December 2002

Work is still going according to plan despite the present spell of wet weather. Many thanks to all concerned including BITM who at their October weekend with us, amongst other tasks, laid 80 metres of excellent new footpath from the bridge to the lock with Geotex underlay and rolled road stone finish, materials supplied free of charge by Dacorum Borough Council. When BITM had a cancellation in November at Sleaford, they asked if they could come to Little Tring instead and they were welcomed with open arms. Not only did they progress with another 50 yards of scrub clearance and stumping at Whitehouses but they helped us to complete a base and a wall for Stage 5. They are planning two visits to us in 2003 as well as assisting at the Festival.

The base of the towpath wall between the bridge and the lock (Stage 5) has now been cast as far as possible without interfering with the access under Little Tring Bridge for ready-mix lorries. One base and two wall sections will have to be cast after the excavation has been completed ready for the Bentonite lining between the lock and the bridge. In the meantime base and wall sections are to be cast for the offside wall between the bridge and the old farm crossing.

I am pleased to say that the badger licence was issued just in time for demolition of the disused sett under the public footpath on the offside bank on Saturday November 30th 2002 - the last day of the open season for badger licences! Any delay would have meant stopping work in this area until next July. Keith Higby of the Herts and Middlesex Badger Group helped us in arranging the licence but I was appalled at the red tape of English Nature and DEFRA who argued as to who should issue the licence. Passing the buck and inefficiency were the order of the day. Keith Higby and Jon Iles, the local Footpath Officer, tell me that this is the norm! Ray Orth has hired an excavator and two dumpers for demolishing the sett and excavating for the offside wall and he has arranged operators so that work can continue on Sunday 1 December to make the most of the plant hire.

Ken Graves has arranged a further supply of hedging plants to complete the towpath hedge near the bridge (Stage 4) and these are due to be planted at the working party on Saturday 7 December.

I was recently asked why the narrows through the bridge extend some 20 metres past the west face of Little Tring Bridge. Although Little Tring Farm had no rights over the old farm crossing between their fields on either side of the canal, the Trust and BW offered to extend the bridge narrows so that at any time in the future a swing bridge could be installed in lieu of the old crossing. Any bridge will have to be paid for and maintained by the owners of Little Tring Farm. The same arrangement will apply to the farm crossing opposite the entrance track where the land on either side is owned by Herts County Council and where it is proposed to construct a 15ft narrow channel under Phase II.

Priority Jobs

> Excavate the new bed of the canal from the lock to the bridge when the new towpath wall is completed, form a smooth bed with ash from the old tip and lay the Bentonite lining with concrete on sloping sides and narrows and excavated material on the level as cover. It is intended to use two excavators for this work, one for bulk excavation, the other for final grading and trimming. Dumpers will assist them for carting spoil to the tip although spoil will also be used to backfill the towpath wall alongside. The exact programme for this work depends on the weather; see Schedule of Work on page 5.

> When the above excavation is complete, continue with the towpath wall under the bridge linking up with the already completed Stage 1 towpath wall.

> Commence Bentomat lining from the lock working progressively westwards. This will require excavating to 2" (50mm) below the lining, spreading and rolling a layer of ash from the old rubbish tip to give a smooth bed on which to lay the Bentomat. The sloping sides of the bed will then be covered with 6" (150mm) of concrete. BW has had problems with the joints in laying Bentomat indicating that these must be laid very carefully. To avoid disruption to joints in the level part of the bed when laying loose fill, I am suggesting we lay a 6" (150mm) transverse strip of concrete 2 or 3ft wide to cover the joints that are at approx. 4.5 metre intervals. The 12" (300mm) cover of the level bed with suitable excavated spoil will go over these transverse strips that will prevent disturbance to the joint. Where there is a 15ft narrow channel through Little Tring Bridge, the whole width will be covered in 6" (150mm) of concrete so the excavation will be 6" (150mm) shallower along this length. As the work is completed it will inevitably hold water (we hope!) so two sandbag dams across the channel will be leapfrogged as work progresses. As the concrete over the Bentomat will be exposed to temperature extremes until Phase I is in water in 2004 it may be prudent to keep the area permanently flooded to a depth of up to 18" (450mm) as work progresses to prevent excessive expansion and contraction of the concrete cover. It would also give us advance warning of any leaks. It would be possible to install a vandal proof pipe and valve in the bund at the end of the lock to facilitate topping up when rain does not do the work for us.

Non-Priority or 'Hospital' Jobs

> Continue extending the offside wall from the bridge to the old farm crossing when formwork is not required for priority work.

> Continue with Phase II scrub bashing and stumping, Whitehouses to Herts/Bucks boundary, there are 852 yards, say half a mile yet to clear.

> Annual strimming at Whitehouses and Drayton Beauchamp. · Lay blue brick copings to junctions of old and new walls at the stop lock.

> Lay hardcore to road behind winding hole wall and erect safety barrier of sheet steel piles laid horizontally on vertical supports.

Web Site

The address of the Trust web site now managed by Oliver Revel is:

http://www.wendovercanal.plus.com

There is another web site covering the Wendover/Tring Canal Festival managed by Trust member Peter Andrews that can be accessed through the main site.

BW Proposed Moorings at New Mill

Still no news regarding the BW application for outline planning permission.

