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Wantage Summer Festival Walks

Brian's 5 walks for the Wantage Summer Festival 2013 began on Tuesday 4 June 2013  - next one Tuesday 18th 

Brian photo

 

 Circular walks taking in parts of the Wilts & Berks Canal. The annual guided walks in and around Wantage and the surrounding villages are an opportunity to learn about the history of the canal, the ongoing restoration and to enjoy the countryside in the Summer.

Come prepared with suitable shoes or boots. Some routes may have stiles. For further details contact Brian Stovold on 07946 524928

 Reports on the Saturday 15th walk "A circular walk starting and  finishing at Ardington Church" and the Tuesday 18th walk "Industrial Archaeology in the Centre of Wantage" appear below

   

TUESDAY 25th JUNE 7.00pm

 

CANAL WALK AND EXPLORATION OF THE GROVE LOCK FLIGHT

STARTING AT THE LAYBY BETWEEN OXFORD LANE AND GROVE BRIDGE

 

Join us in this very popular exploration of the Grove Lock flight, east of Grove, starting and finishing at the layby (part of old road) between Oxford Lane and Grove Bridge (map ref 407902), The walk follows the much-improved footpath with plenty to see, and goes out as far as the remains of the Neville’s Farm Lift Bridge.

 A delightful way to spend a summer’s evening. Distance will be around 2.5 miles, although allow 2.5 hours as your guide will linger in various places of historical interest and wax lyrical about his favourite subject, i.e. the history of the Wilts & Berks Canal. Please wear suitable clothing/shoes/walking boots and take care as routes

May include stiles, and roads for part of the way,. If further information is required, please contact Brian Stovold on 07946524928. A donation of £2 would be appreciated to help with the Sack House up keep.

 

Report on Summer Festival Walk Saturday 15th June
A circular walk starting and fnishing at Ardington Church

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Summer! Pah!. Oh well 8 intrepid souls braved the squally showers and the beautiful weather in between to do this year’s long walk. Actually five miles according to wife Fiona’s iphone pedometer but felt ( according to my feet) rather more. By special permission of one of our local landowners we were able to explore the canal from the field edge to the north of Ardington.

Our route took us from the picturesque village of Ardington starting by the church and thence along the bridleway along the private road to Ardington Wick on the side of the hill ( the lower greensand ridge). From thence down a VERY straight bridleway track northwards to the railway line and through the slightly damp underbridge.

IMG 3545Here the weather started to pick up and I was forced to remove my waterproof. Across the fields on public footpaths to Ardington March lock.  A rather interesting relic in a very quiet location...apart from the odd train in the distance.

IMG 3546From here we travelled along the field edge south eastwards, back under the railway line and thence to the Lockinge Park Road, passing the remains of Ardington Top Lock and then back up the fields to Ardington...Next year I am going to time this one so that we return before the teashop in the village closes ie 4pm.

I should point out that the structures shown are on private land, but both are visible from the public footpaths.

Next walk/ramble in Tuesday and at least this one is all on tarmac and within Wantage town centre!

 
 
Report on Summer Festival Walk Tuesday 18th June 
INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE CENTRE OF WANTAGE  
  
 SummerFestival180613This evening was my still experimental Industrial Archaeological ramble around Wantage, using the Sack House as the starting point. Imagine my shock when 40 people turn up for the event!. Mike opened up the Sackhouse and the assembled masses were able to see the newly decorated internals...very impressive.
 
Wantage being a Saxon town has a long and fascinating history, and of course it is impossible to do justice to that in an hour and a half. We started by wandering through the gap between the new and old Town Mill ( the newer mill being famous for Wessex flour). From there we headed to the Betjeman Park and up into the Priory Road aka Tanners Road.
 
Undaunted by the bellringing practice going on in the nearby parish church we looked at the early tanning industry, and then headed into the Market Place. Pausing to take a look at the Georgian frontages and generally interesting brickwork I mentioned Black Wantage, the Wantage Improvement Act 1828, and the coaching inns surrounding the Market Place. I forgot to mention Bennetts Brewery behind the Falcon Tavern and 19thC Town Hall. 
 
