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June 2006

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Sunday 18 June

A busy day today. First we went to film Sapperton Tunnel for the Cotswolds Canals DVD. Wendy Beaumont had kindly "volunteered" her husband David to accompany me a short distance into the tunnel to do the filming.

"Wendy promised there wouldn't be much water in the summer", said David, as we waded in almost waist deep water.  There wasn't much sunshine in the deep cutting to warm the water, but still enough to make the weeds grow thickly and make our progress difficult.

David was relieved that the key he had brought fitted the gates a short way into the tunnel and I was able to film with the gates open from a few paces inside.

The Cotswolds Canals Trust used to run trips into the tunnel but these were stopped after horseshoe bats were discovered in the tunnel.  They hope to restart them in the autumn once arrangements can be agreed to avoid disturbing the bats.

The afternoon was spent filming Inglesham, the Cotswold Canals Trust trip boat, providing trips on the River Thames at Lechlade to raise funds for the trust.

We filmed from the bank first, then from on the boat all the way to Inglesham.  We passed the entrance to the Thames and Severn Canal, one of the Cotswold Canals, to be restored.

Further walking along the bank to film Inglesham completed the day before driving back home.

Saturday 10 June

Another fine day with more filming for the Cotswolds Canals DVD.  This time along the canal from Pike Lock towards Stonehouse.

Plenty of wildlife to film with youngsters bobbing along beside their attentive parents.

One coot family were busy building their nest attached to the arm of the Cotswold Canals Dredger.  One sat on the nest all the time I watched while the other rushed back and forth bringing nest making materials.

Saturday 3 June

Canal filming with no canal in sight.  A roundhouse along the Thames and Severn Canal on the left.

And Thames Head.  Generally recognised as the source of the River Thames, although not a drop of water was visible today in the dry weather.

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