IWA 2003 National Rally 22nd to 25th August 2003

All you Bog Scrubbers will be delighted to know that the Trust's offer to service the lavatories and showers at next year's IWA National Rally at Beale Park on the River Thames near Reading has been accepted by the Rally Organisers. Ray Orth has bravely agreed to take charge of the operation again and will no doubt be pleased to hear from anyone willing to help.

Regarding a Trust block boat booking for the Rally, I have now had requests to join in for seven craft belonging to Trust members. This is your last chance to join the block booking as all entries have to be sent in together and your form, cheque etc. must be with Ray Orth (42 Lowndes Avenue, Chesham, Bucks HP5 2HH, tel: 01494 786868) by Friday 6 December 2002 at the latest. If you require a form, telephone IWA HQ on 01923 711114 and they will send you one by post the next day.

Aston Clinton by-pass

Work is progressing with the canal diversion. The bridge is mainly complete except for the brick facing on the east side of the bridge. The new channel has been excavated and a trial section laid with Bentomat. The sloping sides have been covered with topsoil covered with black plastic mesh to hold the surface and also to anchor coil rolls at water level. Work is being disrupted by extremely wet weather at the present.

BW lining through Drayton Beauchamp Bridge

BW are extending the by-pass diversion lining eastwards through Drayton Beauchamp Bridge to the manhole opposite the farm to counter complaints of flooding due to alleged leaks at Drayton Beauchamp Bridge causing floods in Drayton Beauchamp Village. As we found with the winding hole (see August Working Party News), BW found the quotation from Balfour Beatty, the by-pass contractors, excessive and are employing one of their regular contractors, Nuttalls, to execute this work. I have seen the initial excavations, which have exposed the pipeline below and also the old farm wharf (which is to be retained as a feature, not a mooring), and I am impressed with the quality of workmanship so far.

General Notes

All volunteers receive and sign for the Trust's Restoration Manual that includes full Health and Safety requirements covering the restoration works.The Manual is the property of the trust; if you leave the district or leave the work parties for any other reason, please return the Manual to either Ray Orth or myself.

Hard hats for use at all times and high visibility jackets to be worn on sites with mobile plant in use are kept in the store at Tringford and must be drawn/returned there.One first aid kit is kept in the store; another is kept in the VW transporter for use on site. Also available in the transporter are ear defenders and goggles that must be worn when strimming, angle grinders. Concrete breakers and the like.

David Barratt is now our qualified First-Aider. ( And even if he is not on site, lives nearby and can be contacted on 01442 822523 if he is at home.

My mobile phone number at working parties is 07850-170858. It is not always left on continuously but has a message facility that I check from time to time. We normally work from 10am to 5pm (or dark if earlier!) other than times when we are hiring plant or taking delivery of ready-mix concrete early in the morning when some volunteers are asked to start at 9am. There are breaks for morning coffee/tea, packed lunch and afternoon tea/coffee. We take our own food and drinks. However, do not feel bound by these times, as half a day is better than no help at all. We have an electric kettle and tea urn at the hut: also there is an outside tap for drinking water.

Readers may recall that I printed in the October 2001 issue a table of the number of concrete pours (bases and walls) by quarters. Here is an update based on our programme to the end of 2002:

# Affected by bad weather and outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

There are a total of 146 pours in Phase I so we have a programme of 35 pours in 2003.

Budget and Costs to date as at 31 Dec. 2002 will be published in the next Working Party News.

October 2002

I am sending this newsletter out promptly as Margaret and I ore about to leve for a trip on our narrowboat and will not be back until the BITM weekend in mid-October.

So far we have kept to our programme of work and the towpath wall between the lock and the bridge ( Stage 5 ) is proceeding well with three bases completed and the wall shuttering in place ready for the first pour at the October weekend. The 'S' bend on the offside west of little Tring Bridge ( Stage 2 ) is now completed and looks good, especially when vied from the bridge.

The Badger that took occupation of the rabbit warren under the offside footpath near the end of the Stage2 wall while the footpath was closed for the foot and mouth outbreak, appears to have gone as rabbits have been seen going in and out of the holes again. I have spoken with Judith Murry, the Licensing Officer for English Nature at Cambridge, and Keith Higby of the Herts & Middlesex Badger Group and the position is that (a) if the sett is inhabited or (b) uninhabited and we are going to physically disturb the sett with our excavations, we need a licence. If it is uninhabited and we are not going disturb the sett we do not need a licence. Ray Orth is going to meet Keith Higby on site and, if Keith decides a licence is required, he will apply for it on our behalf.

You may recall that in September 1977 Keith co-operated with us over the deserted sett at the end of the old tip and his group placed an eletric fence with a one-way gate round the sett for three weeks before it was demolished under licence. The problem with the latest sett is that it is under a public footpath with a timber bridge placed by Dacorum Council footpath Officer over one of the entrances.

We have had a case of serious vandalism in that the chestnut paling fence across the end of the lock that keeps the public off our construction site was trashed to pieces between our work parties on Sunday 8th and Wednesday 11th September 2002. Fortunately we had spare rolls of fencing to effect immediate repairs on the Wednesday and it is to be hoped that this will not become a regular event.

Thanks to everyone for letting us know in advance if you are coming to a work party. In my absence prior to the BITM weekend please contact the person in charge. The latest roster is on the last page of this newsletter for work party members.

