wolds waters – january 2015
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Wolds Waters – East Yorkshire Branch NewletterTRANSCRIPT
WOLDS WATERS
The newsletter of the East Yorkshire Branch
JANUARY 2015
Beckhead, Beverley at the gathering organised by Beverley Barge Preservation Society
East Yorkshire Branch
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Chairman’s comments.
A number of things are happening on our local waterways. Mostly (but not all)
good news.
A gathering of Keels and Sloops on Beverley Beck in September attracted a large
number of people, producing an excellent result for the societies involved.
At Driffield, we welcome the re-opening of Town Lock, following replacement of
the gates. Work by WRG in August and continued by local volunteers is providing a
much needed nature walk between Whin Hill and Wansford Locks.
On the Pocklington Canal we have seen progress. All swing bridges are now
working and ready for boats. Again, work by WRG and the PCAS volunteers have
made tremendous improvements to the towpath. The PCAS volunteers meet
weekly, usually Thursdays, and are always looking for more helpers. If you are
interested contact Dick Watson on 01759 305025. Much more is planned for the
future. See details elsewhere in this newsletter.
The not so good news is the continued closure of Elvington Lock (details
elsewhere) We hope to be able to report better news in the next issue of this
magazine.
Our Branch plays an important role in helping all of the waterways in the area, in
many ways. Fundraising, litter picking, balsam bashing, attending meetings with
CRT, EA, YWT to name a few, and not least by lobbying to keep our waterways
open and re-open them where possible. It is most important to have a keen and
active membership and committee. Please try to recruit new members and try to
support the activities that we get involved in. Numbers at social meetings have
been disappointing of late. Your Committee is looking at whether any changes
should be made to improve attendance. If you have any suggestions please let me
or any committee members know. Our aim is to provide what YOU want. Do try to
come to our meetings and bring a friend or two. It doesn’t matter if they are not
members, they will be most welcome.
Have a happy and healthy 2015
Roger Bromley
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Pocklington Canal
New Horizons
Our trip boat ended its 11th season at the end of October. The boat has run
trips on 75 days, including public trips on Sundays and Bank Holidays from
April to October and there have been a similar number of booked trips this
year. In total, we carried 2028 passengers. The boat provides a steady
income for the Pocklington Canal Amenity Society and 2014 has been the
best year so far. Many birthday and joint birthday celebrations are held on
our boat, which is regularly decorated with balloons and banners.
At present we have about 20 PCAS members who
volunteer to crew the boat. I am sorry to report that we
have lost our most active crew member, Ernie Darrell, who
crewed on about 40 trips this year. Ernie died suddenly on
22 September. PCAS was well represented at his funeral at
Thorganby Church, and the service had to be relayed outside via speakers
because so many of Ernie’s family and friends attended the funeral. Ernie
will be well remembered because he got on so well with everyone.
Not only have we lost Ernie but his local pub – the Ferry Boat Inn at
Thorganby –closed at the end of September, due to poor health of Phil
Williamson. Phil and his wife Jackie had run the pub for years. Occasionally
New Horizons trips visited the Ferry Boat Inn and it was a treat for
passengers and crew.
In the spring, the paintwork of New Horizons will be attended to and the
boat made clean and smart, ready for the new season which starts on Good
Friday. Bookings are already being taken for trips in 2015.
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PCAS Weed Cutting Boat
As anyone who has brought a
boat to the Pocklington Canal
during the summer will know,
there is a weed problem,
particularly between Gardham
Lock and East Cottingwith.
Around 14 years ago, British
Waterways purchased a weed
cutting boat for use on the
Pocklington, Selby and Ripon canals. BW found it unreliable and it has not
been used at all since 2009. PCAS acquired the boat last year and it was
taken to a local farm for repairs and repainting. The weed boat is back on
the Pocklington Canal and PCAS volunteers are being trained to use it.
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East Yorkshire Branch Balsam Bash.
A small number of IWA volunteers turned out for the Balsam Bash on the
Pocklington Canal on August 2nd.
