The Water Gates

 

The Water Gates

My Blogs are like buses, you wait ages for one and then two turn up together. As promised in my last blog here is more detail of the installation of the lock gates at Bacton Wood.

On a cold sunny day in February 2017 the lower gates for the lock at Bacton Wood were lifted into place.

Dog walkers and ramblers watched as the enormous structures were lifted into position in the entrance to the lock. But none of the spectators were aware of the effort it had taken to arrive at this final part of the project.

2nd gate being lifted into position

Work had started on the gates in August 2016. The material of choice was
 Greenheart  timber.   A close grained timber from South America weighing in at around seventy pounds per cubic foot.  
Greenheart is so dense it will not float. The major advantage of Greenheart is it’s resistance to most water-bourne parasites that attack and destroy softer timbers.

Contructing the two gates would require a total of twenty Mortise and Tennon joints cut into the timber frames. Because of the density of the timber, completing three or four  Mortise joints in a day was considered good going. Splinters from Greenheart timber, commonly turn septic due to toxins contained in this most durable of hard woods. 

Greenheart splinters commonly turn septic.

Because each upright weighs over half a ton, a hydraulic lift was essential to manoeuvre them into position. The next task was to cut twenty tennons into the lighter cross members.
These weighed a mere quarter of a ton each.

Completed tennons

 When all the joints had been completed the gates were laid out on the workshop floor. 

Then each one in turn was checked by dry fitting them.  Some were a perfect fit – while others needed some fine adjustment. 
Cargo straps were used to draw the components together and a pinch bar used to part them.

Dry fitting the joints.

Cargo straps used to close the components.

A pinch bar parting the joints.

As well as aligning all the timber components, tie irons also had to be fitted before the gate could be assembled. Each joint was cleaned out with an airline. Then all the cross members and tie irons were aligned ready for the final assembly.

A waterproof, polyurethane adhesive was applied to each joint. 

Applying the adhesive.

Once applied the glue would set within thirty minutes.  Just thirty minutes to align and close all the joints with no second chance.  Any mistakes or delays at this stage would have been disastrous. The physical effort needed to hastily draw all the joints together before the adhesive began to set was  a really tough session.

Drawing all the joints together-a tough session.

January 22nd 2017 dawned cold and frosty. 
A group of Trust volunteers had assembled to plank the gates.  Tannalised Pine was cut to length and laid into position on the gates.

When the planks were in place one hundred pilot holes were drilled through the pine into the frame below.

Drilling pilot holes into the frames.

 The planks were then removed and stacked in order,while the pilot holes were drilled out to a suitable depth in the frame.  

Replacing the planks.

This done, the planks were carefully replaced in the exact position from where they had been removed.  When all the drilled holes were perfectly aligned, the planks were glued into position and screwed down. 

Screwing down the planks.

Constructing the gates was only part of the project.  A means to transport them had to be found.  This was achieved by modifying the brute of an old farm trailer.

 

On the coldest winter’s day of 2017, the volunteers set about converting the trailer.

The conversion was a fairly low tech affair.  In spite of  the trailer’s short comings  it was perfect for the job.  What it lacked in style and elegance was more than compensated for in strength.

Converting the trailer.

The gates weighing almost four tons each were lifted onto the trailer and transported from the yard to the canal. 

Transporting the gates to the lock.

Saturday February 18th.
To lower the water level in the lock chamber a battery of pumps had been running every day for almost a week.

Pumping out the lock chamber.

Intrepid volunteers donned their wellington boots, armed themselves with shovels and ventured into the lock chamber to remove the mud and silt that the pumps couldn’t clear. 

The sludge was loaded into the JCB bucket and lifted out of the chamber.

Volunteers removing the silt from the lock chamber.

When operational, the bottom edge of the gates would traverse over a recess in the floor  of the lock. But the gates could not be lifted into place until the recess had been cleared of water and silt. 
 

The project was falling behind schedule.

Clearing the recess was taking longer than planned and the project was falling well behind schedule.

Eventually by late afternoon the first gate was lifted into position and secured against the lock. 

Sunday February 19th. 

The pumps had been shut down overnight resulting in the water level rising by about two feet in the lock chamber.  Before the second lift could go ahead the water would have to be pumped out.

The recess in the floor of the lock had become submerged again.  So the “bucket and chuck it” brigade was called into action yet again.

By midday the second lift was ready.  

Like clockwork the massive gate was lifted, turned, and lowered into the lock.

Second gate lifted into position.

Good for the next hundred years, the gates will stand as a monument to the folks who built and erected them. 

New gates installed.