Priority Jobs

• Construct the new towpath wall from the lock to the bridge, Sections 60 to 66 which will bring the wall to the first 'S' bend section leading to the towpath wall under Little Tring Bridge. At this point excavation and construction will have to be very carefully planned, as excavation under the bridge will temporarily cut off access for ready-mix lorries. Be prepared to barrow read-mix through the bridge!
• Excavate the new bed of the canal from the lock to the bridge when the new towpath wall is completed, form a smooth bed with ash from the old tip and lay the Bentonite lining with concrete and excavated material as cover.

Non-Priority or 'Hospital' Jobs

• Continue extending the offside wall from the bridge to the old farm crossing when formwork is not required for priority work.
• Regular mowing of the new Stage 1 towpath to keep the weeds down and making up levels where fill has settled.
• Continue with Phase II scrub bashing from Whitehouses.
• Lay blue brick copings to junctions of old and new walls at the stop lock. The blue coping bricks have been obtained by BW and the work will be carried out when the new wall on the towpath side has been completed.

Web Site

The address of the Trust web site now managed by Oliver Revel is:

http:// www.wendovercanal.org.uk/

There is another web site covering the Wendover/Tring Canal Festival Managed by Trust member Peter Andrews that can be accessed through the main site.

BW Proposed Mooring at New Mill.

Still no news regarding the BW application for outline planning permission.

IWA 2003 National Rally

I have had little response so far regarding a group booking for next year's IWA National Rally at Beale Park on the River Thames Near Reading. Please let me know fairly soon if you are interested.

General Notes

All volunteers receive and sign for the Trust's Restoration Manual that includes full Health and Safety requirements covering the restoration works.The Manual is the property of the trust; if you leave the district or leave the work parties for any other reason, please return the Manual to either Ray Orth or myself.

Hard hats for use at all times and high visibility jackets to be worn on sites with mobile plant in use are kept in the store at Tringford and must be drawn/returned there.One first aid kit is kept in the store; another is kept in the VW transporter for use on site. Also available in the transporter are ear defenders and goggles that must be worn when strimming, angle grinders. Concrete breakers and the like.

David Barratt is now our qualified First-Aider. ( And even if he is not on site, lives nearby and can be contacted on 01442 822523 if he is at home.

My mobile phone number at working parties is 07850-170858. It is not always left on continuously but has a message facility that I check from time to time. We normally work from 10am to 5pm (or dark if earlier!) other than times when we are hiring plant or taking delivery of ready-mix concrete early in the morning when some volunteers are asked to start at 9am. There are breaks for morning coffee/tea, packed lunch and afternoon tea/coffee. We take our own food and drinks. However, do not feel bound by these times, as half a day is better than no help at all. We have an electric kettle and tea urn at the hut: also there is an outside tap for drinking water.

Numbering of walls sections,with position as at 17th September 2002,is as follows:

August 2002

I have delayed sending out this newsletter until after our eight day working party, From Saturday 27th July to Saturday 3rd August 2002, as I was not sure whether we would complete all the work planned. In the event the results surpassed all expectations. The footpath between the bridge and lock was re-opened at 2pm on Monday 29th July after completing the backfilling behind the new wall, transferring the chestnut paling fence from the towpath side to behind the wall and forming a ramp up to the new steps at the bridge built by Priory Construction to replace the old steps.

Dacorum Borough Council have agreed to provide 10 tonnes of roadstone for this footpath which will be laid and rolled during October after the new fill has had time to settle.

On Monday afternoon 29th July exccavation commedced for the new wall on the towpath side between the bridge and the look (stage 5) including demolition of the old towpath wall. We were fortunate in that one of the two 5 ton excavators on site had jib that could be moved from side to side enabling the operator to straddle the old wall and excavate out both sides. Demolition of the old wall commenced at 11 am on Tuesday and, thanks in part to our new hydraulic breaker, the wall was completely demolished by 10 am on the Friday. Those of you involved in the demolition of the old wall on the footpath side with hired breakers will appreciate that this was a much more efficient and cheaper operation.

By Friday 2nd August excavation was complete ready for the final trimming for blinding. By Saturday afternoon 3rd August the screed boards were laid on concrete ready for the first two sections of blinding. Although we had two excavators and two large dumpers on site these were not always needed for Stage 5 so we were able to remove to tip the temporary road built for constructing the Stage 2 winding hole wall, and make a start on Stage 7 excavating in the winding hole. Several other small jobs such as top soiling the banks by the bridge on the south side, excavationg the bank for Stage 4 by the bridge and using the spoil to backfill the Stage 2 wall opposite and general clearance of the old tip site were achieved. There was also enough time to bend enough reinforcement for the first three bases for Stage 5.

Finally I must thank all who helped, especially the members of WRG BITM who first suggested this work party and provided half the work force during the eight days; the Trust's very grateful thanks to BITM for your help without which we could not have achieved such remarkable results.

After completing one more base for Stage 2 west of the bridge that is ready for pouring, priority will be given to pouring Stage 5 bases between the lock and the bridge but, until enough bases for Stage 5 are ready, Stage 2 walls will be poured to complete the "S" bend west of the bridge. The target for base and wall pours can be seen in the schedule of dates for working parties on page 5.

