TNC On Tour 2005 (2) The Witham Navigable Drains LONGISH (XP)
- From: "Neil Arlidge" <neil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 13:40:37 +0100
Tuesday 19th July 2005 update
After Wetherspoons we thought we would go for a peaceful night, so boated
back to Antons Gowt, where the lock down to the drains is situated. The
Visitor Moorings on the Witham were predictably empty.
Wednesday 20th July 2005
Our travels over the next two days were rather intensive, there are no real
maps to the WND's, so anyone wanting to follow this would be advised to use
O^S maps 131 and 122.
06:30 - sunny morning, off down Antons Gowt (BW) lock onto the Drains. T
junction below, so turned left along Newham Drain. Neil took off the cratch
cover and cratch board and got out "Big Bertha", the 14ft shaft. Soon there
is another Junction to the left - Castle Dyke. We did not hold out much hope
here as on our last passage we found a new, second low pipe on the first
bridge. We reversed up, not without difficulty and got stuck by the second
pipe, 5ft 3ins from the water level at this time. Back out on the prevoiusly
traversed Newham Drain (07:55), part of a through circular route without low
bridges. We were surprised to grind to a halt half way along this section of
Newham Drain at B1184 Bridge. Next followed the arduous task of 4 hours of
bow hauling and poling the boat to the cross junction with the West Fen Main
Drain. Here were turned left, bound for Bunkers Hill and beyond. The West
Fen Drain was deeper and weed free, so easy passage under the new farm
accomodation bridge (the old, low, damaged by a car-in-the-dyke incident
stopped us last time). Just before Bunkers Hill "Tunnel" (a long round
concrete tube bridge) there was an unexpected and crotchety weed boom. Peter
Wright was dropped off to deal with it and started re assembly when we were
through the "tight" tunnel. A lunch!!! stop ensued beyond the bridge (13:15
to 14:00), the Olde Onion pub looked welcoming. We now carried on up West
Fen Main Drain to the junction on the right with the narrow but weed free
Sandy Bank Drain (this was to be our exit route). At this point the Main
West Fen Drain is also known as Hough Bridge Drain after the next bridge,
this takes the main B1192 road though New York. The modern Hough Bridge was
quite low and the warning tyre fender over the front mushroom scraped under
ther deck. Beyond here passage was still easy and we though it was to be
easy upto the top junction with Castle Dyke (many other low bridges). Things
changed dramatically at the sight of a removed weed boom and it was a
struggle up to the junction involving some poling and just the use of the
two shafts to wind. Back down Hough Bridge Drain at 15:30 and did the
predictable stop at Hough Bridge to walk into downtown New York. Come 17:30
we were back to the junction with Sandy Bank Drain and proceeded up this.
Half way along this mile and a half cut across to the top section of Newham
Drain the drain became even narrower, but not that shallow (or packed in the
lower "depths" with the dreaded blanket weed). The blanket weed on the
drains is of a special variety, once you start to strip it from the bottom
it manages to "anchor" the boat to the bottom, the only way free is to pole
/ bow haul, while another crew member cuts the propellor / skeg / rudder
free from the morass. It is pointless trying to pull it out of the weed
hatch, as that proceedure could go on for ever. When bad narrowboaters die
and go to hell, this is the experience they will have for infinity..........
Any way I digress, after exiting Sandy Dank Drain (18:15)and proceeding down
Newham the expected problems started (we have had trouble here before) so we
ended up poling from stern / bow through the narrow section below Mills
Bridge. Beyond the next three bridges we managed to get going again in
tickover, then again had to resort to poling through the three bridge
Dovecote Hall Farm section. After this it was power on tick over to the
cross junction with the Main West Fen Drain. The final "bridge" is another
modern corrugated steel tunnel. This one is tighter than Bunkers Hill, with
a rather sharp turn after (20:30). It was now plain Sailing down the the
deep and increasingly wide West Fen
Main Drain, exiting this end of the Witham Navigable Drains. At 21:05 we
came to the the north spur of the West Fen Drain, so thought we would
reverse a short section up this narrow drain, which supposedly had a 3ft
7ins air draught bridge, the first after the junction bridge. The junction
bridge was difficult to line up as it has concrete wash walls that curve
into the channel. Once through and in the main channel, we soon found that
this was going to be easy, there was the tell tale signs of fresh mud on one
bank - this drain had just been grubbed out by an excavator! We realy did
fly up this tiny drain, trailing the two shafts hardly any course
corrections were needed with the bow thruster, which could be used as there
was no weed. The first "low"??? bridge soon loomed ahead (or should that be
astern?) it was a recent corrugated steel tube bridge and looked just
navigable. Earnest was a perfect fit and we slid through with out touching
the handrails. Still plain sailing to just above the next bridge (Westville
Farm Bridge) where the drain was stanked off just above, as the drain men
were still grubbing out this nest section, with lowered water levels. Beyond
the excavators the stoggey morass showed that boats woulkd not have been up
this drain for years. We had a welcoming committee at the bridge, a friendly
farmer and his sons came out of their house to take pictures and wish us
well. We were invited to tie up for the night, just above the bridge. The
farmer said that having talked to the drain men, it will soon be possible to
wind at the end, some quarter of a mile, as another drain comes in from the
west. So we tied up at 21:50, the Commode D' Or getting stuck into spag bol
construction. On of those magical evenings, deathly silent spot (apart from
the sqreaking of owls), nice sunset, a fine wine / spag bol, the fitting end
to a knackering day.
