On the water there were three volunteers in the Raider and one in a canoe. Progressing downstream at a leisurely pace this had to be one of the most enjoyable work-parties of the year. The weather was fine and mild and the scenery was good!

The excellent dredging work means that many of the places that have previously acted as 'pennywort nurseries' are no longer there, and our volunteers in the Raider were feeling quite smug about the lack of pennywort until, having got out to do a closer inspection of the spoil that had been dredged from the Navigation, clumps of healthy pennywort were found growing out of the drying mud.

Not everything went according to plan. The engine on the Raider, never entirely reliable during the evening, decided that to add to 'low power' and 'overheating' it would cut out altogether; so we tied up to allow it to cool down.

Eventually we could restart, and with extra power provided by Dudley, who proved that he could not only go faster than us, but push us to make us go faster, we made our way slowly back to Hoe Mill.

Two volunteers set off along one bank while the remainder travelled downstream to deal with rubbish in, on and under the water and on the far bank. To mark the occasion our 'coracle man' had brought a new and improved (but slightly less traditional-looking) coracle!

There was no shortage of rubbish for any of our volunteers and, with one eye on taking pictures and another eye on the task in hand, we all set off.

First task for the workboat crew was to find the obstacle which had broken the prop guard and would potentially damage the hulls and engines of any other craft coming under Black Bridge. Undaunted, having found the Tesco trolley the crew also managed to find a wheelchair (the occupant seemed to have long gone…..!)

Meanwhile the bank volunteers continued their work

The new coracle seemed fit for purpose - apparently more stable, and with greater capacity for rubbish collection.

Our band of volunteers were kept busy for the whole session.

And we couldn't help thinking that the young people who spat at us from the 'Tesco footbridge' were likely to have been the same people who had thrown much of the debris into the Navigation in the first place!

We finished the session with what we felt was an impressive haul, almost filling the boat:

• Three Tesco trolleys
• A wheelchair (less occupant)
• A bike (well, most of one)
• Two chairs
• A signboard
• Two traffic cones
• Ten black bags of rubbish

All that remained was for the evening's takings to be taken to Heybridge Basin and off-loaded.

and work began picking up litter downstream. Two volunteers dealt with the rubbish on the bank, three volunteers in the raider dealt with litter in the waterside vegetation and the coracle and the canoe dealt with the parts other volunteers couldn't reach.

The task was, essentially, to try to clear the litter which had been left on a previous occasion due to too much litter and insufficient time. Working steadily the litter was cleared away and all too soon it was time for the refreshment break.

Energised by the excellent refreshments it was time for more of the same

And all too soon it was time to head back to Hoe Mill with our eight bags of rubbish.

It was another early start for three of our volunteers as the workboat had to be taken from Sandford up to Chelmsford! So two crew and a chauffeur were needed to ensure that the boat was in place.

Having made good progress through Sanford and Barnes Mill Locks there was time to collect some litter on the way, and by the time our two volunteers arrived at the slipway near the Essex Record Office they already had one bag of general rubbish and another of ‘recyclables’.

The task was a familiar one – to move along the river collecting litter that could not be retrieved by those on the bank.

Our volunteers were a bit bemused (no, lets be honest, totally narked) by three people who were camping on the bank, seemingly having fished overnight (yes, it is the close season). Having convinced them, that they should not be fishing they packed up and left, leaving two bags of rubbish hanging from the trees. Our request that they take it with them was turned down on the basis that there were people around collecting rubbish!

We hauled out the various categories of litter we are used to seeing at these events, although there were probably rather more tree trunks than we are used to. McDonalds cartons were probably less evident than usual, but Burger King rubbish had an impressive presence and for the first time Subway rubbish made its debut!

Several trips to the slipway were made to unload rubbish or to tow tree trunks to where they could be removed.

Eventually it was time for refreshments when we were joined by ‘coracle man’ who had valiantly taken on the task of clearing the substantial amount of rubbish from Springfield Basin and the lock cut.

The sun shone and the refreshments were appreciated!

