Mersey Basin Week Blog

NEW BLOG!

2007-07-02T12:22:00.000+01:00

HI,

THANKS FOR VISITING THE MERSEY BASIN WEEK 2006 BLOG. WE HOPE YOU'VE ENJOYED IT. THIS BLOG IS NOW CLOSED, BUT WE'VE REPLACED IT WITH A NEW BLOG INSTEAD, WHICH WILL COVER MERSEY BASIN WEEK 2007, AS WELL AS LOTS OF OTHER EXCITING TOPICS.

WE DO HOPE YOU'LL KEEP VISITING US IN OUR NEW HOME AT:

http://blogs.merseybasin.org.uk/

SEE YOU THERE,

MERSEY BASIN CAMPAIGN

pop pickers

2006-11-28T12:20:00.000Z

Well, on the day that DJ Alan 'Fluff' Freeman sadly went to join his great mates at the big radio station in the sky, it's good to have some positive news to report. The pop pickers of the green world have been smiling on the MBW blog, as we've been named at 86 in the top 100 Green Blogs as named by The Daily Maybe. So well done to everyone who's helped to blog Mersey Basin Week this year. Check out some of the other blogs on the list, especially our neighbours at Save the Ribble.

Things have been quiet over here recently, as we've all been getting over the excitement of all the events from Mersey Basin Week. I've also been looking into a new blogging tool, so be prepared for the Mersey Basin Campaign's blogging exploits to relaunch shortly, looking shinier and newer and generally very exciting.

Photo competitors, don't worry, we haven't forgotten you - the winner will be announced very soon.

In the meantime, check out some new additions to the Mersey Basin blogging stable....

Let us know what you think about the future of Another Place at Crosby Beach on the Save The Gormleys? blog

And if you're in a Merseyside mood, have a look at the spanking new SPEKE AND GARSTON COASTAL RESERVE BLOG.

Back soon with some photos for you.....

Helmshore Memorial Garden -Tidy Up

2006-10-30T16:08:00.000Z

It was a beautiful Sunny Day and we managed to get the Memorial Garden, cleaned, tidied and looking absolutly brilliant, ready for Remebrance day in 2 weeks time. We had 17 adult volunteers and about 6 children all working really hard to prune back shrubs and trees to open up the paths and let light into the garden. This garden has seen little or no maintenance for may years and is sadly in need of restoration. However, with support from Rossendale Borough Council who supplied much of the equipment, we were able to achieve a great deal in one short morning.

The rubbish was pile high in one corner of the garden, waiting to be removed by the Council Hit Team on Monday morning. Overhanging branches of trees will be removed by Council staff before the Remembrance day service.

The River Ogden, runs alongside the Memorial garden and is regulary monitored by local resident Keith Smith, who removed a number of large pieces of debris prior to helping out in the Memorial garden.

The whole operation was co-ordinated by the CASH group (Community Action for Snig-Hole) and great credit is due to them as the managed to beg, and borrow all equipment needed to carry out the tidy up. Students from Haslingden High School came along to give a much needed helping hand as did volunteers from Sunnyside Residents Association.

This tidy -up was identified as a priority during a public consultation held in July with regard the development of the whole site which includes a children's play area and football area. Designs for the play ground will soon be available for comments at a second consultation. Watch this space for further information.

Photos from the Last clean-up in Rawtenstall

2006-10-30T15:49:00.000Z

Civic Pride were out again yesterday, cleaning the Limy Water Junction with the River Irwell. Luckily, It was a sunny day and they managed to get lots of rubish out of the river including old supermarket trolleys. There were lots of keen volunteers, getting down the ladders onto the river bank and as Jan Shutt said "many hands make light work" A big thank you to all volunteers from the deaf club, Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School, local residents and Rossendale Borough Council NEAT team for helping to make Rawtenstall a much cleaner place to be. We'll keep you all posted when we start the River clean-up operations again in the new year.

If you go down to the woods today - watch out for students...

2006-10-30T12:33:00.000Z

Students from Salford University headed down to Clifton Country Park during Mersey Basin Week. With the help of the Salford Rangers’ Service we spent the afternoon partaking in a session of woodland management. It was absolutely pouring with rain but that didn’t stop us chopping down some pretty hefty oaks that are overtaking. Having never done anything like this before we were somewhat cautious about using massive saws and scary sacateurs but we soon got the hang of things and felt like tree-chopping pros by the end of the session! We were having so much fun we didn’t even notice our damp, moldy clothes and dirty boots until the taxi driver on the way home gave us some rather strange looks. At least we had a great time and hopefully managed to slow down the invasion of the oaks too!

