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Overgrown towpaths and moorings, blind bends by overgrowth.


Timx

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3 minutes ago, Loddon said:

Oooh a good toy 😎

 

........but £200!

 

Burning off weeds is a good option if you want to do it "chemical free", eg if you have pets roaming the area. Another option is boiling water - this kills weeds just as effectively as flame. However it takes ages to do anything except a very small area, of repeated applications of kettles full of water.

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7 minutes ago, Paul C said:

........but £200!

 

It doesn't have to be.

I have a secondhand 'roofers blow torch' that they use for melting bitumin - cost me 'a fiver' even new they are only £60

I bet youd find one on ebay, gumtree or pre-loved for 'pennies'

 

Extended Propane Gas Roofing ROOF Roofers Plumbers Torch : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

 

 

Edit to add - there are dozens on ebay at around (and well under) £20

 

Propane Butane Calor Gas Torch Burner Blow Kit Plumbers Roofing Brazing Pipe | eBay

 

Propane Butane Gas Torch Burner Blow Plumbers Roofers Roofing Brazing | eBay

 

Long Arm Propane Butane Gas Torch Weed Burner Hose Regulator Roofers Plumber Kit 5055143916782 | eBay

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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16 hours ago, Paul C said:

 

Yeah....if they've been down that long, there is not much hope. You can't buy the decent strength weedkillers retail nowadays. Maybe a gardening contractor can take the job on and get the proper stuff.

 

Or a paving contractor re-does it if you don't want to lift stuff yourself.

Agent Orange defoliant, flame throwers...

You people are trying to build a  Vietnam war theme park 😞

 

Have you booked the Napalm Death live performances yet?

  • Haha 1
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15 hours ago, Stroudwater1 said:

Indeed, though that paper you quote doesnt mention harm just that inevitably some organisms will get sprayed. Perhaps its somewhere else on the paper, it isnt designed as a pesticide as we term them. 

 

Perhaps if Glyphosate wasn't linked with Monsanto of GM food claim things would be less edgy with it? 

Would you consider it safe to eat plants containing Glyphosate?

 

Does this make you any more convinced it harms insects:

 

The researchers investigated the effects of glyphosate on two evolutionarily distant insects, Galleria mellonella, the greater wax moth, and Anopheles gambiae, a mosquito that is an important transmitter of malaria to humans in Africa. They found that glyphosate inhibits the production of melanin, which insects often use as part of their immune defenses against bacteria and parasites; it thereby reduces the resistance of these species to infection by common pathogens.

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7 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

It doesn't have to be.

I have a secondhand 'roofers blow torch' that they use for melting bitumin - cost me 'a fiver' even new they are only £60

I bet youd find one on ebay, gumtree or pre-loved for 'pennies'

 

Extended Propane Gas Roofing ROOF Roofers Plumbers Torch : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

 

 

Edit to add - there are dozens on ebay at around (and well under) £20

 

Propane Butane Calor Gas Torch Burner Blow Kit Plumbers Roofing Brazing Pipe | eBay

 

Propane Butane Gas Torch Burner Blow Plumbers Roofers Roofing Brazing | eBay

 

Long Arm Propane Butane Gas Torch Weed Burner Hose Regulator Roofers Plumber Kit 5055143916782 | eBay

But could you find any gas cylinders

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Just now, ditchcrawler said:

But could you find any gas cylinders

 

I've got dozens (we have a caravan site) and can easily fill the small ones (3.9kg or 13kg) from the big 49kg ones.

Although we are an appointed reseller of Calor Gas, I find it easier and cheaper to use the 'farm shop' up the road as he must get big volume discounts.

My BUY price for the 49kg is £99, his selling price is under that and he delivers from a single one upwards.

 

I used my 'big blow torch' to melt lead for pouring into fishing weight moulds.

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On 15/07/2022 at 08:49, LadyG said:

No use for me, it's stepping off the boat is the problem, there are holes and uneven surface which could lead to a fall or broken ankle, boat floating off.

Leaving the edges untrimmed for one year saves ten percent on the contract, but the next year it will be left again, reducing moorings again. Then the saplings grow in to trees and overhang, they are cut back, acts like coppicing, and so on.

I have to scrabble about on hands and knees to find the Armco,  much easier if the verges are maintained, there are many areas where no one moors and birds can nest etc etc.

 

 

 

I'll bet CRT haven't factored in the cost of the injury claims once the "free" lawyer companies get involved.

 

It's recently cost VW £193 million.

On 15/07/2022 at 09:19, Jerra said:

We do the same but use a Sycle.

