THE Wey & Arun Canal's 200th anniversary was celebrated in grand style over two days packed with events attended by hundreds of people.
From a bicentennial baton relay along the route of the waterway to the champagne-drenched naming of a member's new narrowboat, it was a weekend to remember.
Dame Penelope Keith
Highlight of Wey & Arun Trust's commemorations, on October 1st and 2nd, was the official opening of the new Compasses Bridge on the summit level at Alfold by actor Dame Penelope Keith.
Before that, there were special boat excursions on the fully restored section at Loxwood—with the crews, canal centre volunteers and trust officers turned out in outfits typical of the early 1800s.
Emulating
The finale was a cream tea for members and guests at Dapdune Wharf in Guildford, emulating the sumptuous meal staged for canal company directors and shareholders on the day the canal was officially opened in 1816, with Wey & Arun Canal Trust Chairman, Sally Schupke, explaining:
"There was a good turnout of members and guests at Compasses Bridge, which is important to the Trust, as it's our first major restoration project in Surrey.
."There was an awful lot of detail to go into, with several people each taking on aspects of the celebrations, but everything went smoothly from start to finish.
"With Dame Penelope generously agreeing to open the bridge, we hope we have significantly raised out profile in the county."
The start
The start was on the Saturday at Pallingham Bridge in West Sussex, near where the canal linked with the River Arun, originally as the Arun Navigation. The baton—a scrolled copy of an original canal company share certificate—was handed over for the first stage of its 27 miles journey to Guildford by foot, trip boat, small craft, bicycle and narrowboat.
At the Canal Centre in Loxwood, bacon bap and afternoon tea cruises were run for the public on trip boat Wiggonholt as it took its turn in carrying the baton for two stages, and out again later on for illuminated evening cruises.
Horse-drawn trips
Horse-drawn trips on narrowboat Zachariah Keppel were popular during the afternoon, courtesy of heavy horse Buddy being loaned for the day by the Godalming Packetboat Company.
On Sunday, around 250 people gathered Compasses bridge, built by the Trust at the Alfold entrance to the Dunsfold Park aerodrome and business complex, to see Dame Penelope Keith accept the baton.
Dame Penelope—invited to perform the official opening in her capacity as patron of the Surrey Hills area of outstanding natural beauty—said she was impressed by the achievement of the volunteers who built the bridge and those devoted to the restoration of the canal system.
Cut the ribbon
She cut a red ribbon across the roadway before posing for photographs with members in period dress and signing copies of the Trust's souvenir programme.
In his speech, Compasses Project Engineer Tony Ford praised the volunteers who worked on the bridge. He said the Trust's Northern Working Party was keen to get on with the next restoration project and revealed that this could be a similar bridge replacing the causeway across the canal at Tickner's Heath.
All the guests at Compasses were then provided with refreshments, accompanied by music from the famed Friary Guildford Band.
Canoed and cycled
After the formalities at the bridge, the baton was canoed and cycled up to Shalford. From there, it was taken by narrowboat Trincomalee, owned by Trust members Euan and Joanne Houstoun, up to Dapune Wharf.
The bells of St Mary's Church, Shalford, and St Nicolas Church, Guildford, rang out as Trincomalee, accompanied by a flotilla of small boats and a pair of visiting historic narrowboats cruised up the Wey.
Finally, the baton was handed over to the Mayor of Guildford, Gordon Jackson, to open the proceedings at the Guildford Sea Cadets headquarters. The band had moved up from Shalford to again provide musical entertainment as members, guests and VIPs tucked into a cream tea.