Alexis Roberts, Volunteering @ Salford

Last Minute Clean-up in Rawtenstall!!!!

2006-10-26T16:46:00.000+01:00

There will be a clean-up of the Limy Water/ Irwell junction on Sunday 29th October. Civic Pride, the local community action group are working with Rossendale Borough Council on the last clean-up of the summer and will meet at 10.00am in the Focus car park. Bring along your wellies and waterproofs and be prepared to get wet! We need as much help as we can get!

Duck Island on the River Irwell next to the old Asda will also be tackled on the same day. Joan from the group says "It will be tricky to access this site as Tesco's have blocked off the entrance to the car park but we will do our best!"

This site was cleaned last summer and it's taken a year for all the rubbish to come back. There is Japanes Knotweed on the site but the group have been advised to burn it on site rather than treat it with herbicide, so we will be monitoring the site closely in future to control it.

As it's the last major clean-up of the summer, Civic Pride are having some food after the event, to celebrate the work They have achieved over the past few months. Watch this space for photographs next week!!

Up early on a Sunday....

2006-10-17T13:02:00.000+01:00

Twenty students from all three universities in Manchester and Salford were up bright and early on Sunday morning to help MBC and Salford ranger service to construct a boardwalk in a (very) muddy bit of Kersal Dale local nature reserve in Salford. Everyone enjoyed the day, not to mention the extremely large dinner that Bev provided for the hungry volunteers. All our hammering arms got a good workout, and some of us also had the chance to get a mud facial, which will no doubt be very good for the complexion. In the afternoon we were joined by a passing jogger, and by the local councillor, who both joined in the frantic nailing and sawing.

Check out all the pictures HERE.....

Mersey Basin Week on the Upper Weaver

2006-10-16T11:58:00.000+01:00

It was a busy week around Crewe and Nantwich, beginning with a Fungal Foray at Brereton Heath Local Nature Reserve. Chris Turner helped us tune our eyes in to finding a wide array of Fungi, and since the rain held off it was a lovely walk as well.

Later in the week, classes from Sound & District Primary School and Weaver Primary School had guided walks of Nantwich Riverside. James Thompson (Riverside Projects Officer) and Annmarie Belcher (Cheshire County Council Rangers) pointed out wildlife and other features of the riverside, and in the afternoon we had the grand opening of the new footbridge and footpaths which make the riverside more accessible. All the children seemed to have a good time, despite the torrential rain!

The grand finale of the week was a seed hunt on Sunday 8th October, which was part of the BBC's Autumnwatch. It had been advertised on BBC2 and Radio Stoke, so we were really excited about it, especially when 70 people came from far and wide to take part. We found Rowan, Oak, Silver Birch, Scots Pine and Alder seeds as well as an interesting array of sticks, stones and snails! Any seeds from native tree species were then planted in special biodegradable cartons, which can be planted on the riverside next year. Radio Stoke joined us for the whole event, and several lucky people got to go on air to talk about the day. James and Annmarie were there once again to identify the seeds and leaves, and to provide information about the Riverside.

Big thanks to everyone involved, if any of you are reading this, why not make a comment about the event you attended!

We found the River Darwen !

2006-10-11T11:57:00.000+01:00

A huge thank you to 38 volunteers and everyone involved in organising the Lancashire Partners Day event that marked the start of MWH Mersey Basin Week on Friday 29th September. We uncovered a delightful view of the River Darwen was uncovered in Witton Country Park, Blackburn .

Action Darwen Valley and partners including Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, the Environment Agency and the Probation Service in Blackburn (which supervises offenders serving Community Payback unpaid work for public benefit) cleared the rhododendrons to improve the view of the River Darwen for wheelchair and other users on one of the newly created Tramper Trails.

