News Items

Bonfire Night Canal Event

Boat owners lit up their craft and joined a cruise along Driffield Canal to Frodingham Landing for a November 5th Celebration. Driffield Navigation Trust organised the free event, and those who joined in the fun of the special evening helped raise more than £700 for the trust.

The event included fireworks, fire pit, boat rides, live music from three-piece band The Sonics, street entertainers, bar and barbecue. The highlight was the arrival of the illuminated boats in the dark to mark the start of the celebration.

New trustees, who recently joined Driffield Navigation Trust, came up with the idea for the trust's first November 5th Celebration. One of them, Christian Jordan, said: "We were involved in a little flotilla of boats sailing to Frodingham Landing after we joined the trust. We thought it would be a good idea to expand on that with the November 5th Celebration and help to raise the profile of the navigation. The event also helped attract a larger audience for the canal, and there was be a real party atmosphere with everybody having a good time."

There were prizes for the best-lit boats. Although it was a free event, visitors were asked to make a donation to the trust, which works to maintain and improve the historic 11-mile navigation.

Driffield Navigation Trust is a registered charity and relies on fundraising, grants and donations for ongoing efforts to make the canal fully navigable again.

Tribute to Derek Madin

Tributes have been paid to a boating enthusiast who played a leading role in the early days of the restoration of Driffield Canal who has died. Driffield Navigation Trust  commissioners have been saddened by the death of Derek Madin who was devoted to making the derelict canal fully navigable again.

Frodingham 1985

Pushing the boats out . . .Mr Derek Madin, new chairman of the Driffield Navigation Amenities Association,
at their annual Public Cruise Weekend held at North Frodingham Canal.

Derek and his family moved to Leicestershire several years ago, but he loved to keep in touch on the progress being made on Driffield Navigation.

Canal commissioner John Jefferson, who was also a member of the disbanded Driffield Navigation Amenities Association, was a friend of Derek's for many years.

He said: "Derek was dedicated to the canal and worked hard on the restoration, not only as a member of the DNAA, but also as a commissioner. He was chairman of the DNAA in 1986 when I was secretary, and had been a stalwart of  the Driffield Navigation since the early 1970s. A lot of the things he did were at Frodingham Landing, and his family want to scatter some of his ashes there as an act of remembrance."

Derek was elected a commissioner and trustee of the navigation in 1983, and acted as the official collector of boat registrations up to 1995.
In 1986, he was nominated as the correspondent with the Charity Commission when the DNAA constitution was amended. Derek was also a
committee member of the northern branch of the Inland Waterways Association. He was leader of the committee which adopted drawings for a British Waterways Board standard design for a swing bridge to replace the temporary fixed bridge at Brigham.  Although the new bridge was
manufactured, planning permission could not be obtained, so it was adapted to replace part of Bethell's Bridge at Hempholme.

Derek also played an active part in canal working parties, and fundraising events, until he moved away from the area. He died just before Christmas, 2021, after being in  poor health for over a year.

Improvements to a popular navigation-side footpath

Assistance with the footpath work was rendered by Pocklington Ramblers footpath team

The canal trustees have joined forces with the Ramblers Association to clear and improve a picturesque walk in the trail from Driffield to Wansford. As landowners of the path between Whinhill and Wansford, the trust gave the ramblers permission to clear vegetation and other obstacles from the walk.

The work was carried out by the Beverley Group of East Yorkshire & Derwent Ramblers Path Minders team, who were concerned about the state of the path. DNT chairman John Scholey also cut the road-side bank top with his flail mower, and some levelling of that section of the walk was undertaken by the trust.

Joe Neal, from the ramblers, who was involved in the project, said: "We were joined by a team from Pocklington Ramblers to do all the cutting back in February. We would like to return to shore up the path where it is sliding down towards the canal in places, and put in a hand rail." Mr Neal said they wanted to thank John and the canal trustees for the work they were putting in to help restore and improve the path. "Everyone can now enjoy this lovely path from Whinhill to Wansford, and we are grateful to the DNT for their support for this ongoing project which will be appreciated by many" he added.

David Taylor, from the DNT, said they were delighted that the canal-side path had been improved, and the project showed what could be achieved by working in partnership with other organisations. "The trustees want to develop and improve Driffield Canal for all countryside recreational pursuits, including walking, and fully support the ramblers hopes and inspirations for our picturesque waterway," he said.

Here are typical roadside sections, One before the clean-up and the other after.

here are typical woodland sections, one before the clean-up and one 4 months after.

Some of the team that did all the good work - thank you!

New improved bridge at Snakeholme

Driffield Navigation Trust has been praised for taking swift action to replace Snakeholme Lock Bridge which was found to be badly corroded and in danger of collapsing. The trust was carrying out repairs when it became obvious that the bridge was in a dangerous derelict condition and needed replacing as a matter of urgency. Experts advised that the old accommodation bridge could collapse at any time, putting regular users and their vehicles at serious risk, and must be immediately replaced. The trust is charged under Acts of Parliament to maintain locks and bridges on the navigation, so it took swift action and ordered a new bridge to be built.

Phil Morley, manager of Wansford Trout Farm at Snakeholme, said the trust had done a brilliant job and certainly prevented an accident from happening. He said: "I was helping to remove old wooden sleepers from the bridge deck for the repairs when the badly rusted and corroded steelwork was discovered. It was left in the hands of Driffield Navigation Trust to replace the bridge as a matter of urgency because it was in such dangerous condition."

Not only has the new bridge improved safety for users, but has increased air draft to 10ft 4ins to allow bigger boats through to the Trout Inn at Wansford. John Scholey, trust chairman, said: "With the recent improvements to Whinhill Bridge and the latest work at Snakeholme, the trust has now replaced or refurbished all bridges and locks on the canal at a cost in excess of £500,000. "Now the only obstruction to navigation on the canal is the fixed Wansford Bridge, so we are appealing to East Riding Council, and the politicians, to help us replace it with an opening structure."

The trust is grateful to Dan Taylor Engineering, of Driffield, for building the new bridge at short notice, and Ashcourt Construction for carrying out all the other work at Snakeholme.

The New Bridge at Whinhill

This new bridge at Whinhill allows far more 'air draft' than the old bridge did, and therefore facilitates the passage of taller vessels.