05 February 2018

Hand Crafted Barge Poles

It was a joy to see some lengths of coppiced ash being crafted into new barge poles for the workboats today.


Tony is seen removing the bark from the wood using a tool once owned by his grandfather.  This is the time of year to do this as the sap has returned to the ground.  Definitely not a summer job.

Several were in the process of manufacture, with paint already applied to a few.  A very therapeutic pastime according to Tony.