Digitally enhanced

This afternoon I was on patrol again. This time with CG, a new volunteer out with me for their first towpath ranger patrol.

Naturally it involved an enormous number of overflowing bins. Including one that seems to have gone missing from alongside the East Wick service mooring - this may be in an effort to discourage boaters from leaving anything there, but does seem, on the face of it, a retrogressive step.

Wick Woodland

It was disappointing to see the mess some people are making of the towpath at Wick Woodland too, I expect a team of volunteers will be back to clear this up at some point.

These boards and bikes seem both to have been left behind.

We slowly worked our way upstream. At the Lea Rowing Club we distributed some maplets and heard the complaints of the rowers: too much debris in the river south of Lea Bridge, too much weed in the river near the landing stages.

The weed really was impressive, it's reached the surface alongside the landing stages here, so I'm not surprised rowers are getting their paddles caught, which to a training athlete can lead to a straining injury!

Spot the bicycle!

Above the LRC, there were more overflowing bins and yet more rubbish pulled from the canal. We reported it and carried on. But on our way we met a young American bagging up towpath rubbish and taking it away! They weren't a Trust volunteer so I expressed my most effusive praise and pressed them with a volunteering leaflet.

At the locks at Tottenham we eventually stopped and discussed the working of electrically controlled locks, and I showed C the controls for the locks there. C has come from our recruitment of volunteers for Carpenters Road Lock and they're part of our heritage work there. Carpenters Road will also be electrically operated, but lacking paddles may be even simpler to work than these automated gates.

3 well spent hours.