And as we were leaving the Sea Cadet building we finally caught up with our sixth Chelmer Canal Trust volunteer.

An early start was needed by one of our volunteers to get the Raider from Heybridge to Hoe Mill in order to maximise on the number of volunteers who could work from the water. The sun rising over the trees at 6.45 am at Beeleigh in some way made up for the early start!

The weather was forecast to be good, and once the mist had cleared our volunteers enjoyed a fine, warm day with a clear blue sky. The first task was to work upstream from Hoe Mill towards Rushes Lock. Fast progress was made with several teams working along the banks.

And our volunteers on the water making equally speedy progress

It seemed that by 10.15 we had cleared nearly all the litter between Hoe Mill and Rushes Lock, so we returned to Hoe for refreshments which were, as always, delicious and generous!

Then it was onwards and downwards - downstream, that is, to deal with the rubbish there.

Sadly, the amount of rubbish on the section downstream of Hoe Mill, and especially on the non-towpath side, meant that despite their valiant attempts our volunteers were only able to make a small impression on this section and potentially a return trip will need to be made next month.

Although missing our most enthusiastic litter-picker there was plenty of motivation to get on with the task which was a substantial one due to the recent flooding having flushed plenty of litter along the Navigation. Don't they have litter bins in Chelmsford? and if so, don't they use them? - we could identify much of the litter that had come from upstream (well it hadn't come from downstream!)! And while we are on the subject - full marks to the pooper-scooper brigade who so neatly package their dogs' mess into those smart little bags, but no marks to those of them who then throw it into the Navigation for it to get trapped in the bankside vegetation!

The weather forecast had been for 'rain', which then changed to 'showers', but which was actually a clear, fine (but very cold, and getting colder) morning.

Again, we had an ideal range of resources: two boats, crewed by five of our volunteers, the trusty coracle, three canoes and two on the bank. Three canoes headed upstream, and the remainder headed downstream.

The 'upstream' group made fast work of litter-picking up towards Little Baddow Lock, and the scene there was impressive.

Meanwhile our 'downstream' group met the various challenges that litter on the bank, in the bank and in the vegetation brings.

Used to such work, our volunteers worked cooperatively to clear litter from wherever it had become lodged.

And with so much work having been done it was time for refreshments.

Was it the cold weather, or just the availability of plenty of buttered hot cross buns, jam scones and coffee that had people coming back for more? There was certainly some scholarly discussion!

After the break some of our volunteers had other things to deal with, but most were able to stay on and continue the 'downstream' litter-clearance.

The sign dragged from the depths wasn't quite accurate for this particular work-party; litter-picking, not tree-cutting!

All good things must come to an end (and all volunteers must get the chance to thaw out), and an impressive pile of rubbish bags was finally left in the car park at Paper Mill ready for collection and disposal.

Meeting at Beeleigh Lock the first task was to was to deal with the huge amount of litter that had been kindly donated by those using the car park. Our litter-picking team were soon on the case.

The litter was irritating in its quantity but interesting in its composition, ranging from the inevitable fast food containers and beer cans, through a set of saucepans to various parts of cars.

Armed with bags our volunteers dealt with it all, adding substantially to the already-growing pile of rubbish sacks.

The remainder of our group set off in search of the 'breeding ponds' of American Pennywort which had potentially been being flushed intermittently into the Long Pond. It didn't take long to find the muddy ditch and pool which was the source of the problem, and with three volunteers on land and one on the water the weed was dealt with.

The hard work of both groups meant that by 10.30 am the initial two tasks had been completed and it was time for a refreshment break.

The excitement of collecting so much rubbish had been too much for one day for some of our party, but others were eager to continue so a long walk up to Rickett's Lock was called for in order to deal with PW in a ditch which feeds into the Naviogation just below the lock.

The walk was worthwhile as, as well as providing yet more opportunities for litter-picking, substantial quantities of weed were removed from the ditch, meaning that less would be available to colonise that area later in the year.

It had been another successful morning's work, showing what an impact eleven volunteers (including the one who prepared the excellent refreshments) can make in one morning.