Caldon Canal Clean-up!
Wales & Border Counties Waterways, Towpath Tidy 2009
19th, 20th, 21st & 22nd March, Stoke on Trent
Mothering Sunday was day four of the clean up and saw a turn out of 35 people, 3 dogs, 2 boats and loads of enthusiasm. The Caldon Canal was the focus today, for volunteers from Stoke on Trent Boat Club, the Inland Waterways Association Stoke on Trent branch, Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust, Etruria Industrial Museum and The Furniture Mine, along with British Waterways staff.
Towpath Tidy Organiser Steve Bicknell welcomed everybody, gave a Toolbox Talk about the jobs to be tackled and potential hazards and then handed out a range of tools. Armed for a variety of tasks, small groups were soon spread along the Caldon.
An
advance party tackled branches overhanging the towing path with loppers,
bowsaws and cutters, They were followed by a gang of litter pickers who
delved in to bushes and cleared debris at the foot of railings, this becoming
more accessible as undergrowth was cleared.
A grappling hook team operated from Work Boat “Shad”, the hold gradually filling with the ‘underwater obstacles’ typical of an urban canal – roadwork items, shopping trollies, drain pipes, tyres and enough bicycles to support an Olympic team - with the largest haul from either side of Bridge 5 just before Hanley Park. (Strangely, none of the passing cyclists took up the offer of spares or bells from the once submerged set!)
Meanwhile,
a team working off Work Boat “Grayling” tackled off-side vegetation
from immediately above Bedford Street staircase; this was cleared from around
bridgeholes and from a number of disused factory sites. Once the advance
party reached the edge of Hanley Park they too used “Shad” to
clear a particularly bad tree that blocked boaters’ views into Bridge
5. The work boats were then turned for the return journey and the collection
of stacked heaps of cuttings and slime-encased debris.
Along the way a number of other jobs were undertaken. A gang of youngsters cleared the ‘fly- tipping’ on the off-side of the staircase locks. Bollards were painted. Vegetation growing out of walls and fences was cleared, and once accessible a wall by bridge 3 was painted, as were the railings surrounding Bedford Street staircase locks’ bywash. This was a time consuming task, but a determined team from the Boat Club and BW ensured it was completed in black and white before wheel-barrowing their painting kit back to the Etruria workshop.
Mid-afternoon saw both workboats full to overflowing with debris and finally
moored up back at Etruria. Volunteers commented how much they had enjoyed
getting out and doing practical jobs that had really made a difference to
the canal and its surrounding… and discussions were had by Steve from
BW and representatives from the various groups to make a plan for another
Towpath Tidy – returning to Bridge 5 and beyond!
The Trust would like to thank everyone who turned up over the four days of the clean-up for their involvement. In particular, thanks to Steve Bicknell and the team from British Waterways, and to Etruria Industrial Museum for their assistance.
Please remember that Towpath Tidy continues throughout the year with events as part of the ongoing Canals for the Community Project.
There will be two hour sessions on alternate Fridays at various locations on the Caldon or Trent & Mersey canals, the first of which is at Bridge 14 on the Caldon Canal (Botany Bay Bridge in Birches Head) between 10:30am and 12:30pm on 3rd April. For more information please contact Cassie Weaver