It is now extremely important that you let the person in charge of the work party know that you are available. We do not need large numbers, e.g.if we are pouring walls and bases, five are needed, if we are stripping and re-erecting formwork we need a minimum of four each for bases and walls.In particular, if you can spare half a day, the morning when formwork is being stripped and cleaned is the time to come.

As a result of the suggestion by KESCRG that we promote a WRG 'Dig Deep' year in 2003 I have received various comments and we had a very useful debate with the BITM members at the end of the eight-day work party. I have also had the annual offer of a WRG week in summer 2003.

It has to be appreciated that the Phase 1 restoration at Little Tring requires limited numbers of volunteers at any one time. Furthermore most of these volunteers need to be experienced in our specific construction methods, particularly handling our formwork. Apart from the Trust's volunteers WRG BITM and KESCRG have this experience. Furthermore, only a specific number of volunteers are needed on site at one time, e.g. if we are pouring ready mix concrete, the maximum number is six; if we are stripping and re-erecting formwork, the maximum number is eight to ten. If there are more on site there are odd jobs to be done but, other than winter when there is scrub bashing to be done for Phase II, it is difficult to quickly organise work for everyone at short notice.

I am therfore not pursuing the Dig Deep or WRG Summer Camp proposals at present but will review the position after we have laid the first Bentonite lining to see if this operation will benefit from additional help.

Priority Jobs

• Construct the new towpath wall from the lock to the bridge, Sections 60 to 66 which will bring the wall to the first 'S' bend section leading to the towpath wall under Little Tring Bridge. At this point excavation and construction will have to be very carefully planned, as excavation under the bridge will temporarily cut off access for ready-mix lorries. Be prepared to barrow read-mix through the bridge!
• Excavate the new bed of the canal from the lock to the bridge when the new towpath wall is completed, form a smooth bed with ash from the old tip and lay the Bentonite lining with concrete and excavated material as cover.

Non-Priority or 'Hospital' Jobs

• Continue extending the offside wall from the bridge to the old farm crossing when formwork is not required for priority work.
• Regular mowing of the new Stage 1 towpath to keep the weeds down and making up levels where fill has settled.
• Continue with Phase II scrub bashing from Whitehouses.

Nail Gun

Eddy Evans came up trumps again in being successful in buying a second hand nail gun for the Trust for £175. This is required for fastening the Bentonite to the concrete walls with a securing strip to keep it in position until the concrete cover has been laid.

Web Site

The address of the Trust web site now managed by Oliver Revel is:

http:// www.wendovercanal.org.uk/

There is another web site covering the Wendover/Tring Canal Festival Managed by Trust member Peter Andrews that can be accessed through the main site.

BW Proposed Mooring at New Mill.

Still no news regarding the BW application for outline planning permission.

Aston Clinton By-pass

Work on the canal diversion continues but the provision of a winding hole by the by-pass contractor has been dopped as the firm are asking for £33,000 for design and construction over and above the cost of the normal channal that the Highway Agency are providing! Both John Kearsey for BW and myself for the trust consider this to be exorbitant for the work involved. I have asked John to ensure that sufficient land is allowed clear of the towpath such that The Trust can enlarge the channel to a winding hole at a later date during Phase II.

During a visit to the site I oberved that the excavation for the new channel on the west side of the new by-pass canal bridge. This has exposed the bed of the canal as a hard rock-like chalk (Misbourne layer) that is full of fractures and a slide has been taken for record purposes. No wonder the old canal leaked if it only had a clay bed that could have easily disappeared into the many cracks. Great care will have to be taken along the dry section to ensure a sound base under the Bentonite lining.

IWA 2003 National Rally

Many of our boater members will know that next year's IWA National Rally is to be held on the River Thames near Reading. It occurred to me that the Trust could make a group booking for those who wish to attend. Please let me know if you would like to join in; if there is enough interest I will ask the Editor to promote it in the Wendover Arm News for Trust members who do not get this newsletter.

All volunteers receive and sign for the Trust's Restoration Manual that includes full Health and Safety requirements covering the restoration works.The Manual is the property of the trust; if you leave the district or leave the work parties for any other reason, please return the Manual to either Ray Orth or myself.

Hard hats for use at all times and high visibility jackets to be worn on sites with mobile plant in use are kept in the store at Tringford and must be drawn/returned there.One first aid kit is kept in the store; another is kept in the VW transporter for use on site. Also available in the transporter are ear defenders and goggles that must be worn when strimming, angle grinders. Concrete breakers and the like.

David Barratt is now our qualified First-Aider.

My mobile phone number at working parties is 07850-170858. It is not always left on continuously but has a message facility that I check from time to time. We normally work from 10am to 5pm (or dark if earlier!) other than times when we are hiring plant or taking delivery of ready-mix concrete early in the morning when some volunteers are asked to start at 9am. There are breaks for morning coffee/tea, packed lunch and afternoon tea/coffee. We take our own food and drinks. However, do not feel bound by these times, as half a day is better than no help at all. We have an electric kettle and tea urn at the hut: also there is an outside tap for drinking water.

