffet Lunch at the 'Clothiers Arms' in Stroud Lunch or snack at the 'Flag and Whistle'. Alcoholic beverages. Other items of a personal nature. The cost noted above is applicable to a party of 20 members. Historically, Branch ‘Weekends Away’ have at-tracted an average of some 25 mem-bers and guests. It will be possible therefore, to reduce this cost if more than 20 members and guests partici-pate.

The booking form can be down-loaded at; https://www.waterways.org.uk/chiltern/pdfs/chilternweekendaway2015_itinerarybookingform


Volunteering opportunities

We run trips that enable disadvantaged people to experience canal boating 'close up'.

We employ no paid staff and need additional volunteers in the following areas:

Email [email protected] telling us where your interests and experience lie and what you're looking for in a volunteer role.

Share your love of the canals and canal boating!

www.wexp.org.uk

Trainers – general volunteer training plus skipper training to CCBM and Boatmaster levels Crewing: Skippers (CCBM &/or Boat-master's) and crew (training provided) 'Enable' trips project manager

IT – GoogleDrive

Marketing – events, telesales, web edit-ing, Google Analytics

Fundraising – public appeals manager Maintenance – of boats, property & gar-dens

Directions: Little Chalfont Village Hall is in Cokes Lane which runs south from a mini-roundabout junction with the main A404 road between Rickmans-worth and Amersham. The hall is located by the Library and there is a Car Park. It is approximately 600m from Chalfont & Latimer railway/tube station. Access to the hall is on the flat and so offers easy access. There are also toilet facilities for disabled members.

The Village Hall, Cokes Lane, Little Chalfont, Bucks HP8 4UD

Chiltern Branch Meeting Venue

Chiltern Branch meeting venue

JULY 20 15 ISSUE

The IWA may not agree with the opinions expressed in this Newsletter but encourages publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as policy or an official announcement unless stated, otherwise the IWA accepts no liability for any matter in this Newsletter.

The IWA is a registered charity (No. 212342) whose work is supported by member's subscrip-tions. The IWA campaigns for development of Britain's waterways for use by all.

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You don’t need to be on a Committee!

There are those who do and those who don’t get involved with volunteering. If you’ve never tried it you will never know what you are missing. It will liven up your life, get you out of the house, give you some exercise, expand your social life whilst making some new friends, and not least you will have some good laughs. You will benefit from all these things and more, plus feel good that you have achieved something that benefits not only yourself but also others on our waterways! So why not come and join our festival team? preparing and exhibiting for the IWA at

the Slough Festival that takes place over the weekend of Sept 12th and 13th?

We need helpers for setting up before and packing up after the Festival. Can you help us with transport, do you have a van, MPV or trailer for transporting

tents and jumble to and from the Festival. Are you knowledgeable about the IWA or the boating and canal scene; we have a posi-

tion for you on our IWA stand. Have you got the gift of the gab, enjoy bartering to broker a deal; you will enjoy it on

our Jumble stand. WoW (Wild over Waterways) we need volunteers capable of helping with these

children’s activities. IWA Sales stand, selling IWA branded promotional goods, maps, canal books etc. re-

quire sales assistants. If I have aroused your interest in any of the above mentioned activities please give me a call or send an e mail, then I or one of our team will get back to you with further details. I am looking forward to your call; 07740 733241 or [email protected]

Inland Waterways Association - Chiltern Branch

Your Committee

www.waterways.org.uk/chiltern

Chairman

01628 850842 07808 720555

[email protected]

Secretary

01438 238187 07977 374116

[email protected]

Treasurer 01923 232515 [email protected]

Programme Secretary 01932 248178 [email protected]

Fundraising & Waterway Events

01494 873298 07740 733241

[email protected]

Planning Officer & Membership Secretary

01628 526512 [email protected]

IWA representative to WAT (non-committee post)

01494 873298 [email protected]

Dave Chapman

Liz Norris

Ken Aylmer

Colin Bird

John Brice

Carolyn Leonard

Jenny Brice

Publicity Officer Judy Clegg 01442 875818 [email protected]

Newsletter Editor Vacant Website Editor Judy Clegg 01442 875818 [email protected]

Get Here: By Boat: Just pull up outside! By Foot: On the towpath opposite Bourne End Marina. By Car: Park near Bourne End train sta on and cross over the railway bridge, then turn right along the towpath, The Bounty can be found about 300 metres away.

grapevine, issue 42, august 2015

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