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
  

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!