A step up for the Cotswold Canals

by: Myron

Some time mid afternoon a thought occurred to me.

It was towards the later part of a really great day, we have a lot of those these days on the canal.

First thing we had first refuelled Goliath and Margaret, emptying Western Depots bowser in the process. Then the fleet proceeded down the cut.  Margaret was not well with a prop full of detritus so had to be towed by Goliath.  On the way we picked up Samson to do some spot dredging just East of Oil Mills bridge, a nasty little shallow, narrow that makes the tug feel like it is climbing the Himalayas.  That was a convoy of four boats in a row, Goliath, Margaret, Aquila and Samson, quite a sight.  Wookie was, I believe lurking around as well, no doubt doing some serious damage to the rampant bankside vegetation.  As well as this a crew from WD were fixing some electrical gear onto Samson.  We passed the dry and wet dredger teams and entered Ryeford locks to clear the props on Margaret and Goliath as well, seeing as we were there.  This is a process never to be taken lightly and took some time to do both vessels, but the team were marvellous, getting both boats grounded first time. 

Then the tugs were unleashed on the unsuspecting hoppers, above Ryeford locks, and soon shoved and shunted into place where they could be loaded /unloaded.

It was while returning to base enjoying a belated lunch while Nick drove Margaret that I had my thought. And that was how we have gone through a large step change in the last year or two. Back then we would trawl our single tug up and down the 4km navigable section and never actually meet anybody else except maybe Wookie.  Today there were 9 boats in the same pound and 5 different teams, 7 if you count the fact that the Boat Team was split into 3. It was all pretty harmonious and it was something to behold.

The Kindness of Visitors

by: bob Hallam

Having started work recently on the Ryeford to Oil Mills pound, the wet and dry teams joined forces again to to remove reeds preparatory to dredging silt. 

We regularly have to stop for passers by. 

Today was gloriously sunny, so even more folk were walking along the towpath.

Bob, in his normal cheerful way, chats with almost all who pass during his stint as banks-man. 

Today a lovely couple on holiday in the area (from Suffolk apparently) stopped to ask how the Ryeford staircase lock worked.  After the explanation, Bob's usual jocular comment, "Normally, passers by drop off gifts of cake to us chaps and chappesses when we've provided some information for them," was well received amid much comical reciprocal comment.

It was with great gratitude, humility and profuse thanks about an hour later, the couple reappeared walking to their hotel, they dropped off a gift of cakes!! 

This lovely and generous couple are, as far as we are concerned, now honorary ex-officio members of the dredging team! 

"May your bilges always be dry and your anchor always hold."

A new beginning -again!

by: Bob Hallam

Today saw a new joint dredging venture begin! 

With the weather set fair, the water level just about high enough (Low Tide on the Ryeford to Dudbridge pound) the Wet dredging team met early at Ebley to have a chat about the coming venture. 

  

Mob-handed, we then walked smartly to the field (AKA Langley's Field) near to Ryeford Locks. This is the site designated to receive the dredgings from this pound. 

Gosh, those dry dredging boys were up early again! When we reached them to discuss how the task would be managed, they had already moved several tons of arisings from the canal bed. 

Decisions made, Dredger No. 5 was then moved into place alongside the long-reach excavator. Bearing in mind a trip boat charter was (almost) following us along, we began moving reeds to a place where the dry boys could reach and transfer them onto the disposal site. 

The resultant action was a balletic dance of interlacing buckets! 

 No trip boat was harmed in this operation!

"May your bilges always be dry and your anchor always hold."

Gough's Orchard Feed - update

In the recent past, we have been adding additional sealants to the various joints on the syphon.  Work initially started at the top pipe joints, as they carried the greatest vacuum loads.

Today, the section down into the lock chamber was removed so that, not just the overhanging joint could be safely accessed, but also made the upgrade of two other joints easier to work on.  

By mid afternoon, the section had been restored and the syphon run.  Unfortunately, there was no improvement in performance.  There are a couple more unmodified joints down besides the factory wall, so they will receive attention next time.

Looking for bubbles!

Final final River Section Dredging

by: Bob Hallam

The early autumn mornings bring a freshness to the air of the Stroudwater Canal. Some of its beauty was, however lost, on 2 of the stalwarts of the dredging team as they fought against the time left available to clear a vicious shoal immediately UNDERNEATH Dudbridge Bridge. This creates a problem since even with the long arms of Dredger No. 5 fully extended, clearance twixt bridge and mud hopper "Warp" is, shall we say, minimal! 

