East End – A Different Perspective
East End – A Different Perspective
by: Stuart H.
Sunday 10 October
Just for a change this blog will not have an overt log sale promotion, instead there’ll be a plea for extra volunteers. One of the few CCT groups to work on Sundays can be found on the east end of Sapperton Tunnel . The team led by Karen Shaw meet once a month and look after the stretch from the tunnel portal to Trewsbury bridge. This is a challenging area especially as the team has seen falling numbers of volunteers for a while. If you have some spare time and would like to get some exercise in the fresh Cotswold air, watch out for the notice for the November work party on the CCT’s Connect website at: https://www.teamconnect.org.uk/index.php
Sadly, the Tunnel House Inn has been closed for quite a while, volunteers need to bring their own ration pack for the day, but that just adds to the amusement.
The section from the tunnel east portal to Tarlton Road bridge has some water, east of the bridge the canal is dry and the bed as far as Coates Round House has been kept clear. Beyond the round house things get a bit more rustic.
The empty canal bed towards the round house
A few more bodies would allow the banks, the towpath and the roundhouse garden to be tackled. The path is part of Wysis Way and there is a reasonably high footfall, especially in summer. It also forms an east west leg of circular walks from Tarlton and Coates and for the more adventurous even from Cirencester and Sapperton.
For anyone wondering about where they will end up if they follow the Wysis Way signs, if you’re going east then it’ll be across the field to the source of the Thames. Westward is a different matter as it’s a path linking of the Thames Path to Offa’s Dyke Path National Trail at Monmouth! One for the more courageous (and fitter) explorer.
Monday 11 October
The Monday gang this week suffered a similar fate as the tunnel team on Sunday, having only 3 volunteers in. On the upside, the three who turned up were keen as mustard and strimmed the section of Northmoor Pound from Northmoor Lane to Bow Wow. Admittedly, it was a final cut and the team last visited on 16th August, but grass doesn’t stop growing in September.
The dreaded Himalayan Balsam has infected this bit of the canal, but a blitz on it in August has paid dividends.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens next spring, hopefully the bits that were cleared before the balsam had time to seed will see some reduction in growth.
It’s interesting to talk to the people who use the tow path, one local resident who stopped to chat didn’t know the path took them up to Siddington or down as far as the Spine Road. If this is indicative of the local knowledge of the canal, then the publicity machine will need to ramp up big time before Phase 2 get under way.
Strimming will soon be winding down for the year, finding the winter challenge is under consideration already.