A Film of the project can be seen at the Atrium Theatre, Spenser Avenue, North Walsham.
April 24th 2018 as part of the "Canal Film Night".

The Cameras Never Stopped Rolling.

It has been some time since my last blog, this is due to a really heavy workload of filming.   It is not only the blog that has been neglected, there are a hundred and one jobs that need to be finished at home and the car is begging for some TLC.   But the cameras never stopped rolling!

Over the last few months a great deal of my time has been spent on the North Walsham and Dilham canal. The progress on the waterway has been nothing short of astounding.  Since my last blog in June 2016 two of the spillways have been restored and the lower gates at Bacton Wood lock have been manufactured and installed.   Each gate weighs a little over four tons and is built to tolerance of a few millimetres, quite an achievement in itself.

Gates being manufactured

Gates being lifted into position

The gate project took nine months from manufacture to installation.   There are still outstanding tasks to be completed before the gates are in full working order.   But more of this later.

Restoring the Ebridge spillway was another major project running through the summer of 2017.  The spillway was completely over- grown until it was re-discovered in 2005.  This work has had to wait twelve years until The Old Canal Company and the NW&D canal volunteers were able to begin the restoration work.   For two weeks in August the Waterways Recovery Group set up a summer camp to assist with the project. The recovery group travel all over the country to work on canals. 
The entire project took four months to complete.

Trust volunteers installing the spillway timber frames

Waterways Recovery Group laying bricks

Over the last twelve months literally thousands of tons of sub soil have been tipped along a two mile stretch of the canal to consolidate the banks.  Some of this essential work was concentrated on the dry section between Royston bridge and Pigney's wood.  
In spite of the wettest December for years, which produced the most appalling working conditions, the banks were completed in time for a visit from BBC TV.  The crew recorded the re-watering event giving the canal some very welcome publicity.

A dumper with a load of subsoil

The JCB consolidating the bank at Pigney's wood..

Films of all three projects are being shown at the Atrium theatre.
Spencer Avenue, North Walsham. 7.00pm. April 24th 2018. 
Every body welcome!

In my next blog I intend to re-visit these projects in more detail.

North Walsham and Dilham Canal Part 2.

It saddens me to see Norfolk slowly giving up more of her woodland and pasture in return for more tarmac roads and numerous housing developments.  No one can halt the onward march of progress as the demand for houses and urban development increases unabated. Everybody needs somewhere to live and bring up their children but how much longer can we sustain our rapidly growing population.

As we hurtle headlong into an uncertain future leaving the natural world behind us in a thick cloud of pollution, we seem to have forgotten that we are only caretakers that have been entrusted with our little corner of England. As the county of my birth slowly disappears before my eyes I am driven to record as much of it as possible before it is gone forever.

In this seemingly endless period of change there is one bright spot.  The North Walsham and Dilham canal.  The canal is being restored as close to its original condition as possible.
I began filming the restoration work carried out by the Old Canal Company and the North Walsham and Dilham Canal Trust six years ago.  In this time the progress has been nothing short of astounding.

The North Walsham and Dilham was opened in 1826, after an act of parliament was passed.  But  it fell into rapid decline after the last trading wherry left in 1934.  The development of the railway and road transport sounded the death knell for the waterway.  However, the canal is still officially a navigable waterway.

In the last twelve months alone the progress has been remarkable.  Last summer (2015) the section between the lock and the bridge at Bacton Wood has been restored. It took from April to August to remove the trees that had colonised the banks and the vegetation that had choked the channel. Removing tree stumps and de-silting has transformed the area from an overgrown backwater into a tranquil waterway.

Spa Common facing Downstream

Spa Common facing Upstream

Throughout Autumn and Winter, in spite of a record rainfall the work has pushed on, driving all the way from Pigney's Wood to Swafield staithe.   Already, regular visitors to this freshly restored length of the canal include deer, Kingfishers and the Little Egret.

Pigney's Wood

In the Autumn the canal by Pigneys wood, overgrown with trees and brambles, was cleared and reclaimed.  Heavy rainfall throughout the winter did little to stop the momentum although it did make conditions for working very challenging.  I know this from my own experience, carrying forty five pounds of video equipment through several inches of mud to film the action.  

Challenging conditions on Paston Way

Along Paston Way to the old M&GN Railway bridge, the canal owners and volunteers pressed on with the restoration.  Clearing decades of ivy and vegetation that had covered the bridge piers and the footpath.

Old M&GN railway bridge.

Hauling Ivy and growth from the bridge.

At Swafield staithe a giant Bamboo plant was removed along with a number of trees that were growing in the canal bed.  After the vegetation had been cleared the banks between the staithe and the bridge were graded and profiled. 
 

