From canals@tclayton.demon.co.uk Sat May 1 11:25:55 1999 Date: Tue, 07 Jul 1998 23:42:43 GMT From: Tony Clayton Reply-To: canals@blacksheep.org To: canals@blacksheep.org Subject: To Basingstoke (nearly) Part Six (last) Day 7: Wednesday July 1st - Deepcut to Woking At 8.30 a.m. we moved down to Lock 28 to join Caelmiri and wait for the warden to appear. We had spent the night 200 yards back down the cutting as we prefer to be away from other boats, and anyway Caelmiri had a generator running in the evening, and 200 yards away we couldn't hear it inside Linton. First we filled up with water. There is a tap between the dry dock and the lock cottage, but it is not the easiest to moor up near, and the reeds were in seed - the boat was covered, and if Linton becomes a passable imitation of a reed raft later in the summer I shall not be surprised. At 9 the warden appeared from the lock cottage, with his two beautiful large dogs and what can best be described as a buggy, with which he proceeded to set off down the flight to start filling the locks. We were soon down the first lock, and at the next found the gates shut, although the lock was nearly full. Once we had twigged the correct system all went much faster. Sandy went ahead and ensured that both top gates of each lock were open (we did not see her again until Lock 15). I left the lock first, went ahead and pulled Linton to the side, while Hazel held one mooring line round the central bollard. Pat came in alongside, and while he was stopping I shut my top gate. As soon as Pat shut his I opened the paddles at the bottom and down we went. All very easy, and the sun shone gently on our efforts, so it wasn't too hot. Above Lock 24 we went round the island again, but the only evidence of the carp were a number of heavy swirls in the water. One or two paddle gearings are worn, and are of the three cogs up and two down variety, but on the whole all was in good order, and a very pleasant time was had, especially once the warden had rejoined us. The dogs got plenty of exercise following the buggy and retrieving as we went down the flight. It was interesting seeing the warden at work stemming the leaks in the gates as we went down. The first five locks took an hour, the next hour saw us with two left, and we were through in two hours and ten minutes. This was without rushing, just an efficient and steady routine. We then had the short run to Brookwood, the bottom lock of which we left at 12 o'clock, just in time to toddle along to St.John's for lunch. I had been told that there would not be time for us to go down the St.John's flight as well, but the warden said that we were expected. Sure enough, the other warden appeared with his mate, and said we could proceed whenever we liked. We finished off our lunch and carried on down. Once again the wardens went ahead to start filling the locks. When we got to the second one the lock had still not filled, and after we chatted for a while I thought that it was not really filling too well - one of the bottom paddles was three inches up. I forget how long the five took, but suffice to say there was plenty of time for shopping in Woking. At the wharf there a trip boat for the disabled was moored up having just completed a trip, and they were interested to see how we coped with a wheelchair aboard (which we don't - it is only used for land-based excursions for Hazel). I was slightly apprehensive about leaving the boat as there were some youths loitering, but in fact the adjacent bridge is busy with shoppers going to and from the nearby car park, so we were really quite safe. After the shop we carried on. Caelmiri was moored by Hermitage Bridge, with Pat's fishing line right across the cut. We stopped about half a mile short of Sheerwater, but the bank was full of nettles, and when wearing shorts these are not good news. Fortunately two passers-by pulled us in so I could get ashore reasonably unscathed. One characteristic of the waterway is that piling is noticeable by its general absence, in contrast to so much of the canal system nowadays. It does give the waterway a certain timelessness. Day 8: Thursday July 2nd: Woking to Godalming. Once again we were at Sheerwater Lock 6 at 9 am. Caelmiri had already come past us (Pat had an enormous grin as he had caught two large tench the previous evening) and Pat said the warden had been and we could descend when we liked, so we set off. The top gates on this flight seal well. Another point is that the paddle gear is much closer to the balance beams on the Woodham Flight than elsewhere on the canal, so we could not use Wey windlasses on the bottom gate paddles. They can be used on the ground paddles throughout, and on all the other bottom gate paddles beyond Lock 6, and the additional leverage makes noticeably light work of the paddles. We were down the flight in 55 minutes, and at this point said cheerio to our friends on Caelmiri, who we had got to know quite well, as they were taking a day or two more to get back. As we approached Woodham Junction a narrow-boat went past and gave us a wave. We locked up Pyrford, Newark and Papercourt with them. The boat was called Lief, and came from Frampton-on-Severn. At Send a new bridge is being built, alongside and downstream of Cart Bridge, which was always more of an obstruction to traffic than to boats. At Worsfold Gates we found the Gates shut, or at least the top gates shut, with a cruiser in the lock and the paddles open. I had wondered why the weir at Papercourt wasn't running very fiercely. We joined the cruiser and locked through, and told him to go ahead while we reset the flood lock. As I was closing the gates Vince Locatelli came out of his Dutch Barge there and said that I should leave the gates as with other locks. The system had changed. Originally, when the Gates were in use, you left all gates shut with one paddle up at each end, to allow some water to feed the pound down to Papercourt. Now Vince has built a byepass weir, so the feed carries on past regardless, so now you leave the lock with one set of gates open and all paddles down, just like all the other locks on the navigation. We locked up Triggs, and then stopped for lunch opposite Send Church. After lunch we set off again, and as we approached Bowers we saw a narrowboat disappear round the corner into the lock. We sped on round the corner and found that he was not alone, so we waited while the locked up. The boats were two of the Farncombe Boathouse fleet, and by the time we reached Stoke they were just filling the lock, so that was two complete lock workings on my own. By the time we reached Millmead we had caught up with them, and we all three squeezed in together. Millmead and Stoke Locks are not so bad to squash into as they have ground rather than gate top paddles. They stopped in the pound above, so we headed on, getting back into Godalming at 6 p.m., a long day. To summarise, the Basingstoke Canal is well worth the effort and cost of visiting. Its beauty has few rivals on the canal system - the Shroppie comes closest in character, although it is a rather twistier form, but the cuttings and embankments brought back memories. One item I failed to mention. At Dogmersfield the guide books refer to the Great Wall of Dogmersfield, where a large gabion wall was buit as a result of a major landslip. If you do not know where it is, you can easily miss it, as a veritable forest of trees has grown up in front of it, and the weathering/moss/lichen growth has made it look just like any other bit of cutting side. It is impressive, but not as much as when it was new. -- Tony Clayton 'Linton', Godalming Wharf Home Page http://www.tclayton.demon.co.uk