Time 11am to 12pm.
Meet outside the gates of Siddington Primary School.
The Cirencester Arm of the Thames and Severn Canal used to link the town with main line at Siddington. It was also used as a feeder; being linked to the River Churn north of Cirencester via a culvert which ran under the town. This branch closed in 1927.
Please meet outside the gates of Siddington Primary School where you will be able to sign the logbook, collect sacks and litter grabbers, and get details of exactly where to litter pick, what to pick and what not to. At 12pm we’ll group back at the School gates where the head teacher has agreed we can leave rubbish sacks until later in the day when I will go back and collect them.
There is not room to park outside the school, however there is a narrow road which leads up to the school so if you are unable to walk that short distance from the recommended parking you could get a lift to the start area.
The area we will be litter picking is only a very short distance (see waypoints). Although the canal bed is dry at the time of this event page publication, I would suggest that you bring wellies as it does fill with a little water and can get muddy in the colder months. I will check out state of the area the day before though and make an announcement including info about the current conditions.
Please bring gardening type gloves to protect your hands, and please do post a ‘will attend’ if you are going to take part so that I have an idea of how many litter pick grabbers I need to borrow from the council. Thank you.
After the event I am going to take a walk to the village watering hole (coordinates in the waypoints) for some refreshment via the disused Siddington Lock Flight which is much more interesting to look at than the short stretch we will be cleaning up. It’s completely optional, but anyone who wants to join me is welcome to.