Numbering of wall sections, with positions as at 3rd August 2002, is as follows:

June 2002

Many thanks to all who helped at the 2002 Festival and at recent work parties, especially those who answered my appeal for help last month for may 15^th to 17^th. In connection with the Festival, I enclose, for those who were helping over the weeked. A copy of a thank you letter that I received from our chairman, Bob Wheal. Thanks also to KESCRG who did an excellent job over the weekend, 18^th/19^th May. We have virtually completed Stage 6, the footpath wall from the bridge to the lock, only some backfill and finishing the footpath when the fill has settled are outstanding.Hopefully, Priory Construction will soon complete the new steps up to the road although it may be necessary for the Trust to form a ramp or shallow steps from the footpath to the base of the steps that end about halfway down the slope.

KESCRG have also suggested that we promote a WRG 'Dig Deep' year in 2003. We should be starting the Bentonite lining of the canal bed by then so I would be glad to hear what our volunteers feel about it as staffing special WRG visits will be required.

I made an appeal in the last newsletter for volunteers to let me know when they are coming to work parties. This was very successful, thanks to your responses, so I am printing the current roster on the last page (for volunteers only). If you can fill any of the vacancies, please let the person in charge (name in italics) know in good time.

Thanks to Eddy Evans who placed an advert in his local paper, the Trust now has an hydraulic breaker. It is a first class tool and only cost us £400! It is insured for £1,000, less than half the list price when new.

On a more general note the work ahead for us for the rest of the year is

Priority Jobs

>Divert the towpath/footpath behind the new wall leading to the new steps with the chestnut fencing along the edge as a safety/security barrier.

>Excavate for the new towpath wall between the lock and the bridge including demolition of the old wall and laying the blinding concrete.

>Construct the new towpath wall from the lock to the bridge, Sections 60 to 68.

> Excavate the new bed of the canal from the lock to the bridge as the new towpath wall is completed.

Non-priority or "Hospital" jobs

> Continue extending the offside wall from the bridge to the old farm crossing. Priority will be given to pouring bases so that there will be plenty of walls to pour once the base formwork is moved back to the lock.

> Backfill the winding hole wall with loose fill and plenty of broken up concrete from the old Little Tring Bridge that is stored alongside the entry road and forming a well drained road on top with a safety barrier.

> Regular mowing of the new stage 1 towpath to keep the weeds down.

> Excavate to near final bed level in the winding hole area on each side of the road up to the tip in the triangle. It may be prudent not to go to final level as the time lag before final laying of the bentonite lining will almost certainly result in growth of fresh vegetation unless we find the old asphalt bed at a suitable depth on which to lay the bentonite

> Continue with phase II scrub bashing from whitehouses.

RAF Halton

I have just received an offer of help from RAF Halton for Thursday 11^th July 2002. At present Stage 2 blinding work is scheduled but Pete Bowers can employ them on this or scrub bashing at whitehouses.

Grants Officer

I am pleased to say that one of our volunteers, David Andrew, has offered to help in this task. As he is often away from home, Ray Orth has offered to join forces with him in this work.

WebSite

Torkel is moving home in the near future and Oliver Revel has agreed to take over the site from him.

The web site address is: http://www.wendovercanal.org.uk

There is another web site covering the Wendover/Tring Canal Festival managed by Trust member Peter Andrews that can be accessed through the main site.

BW Proposed Moorings at New Mill

No news yet over the BW application for outline planning permission.

Chiltern Branch Weekend 2002

Many of us enjoyed the Chiltern Branch visit to the Huddersfield Canal last year. This year a trip to the

"Mon & Brec" Canal is being arranged from Friday 13^th to Sunday 15^th September 2002.

Anyone wishing to go might like to keep these dates free.Chilten Branch members will have received booking forms already, but if anyone else would like to go please let me know and I will see that you get a booking form.

Aston Clinton by-pass

Work on the canal diversion continues and discussions over the provision of a winding hole, at the Trust's expense,are in progress.

After discussions with BW, it has been agreed that the length between Drayton Beauchamp Bridge and the start of the diversion to be relined by BW because of leakage problems, It will be narrower than the general specification for the restoration. The steep banks on either side indicate that it was probably this narrow when in water for navigation. This should not be a problem for 7ft beam craft but wider craft may have to observe one way working over this straight stretch of canal.

General Notes

You will recall that many issues ago I made an appeal for a First Aid volunteer. I am pleased to tell you that David Barratt, qualified in first aid, has agreed to take this job on.

All volunteers receive and sign for the Trust's Restoration Manual that includes full Health and Safety requirements covering the restoration works.The Manual is the property of the trust; if you leave the district or leave the work parties for any other reason, please return the Manual to either Ray Orth or myself.

Hard hats for use at all times and high visibility jackets to be worn on sites with mobile plant in use are kept in the store at Tringford and must be drawn/returned there.One first aid kit is kept in the store; another is kept in the VW transporter for use on site. Also available in the transporter are ear defenders and goggles that must be worn when strimming, angle grinders. Concrete breakers and the like.

My mobile phone number at working parties is 07850-170858. It is not always left on continuously but has a message facility that I check from time to time. We normally work from 10am to 5pm (or dark if earlier!) other than times when we are hiring plant or taking delivery of ready-mix concrete early in the morning when some volunteers are asked to start at 9am. There are breaks for morning coffee/tea, packed lunch and afternoon tea/coffee. We take our own food and drinks. However, do not feel bound by these times, as half a day is better than no help at all. We have an electric kettle and tea urn at the hut: also there is an outside tap for drinking water.

