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The Swingbridge double

The Swingbridge Community Boat has become a familiar sight on the River Wey in Guildford and Basingstoke Canal in and around Woking in Surrey. And now it has a little sister.

The Swingbridge narrow boats are owned by a charity, the Surrey Care Trust whose work focuses on training and education – with a difference – inspiring people who face disadvantage or need a second chance in life to transform their futures by gaining new skills.

The £30,000 cost of building the new Swingbridge 2 has been raised from three £10,000 donations from Thames Water, Woking Borough Council and the Thames Heritage Trust, while a £50,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund is paying pay a proportion of the running costs, including staff, tools and equipment of the new boat for two years.

The new boat, which like Swingbridge mark 1 was built specially for the Surrey Care Trust was officially launched by Charlie Dimmock at an informal ceremony at the end of July at the National Trust’s Dapdune Wharf in Guildford.

The original Swingbridge Boat, launched five years ago, has established a reputation for the valuable environmental work carried out by its extensive team of volunteers, who often work with offenders. Together, they clear skiploads of rubbish and litter, cut back overgrowing vegetation, tidy up towpaths and adjacent land, helping to enhance it as valuable public open space and also preserving its value as a wildlife habitat. They are making a significant contribution to the local environment.

Many of the volunteers are early-retired professionals, some of them already narrowboat enthusiasts. The camaraderie of the Swingbridge team also provides a supportive environment for people who come into volunteering as a way back to employment after a rough patch in their lives.

Some of the Swingbridge volunteers met Charlie Dimmock when she was in Guildford last year filming them at work alongside a team from Guildford Borough Council.

“We were delighted when Charlie agreed to come and do the honours cutting the ribbon, with a pair of shears, appropriately, to officially launch Swingbridge 2,” said Surrey Care Trust Chief Executive Elaine Tisdall.

“The new boat will build on Swingbridge’s work so far and allow us to offer even more people the chance to learn new skills. We are very proud of our Swingbridge programme and our colourful boats, which are probably some of the most unusual training resources you will find.”

Offenders working with Swingbridge, as part of their Community Payback requirement to do unpaid work for the community, will now have the chance to acquire nationally-accredited qualifications in environmental work.

Having two boats will also give more scope for the Surrey Care Trust to offer training in environmental work and boat handling skills to the young people it works with through its STEPS education programme. STEPS provides innovative education and training to teenagers and young adults who found it difficult to fit into mainstream school. Working on the Swingbridge boats will help them develop practical and social skills.

Swingbridge 2 will carry out environmental training work all year round, while the original boat will take a break in the spring and summer months to offer boat trips to community groups who are caring for people who are disabled, elderly, or have other special needs.