The area concentrated on was around the Melbourne Arm at the current limit of
navigation on the canal. The Balsam Bash ‘kit’ supplied by the IWA was put to
good use by the volunteers.
Two of our volunteers having a bash at the balsam.
Note:- The IWA is encouraging the branches to help with trying to
control this invasive plant on waterways in their region. We plan to
hold another 'bash' in 2015 and would welcome a few more
volunteers. Watch the website or Wolds Waters for further
information.
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THE WATERWAY RECOVERY GROUP AUTUMN CAMP
A section of towpath between Giles and Sandhill locks on the Pocklington Canal
was being damaged by tree roots and the soil was slipping into the canal making
this section extremely sloping and therefore difficult to walk and cycle.
Following a successful bout of shrub bashing by WRG earlier this year, near
number 8 swingbridge, PCAS invited WRG back for a week-long camp to tackle the
towpath.
The day before WRG were due, PCAS hired a stump grinder & operator for the
day, to grind down most of the roots. PCAS’s own volunteers raked the resulting
surface flat to leave it safe and ready for WRG the next day.
Due to the limited room working on the site, a workforce of six people was
selected, with the remainder of the group working at Driffield (see article
elsewhere in this newsletter) Using a mini digger and lots of manual labour, day by
day the repaired path grew in length. Another burst by the stump grinder on the
Thursday, enabled WRG to reach Sandhill lock, exceeding their expectations for
the week.
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The worst sections of the path where the slope was excessive required some
shuttering edging to hold the topping material in place. As the surface of the path
settles and becomes firm, PCAS volunteers will add more shuttering where
necessary.
The work was carried out with the permissions of C&RT and Natural England both
of whom sent representatives to visit the work whilst it was underway.
Although this section of the canal is currently unnavigable, it is very popular with
walkers and cyclists as it is not too far from Canal Head. It is hoped that WRG will
again visit the canal to carry out more work. Maybe restoring a lock next time!
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IWA Restoration Group Discovers Hidden Gem
During the week of 17th to 22nd August there was a hive of activity on the
Driffield Canal. Young volunteers from as far afield as France came to clear scrub
from the kilometre of canal between Whinn Hill and Wansford locks. There was
once a towpath here, a roadway for horses pulling Humber keels filled to the brim
with grain destined for the bakeries of Hull. Overgrown for years, the towpath is
once again clear, not so much for bow hauling horses as for visitors wanting to
spend a pleasant hour admiring the canal and its locks
The week was supposed to be an exploratory event to see if there was enough
land to create a path trail. The result? The discovery of a hidden gem.
The IWA Waterway Recovery Group has been invited to come back next year as
guests of the Driffield Canal Partnership, to extend the trail to Wansford - another
450 metres. When cleared, this part of the towpath will link with a right of way on
the other side of a road that leads to Whinhill Nurseries across the fields and then
to Driffield town by way of Whinhill bridge.
The Partnership’s intention, after discussions with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, is
to lay on the trail a surface that will make for a more comfortable walk for visitors
and at the same time prevent the path becoming overgrown once more.
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The Partnership would now like to have the views of residents of Wansford and
Skerne Parish, about their priorities for wildlife protection and bench seating along
this length of the canal.
The WRG’s work on the Driffield Canal would not have been possible without
friendly help from the Pocklington Canal Amenity Society who found
accommodation for the group at Pocklington School and took a lively interest in
the WRG’s endeavours.
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Elvington (Sutton) Lock
Further to the report in the August issue of Wolds Waters, we can update you on
the situation regarding the closed lock.
Gren Messham, John Pomfret and Alison Smedley attended a useful
meeting with EA about Elvington Lock on 10th October, followed by a site
visit to the Lock itself. Roger Bromley and Paul Waddington represented
IWA East Yorkshire Branch. The meeting was an opportunity for IWA to
state its position concerning the lock closure as well as reassuring EA that
there was no intention to revisit any of the legal issues concerning rights of
navigation. EA outlined its ‘Doing more for the Derwent’ Project. EA shared
the early findings of a structural survey and promised to send a copy of the
written report as soon as it was available.