Numbering of wall sections,with position as at 20^th March 2002, is as follows:

Copy of the letter from Bob Wheal

Roger Leishman

7 Hall Park

Berkhamsted

Herts

HP42NU

9th June 2002

Dear Roger

I am writing on behalf of the Wendover Arm Trust to thank

you and your team for your support in helping to plan and

run this year's Festival.

The Festival was an unqualified success, with even the

weather co-operating (for once).

Considering the number of competing events, public

attendance and hence entrance income

was satisfactory.

I probably don’t have enough space to list all the support

tasks your team got involved with.

The fence was up on time, Adrian kept the public were

informed in the Trust Marquee the oil

store was emptied and re-filled and of course the tea

flowed liberally at the Lock Café.

In addition, your team managed to continue with the

restoration work whilst all this was going on.

These events do seem to have a momentum of their own,

but are only successful after months

of planning and involvement by everyone.

Thanks once again to you and everyone in the restoration

work party for your involvement.

Yours faithfully,

Wendover Arm Trust

Bob Wheal

Chairman

April 2002

Despite the adverse weather recently, reasonable progress has been made but not yet enough to reduce the delays from last year. The base of the footpath wall from the bridge to the lock, if we can keep to the programme, ought to be completed for the Festival. This is due to scheduling extra weekday work parties and also KESCRG offering to spend a weekend with us in May.

KESCRG have also suggested that we promote a WRG 'Dig Deep' year in 2003. We should be well into Bentonite lining of the canal bed by then so I would be glad to hear what our volunteers think about it as it will mean staffing special WRG weekends and maybe one week camps. You will see from the Work Party Programme that I have scheduled pours to enable us to complete the footpath wall at the Festival in June. This will allow curing time for the concrete before the backfilling is completed at the end of July when a one week concerted effort is being made to enable the footpath and towpath to be diverted behind the new wall, providing Priory Construction have completed the new steps up to the road. This will then free the towpath side for excavation and demolition of the old wall on that side. Some of our friends from BITM have offered to help during the week starting the end of July, so it is hoped to have at least one excavator, dumpers and a hydraulic breaker on site.

Recently, I have been really pleased at the large number of volunteers turning up at work parties. It is also very encouraging to have a regular number of new volunteers joining us and they are most welcome. If you do not already let me (or the person in charge on the day) know you are coming I would urge you to do this because on a few occasions I have not prepared enough work to keep everyone occupied as much as we would like. Unlike 'scrub bashing' when there is always work for unlimited numbers, our present work involves ordering materials in advance, arranging deliveries of ready-mix concrete and hiring expensive plant. For certain operations we need
minimum numbers on the day. If more that the minimum number are coming, there is plenty of blinding work to keep them busy but I have to ensure that there is someone on site who can use the builders level to check the final level of the screeding boards. In the first instance will you please let me know as soon as possible. when you are able to help. I will then issue the roster to all who are coming after which please contact the person in charge regarding any changes. If you are unable to commit yourself so far ahead, will you please let me know if you are coming at least two weeks ahead.

Priority Jobs for the rest of this year

> Complete the footpath wall from the bridge to the lock including backfilling and forming
the new footpath.

> Divert the towpath/footpath behind the new wall leading to the new steps with the chestnut
fencing along the edge as a safety/security barrier.

> Excavate for the new towpath wall between the lock and the bridge including demolition of
the old wall and laying the blinding concrete.

> Constructing the new towpath wall from the lock to the bridge, Sections 60 to 68.

> Excavating the new bed of the canal from the lock to the bridge as the new towpath wall is
completed.

Other Jobs

> Extending the offside wall from the bridge to the old farm crossing; there will be an
opportunity to do this once the footpath wall between the bridge and the lock is completed
and before the formwork is required for the towpath wall between the lock and the bridge.
Priority will be given to pouring bases so that there will be plenty of walls to pour once the
base formwork is moved back to the lock

> Backfilling the winding hole wall with loose fill and plenty of broken up concrete from the
old Little Tring Bridge that is stored alongside the entry road and forming a well drained
road on top with a safety barrier.

> Regular mowing of the new Stage 1 towpath to keep the weeds down.

> Excavating to near final bed level in the winding hole area on each side of the road up to
the tip in the triangle. It may be prudent not to go to final level as the time lag before final
laying of the Bentonite lining will almost certainly result in growth of fresh vegetation
unless we find the old asphalt bed at a suitable depth on which to lay the Bentonite.

Beware, There's a Thief About

As many of you will recall, we had a problem with car thieves at Drayton Beauchamp in past years
when we had three vehicle break-ins or attempted break-ins. We also had a break-in of a car
parked by the cart track entrance when working at Whitehouses. On Sunday 3rd of March there was
a break in at our site car park above the winding hole. At the time we were working at the bridge
although dumpers were travelling to and from the tip in the triangle.
We have considered various options such as keeping the entrance gates closed and locked (but not
everyone has a key to the padlocks) or posting a guard on the car park. This must be a new
outbreak because police warning notices about car thieves have appeared all over the area this
month. At the next weekend work party there will be work going on levelling the towpath so we
will ask those concerned to keep a watchful eye open. When ground conditions permit parking
nearer the work site will be possible but please leave the farm crossing area clear for vehicles to
reverse, in particular ready-mix lorries.

