March News
RIDD RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 25th March 2026
A small band of volunteers assembled at Ridd again this week in very cold, blustery conditions. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing south right along the estuary so there was very little shelter However, our labours kept the blood circulating!
Two members of the team made a start on repairing the damaged perimeter wall and succeeded in laying a couple of solid courses of stone at the base. Although all the stone came from the wall in the first place, rebuilding it is proving to be a challenge.
A small band of volunteers assembled at Ridd again this week in very cold, blustery conditions. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing south right along the estuary so there was very little shelter However, our labours kept the blood circulating!
Two members of the team made a start on repairing the damaged perimeter wall and succeeded in laying a couple of solid courses of stone at the base. Although all the stone came from the wall in the first place, rebuilding it is proving to be a challenge.
Starting to rebuild the wall
Work in progress
While our masons were engaged on this task the rest of the team spent the morning scrub bashing. The canal bed to the north of the stables is looking surprisingly good with very little weed regrowth (so far) so we concentrated on the area around the lower incline and the stable block. By the end of the session we managed to clear the entire area and were pleased to expose the end of the perimeter wall which was rebuilt several years ago by volunteers. A large mound of spoil has been deposited over the towpath here which we intend to scrape back and use to fill in a large depression close to the stable block. This will help to level the area around the lower incline and restore the original contour of the ground.
Starting scrub clearance
Strimming edge of canal bed
Lower incline after scrub clearance
Area behind stable after strimming
Working parties are currently being held at 9.30am every Wednesday. Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.07557 478371) for more information.
RIDD RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 18th March 2026
We returned to Ridd this week in glorious Spring sunshine to carry out some scrub clearance around the lower incline.
Our new heavy-duty motorised strimmer once again proved its worth mowing the area around the stable block and the lower incline in double quick time. Combined with some careful hand strimming of the more inaccessible areas, we soon had the site looking in good shape. Some members of the team ventured into the stream which runs along the west side of the site (and which may have originally been used as a source of water for the canal) to remove dead wood and brambles which were choking the channel.
We returned to Ridd this week in glorious Spring sunshine to carry out some scrub clearance around the lower incline.
Our new heavy-duty motorised strimmer once again proved its worth mowing the area around the stable block and the lower incline in double quick time. Combined with some careful hand strimming of the more inaccessible areas, we soon had the site looking in good shape. Some members of the team ventured into the stream which runs along the west side of the site (and which may have originally been used as a source of water for the canal) to remove dead wood and brambles which were choking the channel.
Strimming the lower incline
Lower incline after strimming
Cleared stream bed
Cleared channel
We also started work on another important task – repairing a section of the eastern boundary wall of the canal which was accidentally damaged during the recent renovation of Ridd Cottage. As usual, this turned out to be a bigger job than we expected as a considerable amount of loose stone had to be removed to get back to solid stonework.
By the end of the session, the site had been greatly improved as can be seen by the substantial pile of waste we produced. Weather permitting, we we hope to burn next week.
By the end of the session, the site had been greatly improved as can be seen by the substantial pile of waste we produced. Weather permitting, we we hope to burn next week.
Taking down the damaged wall
Wall ready for rebuilding
Working parties are currently being held at 9.30am every Wednesday. Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.07557 478371) for more information.
FURZEBEAM REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 11th March 2026
The team returned to Furzebeam this week to carry out further maintenance work.
Our main objective was to clear and restore a section of the canal wall near the stop lock. Once the vegetation had been removed it became apparent that the wall here is in amazingly good condition. A number of stones had fallen into the canal and these were cleaned off and used for the rebuild. By the end of the session we had cleaned and repaired a thirty metre section of wall. The canal narrows dramatically at this point and is only the width of a single tub boat, no doubt to facilitate the insertion of the stop planks when the canal required draining. Some fifty metres south, it opens out and would have been wide enough to accommodate two trains of tub boats side by side.
The team returned to Furzebeam this week to carry out further maintenance work.
Our main objective was to clear and restore a section of the canal wall near the stop lock. Once the vegetation had been removed it became apparent that the wall here is in amazingly good condition. A number of stones had fallen into the canal and these were cleaned off and used for the rebuild. By the end of the session we had cleaned and repaired a thirty metre section of wall. The canal narrows dramatically at this point and is only the width of a single tub boat, no doubt to facilitate the insertion of the stop planks when the canal required draining. Some fifty metres south, it opens out and would have been wide enough to accommodate two trains of tub boats side by side.
Exposing the wall
Repaired section of wall
The rest of the team continued with much needed scrub clearance, removal of saplings and rotten branches lying in the canal bed. This section of the canal from the Tarka Trail to Furzebeam is still relatively well preserved and would benefit from further clearance work although this represents a huge task for our volunteers. Once we have completed our restoration work at Ridd we hope to devote more time to this important part of the canal.
Working parties are currently being held at 9.30am every Wednesday. Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.07557 478371) for more information.
Working parties are currently being held at 9.30am every Wednesday. Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.07557 478371) for more information.
Cleared canal bed
RIDD RESTORATION REPORT by Tony Nicholls - 4th March 2026
The reconstruction of the upper pier took a huge step forward this week. For the past fortnight we have been filling the centre of the pier with stone, a laborious task but one which needed to be done to provide the pier with sufficient strength and solidity. Our friendly contractor, Ryan, ferried the last few bags of stone from Sea Lock onto site on Tuesday evening together with three bags of infill material ready for the team to start work on Wednesday morning. We estimated that this amount of material would be sufficient to fill and top off the pier and our calculations proved to be pretty accurate.
The reconstruction of the upper pier took a huge step forward this week. For the past fortnight we have been filling the centre of the pier with stone, a laborious task but one which needed to be done to provide the pier with sufficient strength and solidity. Our friendly contractor, Ryan, ferried the last few bags of stone from Sea Lock onto site on Tuesday evening together with three bags of infill material ready for the team to start work on Wednesday morning. We estimated that this amount of material would be sufficient to fill and top off the pier and our calculations proved to be pretty accurate.
Packing the pier with stone
During the infilling process we set in place a plastic pipe into which a wheel will later be inserted. This will replicate - as far as practicable – the wheel at the head of the pier around which a small chain ran to guide the tub boats into the docking bay. (There is a very good illustration of this on the information board at the top of the incline). A layer of weed control fabric was laid over the infill material and then a final layer of material spread over this to bring it up to the top of the stonework. We will cap the pier with stone or slabs to provide a durable surface.
Inserting the pipe
Laying the weed control fabric
Final layer of infill
Work completed
As part of the restoration process, we plan to install short sections of rail at the top of the incline itself to demonstrate how the incline would have worked and are considering how this can best be achieved. All in all, a very satisfying day’s work!
Working parties are currently being held at 9.30am every Wednesday. Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.07557 478371) for more information.
Working parties are currently being held at 9.30am every Wednesday. Please contact Project Manager, Ian Harrison (tel.07557 478371) for more information.