Riff Raff Diary – for October 2015

Published on: 20 Nov, 2015
Updated on: 20 Nov, 2015

Riff Raff Cottage and Weir

Riverbank tales from our local St Catherine’s Lengthsman and Weirkeeper

by Robert Craig

The beginning of October saw some activity on the weirs but it was not too long before I could get back to the business of managing the vegetation along my length of the navigation. Stonebridge moorings were cut and the encroaching vegetation at Broadford allotments dealt with.

At St. Catherine’s lock the locksides and moorings were mown and strimmed. Along the towpath I focused on strimming back the narrow sections and also the visitor moorings.

Work underway to install a new Millmead Lock bridge

In Guildford work has now started on replacing the pedestrian footbridge at Millmead Lock by the Yvonne Arnaud theatre. The work is scheduled to be completed by mid-December.

Just upstream at the old Jolly Farmer pub, now The Weyside, the river frontage is also receiving a facelift with new sheet piling and groundworks going on. So quite a lot of activity in Guildford at the moment.

This is the time of year that I shall be starting the winter cut back of the vegetation along my length. Clearing the old growth aids the fresh growth in the spring and also helps us identify any damaged areas of bank, most commonly worn away by dogs retrieving sticks and balls from the river.

A siskin – Photo Malcolm Fincham

I am not yet seeing many flocks of Redwings and Fieldfares in the area, so abundant in previous years, but I did see a good number of Siskins near Stonebridge and Stonechats by St. Catherine’s Lock. Plenty to look forward to in the coming weeks.

See you by the river.