HEREFORDSHIRE 2007                

Map showing line of Canal in Herefordshire. Brown indicates the line
where there is no evidence of the original canal, green that the canal
is partly filled in water but is not yet available to the public for use. 

       Current Sites in the City

     Newton Road       Project leader vacancy

       Aylestone  Park    Work in Progress

      Retail Park            Project leader vacancy

      In the County     

      Yarkhill                Work in Progress

Yarkhill

Restoration work is ongoing and new volunteers are always very welcome. If you would like to help at Yarkhill, please contact Chris on 01568 615575 or email - chris.high@lineone.net.

Our intention is to restore the Canal from Hereford to Gloucester and to encourage a wildlife corridor between the two cities.

This is what we do !

Photos by Chris High and Colin Dymott

Coppicing of hawthorn trees along the edge of the towpath bank is progressing well, while Tim has been very busy strimming snowberry bushes on both sides of the canal adjacent to Barr's lock. Bernard and John check their chain saws.

The summit level of the Canal at Yarkhill in January 2007 as it might have appeared to the crew of a narrow boat from Hereford leaving Barrs lock heading east for Gloucester via Ledbury wharf.

The tow path at Yarkhill forms part of the proposed Three Choirs Way 'Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal towpath: Hereford - Ledbury - Gloucester'.

We are very grateful to the Waterways Recovery Group BITM for their first visit to Yarkhill. Not only did they coppice a considerable length of the canal bank on the wild side ably supported by Chris and John, but they left the site immaculate! Many thanks to you all for your hard work.

A welcome return visit by the Waterways Recovery Group SW to Yarkhill, before and after coppicing and clearing 200yds of tow path, whilst John clears the ditch of a fallen hawthorn.

We have achieved our target of completing the clearance and coppicing of the towpath to Barr's lock in our 2006 winter clearance programme. Chris surveys his project. Bernard shows his skill with the chainsaw, whilst Eilene and Colin decide what to do next. Chris tries out the new access bridge on to the tow path.

Yarkhill Canal Walks and Open Day on 12th August attracted well over 100 visitors most of whom joined the conducted walks between Crew's Pitch and Barr's Lock. The Canal was looking it's summer best for our visitors who obviously enjoyed themselves judging by the number of cakes and cups of tea that were consumed on their return. As a result of of the Open Day we have three new volunteers, Penny and Ralph, and Stella who are all most welcome.  Chris has since received a very complementary email from a Hampshire visitor which was much appreciated by all the volunteers.

     Autumn clearance continues at both ends of the site. Most of Team Yarkhill team pose for posterity! Mrs Smith of Monkhide records her memories of living beside the canal for us, and shows off her collection of marmalade jars and an ink bottle recovered from the bottom of the cut.     

October and November weather has been dry and has allowed a considerable length of the wild side to be cleared and coppiced. Whitwick Manor is again visible from the towpath. WRG London spent a weekend with us and in addition to helping us on the wild side also extracted the last four large stumps from the canal bed. Many thanks to you all! Also shown is the way in to our site from Crew's Pitch together with a shot of cider apples on the tow path.

A walk on December 13th  to celebrate two years of regular work parties down the tow path from Barr's Lock to Kymin by kind permission of of the landowner Peter Clewes.

2008

The Thursday work party regularly includes up to thirteen volunteers who have been busy in the new year coppicing and clearing the wild side and tidying up our access to the field. As a result of our clearance work we now can view the local point to point and ploughing match held in adjacent fields

We are very grateful to the WRG who spent a busy weekend with us and cleared all the fallen trees from out of the canal, cut them to length and stacked them on the bank. They also found time to cut and burn brushwood. Thank you all! The home team came in as usual on Thursday to find a tall ash tree blown down across our site access track. The track was soon cleared and we were able to resume clearing the wild side.