An urgent call was made to The Western Depot manager for a lock-side crew to assist with getting dredger and support vessel Annette 2 down the last Lock. Arriving with their normal great alacrity, life jackets donned, the vessels were speedily despatched downwards. 

Thank you chaps!! At the bottom of the leaky lock, the lock-side team departed back to base. 

Now to half-fill the hopper!

The reported shoal was - and is - truly a monster! It consists mainly of hardcore, bricks, rocks and gravel. Presumably this is the remains of the towpath and lock wall washed on during floods some years ago. 

 Today, we were fortunate that we had a dual-use dredging team member who also held a Tug driver qualification, so better to manoeuvre the hopper, we made use of the tug Margaret not being used today by her regular crew. Clearly, more cross-fertilisation would be a great benefit! 

  As normal, we found much objet d'art. 

Today's haul included a skateboard, garden fork, traffic cone, sandbags, sheets of polythene, eel matting from the eel pass, reinforcing bar and what we see here, a sheet of corrugated iron sheet! 

We half filled the hopper, pumped out the excess water and were very fortunate that 2 of the Tug Team were on hand to assist with tug Margaret and the mud hopper. Many thanks to them! 

The final session of the day was to move hopper with some shoal contents, Margaret, Dredger No. 5 and Annette 2 back to Ebley and a secure mooring. 

 This must be one of the largest gatherings of the combined CCT and SVCC maintenance fleet! 

Margaret, Patricia, Weedy, Warp, Dredger No. 5 and Annette 2.  

So now we move onwards to Ryeford and Canal Section dredging. 

"May your bilges always be dry and your anchor always hold."

TC @ WD

In a rare departure from the normal meeting venues, CCT's Trust Council members held their meeting at Western Depot today.  This was also great opportunity for those that had never, or very rarely, seen the facility, to take a guided tour round the works to see where many of our volunteers spend and enjoy their volunteering time.

After Reg's informative 30 minute session, our TC's headed into our facilities caravan for their meeting, which concluded in the dark at 19:15.

Jeff is seen here working on the wig-wag lights for Lodgemore Bridge.

Maize Battalions Stand To in the Sunrise

by: Buffs

With the passing of the Autumn Equinox the changing of the seasons gains pace.  The lengthening nights allow the early riser to see the dawn and the low early morning sun cast its long shadows over the land.  The crystal clear air its moisture laid upon the ground as dew creates a sharpness to the horizon and the vista rising from it.  Monday’s clear blue dawn was capped by the distant condensation trails of aircraft far away perhaps even as far as France and the Low Countries.  The plane below the Cotswold is revealed as a rival to stand against the landscapes painted by the Grand Tourists of earlier centuries with stands of slender poplars seen in sharp relief backed by the low sun.  Here and there are fields of maize part harvested the remaining plants standing to attention, formed into squares, bayonets fixed awaiting the early charge of some distant cavalry. In slow hollows the heat of the early sun lifts the dew into a mist rolled on by the land breeze being drawn up the sloping hills. 

Around the Stroudwater we are seeing Autumn’s golden rain falling from above as the trees put on their final coats of many colours before settling down for the long winter sleep.  Here and there the quiet is punctuated with the clatter of falling conkers and passing schoolchildren still collect them - especially if Grandad is walking them to school.

After last week’s extreme activity under the barn Western Depot has returned to a less frenetic pace.  Hidden behind the effort at Eastington was an equally intense activity for the logging team.  The high winds of mid September had brought down many trees in the county. The canal and its towpath was blocked in several places by fallen trees and branches.  A team of three sawyers and three banksmen dealt with fallen trees at the ocean railway bridge and by skew bridge.  The former was one trunk of a group of three growing from the same root.  This poor quality wood was rendered into handling size pieces and laid alongside the towpath.  The smaller branches and were reduced and put back in the undergrowth adding to the natural habitat for the smaller mammals and insects of the woodland.  The embankment around the railway bridge is expected to be cleared for some distance either side of the canal when Network Rail start work preparing for the re-opening of the blockage with a new bridge in May 2021. 

The tree at Skew Bridge was much more of a challenge.  A large tree had toppled into the canal from the offside.  Much of it was underwater and the root had been torn out of the ground.  The combined efforts of the WD Sawyers and the crew of Wooky Hole set to over two days to make the tree safe and remove it piece by piece from the water.  The lumber was returned to the landowner.

After the long hot and dry summer many trees are likely to be vulnerable to falling over during the winter and the loggers at both ends of the Cotswold Canals expect to be busy.  If you, dear reader, on your perambulations along the cut see trees which are looking the worse for wear or worse then please let us know so we can address the problem before it becomes an event.