East End Maintenance
East End Maintenance – Mon 12th April
by: Stuart H.
There was still a touch of the overnight snow on the ground as the team assembled at the South Cerney Golf Club on Monday morning. This wasn’t for a post COVID Lockdown round, but to clear up around Northmoor Pound and to tackle a willow growing precariously in the middle of the canal bed. The tree had become just a bit too big and was leaning over towards the golf course, the canal bed being too soft to give the roots much purchase. The first job was to ensure there were no birds nesting, a mandatory requirement during the nesting season. As soon as the all-clear was given, work got underway.
First into action was John, taking out the willow shoots to clear the way for the bigger branches to be removed.
Several ivy covered dead trees were found in the hedge along the towing path. Those most likely to fall were removed by tipping them over, the trunks being rotten making it an easy job.
There’s a handy patch of land to build the bonfire for burning the arisings on.
All the cut vegetation had to be dragged or barrowed along to the fire, it’s fairly arduous work and not the cleanest of jobs when the stuff is dragged through the black silt in the canal. The amount of decayed matter from the vegetation growing in this stretch has made it a great place for bog snorkelling, something that none of the volunteers was particularly keen to practice today.
Chris was practicing for the UK Record for loading a wheel-barrow, he’s seen here explaining the art of stacking to Adrian
By breaktime the sun was out and it meant that a couple of layers of winter wrapping needed to come off. It’s a very pleasant setting and should be quite an attraction when boats eventually back along this stretch.
Roger waded over to remove some fallen branches from the offside bank, again these had fallen over into the canal.
By the end of the morning, a lot had been achieved, some of the willow remains and this should be sorted out next week.
For those not familiar with the east end, the canal runs north east of South Cerney village, between the disused track of the Midland and South Western Junction Railway (1881-1970) and the Roman Road known as Ermin Street (AD 48) (now the A419). The canal (C1780) pre-dates the railway by 100 years but both have been eclipsed by the Roman Road, still going strong after over 2,000 years and several coats of tarmac.
