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February 18th -19th 2006

GCRS and WRG BITM - Tree Clearance at Harlaxton Cutting. Report by Martin Day

The Waterway Recovery Group Bit in the middle plus the Grantham Canal work crew had done a grand job in organising the weekend. The paperwork had been completed weeks before including site visits but it was touch and go, with everyone travelling many miles – one coming from Devon – on the Friday, to only get the go ahead at gone four in the afternoon. I was on my way from work and called into Machine Mart to pick up a small four-wheeled trolley to use for carrying heavy winches along the towpath. I made my way to the Dirty Duck pub alongside the canal at Woolsthorpe. Colin had been trying to ring them for days to confirm our coming but to no avail so when we arrived we had to hang around in the cold until we could gain access. The place was freezing cold and full of equipment so a lot of time was spent clearing and cleaning. I helped unload the boxes and boxes of cooking equipment plus bags and bags of food. The food had been purchased at a supermarket in London, which the catering side always use. I think the supermarket people either think they have a large family or are greedy buggers, anyway it weighed a ton. All who had got here earlier retired to the pub for a meal to await the arrival of the others. After a pleasant evening we all went off to bed in a lot warmer accommodation after we had had the gas heaters running.

Sizing up the job

After a really good breakfast, – if you like good porridge- WRG work camps are the place, it was fantastic, we set off through the mist and rain to Harlaxton and set to work. We took our new aluminium workboat to allow us access to the far side and to ferry the heavy winching equipment across and launched it down the steep bank. We all spread out cutting, sawing and dragging all the old wood in the canal. BW have a weed cutting boat which they have used at the entrance to the cutting but when it was bought the spec called for a light construction to allow for moving from site to site but it is too frail for the years of weed growth and it breaks down at the slightest jam so we had been asked to remove all submerged obstructions in it’s path. We used grappling hooks, which are fine before your first throw in but as you start to pull inwards the slime and icy cold water covers you even though you are wearing waterproofs. Then as you begin to perspire it is like heavy rain inside your waterproofs as well so a rather uncomfortable feeling begins which is instantly removed by the shout of “Tea” which along with cakes and buns makes up for everything. The guys on the far bank had placed strops around the selected trees and after cutting away branches and boughs the trunks were sectioned and all winched clear. I don’t know if all you readers have seen or used a Tirfor winch but even though they are brilliant at being winches there is a lot of handle working to do and are very tiring things. We all carried on again gradually working our way along the towpath cleaning up all the branches, twigs, sludge, rubbish and stacking the cut branches up the cutting sides to try and make ‘habitats’ for the wildlife. We weren’t allowed fires, which was a pity because trying to, not only, build habitats on a 60-degree slope but to even stand on the soaking wet incline was near impossible. (These things look so easy in the books) but we tried our best. We carried on until the next code word – “Grub up” – was shouted where we returned to the vans and started work doing a full demolition job on boxes of sandwiches, soup and more cakes (I don’t think this would appear on a Weight Watchers list).

Getting to grips with the overhanging trees

As darkness fell we returned to base for a good warm, wash, and lovely evening meal of Stew and dumplings (I suppose I should call it casserole with accoutrements but that’s posh and we aren’t so it’s stew and dumplings) with potatoes and cabbage followed by fruit sponge, custard and cream. We went across the car park to the pub and that’s where it all went downhill for me. Not with the company of our group none of whom smoked it was the people who sat behind me. They looked like the couple on ‘Early Doors’ sitting there smoking away. I am fortunate that I live in a smoke free environment normally having no one at work how smokes and no friends or family who do either. I sat and laughed with everyone but when my breathing stopped and my eyes started uncontrollable streaming I called it a day and went to bed. I think several others had had the same thoughts as they were firmly in bed when I got there.

The new workboat was most useful

Sunday morning a big dish of porridge and golden syrup and I was feeling a bit better; I couldn’t concentrate much as my head felt it wasn’t affixed properly but egg, sausage, bacon, beans, tomato, brown sauce and bread with lashings of tea and FULL MILK certainly helped to fix it. I towed the big trailer with boat and kit on board and helped unload it. We carried on along the cutting with the chain saws leading trimming away any growth especially between the towpath and the water. Colin asked if I was alright because I didn’t seem to be my normal stupid self. I said ”No” but I would be OK. I felt as if I was in a diving suit looking out of the window because my head was so fuddled. After lunch some of us attacked the ivy eating its way under the copingstones of the bridge and pulling out the mortar in the brickwork. Rachael chain sawed all the large saplings growing out of the bridge abutment and we removed it. We all went down to where the ‘cutting crew’ were and about ten of us pulled all the cut trunks right up the bank to stop them ending up in the water again.

Tea up!

Just as the light was beginning to fade we bade farewell to most members as they started on their long journeys home; we had to go back to our container to clean the boat and the tools and pack everything away

Much tidier!

I finally got home with a burning face; which I can assure you was not sunburn but most probably icy windburn but it was worth it to see a bit more canal clear. What we really need is an ex BW work tug, given to us, putting in the cutting in a safe place which would allow us, instead of a lot a backbreaking grappling, to be able to lift the timber on board and also cut the overhanging branches with ease - or is that too simple?

Anyway what was, weather wise, an awful weekend turned into a great one with all the labour intensive work that was done and a wonderful set of people to be with. Rachael, for one, had been doing canals for the last five weekends and still managed to travel up from Devon to be with us. Many thanks to you all and I look forward to seeing you all soon, if not on the Grantham, but on another canal weekend.

One good thing from the web sites was that two new people arrived for work. One was from South Yorkshire named Laurence who arrived Friday and did the full weekend and one local guy (who may bring his friends next time and he is a ticketed chainsaw operator with all the gear) was Tim from Kinoulton who arrived on Sunday. I would like to welcome them both and thank them for looking at our web sites. I spoke to Colin to say that as well as information boards about the canal we pin up printouts of current and future works and our web address for the benefit of the dozens of walkers and cyclists who use the canal and who are very keen to know what is happening like the couple who have agreed to be wardens and report on anything on their section of the canal. This will have to be set up, any volunteers?

My thanks, to Dave Wedd, Rachael Banyard, Colin Bryan and Leigh Hood for the back scene work and also their front scene as well. A great weekend.

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