April and Spring have arrived at Yarkhill with primroses and cowslips out in flower and the towpath has had the first cut of the season! The height of the new dam has been increased to level up the crest. The view from the dam looking towards Barr's lock. Other views of the canal looking it's best in the Spring sunshine. Views of the canal from the site hut to Barr's lock. Site maintenance continues with the removal of large tree stumps blocking access from the tow path.

Herefordshire Walking Festival 21st June. Twenty one walkers enjoyed walking the tow path from the Kymin to the site of the aqueduct over the River Lodon close by Monksbury Court. We are most grateful to Major Barnes, Mr & Mrs Davies, Mr & Mrs Fancourt and Mr & Mrs Thomas for allowing  us to use the towpath crossing their land and for keeping it trim and tidy for our walk. Also many thanks to Les Fancourt for providing a gate giving access to the canal from Middle Court bridge.

Some views of our beautiful Canal in water in the two counties.

Aylestone Park.

Herefordshire Council web site update 19.01.2007 reports:-    ........' Other work planned for the near future  includes the restoration of the stretch of the Canal. This is expected to begin in February/ March and will involve dredging, vegetation clearance and wildlife habitat creation so that the Canal not only becomes an important wildlife resource but will eventually be navigable.'.......

There is a raft of interesting information on the Council web site www.herefordshire.gov.uk for Canal enthusiasts, like the canal sometimes you may have to dig to find it!

Today is the first day of June and Herefordshire Council contractors are on site preparing for the arrival of a long reach excavator next week for removing contaminated silt from the canal bed.

The long reach excavator is now on site and starts clearing vegetation from the canal to allow access to the silt to be removed and treated. A stretch of cleared canal and a view of area where the silt will be treated by the addition of cement and an additive before using elsewhere on the site. The piles of silt shown are a temporary situation to prevent the plastic sheet being blown away. Removing silt from the canal and loading into dump truck for transport to treatment area. Canal after removal of silt. We are most grateful to Celtic Technologies Ltd and Site Agent Phil Necrews for allowing us on site to photograph progress and for explaining the methodology of the contract.Further information on the Aylestone Park  project can be viewed on the Herefordshire Council website by scrolling to .../council_gov_democracy/news/30863.aspp .

 The Inspector's  Enquiry into 'Objections Report on the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan 1996 - 2011' has now been published on the Council web site. June 2006. Sections in the Report of particular interest to Canal Trust members can be viewed at: www.herefordshire.gov.uk/environment and planning/planning/UDP Inspector's Report section 7 pages  21/22/29/33/34/35/36/37. 

Plans have been submitted to Herefordshire Council for the development of Holmer  trading estate to include 100 new homes adjacent to the Canal and the major restoration of a section of the Canal from Aylestone Park to the eastern portal of Aylestone tunnel. Included in the restoration plan is the provision of a new footbridge across the Canal to link to the new sports fields at Aylestone Park. Stride Treglown, architects, Bristol have very kindly supplied an artist's impression of the proposed footbridge over the Canal. click here

News from the Tow Path.

David Blick in his excellent book 'The Hereford and Gloucester Canal' expressed his disappointment that he had not been able to locate any illustrations of the Canal route through Ledbury town.

Thanks to a chance conversation with Steve at Yarkhill copies of these four drawings by Arthur Dew dated 1884 were found in the Butcher Row House Museum of the Ledbury & District Civic Society, together with a copy of Mr Ballard's route plan showing the position of the locks.  

Two further drawings of similar scenes by unknown artist are also shown together with a copy of Toll charges dated 1832.

Edgar Street Grid.

  Contact has been made with E S G Herefordshire Ltd who are responsible to the Council for working up the Brief and have agreed to update us on progress and to link their new  website into the Canal Trust website.  Development proposals are now available on the ESG website showing details of the location and layout of the proposed Canal basin, which can be viewed at .../Downloads/Emerging Master plan. Their website is now online at www.esgherefordshire.co.uk which will include updates to report progress on the Edgar Street Grid project.