The canal at Swafield Staithe.

Removing trees near Swafield bridge.

The owner of the canal assisted by the volunteers of the trust have worked in all weathers and conditions to restore this priceless example of our history.  There is still a great deal of work to be done and as more of the canal  is restored more and more routine maintenance is required. Reeds need cutting, banks need mowing.   Visitors to the canal cannot fail to be impressed by the progress to date, but very few realise just how much hard work and determination it has taken to get this far.

All the photographs in the blog are kindly supplied by Alan Bertram, a stalwart supporter and volunteer of the canal trust.  Use the links below to follow the news and progress of the canal.


http://www.nwdct.org/
https://www.facebook.com/NWDCT?fref=ts
  

No Time To Blog.

What happened to summer?
I can remember the Easter holiday quite clearly that is when I planted my potatoes. Elated by the thought that spring had arrived and the whole English summer stretched out before me.
 Next thing I know it is October and our British winter is beckoning.
There is nothing wrong with winter for it brings - fantastic brittle light -   sunlight on frost covered trees and winter visitors on the wing.   This is all very well but what of my missing summer.  For the most part my time was devoted to the North Walsham and Dilham canal and "Hathor's" restoration programme.  Both these major projects kept me occupied for three or four days most weeks.

Springtime on the canal - Brrrr.

Hathor's restoration took precedence over all the other current film projects as the June deadline loomed.  The closing stages, the work became so intense there were occasions when I put the camera down and helped out with some of the more unskilled tasks.  There are small parts of  "Hathor's" varnished interior that allows me to puff out my little chest and proudly say "I did that bit."

Hathor was on the slipway for eight months while her hull was restored then a further ten months in the wet shed for interior renovation.
All things considered the double DVD set  covers the wherry's restoration fairly comprehensively.
From "Hauling out", steaming planks, constructing the new rudder and restoring her interior cabins.

The production opens with a brief history of the vessel's design and ends with the re-launch and blessing at How Hill, "Hathor's" spiritual home. 

Although I am reasonably satisfied with the final result I was quite relieved when the project was completed.  Although probably not as relieved as the staff at Wherry Yacht Charter who had spent two years with my camera in their faces.

Repairing "Hathor's" Hull

The DVDs are now on sale, they can be purchased in Norwich from the City Bookshop, in Davey Place.   Or via http://bigskyuk.weebly.com/dvds-for-sale.html       All profits will go toward maintaining "Hathor."

Boats Return To North Walsham and Dilham.

"Never thought I would ever see that again." stated a visitor to the North Walsham and Dilham canal open day as he watched a little sailing dinghy tack in front of Ebridge mill.   

The event was organised by the North Walsham and Dilham Canal Trust on Sunday July 27th and 28th 2013.  Giving an insight into the possibilities this priceless slice of Norfolk heritage has to offer.

The little wooden sailing dinghy reminiscent of the "Swallows and Amazons" era, created a view of a peaceful bygone age, caught in the ripples of the mill pool.

"Swallows and Amazons"

Just before mid-day the "Hoi Larntan" arrived and was launched from the canal bank.  "Hoi Larntan" is a skiff,  built in Thurning near Wood Dalling.

"Hoi Larntan"

She was launched at Blakeney in May this year in time for the Skiff World Championships in Ullapool.  The Coastal Rowing Association brought the skiff for a training session in the still waters of of the canal at Ebridge.

Skiff and Dinghy at Ebridge

"Hoi Larntan" is Norfolk dialect to describe a really good boat or skipper - it was also used as a derogatory term for someone who was too big for their boots.  

Both these boats can be seen sailing at Ebridge from the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnbcmT0nzPE

Visit the North Walsham and Dilham Canal Trust new site  http://nwdct.org/index.html

Learn more about the "Hoi Larntan"    http://crablakeney.wordpress.com/

Wherries and Waterways in Winter.

Winter arrived quite late in East Anglia this year and once established it has seemed very reluctant to leave.  The winter sun which can add a real sparkle to film at this time of year has remained hidden behind layers of oppressive grey cloud.   In spite of the poor conditions it has been possible to shoot some film on the better days.

Some of the most interesting footage this winter has been the progress the of the wherry yacht "Olive" being overhauled at Wroxham.   "Olive" was built by Earnest Collins in 1909 and named after his youngest daughter.  She began working as a holiday cruiser for Blakes the same year and continued working until 1958 when she was sold into private ownership.   Now in the care of of the Wherry Yacht Charter Trust  "Olive" was re-floated in February this year looking very spruce as her freshly painted hull slipped into the water.  Such a dramatic change compared to the tired looking craft that had been winched onto the slipway in July last year.  