We then headed into Wallingford Street where I indicated where Little Lane had been before the old shops were demolished in the 70s to make way for Waitrose, headed round the corner into Waitrose Car Park and discussed the second Tannery Site, once the largest tannery in England until bankrupcy in the 1820s.
 
Then into Grove St, looking at several now ex pubs and musing over likely sites for one of the manor houses, before returning down Grove St stopping to look at a house built of what looks like bath stone and thence into the Sainsburys car park to discuss the Wantage Puddle ( the swimming pool given to the town for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.....and well remembered. It only closed in the 70s....I think I have now thawed out after many swims here when I was in primary school).
 
We stood on the site of the tramway rails leaving the town passenger station, and then headed across to Belmont Bridge on the Wantage arm of the canal. This fine stone bridge, one of only two specified in the Enabling Act was left to fall to ruin and eventually demolished in a superb ( !) bit of 70s town planning when the housing estate when in adjacent to the canal path. The remains of the west side are a sad reminder of all that Wantage has lost.
 
I rather enjoyed the Industrial Archaeological aspects and general history of this walk and I had various good words from those who came along. What was also super was those who chipped in with their own recollections. As I said to everyone at the start I always learn more from these walks than I impart. Maybe I’ll give this particular walk a break next year OR work on how to make it more interesting and perhaps really concentrate on a couple of streets rather than rambling around the town, who knows. I’ll await further responses and then think about it.
 
Now looking forward to the last walk of the season, hoping the weather stays kind, and thinking about repeating them outside of the Summer Festival..
 
 
Brian Stovold

 

 
 
Brian’s Canal Blog - Summer (?) 2012 Walks

THURSDAY 14th June

IMG 1844-1000First walk of the season. Already had a phone call asking whether it will be on. Replied that if pouring down then will cancel.....Walk due to start at 7.30....and at 6.30 started to chuck it down. Chris Naish and I separately drove out on the off chance that a stalwart walker would decide to turn up. Rather glad that no-one did as very wet. Went home to continue preparing for Sunday. Will rebook walk...and indeed have done so for Friday 13th July...

SATURDAY 16th June

On duty at the shop at Pendon Museum all afternoon....rather worried as have invited John Laverick, Trust Chairman and also, Fiona Roper, the deputy town mayor of Wantage, and various other people including a group from the Wantage Silver Band,...to a grand door opening ceremony at the Sack House in Wantage....and still not made it into the building. Barratts have lost the key and the locksmith who came out on Tuesday and promised to return...hasn’t!

Go home..load up the car with housebreaking equipment...return to Sack house. Pathetically try to smash small pane of glass on only window without bars...only to find they put in toughened glass when they did the exterior renovation..strange looks from residents in nearby flats.  Gain entry by removing putty....and removing lock from inside. My accomplice takes various pictures to prove it happened....should have worn my classic striped jumper....Lock up premises using top and bottom screw in locks...return home. ( Building now secure again)

Read more...
 
Grove Scouts Bat Box Environmental Project
Bat1-1000This last week 14-20 May has been the Scouts  Community Week across the nation . In Grove with the increase in popularity of scouting in the last few years we now have three troops. One of their recent projects has been to construct bat boxes and today saw representatives of two of the troops, Seagulls led by Wayne Bream and Blackbirds led by Phil Gill, come to several locations on the canal around Wantage to put them in position high on trees They have been placed along the Childrey New Road section and east of Grove near Small march Lock. Photos show, from left to right Phil Gill and his son Hamish, Ethan Bream, yours truly and finally Wayne Bream. My daughter, Heather, was taking the photo and can be seen up the ladder in the second photo.Bat2-1000
 
At Childrey we also had the Coulson family. My thanks to all of them for spending their Sunday afternoon on such a worthwhile project. The third scout troop will be positioning their supply of bat boxes at the Elm Farm section of canal at Grove, which is close to the Scout Hut.
 
