Posted on March 29th 2022

East End Monday Team – March

Maintenance

Phase 2

East End Monday Team – March

by: Stuart H.

It’s March and spring is here, although it feels more like summer with the warmer weather. The East End Monday team have been occupied all month with clearing up the damage wrought by Storm Eunice and all the other named weather events that followed in Eunice’s wake. The towpath was obstructed in several places and rather than exploit the potential to market it as an obstacle course, the priority was deemed to be to remove the obstructions so that walkers could wander along unimpeded.

First week saw the team split into two groups with one staying at Cerney Wick to clear as much of the large tree that was totally blocking the towpath and over the canal.

*Cerney Wick – What3Words: comment.shelters.scoping*

The trunk on this one was over 4’ thick, so not something that can easily be dragged out of the way.

*Starting on the fallen tree at Cerney Wick*

By the end of the session a clear route through had been established.

*Cerney Wick towpath back open to traffic*

The other half of the team headed off in the direction of the Spine Road to clear some smaller fallen trees.

*This one didn’t take long, nicely sliced into logs*

A little bit further along a rotten tree had given up the ghost and decided to snap as it fell.

*Another challenge for the not so fit towpath users*

*Tree converted into seating for tired volunteers*

Next tree took a little bit more time as there were more branches to clear up.

The team were back at Cerney Wick the following week, there was a lot of brash to burn. No pictures from this session because the blogger was skiving off

Change of venue for weeks 3 and 4, this time it was out to Northmoor Pound starting at the Bow Wow end, same problems with trees that were life expired not standing up to the force of the wind.

There was couple of loads of ash to recover from here, the timber will be fed into the east end logging operation thus raising further funds for the restorations works.

*A good size ash branch snapped away from the trunk*

People had diverted down the bank to get round one of the obstacles along this length. Those that passed while we were working were keen to express their thanks for us reopening the towpath

*Northmoor Pound, a bit of a mess to clear up*

*Things got worse during the clear up operations*

Being and east end operation, log recovery follows the heritage pattern established by the pioneers who built the canal. No powered mechanical aids can be deployed, it’s just left to the trusty wheel barrowers, the one concession being that the barrows now are lighter that the old wooden barrows the navvies used.

*Another load about to depart, enthusiasm wains when it’s the 27^th load*

*Trailer almost full by half way through the session*

*The large fallen Ash branch at Northmoor Pound*

*A final rake round to get all the bits*

Down to Weymoor Bridge at Latton for the final week of March, this time it was to burn all the brash left over from the hedge cutting in in February. It was too wet to dispose of it all at the time, plus the delay allowed it all to dry out a bit making the burning a bit easier.

*Starting fire number 3 at Weymoor Bridge*

*That’s the end of the mammoth hedge cutting job*

Another ADEBBAU (Artisan Designed Eco Biju Bug Accommodation Unit) was constructed with some of aged and infested wood found around the corner of the canal junction site. Latton Basin being where the North Wilts Canal and the Severn and Thames joined up. The North Wilts canal links the Wilts and Berks canal at Swindon with the T&S.