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THE BASINGSTOKE CANAL |
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Last updated 7 May 1998
. . . . . . NOTE: Best viewed at 800 x 600 screen resolution
What they said....Some comments after the Royal Re-openingWhenever major rallies are held on the Basingstoke Canal they are carried out with a certain flair and finesse that often seems lacking at similar events elsewhere. So it was to be expected that the reopening...would be something extra special. And it was ... Most reassuring was the excellent standard to which the restoration has been carried out ... there was praise from boaters about the state of the locks and the channel ... If there was any doubt that the Basingstoke Canal was restored primarily for boats, then that doubt was dispelled totally that weekend. It was the boats and boaters who symbolised the canal's revival in the minds of the local communities.Waterways World, July 1991.
I must put
pen to paper for the hard work and endeavour you and your colleagues
put into the Frimley Re-opening event ... Please convey my thanks to all
concerned. It was a wonderful day and I was thrilled to see the tributes
paid to those that had done hard manual and other work. It seemed only
yesterday I was treated with derision for suggesting voluntary parties! ...
It was such a pleasure
and a privilege to be present at the Canal Re-opening Ceremony ... I
congratulate you on your part in the event ... May I wish the Surrey
& Hants Canal Society every success for the future, a major
contribution will always be made by your members to the Basingstoke
Canal, which is a major recreation resource for boats - not a mothballed
naturalists preserve that could disappear without use in less time than
the restoration took.
Pirbright Parish Council
would like to congratulate you on your achievements. The newly re-opened
canal will be an amenity to be enjoyed by the parishioners of Pirbright
and all other parishes it passes through.
I should like to pass
on to the Society the most sincere congratulations of the Inland
Waterways Association on a job exceedinly well done in the face of many
problems and at times, strong opposition ... The waterways movement owes
a great deal to you and all those who have contributed to the
restoration ... May your success serve as encouragement for those
engaged on present and future restoration projects.
The Re-opening
of the Basingstoke Canal was a great moment in the history of waterways
in this country and the completion of so much hard work. Whilst
appreciating thjat as one chapter closes another one opens the Society
will now be working on a living waterway instead of reviving one. It
was indeed glorious to see the Duke of Kent arrive in a Waterways
Recovery Group liveried helicopter - so that's what the transport
fund was for! ... our congratulations on your success and our thanks
to all involved.
Congratulations
... for all the effort that you have put in to the restoration of the
Canal over the last 20 odd years. I was involved in the WRG Big Dig
a few years ago and have seen most of the locks 'in the dry'. I hope
that the next time I come down South with the boat to see the Canal in
water, and to navigate the whole length. Best wishes for the use and
further restoration of the Basingstoke Canal.
Many canal restoration schemes
have been started, some at the time or even before the Basingstoke,
but few have yet succeeded, although, hopefully, the completion of
the Basingstoke will encourage others to emulate your success.
What a Day!!
What an Achievement!! What a Grand Finale!! ... A truly magnificent
end to a great achievement. The weather even decided to come out in
support of you ... a great day for all canal enthusiasts and all
concerned with voluntary restoration projects.
I just want to express
our tremendous admiration and gratitude for all the work you and your
colleagues put in to bring about such a glorious and enjoyable celebration
of the re-opening of the Basingstoke Canal. I know that many many years
of planning and work have gone into bringing the canal back to life and
that those years have not been without their frustrations and heartaches
but all those efforts have borne fruit quite wonderfully. You must all
now be quite exhausted, but take heart from knowing that you
accomplished a tremendous job.
Congratulations
to all members of the Society, who helped in any way in the Re-opening
Celebrations. It was a fitting way to mark the completion of so many
years of work, by both past and present members. It is also a pleasure
to propose a vote of thanks to Robin Higgs and David Millett, who have
given so many years of devoted service to our cause. I am sure that
Robin's speech on the Opening Day made all of us justifiably proud of
a magnificent achievement. It is an outstanding restoration, which
others will do well to match.
from BC News 158, September 1991
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