Slavery Remembrance Day

2006-10-11T10:53:00.000+01:00

SLAVERY REMEMBRANCE DAY 23 AUGUST 2006 LIVERPOOL

On the 23rd August 2006 I was invited to attend Slavery Remembrance Day Celebrations in Liverpool. The commemorative event was held at Otterspool Promenade and from lunchtime there was traditional African and Caribbean food and lots of activities for children which included arts & crafts such as the making of colourful masks and the playing of musical instruments all this took place in the Otterspool Marquee and splendid it was. There was also the opportunity to explore artefacts and literature from the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The opening of the International Slavery Museum at Albert Dock in 2007 was widely publicised.

After refreshments the Libation and Invocation Ceremony took place; the ceremony was lead by Chief Angus Chukuemeka Chair of the Libation Committee. This traditional African ceremony calls on the ancestors to bless the event. The offering of libation involves the pouring of liquid, which can be water or wine, in a special pattern while homage is paid to the ancestors.

He made his address at the Mersey Waterfront in the presence of the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Liverpool and other dignitaries everyone in the audience was invited to take part. The Libation ceremony did not and should not exclude anyone. The African traditional ceremony called Libation symbolises African Values of remembering and honouring our ancestors, elders and leaders including community and civic leaders. There was an acknowledgement of all dignitaries present followed by the observation of a minute’s silence in memory of “ The Souls of our departed Brother and Sisters” there was sombre in the air as we bowed our heads and observed the silence waves ebbing in the back ground.

Mention was made of the importance of the day in commemorating the lives and deaths of millions of enslaved Africans and their descendants who were central to the rise of Britain as an Industrial Power.

There was also a reminder that Slavery created unequal relationships between Africans and Europeans and much racism. One cannot forget that most recently in Liverpool there was the brutal killing of the talented teenager Anthony Walker another life pointlessly wasted.

A symbolic drink was given to the dignitaries and the Chief began an invocation and drink was poured at every stage of the invocation. At the end the Chief and dignitaries consumed the remainder of the drinks. The Chief poured drink and kola-nuts into the river as a symbolic gesture. The remaining kola nuts were shared with the audience marking the end of the Libation Ceremony.
It was pointed out to me that the sharing brings us closer to our ancestors. It is also a symbol of unity and harmony with us, our ancestors and with God
The ceremony was followed by speeches and performances which included singing, poetry and dancing an enjoyable time was had by all.

So Why Liverpool?

Slave ships were often built or repaired in Liverpool nearly one and a half million Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic in Liverpool ships. The Merseyside Maritime Museum has an award winning Transatlantic Slavery gallery telling the story of the slave trade and slavery. The gallery will be developed into a new International Slavery Museum in 2007 and I encourage you to take a visit.

2007 is the bicentenary of the abolition of the British slave Trade and the anniversary of the outbreak of the slave rebellion to find out more on how to visit the International Slavery Museum go to: www.internationalslaverymuseums.org.uk

The importance of the Liverpool Waterfront
The precise reasons for Liverpool's dominance of the trade are still debated by historians. Some suggest that Liverpool merchants were being pushed out of the other Atlantic trades, such as sugar and tobacco. Others claim that the town's merchants were more enterprising. A significant factor was the port's position with ready access via a network of rivers and canals to the goods traded in Africa - textiles from Lancashire and Yorkshire, copper and brass from Staffordshire and Cheshire and guns from Birmingham.

Bev Mitchell

Floating away...

2006-10-10T15:01:00.000+01:00

Sadly, MWH Mersey Basin Week is over for another year, but at least I managed to take my family to the grand finale on Sunday, when co-ordinators from the Mersey Basin Campaign lent a watery theme to the Hindu Mela at Platt Fields in Manchester.

Throughout the day our co-ordinators, Lucy and Hazel, and local artist Gowri Savoor, helped people make illumined artworks to be used after dark. These were very much in the tradition of Hindu festivals, which often feature floating candles, and looked quite wonderful gliding off on the ornamental lake.

It all brought back memories of backpacking in India and seeing rows of tiny candle-lit offerings floating off down a river or across a lake. Most memorably, in Rishikesh, which is where the Beatles spent their time in India in the 60s.

The Platt Fields lake had been specially cleaned just the previous weekend by the superb Friends of Platt Fields Park. This is the kind of Friends group other parks can only dream of – enthusiastic, energetic and imaginative. In fact, by coincidence in the same week we awarded them one of our Unilever Dragonfly awards for their work. There will be an interview with one of the members, Elsa Holmes, in the upcoming edition of our magazine, Source. Elsa runs the park’s eco-garden.