Re-floating "Olive"

A few days later it was the turn of "Olive's" sister ship, "White Moth", to be winched onto the vacant slipway.  With the exception of the giant airbags I imagine the operation was not so very different from the traditional methods used long ago in the boatyards.  Watching this grand old vessel inching her way up the track  was a fascinating sight.   

Coltishall Boatyard c1900

Hundreds of man-hours are worked on these essentially Norfolk craft through the winter months.
Fingers numbed with cold and breath vapourising in the frosty morning air are just part of the job.



Another of my regular haunts is the North Walsham and Dilham canal. Spectacular progress on the canal has been maintained over the last twelve months.   Work has been concentrated on the dried out section around Bacton Wood and Royston bridge when the weather has permitted.   The very wet December and the January snow has slowed down the determined work parties but not stopped them altogether.

Winter on The North Walsham and Dilham

We have recorded several hours of video on the canal this winter.  The latest footage will soon be added to the series of DVD's which are now available from the NW&D Canal Trust. http://eawa.co.uk/work.html
Details also available from http://bigskyuk.weebly.com/coming-soon.html 


Winter on the canal can be an in-hospitable place when a stiff  North Easterly is blowing across the open Norfolk landscape.  My fingers have turned blue many times this winter operating the camera and my thoughts have often turned to the wherrymen who sailed these waterways in winter.  Imagine slipping the keel in mid January - Hands in ice-cold water removing stubborn bolts. 
Hard as nails!

A Busy Ol' Summer

"Combines" drone across the East Anglian prairies as the long summer days diminish by degrees.  At sunrise Broadland is shrouded in morning mist and at sunset a chill pervades the evening air.   All these signs tell me   summer is rapidly coming to its end. 
 For me this time of year is always tempered with the slightest tinge of melancholy as the Swallows leave our shores and summer slowly fades away.    Very soon the rolling acres of golden stubble will be turned to brown by the plough and the entire county will melt from green and gold into an array of reds and browns.

Golden Stubble.

Looking back, summer has not been so bad in spite of the weather and quite productive even though good shooting days were few and far between.

By the beginning of  May we had finished a two part DVD set for the Aylsham Navigation centenary.  "A Wherry For Aylsham" and "The Aylsham Navigation".   The DVDs are currently on sale and raising urgently needed  funds for the fledgeling BNCT.  

On the North Walsham and Dilham canal work has been progressing at an astonishing pace.   The lock at Spa Common has been completely renovated and the lock gates have been built from scratch.  Both these items have been fascinating to watch and have produced some priceless archive footage.

Completed Lock at Spa Common

 At Ebridge the canal has been returned to its former glory and is teeming with wildlife.   I have never seen so many froglets at one time in my entire life.  The little critters were crawling over each other in their hundreds in the sheltered waters of the mill pool. This abundance of frogs will create a vital link in the food chain  - not the best news for frogs but it will please the Herons .   A Yellow Wagtail made himself at home on the dredger and a Kingfisher showed a great deal of interest as he sped up and down the renovated waterway, in a flash of iridescent blue.   It was at Ebridge that a (four spotted chaser) dragonfly kept me engrossed for almost two hours as it repeatedly skimmed the water and landed a few feet from the camera lens.  More great shots for the archive.

Further downstream  Briggate Mill and Honing lock are looking spruce and well cared for.   In fact the entire length of canal between Honing lock and Royston bridge has seen unbelievable progress which has been diligently recorded and safely stored.

A few miles away at WYCCT yard the wherry yacht "Olive" is undergoing some major surgery on the slipway.  My weekly visits have produced some interesting archive material.   Sister ship "Norada" was re-launched earlier this summer in time for her centenary year. Although the weather did it's best to spoil the day there was a gathering of wherries on Salhouse broad to welcome her back.

"Norada" On The Slipway

One of the highlights of the summer was the shoot on Wroxham broad,  I was invited as a guest of the Norfolk Wherry Trust.  The event was a celebration of the last Norfolk wherry to be built.  The wherry in question was the "Ella" now long gone - but not forgotten  -  sunk in Decoy broad some years ago when she reached the end of her useful life. Her skipper on that last journey, (Mr John Bircham) was among the guests. Five of the eight surviving wherries sailed into Wroxham broad in honour of "Ella"   Making a fantastic sight as they sailed in a loose formation around the broad.  It was a great filming opportunity which allowed me to capture some of my best wherry footage to date.

