Towpath Taskforce reports

On Saturday 13th of June, the Audlem Towpath Taskforce were assisting a pre-booked 87 year old single handed gentleman through Tyrley, Adderley and Audlem.

This included a short stop over for the boater to visit the village shops and stock up on groceries, sundries and supplies for which we assisted with mooring.

The Towpath Taskforce was initially cancelled on Saturday following my risk-assessment due to the inclement weather forecasted. On reflection, it was a wrong decision as the weather improved and, moreover, volunteers turned up and a huge amount of work was completed anyway!

The work completed at Audlem on Saturday 13th June:

• Completed the operational yard next to Audlem Mill tidy up and sort out.
• Tidied the garden between the Shroppie Fly and the services
• Removed all the weeds and trimmed foliage at the bin compound and services ramp.
• Full oil and lubrication of Locks 1 – 7

The team were also at work on Wednesday 10th June with the following work:

• Lock 7 was repainted.
• Lock 5 was repainted
• Painted the bench adjacent to Lock 5
• Painted the safety fence over Lock 5 bywash
• Edged the grass around Lock 5 and removed weed's from the lock quadrants.
• Swept the bank edge and towpath, in line with the above
• Painted the safety fence recently repaired and restored by Roger Birch along the driveway.

The main important task is that all of the CILL markers on all 15 Locks have now been repainted, as I felt this task was of significant importance given the recent incident at Cholmondeston Lock.

Dek Owen
Volunteer (Task Leader)
Canal & River Trust

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