So as a lovely event featuring a watery spectacle, made possible in part by the hard work of local volunteers, the Mela was a fitting end to this year’s MWH Mersey Basin Week. Not to mention the fact that my daughters loved the kiddies fair rides, were spell-bound by the dancers in sparkly costumes and ate a whole curry each.

Photograph by Karen Wright.

Summerville Primary School's Trip

2006-10-10T14:10:00.000+01:00

Summerville Primary School was very lucy to have been invited to go on a canal trip on the Bridgewater canal on Monday 2nd October 2006. We are very proud to be the City of Salfords 1st Green Flag Eco-School.

Our Year 4 class want to thank everyone in the Mersey Basin Campagn for a really wonderful day. The children had a great time they are still talking about it. The class teacher has used the trip in many areas of the curiculum.

Here are some of the poems the class has writen. I have typed them as the children have written them. We hope you enjoy them:-

Number 1

Flats, factorys passing by,
Buildings, boats coming round,
The coloured water drifting slowly,
The ducks swimming steadily,
Light house clashing bright,
The heron flying away,
There goes our day.

By Lucy Hughes

Number 2

There goes the sparkling sun shining like stars,
Then the boat drifts along you can call it a barge,
When a boat goes by you can say “hi!”
Don’t be shy,
Don’t be bored, have fun,
Just like Mum having a bottle of rum,
When you go sown the hill,
You can all lean on the window sill,
When you look out the window you will see cans,
And you will see a big fat tram like super fans
Who ho we stop at a halt,
And I swallow sea salt.

By Grace Hall

Number 3

We went on a canal barge,
And it went along like a sarge,
The barge of a sarge,
Was drifting merrily along the canal.

The skipper was called Dave,
And he was a fine on too,
He got nicer and nicer
And his barge was very grand too!

By Katie O’Sullivan

Number 4

The canal is rippling and lapping against the barge,
The tall old factory’s still standing tall and strong,
Going to last long,
The barge steadily and slowly, drifting gracefully,
Strolling through the water slowly.
Round the corner we saw a stripy, tall lighthouse,
Then we went round the end of the bend.

By Samee Malik

Number 5

The canal boat is wonderful,
it is bright and sparkly too.
It is the engine that is strong and firseful specktacukar too,
It is drifting, swirling,
calm also slow.
Swans swaying,
birds singing cathing flys.
Huge hotels old flats
Canal boat still swirling

The canal boat is wonferful,
It is bright and sparkely too.
It is the enging is strong, firseful, specktacular too.
It is drifting, swirling,
Calm also slow.
Swans swayling birds singing
Flys getting caught
Huge flats old flats,
Canal boat still swirling

By Ben Lockett

MWH MBW Regatta 2006

2006-10-09T13:26:00.000+01:00

Having recently (2004) celebrated 100 years of sailing on the Mersey, Fidlers Ferry Sailing Club hosted this year's regatta. Surely home of sailing in England's Northwest?!

Iain and Tom making against the tide

Respectable mid table... can you spot which one?

And the winner is... not from Fidlers... but from Weaver Sailing Club.

Tramper Trekking in the Yarrow Valley

2006-10-06T14:15:00.000+01:00

Even the wind and pouring rain didn’t put off five brave souls who were keen to test the off road trampers at Yarrow Valley Country Park. The trampers were stationed at the park courtesy of Lancashire County Council as part of Mersey Basin Week to give people with low mobility a chance to explore parts of the park they can’t normally reach.

The blustery and rainy conditions definitely gave people the chance to test the trampers to the limits as they drove through puddles and up grassy hills, which were rather muddy.

One lady was overwhelmed with the trampers. She visits the park almost everyday with her husband to walk the dog, except she normally stays in the car, as she can’t walk far.

We received positive feedback from the event, which was brilliant as it is hoped that in the future a tramper trail will be developed at the park as part of a wider access project.

