Work advances on new boat hire base at Melton park

MOWS volunteers lay the path to the River Eye at the new rowing boat hire base in Wilton Park, Melton

Volunteers from Melton and Oakham Waterways Society (MOWS) have been working over the winter months to clear and level the riverside land and get it ready so the boats can be launched from the Wilton Park base during the summer.

Recent work included the building of a path to provide safe access down to the riverside steps which will be connected to the boat landing stage.

An old hut which was was once the headquarters of the Melton Mowbray Bowling Club – when the grass in front was bowling greens – has been totally restored and this will be used as a ticket office.

MOWS volunteers carry out renovation work on the new ticket office for the boat hire base in Melton's Wilton Park

The next step in the project will be to do groundworks to enable a landing stage to be positioned on the river.

This will consist of floating pontoons which are currently being kept ready at the MOWS maintenance base near Wilton Road car park.

Some dredging will be needed so that the pontoons can nestle up to the river bank and they will be kept in place with a scaffolding construction so that they can rise and fall with the varying water levels.

MOWS Chair, Sharon Brown, said: “Things really are progressing now and there’s real excitement in the society for getting the boats operational.

The stretch of the River Eye where boats will be hired from in Melton - MOWS volunteers are carrying out work to prepare it for boat hires

"We believe they will be very popular, with local residents and will also be an added attraction for visitors to the town.

“MOWS volunteers have worked for years clearing rubbish and cutting back vegetation to ensure the river can be accessed by boats and it will be wonderful to get the rowing boats launched so that the public can enjoy this wonderful amenity.”

MOWS has a floating dredger, named Mole, and a dedicated workboat, called Badger, but, at present, because of the recent heavy rain the river current is too strong for safe working conditions.

With a reasonably dry spell coming up, it is hoped it will be possible for this final stage of the river work to recommence soon.

The society has received corporate help in getting the boat base ready, notably from Frisby Lakes Paddlesports, who assisted with ground clearance, and Travis Perkins, who provided the granite mill waste for the path construction.

The land for the new boat hire base in Wilton Park has been leased to MOWS by Melton Mowbray Town Estate.

The River Eye was once part of the Melton Mowbray Navigation, which also followed the course of the River Wreake from the River Soar near Syston to a cargo basin where the Melton Council offices now stand.

It was a busy commercial waterway between 1797 and 1877, with horse-drawn barges bringing Derbyshire coal into a basin and agricultural produce, wood and manure being taken in the opposite direction for export to the rest of the country.

During their voyage, the barges would pass through 12 locks, which controlled the flow of water, and 10 still exist today.

MOWS is a charity formed in 1997 with the aim of restoring the Navigation so that vessels can once again sail into the heart of Melton Mowbray.