Drungewick Aqueduct is opened
Also: Drungewick Lock declared open
and: Stop Plank Shelter inspected
The Wey & Arun Canal moved half a mile nearer to completion on Saturday 31 May. The 1½ miles of restored waterway from Loxwood High Street to the edge of the River Lox at Drungewick Lane was linked by the opening of the Drungewick Aqueduct to the next half mile down to Drungewick Lock.
This new structure completes the third and final phase of the “Drungewick Crossing” which has occupied a lot of time for many members of the Wey & Arun Canal Trust for some ten years since planning began.
Arriving on the Trust's 30 seater trip boat Zachariah Keppel, Dr Dave Fletcher CBE, Chief Executive of British Waterways from 1996 to 2002, was warmly welcomed by Peter Foulger, Chairman of the Wey & Arun Canal Trust, and a crowd of some 500 supporters and spectators who had been entertained by an excellent performance from the Chichester Youth Brass Band under their conductor, Kevin Webb.
Dr Fletcher spoke of the great upsurge in waterway restoration during the past decade. While many headline projects such as the Falkirk Wheel and the Anderton Lift are a long way from West
Sussex, he recognised that the Wey & Arun offers the only outlet to the English Channel from the whole of the country's inland waterway network.
Congratulating all those who had contributed either financially or physically to the building of the splendid new Drungewick Aqueduct, Dr Fletcher saw this and indeed the whole of the restored section of the canal as evidence of what could be accomplished by enthusiasts.
He was confident that such volunteers would be able to complete restoration of the whole 23 miles of the Wey & Arun in due time. With this in mind he drew attention to the Trust's new Prospectus which describes what it is hoped to do to achieve this aim. Partnership is the key, partnership between the volunteers, the local authorities and commercial interests, and generous sponsors such as those who provided the finance for the Drungewick Crossing.
Dr Fletcher then pulled back a flag which had stretched across the aqueduct and, to three hearty cheers, Zachariah Keppel made her maiden crossing. Subsequently several other craft crossed including the Trust's 12 seater trip boat, John Smallpeice, and the dayboat Pete Wynn, as well as Sammy Jo and Esteem.
Aerial pictures of the aqueduct taken on opening day.
Drungewick Lock declared opened
Thanks to the generosity of Mrs Iris Piggott, a former Secretary of the Trust, it has been possible to install gates on the restored Drungewick Lock, which lies about half a mile beyond the aqueduct. Coupled with this the Trust created a winding hole (turning place for boats) below the lock.
Interestingly, while digging a large hole in order to bury several tree stumps and roots at this
point, the volunteers discovered the remains of similar stumps and roots buried by their predecessors almost 200 years ago.
On Saturday 31 May, following the opening of the Drungewick Aqueduct, Mrs Piggott, supported by her family, arrived at the lock on board the 12 seater trip boat John Smallpeice. A ribbon across the top of the lock was cut before Mrs Piggott stepped ashore to unveil a plaque dedicating the gates to the memory of her late husband, Desmond.
Unexpectedly faced with a crowd of over 100, Peter Foulger made an impromptu speech acknowledging this generous gesture which consolidated the canal's continuing progress. The lock was then emptied and John Smallpeice turned in the new winding hole - three times in order to accommodate the many photographers on the bank. Rising back through the lock, with Dr Fletcher enthusiastically using a windlass to admit water from the upper pound, Mrs Piggott and her party re-embarked and returned to the aqueduct.
Stop Plank Shelter inspected
Stop planks are used on waterways to block the flow of water so that maintenance or other work can be undertaken. On the Wey & Arun Canal the first Stop Plank Shelter, designed to protect the planks when not in use, has been built at Baldwin's Knob Lock, about half a mile above the Drungewick Aqueduct. This structure was funded by generous donations from Footprints of Sussex, who organised 'Walk 2000 - a Celebration of West Sussex' to mark the millennium and passed along this section of the canal during their circuit, and the South London Branch of the Inland Waterways Association who regard the Wey & Arun as their nearest canal under restoration.
Following the opening of the Drungewick Aqueduct on 31 May, Lesley Pryde and Andrew Mann of IWA - South London walked up to Baldwin's Knob Lock, while Vivien Lyth and Keith McKenna of Footprints of Sussex were joined by a group undertaking a walk from the Onslow Arms at Loxwood.
Keith McKenna & Vivien Lyth (Footprints of Sussex) with
Lesley Pryde & Andrew Mann (IWA-S. London) at Baldwin's Knob Lock
The new structure was warmly approved and its potential usefulness appreciated. It has been suggested that the Wey & Arun Canal Trust should build such shelters at each lock along the canal.
For more details please contact the Trust's Office.
or -
Geoff Perks
61 Ashleigh Road
HORSHAM
West Sussex RH12 2LE
Tel: 01403 262 855
| 
