The Waterway Recovery Group (WRG) host Canal restoration work camps for over 40,000 volunteer days a year, and the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust has been well supported in the past, most recently over the weekend 6 & 7 February 2010.
Commonly known as the Wergies, volunteers may be local or travel from afar, with all giving up their weekend and holidays to get muddy and tired while camping in a village hall.
Over the weekend, three sites along the Hereford end of the canal received a "wash and brush up".
Firstly, at Yarkhill, winter maintenance work continued on both banks of the canal on this 1,000 yard stretch, stretch under the guidance of local leader, Chris High.
Secondly, in Hereford, Martin Danks’s team continued work to complete the new slipway on the 350 yard stretch of the canal in Aylestone Park. Jobs included landscaping next to the new slipway walls, laying paving slabs (for safe boat launching) and fitting a wooden buffer (to absorb shocks when a boat touches the wall)..... more details
..and thirdly, for the first time, work started on the stretch of the canal at Newtown Road in Hereford, which is owned by the Trust. Vegetation and scrub was cleared, pruned and tidied. This will allow new trees to be planted.
As usual, overnight accommodation for the volunteers was at Yarkhill Village Hall, where the stalwart cooks catered for the two dozen hungry volunteers.
