Richard’s Wey May 2018

Published on: 23 May, 2018
Updated on: 23 May, 2018

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

It seems a long time ago now, but Easter weekend was a washout and the rest of the school holidays weren’t any better!

This may seem like a very negative way of starting this month’s diary notes, but as the Easter holidays is traditionally the start of the boating season I strive to get the navigation looking its best and when the rain puts a dampener on it (no pun intended) it can be quite demoralising.

The weather not only meant a continuation of constant weir operations but it also frustratingly limited the amount of lock painting and mowing that I could get done.

Of course, the day the school holidays finished the sun came out, and would you believe it we had an April heat wave, which apparently is technically defined as five days or more of temperatures at least 5C above the monthly average.

Whichever way you want to define it, the sun was finally out and I was determined to make the most of it.

Bower’s Lock. Picture National Trust.

This has meant mowing the locksides weekly as the grass is growing like crazy, and getting Stoke Lock painted, with the help of my volunteers.

We even got a chance to pull my work boat out of the water and give that a lick of paint, something it desperately needed as it takes quite a lot of wear over the winter being loaded with logs, brash and even stone for bank repairs.

The April showers soon returned and with it a stark drop in temperatures, going from shorts and T-shirt one week to fleeces and waterproofs the next.

However, the lighter evenings have meant that I have been able to make the most of the better days, working in to the evenings at times to get a job finished which is always satisfying.

Jobs such as mowing the towpath with the ride-on mower or strimming the 16 individual areas along my length for visiting boaters to moor up always take longer than you think and you quickly start to realise that you’re now seeing the morning dog walkers out on their evening walk.

In reality though that is the nature of the job, it’s not 9 to 5 and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Richard

Stoke Lengthsman

07786 703 832

richard.cant@nationaltrust.org.uk

www.facebook.com/RiverWey