The Childrey New Road section of canal and towpath was a joy this afternoon, A lone chiff-chaff was singing very loudly in the nearby trees and with a plethora of wildflowers growing on the bankside ( on which the Wantage and Grove Lions did a tree planting session last year) I was able to educate my daughter on a bit of plant recognition ( Comfrey and Campion, for a start). As a final note I used the opportunity of being there to plant a horse chestnut tree grown from a conker taken from Denchworth a couple of years ago. I  look forward to seeing the tree grow over the years to come, and I hope to see the various bat boxes being used, of course. Now to get a bat sound detector!
 
Brian Stovold
 
 
Wantage Summer Festival Guided Walks
Summer-Festival-2012-2East Vale branch are proud to announce this year’s programme of guided walks for the Wantage Summer Festival. The festival runs from the 8th June to the 1st July with a full programme of music of various kinds, plays, local history and not forgetting Brian’s guided walks which are now a popular fixture. This year we are again running five events with for the first time a walk based around them wharf area exploring the meagre remains of Wantage’s industrial heritage.
 
Also for the first time our longer walk of the season will be a circular walk from and back to Ardington taking some canal not normally accessible to the general public east of Grove. The usual circular walks around the Grove lock flight, Wantage, and East Challow and lastly around Childrey are also included.
 
Summer-Festival-2012-3
 
The dates are: Click the thumbnail for more details of individual walks
 
Summer-Festival-14Thursday 14th June 7.30pm. Meet at Childrey Village Hall
 
 
 
Summer-Festival-17Sunday 17th June 2.30pm Meet at the Sackhouse, Wantage Wharf, Mill St Wantage
 
 
Summer-Festival-19Tuesday 19th June 7.30pm Meet at the lay by east of Grove on the A338
 
 
 
 
Summer-Festival-24
Sunday 24th June 2pm Meet at Ardington Church
 
 
 
 
Summer-Festival-28Thursday 28th June 7.30 Meet at the Sackhouse, Wantage Wharf
 
 
 
Purchase of Sackhouse, Wantage Wharf
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It’s ours!!!
 
The Trust has, in the last week or so, completed the purchase of the historically important Sack House at Wantage Wharf. This is one of only two original canal buildings remaining in Wantage ( the other being the wharfmaster’s house) and therefore of great significance. It dates back to the building of the wharf in the early 1800s and served as a depot for hiring sacks of a standard size to farmers, corn merchants etc who wished to send their goods out of the local area. The West of England Sack Hiring Company was set up in the early 19thC and had the Great Western Rly contract for Cornwall to Bucks.
 
158-1000The company was liquidated in the 1920s. The building is small but has two rooms, one of which was an office and the other the storage for sacks and the weighing equipment. The previous owners Barratt Homes undertook the external renovation of the building two years ago at about which time we first made contact. Terms were agreed under which ownership passed to us with restrictions on future transfer and a covenant this it is to be used as museum. SACKHOUSE-1000
 
The Branch intend now to renovate the inside of the building to a suitable standard, arrange for electricity supply to be installed and then fit out as a museum/exhibition area specifically concerning the Canal Wharf, Wantage Tramway and other associated industrial heritage. We are now setting up a management committee to move things forward. More details will be published when available. The likely first opening ( albeit before renovation occurs) will be during the Wantage Summer Festival in June.
 
Finally I would like to thank all those who have helped enable the Trust to this stage and for now I’ll mention just  Barratt Homes and  also John Mant Solicitors. I know there are various people around Wantage who have sought this solution over many years and my thanks goes to them too
 
After a super door opening ceremony in June at which Trust Chairman John Laverick and Fiona Roper, Deputy Mayor of Wantage , cut the ribbon, to the sound of the Wantage Silver Band, things have settled down with work starting on the inside of the building.
 
Brian Stovold
 
 
 
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