Grants Officer

The Trust Council are urgently seeking someone to replace Gregg Bisgrove, who has recently
relinquished this post. If anyone is willing to undertake this administrative job, please contact the
Chairman, Bob Wheal, telephone 01525 381614.

The Waterway Trust

On Friday 1st March, Roger Hanbury, Chief Executive of The Waterway Trust, was coming to the
Ann for an all day visit. The visit has now been postponed to the afternoon of Friday May 3rd.
Unfortunately he will now not see our work party in action.


2002 Wendover/Tring Canal Festival

Working party members who bring their boats to the Festival always moor at the head of
navigation in and adjacent to the lock at Tringford. As the length of the lock has been shortened
by the new bund and we have some new boat owners among us could you please make sure that
your boater's application form for the Festival is endorsed 'WORKING PARTY' if you want to
moor at the Tringford end. The following boats are already booked in for mooring at or adjacent to
the stop lock.

TONIC Enid & Ron Pittaway
MADRIGAL Jo & Ray Orth
KAY CEE TOO Liz & Brian Ing
CHUMLEY-B Val & Bert Matraves
SCYTHIA Wendy & Rodney Evans
MARY BETH Margaret & Roger Leishman
MALIAIKA Brian Lansley
Pete Bowers also tells me that he and Vera should be there with KOFFEE AND KREAM


BW Proposed Moorings at New Mill

This has now been discussed by the WAT Council and ity is considered that the proposal should be
supported provided that BW guarantee the site for the Festival for a substantial number of years
ahead, say 25 years, or until the restoration is complete, whichever is the shorter.
Ron Pittaway has drawn up a plan that gives the appropriate moorings but with far less impact on
the Festival site than the BW proposal but no action will be taken until it is known whether or not
the BW proposal receives outline planning permission.

Chiltern Branch Outing 2002

Many of us enjoyed the Chiltem Branch visit to the Huddersfield Canal last year. This year a trip
to the 'Mon & Brec' Canal is being arranged from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th September 2002.
Anyone wishing to go might like to keep these dates free. Chiltem Branch members will receive
booking forms in due course but if anyone else would like to go please let me know and I will see
that you get a booking form.


Aston Clinton By-pass

The first abutment of the new canal bridge has been cast and the line of the diversion towards
Drayton Beauchamp Bridge as well as the old canal bed as far as the manhole at the farm are being
cleared by the contractor.

February 2002

Yet another Year! My Best Wishes to you for the New Year if I have not seen you already. In December the new towpath hedge was planted; it has been seen and approved by the Countryside Management Services Wildwood Project and the Trust has received a grant of £644. Bark chippings have been ordered from the National Trust and Ken Graves is arranging delivery and spreading at the next weekday working party.
After the New Year frosts, the thaw on Saturday 5 h January proved disastrous as we had two loads of readymix already arranged for pours between the bridge and the lock. Partially thawed roads churn up badly and the access road did not bear looking at the next day! The bright side was that the two pours enabled us to complete the wall in front of the footpath steps to be built by Priory Construction on the lock side of the bridge and move the steel shuttering along for the next pour. This next wall cannot be poured until we have completed more blinding and cast another base as, for security, the steel wall formwork must then be moved to another section and made secure the day after the pour.
At a weekday work party on 1Oth January, using hand tools and barrows, more filling was deposited in the bund in the lock. Trimming started to the bank behind the backfilled part of the winding hole wall. Then, at the weekday working party on 17th/ 18th January 2002, the piling was removed from behind the section of wall by the bridge where the steps are to be built and the length backfilled. Priory Construction are not likely to be on site until after the end of March which is a good thing as it will give the fill time to settle. After pulling out the piles and backfilling, the hired excavator was used to level off the damaged access road right back to the entrance. At the same work party the blinding for another base on the other side of the bridge through the first 'S' bends was completed. Despite dire weather forecasts for the weekend 2 nd /3 rd February 2002, Saturday was dry but windy and Sunday wet on and off. Thanks to 12 volunteers on both days who worked like Trojans in the very muddy conditions underfoot, another section of blinding (54) was completed towards the lock and the formwork erected for the first half of the 'S' bend leading out of the bridge narrows towards the winding hole (section 27). In addition the old wall adjacent to the lock on the footpath side has been cleanly cut front and back with a stone cutting disc(s!) ready for the junction with the new wall.
Because of the weather, we are now no longer able to pour readymix as the road conditions are too wet and muddy. Furthermore, after the next two pours we will not be able to make progress towards the lock until the road conditions improve enough for us to use dumpers as we have to remove three or four feet of infil approaching the lock and lower the ground about a foot under the demolished wall. Hence, for the present, we are restricted to mulching the towpath hedge with bark chippings, demolishing the rest of the old offside wall near the lock and hand blinding for the offside wall west of the bridge past the 'S' bend.

The programme for the next few weeks, weather permitting, is

> Spread bark chippings for the towpath hedge and continue demolition of the old footpath wall at the lock, on Thursday 14th /Friday 15th February 2002.

