All photos and text by Martin Ludgate

The work was the usual winter camps staple of 'scrub-bashing' but unusually it was on a canal that was already restored and actually saw some boats passing while we worked. Our job was to remove trees growing on the offside bank of the canal, so that they wouldn't overhang and block the navigation, nor would their roots damage the embankments.

so as usual we did a lot of sawing down trees....

...and dragging the wood along the ground...

...and burning it on big bonfires (useful for keeping warm at this time of year!)

We hadn't realised when we chopped this one down that there would be a pair of hotel boats along any minute!

A welcome tea-break around the bonfire.

"Christmas day in the WRG house" - traditional festive fare.

Just to make things even more festive, on the 28th of December we woke up to find our accommodation covered in snow.

...and the canal looking very pretty.

Having completed work at the first site, we moved to a new worksite, near this road bridge...

...removing overhanging trees...

...to make it easier for boats to get through - like this one!