Rain, poo, and litter.

We met this Sunday in the rain at Three Mills at 11.00 am. At the start this was just J and me, and we made our way North under the road at Bow and slowly up towards Old Ford Lock. We talked about birds a little, I'm no twitcher but I was pleased to identify a grebe in the pool at Three Mills.

Three Mills at low tide.

Just above Three Mills, before the Bow Free Wharf we also found a bit of towpath side wall on the point of collapse. That got an urgent report.

Further on, we passed the push-pit and waste bag Richard reported from our previous patrol. A bit disappointing not to see this moved.

At Old Ford I took a look in the sanitary station and gave it a bit of a tidy and sluiced the elsan a little. The bins that we'd tidied up the previous Saturday were overflowing - another one for the the reporting system. And S - from that Saturday - joined us as we continued North towards the Hertford Union.

A few boaters were setting off for Stonebridge Lock from the moorings at Old Ford. They had lashed together three boats for the trip, one abreast the boat with power, one moored to its stem. It was an impressive assemblage and I'm sorry I wasn't able to get a good photo of it.

The bins at White Post Lane and East Wick were overflowing too. There's no nearby rubbish disposal for the long term moorings at East Wick, something that CRT are probably going to have to do something about if they don't want these particular bins full every day.

The towpath at Wick Woods is quite nice, contractors having cut back a bit of the foliage. But the other side of the towpath, towards the wood, has been used as a bit of a dumping ground, literally, there were at least two porta-pottis in evidence.

Two large toilet cassettes.

I've suggested to the Sandile, the local Volunteer Team Leader that perhaps a towpath taskforce clean-up here might be something we do soon.

As a team we turned around and made our various ways back home. Me to send in a half-dozen reports from my photos.

2 hours, pleasantly if smell-ily spent.