Newsletter Archive

Issue 294 - December 1995

November 1995

This month's Newsletter

Archive Index

February 1996

NOVEMBER MEETING

How many boys grow up with a large part of the world's shipping passing their bedroom window? Dr Edwin Course's home overlooked a reach of the Thames: the house went with his father's job in the London Docks. Luckily, from his early teens, he owned a camera and had the interest to capture many of the shipping scenes. His talk in November, Vessels on London's River in the 1930's, in fact went on up to the 1950's and gave members an insight into the working of London's River and Docks through those years. The pictures were impressive but no more so than all the facts which Dr Course had researched. This excellent talk on the busy years served to emphasise how sad the Thames in London appears today with little traffic and waterfronts that have turned their backs to navigation.

NATIONAL TRAIL BOAT FESTIVAL 1996

Top of Page

Dates have been confirmed and entry forms are available for this event organised by National Waterways Festivals and IWA's Shrewsbury and Border Counties Branch. The Festival, to be held at Welshpool, will provide a wonderful opportunity to explore the Montgomery Canal and to share in the superb progress being made there. Entry forms (sae please) and information from: Ron and Barbara Reid, The Old Post Office, Burlton, Shrewsbury, SY4 5SX. Tel: 01939 270688.

CHRISTMAS ON THE BASINGSTOKE

Top of Page

From December 24 to January 1, a Christmas gathering of boats is being held at the Canal Centre, Mytchett on the Basingstoke Canal. Organised by the IWA Guildford & Reading Branch and the Basingstoke Canal Boating Club, it will include a cruise to the western end of the canal, bar and inland waterway quiz on Boxing Night, and a New Year's Eve party at Bridge Barn, Woking which will see in the IWA's Jubilee Year at midnight. £10 plus short term BCA licence. Entry form and details from Pat Perry-Barton, Segren, Grove Road, Beacon Hill, Hindhead, Surrey, GU26 6PH Tel: 01428 606496.

EARLS COURT BOAT SHOW

Top of Page

Plans are well advanced for a major Golden Jubilee presence for IWA and WRG at the Boat Show. Restoration is to be a theme of the event and an additional IWA stand has been allocated to Waterway Recovery Group. They plan to build a bridge a day during the run of the show; how's that for something completely different! The show is open 10am to 7pm from 5-14 January. Jubilee Year looks set to be seen in spectacularly at Earls Court.

LONDON CANAL MUSEUM

Top of Page

There is to be a special exhibition at the Museum from November 30 to January 2 on London's Lost Route to Midhurst. Open Tuesday - Sunday (open Bank Holidays except December 24-26) from 10am to 4.30pm. Admission: £2.50 (£1.25 concessions). The Museum can be found at 12/13 New Wharf Road, Islington, London N1 9RT Tel: 0171 713 0836.

BIRMINGHAM'S WATERFRONT

Top of Page

In October, Birmingham was awarded the international Excellence on the Waterfront Award, sharing the honours with the waterfronts of Boston and New York. The Top Honour Award 1995 was presented to BW's Chief Executive, Brian Dice, on behalf of joint entrants BW, Birmingham City Council and developer Brindleyplace plc, at the 13th annual conference on urban waterfront planning and development organised by The Waterfront Centre, Washington DC. Judging is based on the use of water, harmony of development designs, the boost to the local economy, and environ.mental and educational value of the projects. Entries are drawn from urban waterfront projects worldwide, but this is the first ever award to a city in Great Britain.

Waterways World Nov 1995

BW have also gained awards in the European Prize for Tourism and the Environment which involved the whole of their waterway network. As well as being one of five winners in the UK section, they were also awarded a special prize by the European jury.

BW Newways Nov 1995

WINTER RESTORATION WORK

Top of Page

As well as the voluntary efforts of the IWA's Waterway Recovery Group and many canal societies, several 'remainder' waterways are the subject of British Waterways schemes this winter. Here we take a selection.

CHESTERFIELD CANAL Work which started in the summer is on schedule with lock reconstruction, dredging and bridge refurbishment all underway on the Nottinghamshire section. This runs from Worksop to the east entrance of the collapsed Norwood Tunnel, a distance of just over 5½ miles with 30 locks including two 2-rise and two 3-rise staircases. This scheme is due to take five years.

HUDDERSFIELD NARROW CANAL BW is in partnership with the three local authorities and the Huddersfield Canal Society to restore this 20 mile canal across the Pennines. Current work is in three areas: Huddersfield where 300 metres of new canal were recently opened; Diggle Flight at the west end of Standedge Tunnel; and Hartshead Power Station site in Stalybridge. Two major obstacles remain - Standedge Tunnel and the built-over section in Stalybridge town centre. The partnership is making a bid to the Millennium Fund for the £25 million required to complete the whole restoration.

RIPON CANAL Subject to funding, BW will extend navigation back into the centre of the city in the next twelve months. A £400,000 contract for dredging, bank protection, towpath work and replacement of a low-level road bridge will start in January for completion next autumn.

WENDOVER ARM No actual restoration yet on one of the few unnavigable canals in BW's Southern Region, but a bid by the Wendover Arm Trust to the Millenium Commission was due to be resubmitted in November. The £9 million restoration is supported by BW. The route was safeguarded recently by an inquiry decision to build a high-level A41 bridge across it.

MONTGOMERY CANAL Following reopening of the Frankton section in June, a further ¾ miles became navigable at Welshpool when Whitehouse Bridge was opened at the beginning of November. Work continues beyond Frankton when the beams for a new Perry Aqueduct were lifted into position a few weeks ago.

BW Newways Nov 1995

BOATING WITH A DIFFERENCE!

Top of Page

The Society has recently received details of 4-berth self-drive hire boats and a 16-berth hotel boat on the Gambia River, West Africa. These boats are operated by a subsidiary of Friesland Boating, an established hire boat company in the northern Netherlands. More details of both destinations from the Editor.

CANAL CHOPPER

Top of Page

Kidsgrove-based waterway supervisor Duncan Davenport never thought he'd need to apply quite so soon what he'd learnt at a recent one-day emergency procedures course. A couple of Sundays ago, duty officer Alan Whittaker called him out to deal with a helicopter which had landed in the Macclesfield Canal at Adlington after its engine failed. There were no injuries but he and call-out team member Phil Harold did help to get the crashed helicopter along the towpath and through a hedge to a nearby road.

BW Newways Nov 1995

MILLENNIUM GRANTS

Top of Page

The Millenium Commission has confirmed approval of a £167,890 grant to the River Stour Trust for building a new lock at Great Cornard, near Sudbury. The grant is for half of the £300,000 cost, with £15,000 also being provided by local councils. The 20 week contract is expected to start in May 1996 with navigation possible by the autumn. Although the right of navigation is now vested in the National Rivers Authority, following the demise of the navigation company, the new lock will remain under the control of the River Stour Trust, as are the locks at Dedham and Flatford.

Waterways World Dec 1995

BW was due to be resubmitting its Millenium Link scheme (Forth & Clyde Canal restoration) to the Millenium Commission in November. They want £30 million from the Commission towards the cost of regenerating the canal corridor through the Central Lowlands of Scotland. To reassure the commission about the extent of public support, more 20,000 signatures were to accompany the bid.

BW Newways Nov 1995

Send your comments to the Web Site manager (Peter Oates)

© Southampton Canal Society 1995 - 2004. Except where otherwise indicated, information on these pages may be reproduced provided permission is obtained from the Web Site manager beforehand and due acknowledgement made to the Society.

Page created 21 May 2003 - layout changes 10 January 2004.