The Festive Season is now well over and drifting into the distant past. We've had a long break from working on the canal, (those of us who usually work down at Tamworth Road any way), and it's nice to get back to working again.
The new year saw the start of a new project at Tamworth Road, that of establishing a towpath where there wasn't one before from the Millennium Bridge at the tail of lock 25 all the way through to Cricket Lane. The existing walkway from lock 24 to Cricket Lane was just a muddy track over the infilled portion of that bit of the canal. Unfortunately the actual canal along this length is unlikely to be restored for some years until the proposed development of the adjacent field to housing is finalized. The new towpath now follows the hedge hard up against this field and won't be disturbed until the new lowered canal bed is constructed.
To construct this towpath, after the hedge had been trimmed back, the top soil was skimmed off, a strip approximately 4" deep by 4'6" wide. A weed resistant membrane was then laid and on top of that 2"-3" hardcore was compacted. A finishing layer of crushed limestone, also of approximately 2"-3" has been laid and compacted. The finished path has been well received by all who walk it. particularly by the occasional wheel chair user.
In the meantime down at the 'Narrows' towards the A51 we are still struggling against a sea of mud. Concreting of the base has been halted till the seasons change and the area dries up somewhat. The 'brickies' are fortunate to have concrete beneath their feet and progress on the canal wall can continue. Other work completed by the team was the construction of a series of steps from the Millennium Bridge down to the pound 26 wall.
Thanks once again to my fellow volunteers or their time and effort, and here's to a successful year ahead.
