We are looking for volunteers to help with the administration of WACT. Before a spade can be struck into the soil, a lot of background preparation needs to be done – and someone needs to do it. Can you help?
You may have seen our noticeboards, leaflets all along the canal route. This is only a very small part publicity plays in promoting and fundraising for the restoration work. We need help with designing our publications and walks leaflets as well as manning our stands at outdoor events and mobile display vehicle which flies the flag at such major events as Surrey County Show, Wings & Wheels and Cranleigh show.
If you enjoy meeting and talking to people, there is an excellent opportunity for you to join our group of canal centre volunteers. Your role would cover the issuing of boat passes, entering the passengers name on a trip sheet, taking money and putting it through the till, sale of merchandise, canoe licences, answering the phone and generally interacting with the public, talking about the canal, its history, our restoration programme and the locality, etc. In house training will be provided.
Want to use your expertise and engineering skills? Perhaps you have just retired and feel that the time is now right to be one of our volunteers? Project planning, surveys and building consent can take up to three years before the work can begin. We are always on the lookout for people who can speed up the process by giving us help in this area. If you have worked in the construction or water-based industries then your experience would be particularly relevant to our current projects.
These are teams of volunteers who work almost every day of the week, some on routine maintenance, some of specific areas, some on maintaining our equipment and kit. Here is a summary of what each group does and their usual working day:
This team of volunteers have a regular schedule and meet to keep up the tidy and clean condition around our restored sites. Such tasks include mowing, strimming, hedge cutting, painting, benches, and then move up and down the canal in the same way as painting the Forth Bridge. As soon as one area looks good, they move on to the next only to return in 6 months' time.
The MWWP meets every Wednesday. During the year we work on many different lengths of the canal. This also provides an opportunity to see parts of the canal that have no public access. We are a very sociable group of people who enjoy a good chat during our tea & lunch breaks. We carry out a variety of work, including clearing vegetation, brambles, fallen trees, scrub & reeds and general maintenance. We assist in maintaining the sections at Loxwood & Alfold for boat operations. We are also involved with the planning & surveying of the various areas of new work.
This is our construction team who offer a wide variety of skills to the Trust. Brick layers, electricians, builders are all included in this group and they are currently working in Ifold completing the latest lock restoration project at Southland Lock. All types of skills (or be prepared to learn some new ones) are welcome.
To keep the navigational section at Loxwood free from reeds, overhanging branches, locks tidy, towpaths cut is a full time job and we're lucky to have a small specialist team based in Loxwood, West Sussex. They meet on Wednesdays, Saturday & Sunday as required. Weekend work usually takes place during November & January for lock repairs. Check with Kev Baker
Named after Winston Harwood who led the group for many years, this team work mainly in the southern half of the canal and include the major show stopping site of the restored Lordings waterwheel and aqueduct. This is more seasonal work with some construction work included. They meet on a Friday.
The Hedge Layers meet regularly under the leadership of Keith Nicholls and their job includes coppicing, gathering the binders, laying the hedge and trimming it the following year. The team also report on interesting wildlife that they see when they are working, eg wild flowers, trees, birds. If you are interested in this country craft, please contact Keith.
This group is centred around the Shalford area including Gun's Mouth Island at the junction with the River Wey navigation. This is the Trust's newly formed group and the second construction team which includes both building skills and tree felling capabilities. In other words, this team undertakes a wide range of tasks. Recently the group constructed over 400 metres of riverside path which required dumper and digger drivers as well as carpentry skills in building an oak footbridge.
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Key to Maintenance and Construction Groups:
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| Contact Name | Group/Project | Tel. | Email: |
| Northern Office | Visiting working parties | 01483 505566 | support@weyandarun.co.uk |
| Eric Walker | Loxwood Projects | 07717 855340 | tsg@weyandarun.co.uk |
| Margaret Darvill | MidWeek Working Party | margaret_darvill@weyandarun.co.uk | |
| John Empringham | Monday Group | 01483 562657 | |
| Kev Baker | Loxwood Link | 02380 861074 | loxwoodlink@weyandarun.co.uk |
| Tony Clear | Winston's Group | 01903 774301 | winstonsgroup@weyandarun.co.uk |
| Keith Nichols | Hedge Laying | 01403 753882 | hedging@weyandarun.co.uk |
| Bill Nicholson | Northern working parties | 01844 343369 | bill@nwpg.org.uk |
| John Smith | Tickners Depot | 01903 235790 | depot@weyandarun.co.uk |