 

Round my way theocal.youths use motorcycles... 🤣😂

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Flames are great against annual weeds but don’t do anything much for deep rooted perennial weeds eg cow parsley nettles bindweed couch grass etc here really it’s glyphosate cover with occlusive or nothing can get rid of them. 
 

Farmers are rather stuck though as I believe burning is not acceptable now especially stubble burning 

 

Perhaps flame isn’t so wise currently though tbf ☺️

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22 minutes ago, Stroudwater1 said:

Flames are great against annual weeds but don’t do anything much for deep rooted perennial weeds eg cow parsley nettles bindweed couch grass etc here really it’s glyphosate cover with occlusive or nothing can get rid of them. 
 

Farmers are rather stuck though as I believe burning is not acceptable now especially stubble burning 

 

Perhaps flame isn’t so wise currently though tbf ☺️

You are correct.

Perhaps a Rotavator would be  better choice.

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We have just moored on a fairly overgrown patch, stepped ashore and into a big hole, obscured by the vegetation, that had several bees mooching around inside it. I'm guessing that it used to be a nest that someone has removed. 

 

I do like bees, slightly less keen now that I've been stung in a rather uncomfortable place..... 

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59 minutes ago, Chris T said:

We have just moored on a fairly overgrown patch, stepped ashore and into a big hole, obscured by the vegetation, that had several bees mooching around inside it. I'm guessing that it used to be a nest that someone has removed. 

 

I do like bees, slightly less keen now that I've been stung in a rather uncomfortable place..... 

 

Report it to CRT, if they get many complaints of hidden hazards they may reconsider the vegetation maintenance policy.

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1 hour ago, Chris T said:

We have just moored on a fairly overgrown patch, stepped ashore and into a big hole, obscured by the vegetation, that had several bees mooching around inside it. I'm guessing that it used to be a nest that someone has removed. 

 

I do like bees, slightly less keen now that I've been stung in a rather uncomfortable place..... 

Badgers will dig bees nests out

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55 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

Report it to CRT, if they get many complaints of hidden hazards they may reconsider the vegetation maintenance policy.

Is it an incident report if I break my other ankle?

 

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When we were boating recently we admired the lovely colourful wild flowers growing at the canal edge but when I walked the dog along the towpath I changed my mind! The tow path was very narrow as a result of the lack of mowing and the nettles and thistles attacked my bare arms and legs . I did think it might make it less attractive for cyclists  but not sure that it a reason for leaving such a narrow path 🙂 

 

Haggis

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11 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Badgers will dig bees nests out

I didn't know that, how interesting, I wonder if that's what's happened here. There's no sign of a nest, just a decent sized hole with half a dozen bees in it. Just next to the evil brambles that have drawn blood.

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Chris T said:

Ha ha, I love the sign! 

 

Looking again, it looks unlikely that a nest would have been dug out (by a human) to leave a hole like that.  Hopefully it will be easier for others to avoid it now that we've cleared the vegetation a bit (for now), ditto the evil brambles.6909B037E0604FD89386E1076F4A2CB2.jpg.10f0f14556d1ae1821652b1f386fbb37.jpg

 

 

9D5E8D59A4394D2685DF5882C7EBF7AE.jpg

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23 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

Report it to CRT, if they get many complaints of hidden hazards they may reconsider the vegetation maintenance policy.

 

As suggested, I filled in the CRT online form to report this today and have already had a reply. It  sets out the 4 different levels of towpath clearing and says that the decision on which applies is taken locally, bearing in mind the conditions and the towpath usage. 

 

They asked for the location, which I have sent, along with photos.  It's only one example of course, but only took a few minutes to do.

 

 

  • Greenie 1
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Only my personal priorities of course, however I'd much prefer CRT to be focussing on their "Let's not bother back pumping this year" policy.

Without water under you, The Coventry and Ashby Country Lanes won't need clear towpaths, everyone will be able to walk up the middle.

The same applies to The Trent & Mersey pathway and The Leeds & Liverpool Bridle Path.

After that they might take a rethink about gates and paddles.

We are a gnat's wing away from lock flights locked up except for a couple of hours a day.

It's a shock when you approach a flight and find moored boats as far back as a mile from the beginning and you realise that by this time tomorrow you might have only moved 20 or 30 lengths nearer.

Don't worry about hire boats though, they'll be alright, they tend to get priority under these situations.  Why?  Well they're on holiday aren't they?  Oh hang on so are we isn't that right?

  • Greenie 1
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