Thursday 21st July 2005
The drain men start early around here, so to the sound of excavators we
departed at 06:00. Very quick passage back down the West Fen Drain Arm and
out into Main West Fen Drain at 06:30, bound for the last drain we had not
prevoiusly visited - Medlam. At Frithville the Main West Fen Drain takes a
turn to the south and Medlam comes in from the North. By this point the Main
Drain is wide and deep and it was an easy turn under the B1184 Bridge and
North up Medlam (06:50). This drain starts out wide and deep and it was easy
weed free passage up to a side drain that comes in from the west at
Carrington Grange. Here it is possible to wind a 70ft NB, but not of
navgable depth beyond. Still easy passage up all the way to New Bolingbroke,
where the short drain leads up to the B1183 road. This is the final winding
point, so we reversed into it (08:45), only to find some 40 minutes later,
we had got to the end of this tiny drain!. Back down to Medlam Drain (09:05)
we started reversing up Medlam. It was fairly easy passage up to the
footbridge below Lapwater Farm. Here the rush growth came in from the sides,
this section had not been grubbed out in years. Still we made progress to
where a drain entered avove the farm. Having got through the wall to wall
rush growth we got another couple of hundred yards to within sight of the
weed choked end at Revesby Bridge (09:55) Once back to New Bolingbroke it
was plainsailing down to the junction (11:40) and then even faster progress
down the now very wide Main Drain untill Cowbridge was reached at 12:10. It
was now (UP) the only working lock on the Drains. A pair of beam less
pointy gates on the bottom, closed by chains and a manual (BW key locked)
manual guillotine at the top. come the other side (12:25) it was then
straightv down Maude Foster Drain into the backside of Boston. Some minimal
clearance bridges here, but at standard summer levels around the "normal"
6ft. We went though the brick walled town section, past the Maude Foster
windmill (sails gently turning) and the two tiny town steps. The EA have put
sone gabions some 2ft 6ins below the surfave of the town west bank side
steps, along with aplethora of warning and no mooring signs. The east seps
(poor condidtion) are still allowed to be used. We carried on, under the
wide arched town bridge and up to the next low arched bridge, which we have
never got under (the first passage the level was up and the second there was
scaffolding hanging from it. So we finally rfeached the end, and the gravity
sluices (pointy flap doors) by the docks 13:05). Through the open doors we
couold see the muddy wastes of the tidal Witham beyond. After winding we
headed back to town bridge and moored to the railings at the start of the
brick walled section at 13:20. This was to be a quick ASDA stop, other than
it was not...ASDA had just shut and moved to the other side of town. So at
14:30 off we set back to Cowbridge, to tackle the last large drain, the EA
controlled Stonebridge. A start was made on this drain at 15:05. The first
thing of interest is Stone bridge Drain passing over the nowmain exit
drain - Cowbridge. Cowbridge Drain used to have a lock down to it at
Cowbride, but this is now disused, the remains being in the golf course.
Free passage up the wide Stone bridge Drain, though much more surface weed
and blanket weed blooms than on the Witham Fourth Internal Drainage Board
Drains. At the end (16:10) The West and East Catchwater Drains come in. The
West Fen Catchwater Drain is of more interest as this goes up to the disused
and gateless Hagnaby Lock. We reversed up as there was not known to be a
widing point for 60ft narrowboats. Very slow progress and as had been
expected we were stopped by the 5ft 3ins bridge. Once back to the junction,
we reversed a short distance up the totally weeded up East Fen Catchwater
Drain. Back down Sonebridge Drain at 18:30. Cowbridge reached at 19:45 and
down Cowbridge Lock. Instead of imeadiately turning left under the new B1183
bridge we carried on back up the Main Drain as we had missed out one
Navigable Drain - Lush's. This goes off to the east a short distance up, it
has a modern concrete deck bridge over the entrance. The footings of the old
bridge are below the surface so care was excersed. A short distance beyond
is a ninety degree bend to the north, then the low disused footbridge. We
reversed up OK, much surface weed, but reasonable depth. Finally back to
Cowbridge at 21:25, it was then exit back to Anton's Gowt via the deep and
weed free Frith Bank Drain. Come 22:30 we were back up Anton's Gowt Lock and
moored on the still empty visitor moorings. Hastily prepared jar curry then
followed, washed down with a celebratory bottle of red.
--
Neil Arlidge - NB Earnest
Follow the travels of the TNC at http://www.tuesdaynightclub.co.uk
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