Richard’s Wey July 2015

Published on: 22 Jul, 2015
Updated on: 21 Jul, 2015

The latest report from Richard Cant, the Stoke lengthman on the River Wey Navigations

For much of June the main task for me was continuing cutting back the rapidly growing vegetation.

The first task was to re-cut the fishing swims ready for the start of the fishing season, along with gaps in the bankside vegetation for visiting boats to moor up.

After this it was the hard slog of hedge trimming the back edge of the towpath all the way along my length, can you imagine having a hedge to cut in your garden that’s more than three miles long? Of course this is all done in between keeping on top of the grass mowing on the locksides and towpath, so never a quiet moment on the river.

Other jobs have involved sweeping and weeding the alleys and steps that lead on to the towpath in Guildford town centre to make them more inviting, replacing a broke signpost at Stoke Lock and dealing with more than one fallen tree in the river.

None of which compared to some of my call-outs this month which included trying to hunt down an unlicensed boat at 9pm, re-uniting a family of swans separated by the Lock at Millmead, and searching for a man who had apparently fallen in the river but had actually decided to go for a swim fully clothed!

Finally, I’m not sure how many of you went to Armed Forces Day National Event in Guildford on June 27, but I did go with my family and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The Armed Forces Day flag at Dapdune Wharf before it made its journey by boat to Guildford town centre.

What you may not have realised though is that Armed Forces week started with the ceremonial flag being delivered to Dapdune Wharf by the army and then raced up the navigation to the town centre by the Royal Marines.

A great spectacle, so well done to everyone who organised the event, and a big thank you for all the hard work of our service men and women.

Richard

07786 703 832

richard.cant@nationaltrust.org.uk

www.facebook.com/RiverWey