"Albion" Shooting Wroxham Bridge (Photo courtesey Chris Holloway)

Another highlight this summer was filming "Albion" passing under Wroxham bridge on her way to and from Coltishall where she was one of the star attractions of the BNCT centenary event.   In order to shoot the bridge it was necessary to flood the bilges to gain those precious inches of air draught that would allow her through.



 I am looking forward to Autumn and the softer light that comes with it and those sumptuous Autumn colours. 

If you would like to view clips of  the projects mentioned above click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/user/norriemk2?feature=mhee

The North Walsham and Dilham. Part two.

Like a vision from a Jerome K. Jerome novel, three men, a canoe and a camera set off from Wayford Bridge  to explore the North Walsham and Dilham canal and paddle up to Honing lock.   Dragonflies and Swallows swooped low over the water ahead of the canoe as we made our way into the main channel.  By sheer good fortune we had picked a perfect day for our trip during  the wettest June for thirty years, bright sunlight with just a hint of a following breeze .

To see a video of our trip along the canal click here.

Great tracts of the North Walsham and Dilham canal have remained derelict and untouched for years since the last wherry traded there in the 1930's.  As nature has encroached and reclaimed the banks and water margins only small craft  are able to navigate the waterway.  This splendid isolation has created a semi wilderness and provided a truly memorable journey for those prepared to make the effort.    The canal still has a generous width at the Wayford end with enough depth to allow cruisers up to the staithe at Dilham.  Fork right (or starboard) at the Dilham turn and the old canal sets off toward Honing, Briggate, Ebridge and Bacton Wood.  Built almost two hundred years ago the canal served the mills along its nine miles.    When it was first opened the canal reached as far Swafield and Antingham but this section was abandoned and de-watered  in 1893.   Currently the only navigable sections are between Wayford Bridge and Honing lock, with a recently opened section from Ebridge mill to Spa Common.

Wayford Bridge

 Our plan was to paddle from Wayford Bridge to the lock at Honing a popular trip for canoeists and the most accessible.   For the first mile or so the canal is fairly wide with overhanging trees, in spite of this prolific canopy  the canal flows beneath an open sky.  Lush green trees confused with blue sky and white clouds reflected in the water and rippled past the canoe as we headed west.   Fallen trees floated out  into the water anchored to the banks by their roots, there was ample clearance to pass them by on these wider sections of the canal.

Fallen trees anchored by their roots.

There are very few man made features along the this stretch of the canal, once the noise of traffic is left behind at Wayford bridge there is a sense of remoteness, of glorious isolation.   We were travelling back in time to the days of the wherries where no clocks or timetables held sway, only wind and tide. 

Our little canoe glided over the water toward Tonnage bridge where a toll keepers cottage once stood.  Every cargo on the canal had to pay tolls at this point with few exceptions.   The original Tonnage bridge collapsed in 1980 but was rebuilt in 1982 with a grant from the Broads Authority. 

Tonnage Bridge

 "Tonnage Long Reach" so named by the early watermen is the stretch of water leading up to Tonnage bridge.  This is a particularly picturesque section of the canal, it was like paddling through a John Constable landscape complete with long horned highland cattle wallowing in the shallows.   It is not difficult to understand why there is resistance to parts of the canal being renovated, who would want to share this idyllic stretch of waterway with the chattering masses if they did not have to?

Onward beyond Tonnage bridge great floating rafts of water-lily's slip beneath our canoe. Lush reed beds line the banks punctuated by overhanging tree branches that gently break the surface of the still water.
The canal winds through open country passing lush, rolling pastures.  Crows call out from a distant wood while a host of dragonflies fly alongside us, the only sounds are birdsong and the rippling water flowing out behind the paddles - priceless!

Around half distance the canal begins to narrow dramatically, the encroaching reed beds grow tall on both banks and threaten to choke the channel.   Decaying trees line the margins their skeletal remains stand stark against the sky.   The breadth of the canal recedes until there is barely enough room to continue.  The reeds stand taller than our canoe, whispering to us as they chafe the gunwale of our little craft as we push through   them.   

The Canal Narrows Dramatically

The channel is so narrow we begin to wonder if we will  be able to complete the trip.  Then to our relief the waterway begins to open out again. Small patches of  foam drift downstream warning us that Honing lock is ahead.  As we get closer to the lock the sound of rushing water grows louder and louder and the surface becomes increasingly turbulent.    Around one last bend and the old lock hoves into sight ending what has been a really enjoyable paddle.

Honing Lock

The impressions and views expressed in this article are solely my own and may differ to the views of  land owners and other interested parties along this beautiful canal.