Fallen Tree Makes River Wey Navigation Impassable

Published on: 27 Aug, 2025
Updated on: 30 Aug, 2025

The fallen alder was completely blocking the Wey navigation. Fiona Giles

By Martin Giles

A fallen alder tree made the River Wey navigation impassable yesterday but National Trust team members were soon on-site to start clearing the obstacle.

An NT team member using a pole saw to start cutting up the fallen tree. Fiona Giles

Yesterday, Dragon photographer Fiona Giles witnessed the clearance work commencing. The NT team was assisted by a trapped narrowboat owner who used his boathook to clear parts of the tree cut off by a NT worker, using a pole saw.

The trapped narrowboat. Fiona Giles

Tristan Brown, National Trust general manager for the River Wey Navigations, said: “Our team has attended the site and has reduced the size of the obstacle so that the navigation could be reopened and is now passable with care. We are working with Guildford Borough Council to remove the remainder of the tree.”

Only a fragment of the split trunk remained on the river bank exposing the orange coloured alder timber. Fiona Giles

Trees can fall due to a combination of factors, including weather conditions, soil conditions, and the tree’s own health, age and structure. One NT worker said the recent low rainfall levels might have been a contributory factor despite the tree’s riverbank position.

Asked if there was any change to the progress of the repair to the towpath footbridge over Tumbling Bay Weir, expected to be carried out next year (2026), a National Trust spokesperson said: “We’re not aware of any change.”

Responses to Fallen Tree Makes River Wey Navigation Impassable

Jim Allen Reply

August 27, 2025 at 12:39 pm

Interesting. But there is no mention of the speed of flow in the river/navigation, which is controllable.

In the past 12 years over the distance between Godalming and the River Thames, 200 plus trees have fallen into the River Wey navigation. Logically a similar number fell away from the river onto the bank.

Reasons often given are: tree condition, climate change, pestilence, etc but never, ever high flow speeds or bank erosion. There has been a 10 feet increase in navigation width in 20 years below Stoke lock. Remember the Tumbling Bay weir failure? It had stood for 300+ years. Then it suddenly collapsed but, it is claimed, nothing to do with flow speed mismanagement since 2000. The 12ft deep erosion at Bowers Lock sluice gates, which had a designed depth of 4feet was also hidden from the public.

There is much said about flooding control in Guildford town centre but if there were a concrete trough containing river flow, unless it goes to directly into the sea, will pass water on into soft banks which erode far quicker the concrete or steel.

Tree loss is down to bad river management caused by the Environment Agency’s poor advice to the National Trust. The rotting tree roots, exposed root balls,disease, distance from flowing water is all down to ignorant decision-making processes.

Note the catastrophic failure of the new fish weir above Old Bucks weir after the EA refused advice to use puddled clay for the bank instead choosing soil.

The “working gentlemen of the river” now retired in their 80s, are still living in the area, the EA and National Trust would do well to invite them for a coffee and technical chat.