From Gemma: because Blogger won't let me put photos on :-(

There's lots of ways to look at Mere Sands Wood

2006-10-03T17:04:00.000+01:00

Members of Galloway's Society for the Blind visited The Wildlife Trust's Mere Sands Wood today. They had a guided tour of the site, listened to and watched the birds on the water and were introduced to a variety of trees with distinctive textured barks. This was a special event arranged by Action Ribble Estuary for Mersey Basin Week but the group were impressed and intend to visit again and again.
Site manager Kim Neal can talk for England so she was the ideal guide to describe the area and the nature within it. She also told everyone about the history of the site and the work that has been carried out there to make it accessible to all users. After lunch the group discussed how Mere Sands Wood could be made even more accessible for the blind and partly sighted - ideas that Kim will endeavour to implement.
Everyone had an enjoyable day. One lady said that it was wonderful to feel the shape of the Evening Primrose leaves and feel the ground where the Orchids grow.

manchester legend becomes mersey basin week eco-warrior!

2006-09-30T17:13:00.000+01:00

Legendary Manchester broadcaster and man of many parts Anthony H Wilson helped get Mersey Basin Week off to a fine start on saturday morning - his Talk of the Town Show concentrated on the environment and there was shameless plugging of the Campaign. AHW is not yet a fully signed up eco-warrior exactly but he is worried about the fumes belching from his car so it's a start! And he is supporting the Campaign by writing a chapter in our exciting book - "Mersey the river that changed the world"...look out for it next year - it's sure to be a bestseller.

New Nature Park Opened in Stockport

2006-09-29T16:41:00.000+01:00

The Mersey Vale Nature Park was officially opened today by the Mayor of Stockport with help from pupils of Mersey Vale Primary School.

Until recently, the area along the River Mersey was neglected and seen as unsafe by the local residents. But with lots of hard work the Mersey Basin Campaign, Stockport Council and the local community have transformed the area into a green and pleasant park that can be enjoyed by people and wildlife.

Pupils from Mersey Vale Primary School worked community artist Mike Johnson to design the park's entrance sculpture. The sculpture is in the form of grass seeds, representing new life growing in the park. The sculpture also features the childrens' self-portraits and names.

Quackers!

2006-09-29T13:45:00.000+01:00

'DUCK POND DAY 4 – The Big Pond Clean Up!’

Friends of Woodbank Park are calling for volunteers to ‘get down and dirty’ and help clean out the old duck pond in Woodbank Park in Offerton over the weekend of 7th & 8th October. The fun starts at 11am, so come along and help improve your park. Bring your wellies!

Free refreshments will be provided including a hearty soup for all the workers! For further details please contact Malcolm Topping on 07800 617641 or Iain Bate on 474 4829, iain.bate@stockport.gov.uk

The event is a partnership between the Friends and Stockport Council and is being supported with a grant from the MWH/Mersey Basin Campaign.

(Year) Five have fun in the river

2006-09-28T15:14:00.000+01:00

On Wednesday we spent a happy day with St Leonard's Primary School Padiham on Pendle Water in Barrowford Park. The year five class came along to carry out some river studies and their excitement hardly waned all day. They calculated the speed of the river and plotted the profile of the riverbed. They now know the name of the watercourse and its route to the sea via the River Calder and the Ribble. They caught all manner of facinating creatures in their dipping nets proving that the river is in a really good state.

The best bit for them - they caught a fish! A bullhead about 8cm long.
The best bit for me - the fish set about eating the other creatures in the white tray and was a perfect example of how important it is to keep the river free from pollution. It helped the children understand that if the water wasn't clean the insects wouldn't be there and so neither would the fish.

A quick update from Rossendale

2006-09-28T10:14:00.000+01:00

28th September2006

St Mary’s School in Rawtenstall – Pond Restoration
The pond has now been registered with the Pond Conservation trust. The local Disabled Adult Education Centre are keen to get involved with this project. We are at the stage where we need a small amount of funding in order to carry out an invertebrate survey and a plant survey.

Helmshore Park and Memorial Garden, Haslingden. The local Community group, CASH, are really keen to get this project off the ground. There’s a blog already posted about the clean-up event for the Memorial garden so I won’t say anymore about this project. The date for the clean-up is October 29th, so come along and join in, we need a much help as possible. There will aslo be a display of plans for the Park and Memorial garden, so you'll have the chance to comment on the ideas being put forward for the development.

Civic Pride
This is one of my main community action groups. Their Ash Tree Bash went really well on 9th September. With plenty of rubbish cleared up. Removing the Ash saplings for the stone river banking has opened up the whole section of the Limy Water and it looks superb now. A job well-done!

