Glastonbury Festival

British Waterways is working with the Glastonbury Festival to recycle the old lock gates from the Kennet & Avon Canal.

The lock gates that were taken out of the Caen Hill Flight earlier this year as part of a half-a-million pound maintenance programme, are being reused and recycled at the Glastonbury Festival this year. They will be creating a bridge with some of the old gates. The bridge is in memory of Bella Churchill, the grand-daughter of Sir Winston Churchill, a glamorous debutante who very publicly dropped out of high society to run the Glastonbury festival.

A set of gates (2 lock gates) are going to be loaded onto a lorry and transported to Worthy Farm, site of the Festival this Thursday, 20^th May

BW Boat Owners Survey and update on the 2009 NABO Condition Survey

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Richard Benyon confirmed as new Waterway Minister

Richard Benyon has been appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Defra.

Richard Benyon has been MP for Newbury since May 2005. Before coming to government Mr Benyon served as a Shadow Minister for the Environment, Fisheries and Wildlife. Prior to this appointment he was a Party Whip. He has also served on the Home Affairs Select Committee.

Growing up in Reading, Richard attended the Royal Agricultural College. He is a riparian landowner and farmer on the Kennett & Avon Canal, and a former soldier and founder of the charity help for heroes.

He is a vice president of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust and a keen angling supporter.

Mr Benyon said he was very pleased to join the government and looked forward to meeting Mrs Spelman. "When we were in opposition there were a lot of things we wanted to do and couldn't achieve, but now we can move forward," he said.

BBC Radio Wiltshire 24th -28th May

As part of the K&A200 celebrations, BBC Radio Wiltshire are going to Broadcast their morning Show with Mark O'Donnell, from the 24th May for a full week at various points along the canal.

Currently the proposed points are as follows (subject to broadcast tests)

24th May Bradford on Avon 9am-12noon
25th May Semington 9am-12noon
26th May Barge Inn Seend Cleeve 9am-12noon
27th May Ascending Devizes Flight 9am-12noon
28th May Devizes Wharf 9am-12noon

Mark O'Donnell will be travelling with the Narrowboat each afternoon to the next destination to assist in promoting the Kennet and Avon Canal

If you wish to discuss any project/History/Wildlife etc relating to the canal during the broadcasts, please contact Mike Rodd at the Trust office or Alan Whitewick (The Butty) via email at alanwhitewick@btinternet.com

Crews for cruises?

The Kennet & Avon Canal Trust is seeking additional volunteers to help crew and run its trip boat “Jubilee”, which operates from Brassknocker Basin, located between Claverton and Limpley Stoke, just off the A36, East of Bath. The boat does regular public trips on Sundays (12.00 & 14.30) and on Bank Holidays (12.00 & 14.30), with additional trips on Tuesdays (14.30) in July and August. The boat is also available for charter trips and undertakes many trips for schools.

The K & A Canal Trust operates 4 such boats, the others operating from Bradford-on-Avon, Devizes and Hungerford. The boats are all run by volunteer Trust members, acting in a range of roles -- as boat skippers, boat and booking managers, helmspersons (steerers), bow person (front lookout) boat crew, bar attendants, etc. Full training is provided by the Trust.

The K & A Canal Trust invites anyone who is interesting in helping to come and find out more by experiencing a free trip on Jubilee on Saturday 8th May, leaving Brassknocker Basin at 2.30 (14.30).

If you have any queries, please contact Gordon Lane on 0800 121 4682

Devizes Boat Club May Bank Holiday Boat Gathering

Winner of the Scrape Boat Challenge.

Every year on the Bank Holiday Sunday the scrape boats made out of bits and pieces (no motors) are built, scrutinised and entered along with a £5.00 fee to the challenge. They are launched together and race along a prescribed length of canal cheered on by everyone. The winning amount always £50.00 at least is given to a Charity chosen by the builder of the winning boat. This years winner was John Arthurs, past Trust council member for Newbury Branch, past Newbury Water Festival Harbour Master, previous chair of the DBC boat club and Trust volunteer especially at Crofton. He and his wife Val are off on a trip round the system for the summer and joining the club again at the IWA Festival Beale Park. At our dinner that evening he was presented with his winners cheque, which he promptly passed over to the person sat opposite him, who just happened to be the Treasurer of the Avon Vale Group. What a wonderful gesture from a boat made out of scrape a donation to a boat basically rescued from the scrape, thank you John.

Elaine Kirby

Caen Hill Locks CLOSED

Caen Hill locks are closed today (04 May 2010) and possibly tomorrow (05 May 2010) to an emergency repair of a broken Lock Chamber Wall.