> As we were barred from the towpath at Drayton Beauchamp because of the foot and mouth outbreak last year, there was no annual strim of the cleared length of the dry bed. Apart from helping us at the Festival in June, WRG-BITM have offered the Trust two working weekends this year, one in February and one in October for which the Trust are very grateful. I have asked them to carry out the strimming at Drayton Beauchamp on February, Saturday 23rd/Sunday 20th next. They have also suggested carrying on at that end with clearing and stumping towards Little Tring; this will be another step forward toward the complete clearance of the last 700 yards needed to join up with the clearance at Whitehouses. This strimming will commence at the manhole on the pipeline about 100 yards east of Drayton Beauchamr Bridge where the relining by BW in conjunction with the Aston Clinton bypass diversion ends. They will also be asked to give the Trust a hand by assisting Ron Pittaway to bend some more reinforcement.

> Complete the demolition of the wall up to the lock and continue hand blinding west of the lock past the 'S' bend on Thursday February 28th , Friday 1st, Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd March 2002. If road conditions are good enough to bring in readymix, pour base 27 ('S' bend) and wall 52 and re-erect formwork for base 54 and wall 26. At the same time the wall for section 52 can be poured and the steel formwork moved to section 26 next to the 'S' bend on the other side of the bridge if the base for the 'S' bend has been poured. Being optimistic, it might even be possible to pour base 54 on the Saturday but it all depends on the weather.

The Waterway Trust
On Friday Ist March, Roger Hanbury, Chief Executive of The Waterway Trust, is coming to the Arm for an all day visit. He is keen to know about our restoration and his visit will include a presentation to him, visits to all parts of the Arm and seeing our work party in action. Let us hope that this will eventually lead to funding for Phase II.

2002 Wendover/Tring Canal Festival
Working party members who bring their boats to the Festival always moor at the head of navigation in and adjacent to the lock at Tringford. As the length of the lock has been shortened by the new bund and we have some new boat owners among us could you please make sure that your boater's application form for the Festival is endorsed 'WORKING PARTY' if you want to moor at the Tringford end. Will you also please le me know if you are coming with your boat so that I can liaise with the harbourmaster over reserving enough mooring space.

Web Site
The changes published in the December 2001 Newsletter have now been put in place and the new web site managed by Torkel Larsen is http://www.wendovercanal.org.uk
Anyone using the old address will automatically be diverted to the new address for the next two months. Anyone 'surfing' for wendoverarm.co.uk will be diverted to the new address. There is another web site covering the Wendover/Tring Canal Festival managed by Trust member Peter Andrews that can be accessed through the menu in Torkel's web site.

A surprise from BW!
Some of us noticed in our local paper this week the following item which I quote:

"Pontoons on the cards for canal
A NEW mooring basin being planned for the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal will help in the use of the canal for leisure and recreation, says British Waterways. They have submitted an outline application for the new facility which will be accessed directly from the canal and from the land via an improved access from Icknield Way, which will involve creating new sight lines and planting a new native hedge. The application is for 15 pontoons, giving accommodation for 30 boats and boater facilities in a small single building. It will be linked by public footpaths to the Tring reservoirs, which are already a visitor attraction and wildlife habitat. Reedplanting on the canal bank will soften the access edge there. The Wendover Arm has navigable water as far as the proposed site, after which the course deteriorates. But British Waterways is committed to long term improvement of the Wendover Arm, eventually reopening the full length. It has been successful in the past in monitoring proposed developments which might hinder this aim. A more common method of constructing marinas is to keep them separate from the main channel. However, in this instance the sloping nature of the land means development deeper into the site, a greater amount of excavation and bigger impact on the area. All of the wooden pontoons will have electricity and there will be 10 parking spaces on site."

I find it very surprising, as the Trust and BW are meant to be partners in the restoration of the Wendover Arm, that the Trust should hear about this proposal for the first time by reading about it in the local press. However, until I see full details of BW's intentions in this matter, I have an open mind as to the advantages or disadvantages of this proposal as far as the restoration is concerned, in particular how it might affect our annual fund raising Festival.

Chiltern Branch Outing 2002
Many of us enjoyed the Chiltern Branch visit to the Huddersfield Canal last year. This year a trip to the 'Mon & Brec' Canal is being arranged from Friday 13 th to Sunday 15 th September 2002. Anyone wishing to go might like to keep these dates free. Chiltern Branch members will receive booking forms in due course but if anyone else would like to go please let me know and I will see that you get a booking form.

Aston Clinton Bypass
Work is progressing on the bypass and the route of the canal diversion can be clearly seen by the line of the new fence that has been erected. There is now a very deep hole on the site of the new canal bridge and in it has been cast the invert (base) of the bridge. Reinforcing rods clearly mark the position of the walls of the new bridge and the line of the wall that will support the new towpath.

Additional Work Parties

Pete Bowers, who runs our weekday work parties, is unable to come during April and May. If anyone would like to volunteer to run these parties during this period, please let me know and I will put the dates in the April Newsletter.

Whitbread Action Earth Scheme
For the past two years the Whitbread Action Earth Scheme has sponsored a weekend of scrub clearance up to a maximum grant of £50 each year. They are sponsoring us again this year and we have nominated the WRG-BITM weekend for this year's event. Although it is a small grant, it is used to pay for petrol for the strimmers and diesel for transport for the weekend.

Return to Index