Mersey Basin Week at Yarrow Valley Country Park

2006-09-26T16:48:00.000+01:00

The rangers at Yarrow Valley Country Park, Chorley are hosting a number of events organised by themselves and in partnership with Action Douglas and Yarrow.

Contact Sarah Leach on 01772 515922 or email to book a place or for more information. Meet at the visitor centre for all events, click here for directions.

Thursday 5th October: Try a Tramper
Be one of the first to try an off-road mobility scooter in the park. Booking is advised for this event which will follow a designated route around the park and by the River Yarrow
Time: 11am to 3pm

Sunday 8th October: River Life
See the watery wildlife up close and personal as microscopes and television screens bring the inhabitants of the River Yarrow to you! A drop in information session at the visitor centre.
Time: 11am to 3pm

Tuesday 24th October: Rock Art
A watery themed art event aimed at children with special needs. A mosaic made from rocks and pebbles will be created by children and exhibited in the park. Booking is essential as places are limited.
Time: 10am to 12 noon and 1pm to 3pm

Thursday 26th October: Fishing Taster Session
Fishing taster day for disabled children and children with special needs. Coaching is being provided by the Environment Agency and Level 2 qualified coaches. Each child will receive a special reward for taking part. Booking is essential as places are limited.
Time: 10am to 12noon and 1pm to 3pm

Helmshore Memorial Garden Clean-up

2006-09-26T15:57:00.000+01:00

Community Action for Snig Hole (CASH) will be cleaning up the whole of the Memorial Gardens and make it look lovely, neat and tidy for the Remembrance Day Service on November 12th. The work will involve plenty of weeding, pruning of shrubs, removing lower branches of trees and also removal of fly-tipping debris. The river Ogden runs along side the Memorial garden and they aim to tidy up the river bank in order that people have a view of the river from the Memorial Clock.

This proejct will bring together the whole community in order to make this neglected area back into use and to make it a welcome site for the British Legion on Remembrance day.

The group are keen to devleop the whle site which also includes a playground into a community facility that everyone can use and has access to.

This clean-up event will bring together members of the British Legion, Age Concern, teenagers from Haslingden High School and so there will be an opporutnity for young and old to come together and share the work of the day.

Peace Day Celebration Event

2006-09-26T14:28:00.000+01:00

We held our first Mersey Basin Week event in Rawtenstall last Thursday 21st september. The event was a Peace Day Celebration held to mark the start of Work on our Larkhill Rise Outdoor Classroom Project. It was a beautiful summers day. The Mayor and Mayoress of Rossendale attended together with representatives from the different faith groups in Rossendale. The event started with children from St Paul's Constable Lee Primary School and Alder Grange High school singing the World Peace Day song and other songs of Peace.

We then went out onto the project site where the myor and the former headmistress, Eileen Stubbs, cut the first sod, marking the official launch of the start of project implementation on site.

The event went really well and the children thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. The site had been cleared of rubbish earlier in the day and the weekend before, Burnley Probation services had been involved in clearing a huge amount of overgrown shrubbery and vegetation from the site in order that we had a path to walk along and a big clear space where the children and dignitaries could gather. A big thank you to all those people who have given their time and worked so hard to make this event such a success.

A special mention to Clare Foster and Catherine Grimshaw for organising the event, Civic Pride for their support and time in helping with Clean-ups. Pupils from Alder Grange and Constable Lee Schools, and all the other volunteers who have been involved in this project.

The project is funded by: Lancashire Environmental Fund, Lancashire County Council Capital funf, LCC Community Design, Awards for All, and the Two Schools.

Party hits Manchester

2006-09-25T11:07:00.000+01:00

Manchester is a busy, busy place to be today as the Labour Party Conference has arrived in town. Anyone interested in finding out what's going on can check out the Conference Blog here.

mersey basin week in germany - on the ruhr

2006-09-22T14:48:00.000+01:00

here is tom workman of liverpool sailing club and the mersey basin campaign on the ruhr this week...well, not exactly a mersey basin week event but an inspiration all the same...the little ferry boat carries people and lots of cyclists across the river ruhr...so what? you might say...but you'd be wrong - it is run almost entirely by volunteers who care about the river...it's wonderful for cycling and walking alone and of course for boating and canoeing too...the ferry volunteers have very rigorous training for safety reasons...there is no charge for crossing only a voluntary donations box and a lot of money is raised this way towards the upkeep of the ferry.