Work parties on the Cromford Canal

FRIENDS of Cromford Canal have been busy over the summer months at Ironville and Codnor Park Reservoir where the work party has been replacing fencing.

At the beginning of the year, the fencing was damaged at the site of the old Lock 1/ Pinxton Arm Bridge. When this was repaired, it was found that a large number of fence posts were in need of replacement.

Several work parties later, 60 posts and a number of top rails were replaced, going down to Lock 3. Also replaced were posts and some top rails in the fence at the Lock 2 access slope from the Market Place, Ironville.

Moving on from there, the volunteers started repairing the low fence on the angling stretch of the abandoned Cromford Canal and the reservoir, which has also taken several weeks. Sixty posts and numerous top rails have been replaced on this stretch.

At the time of writing 584 hours had been taken on the project, replacing posts and repairing fencing.

At one point in the proceedings there was a shortage of top clamp plates, which had long delivery time on ordering from the suppliers, so the ever-resourceful volunteers made them out of scrap plate.

All other materials and parts for this project have been supplied by the Canal & River Trust.

Balsam bashing

At Poyser’s Bridge near Ambergate, a group went balsam bashing on the far side of the canal. The volunteers had also been asked to go down to the end of the channel, but found the work had been done by an unknown person and all the pulled balsam had been taken away, saving them a job.

Overgrown vegetation has been strimmed and cut back on both sides of the channel at Lower Hartshay and the party cleared the steps to the A610 in the CRT section as well as a large amount of balsam.

There has also been some strimming and weed clearance at other locations including Cromford Wharf, Pinxton Wharf, along Lock 4 at Ironville and the lock keeper’s garden.

At Sawmills, FCC helped Gill Hurst and her group to clear some of the vegetation from Lockwood’s Bridge for about 400m along the towpath. The overgrown hedge was cut and the mass of ivy on the bridge was also cut back on a very hot day.

Some strimming was done at Langley Mill as a preliminary to core holes being bored for the Beggarlee extension.

The FCC work party volunteers have installed two more memorial benches to go with the first one, at Codnor Park Reservoir, Derbyshire, in memory of a young man from Underwood, Nottinghamshire. His family had picked the sites for the benches, which provide very good views of the reservoir and the canal.

If you would like to join the work parties, please contact John Barker, email: work@ cromfordcanal.org