A few days after this meeting the EA held a ‘drop in’ session in Elvington
Village hall inviting interested parties to have their say. The meeting was
well attended by locals, boaters, IWA members and others. Around 90
people in all. The feeling of those attending was that the lock should be
reopened as soon as possible. Some boaters trapped above the blockage
complained about the lack of communication from the EA, making it
impossible to free their boats, even if they had somewhere else to go.
A meeting has now been arranged for the IWA to meet with Yorkshire
Wildlife Trust to discuss the bottom gates of the lock, which are also in a
poor state of repair.
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The AGM of the East Yorkshire Branch of the Inland Waterways
Association will be held at 8.00pm on Friday, 20th
March 2015 at
Cottingham Methodist Church Hall.
Agenda
i) Apologies for absence
ii) Approval of the Minutes of 2014 AGM
iii) Matters arising from the Minutes
iv) Chairman’s report
v) Secretary’s report
vi) Financial report
vii) Election of Committee members
viii) Any items requested beforehand by members
ix) Report on Region and National matters
Secretary:-
Mrs Chris Stones
41 Keswick Gardens
Cottingham
Hull
HU6 8TB
Tel: 01482 875894
MAKING THE AGM MORE FUN
Last year we experimented with having some more substantial eats and
giving more time for socialising and felt this was a success and are hoing to
repeat it this year. The business of the AGM and report from the Region
Chairman should take about 30 minutes then time to share in food and
conversation. The evening will conclude with a presentation by Peter and
Elaine Scott.
DO JOIN US
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BACK COPIES OF WATERWAYS WORLD
I have been given a large number of copies of Waterways World dating from 1972
through to 2012
Many are in yearly folders with some also loose. There are a few hundred in total.
If anyone would like these, and make a donation to the IWA, please let me know.
Roger Bromley
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WELL DONE !!! The Branch Display has been to a number of events this year. The work of IWA
has been publicised and branch funds have benefitted from the sales of goods
offered and some entertaining games. These funds will help in the financial
support of our local waterway restoration projects.
Our thanks go to all who have helped on the display, particularly Chris and Dave
Stones. They are always ready to receive suggestions for venues and offers of
help or goods to sell. Some of us may be unable to be physically involved in
restoration projects but we can help in this way.
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SOCIAL MEETINGS
At a recent meeting of the Branch committee some time was spent
discussing the social meetings. Currently under 10% of our members
attend on a regular basis. Would a change of night or venue make you
more inclined to attend? Would you prefer a change of format? How do
we encourage non-IWA members to attend and keep on attending? We
would like to invite more speakers from further away but the extra cost of
this would have to be met from increased attendance. We would really
appreciate your thoughts!
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PROGRAMME Jan to April 2015 Venue (unless stated otherwise) Cottingham Methodist Church Hall, Hallgate,
Cottingham HU16 4BD 8.00-10.00 pm. Use entrance down side of church.
Friday 16th Jan Paul Waddington, our fount of waterway
knowledge gives a talk on “Aqueducts”
Friday 20th Feb "Sea Fever" - Excitement for people of
all abilities on the largest wooden sailing ship
afloat, the Jubilee Sailing Trust's Tenacious. A lively illustrated talk by Rowena and Adrian
Lovett.
Friday 20th March Branch AGM followed by “Natter and
Nibbles” and a talk from Peter and Elaine Scott
Further meetings will be held on 17th April and 15
th May.
For more information about the Inland Waterways Association use the website
www.waterways.org.uk or contact Barry Robins on 01482 658254 or
07885941983. For more information on the above meetings contact Roger
Bromley on 01482 845099.
Please note the new Branch email address is [email protected]
This newsletter is edited by Barry Robins, 90 Carr Lane, Willerby, Hull HU10 6JU.
Note: The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the
Association and should not be construed as such unless so stated.