Crack willow worry for No Worries

Tree falls on canal couple’s home - Shropshire Star

Liveaboard boaters Bernard & Barbara Richardson were lucky to be away from their boat No Worries last Friday when they got a call from British Waterways telling them that a huge willow tree had fallen - and they needed to make plans for a new home.

Look on the bright side implied by the boat's 'be happy' name: If they've got a wood stove they needn't be short of fuel for the rest of the year.  All they need now is a new boat to go with the salvaged stove. 

But think what it must be like if you are actually aboard when it happens.  It must feel like the end of the world's happening, or at least like an earthquake.  

At least two other sets of boaters endured the fright of falling willows while they were inside, within days of each other in 2004.   See my posts:

The sound of willow on beech

Oops! Another tree falls on a narrowboat, this time at Penkridge

The former features the best pun I've ever put in a headline.  (Thanks in advance for the compliment, dear reader.  Blush.)

I asked BW's local office a few questions about this particular accident, including why it fell, which trees are more likely than others to fall in this way, if a non-expert can get any clues as to whether a tree's about to fall, etc:

The tree fell unexpectedly as a result of the adverse weather conditions we have been experiencing over the last few weeks.

Willow trees - especially the type called Crack Willow - are prone to act in this way.  British Waterways has a dynamic management system that monitors all trees along the canal.  Recent adverse weather conditions will be taken into account in the next scheduled tree survey.

Bearing in mind my recent comments about 'too many trees in the landscape', I also asked if there were environmental, scientific or aesthetic reasons to prevent BW cutting trees such as these BEFORE they grew into an immediate threat.

Silly question, of course there are.  Loads of reasons: 

Mature trees offer a wide range of biodiversity and landscape benefits and as such are a vital part of the waterway scene... British Waterways ... employs certified arboriculturalists to carry out our surveys...

Tree management is subject to a range of regulations including Conservation Areas, designated wildlife sites such as SSSI, and Scheduled Ancient Monument sites.

Many wooded areas by canals are fully mature – dating back decades or even centuries – and so it would not be appropriate to clear fell because of the wider benefits discussed above.

Call me nervous, but from now on I can't help feel a little nervous each time I tie up near a Crack Willow.  The Woodland Trust says:

Crack willow is aptly named, not only due to the twigs making a 'cracking' noise when broken but also because old trees often develop a large crack in their trunk and are prone to collapse.

Comments

[Charlie]

I don't own a boat but I hope to one day. I've got to say as someone who has worked in woodland I'm surprised they allow Crack willow to grow on canal banks so much. It's named crack willow for the very reason it grows cracks falls and then grows again as part of it's cycle. As part of research into owning a boat which I hope to one day I look at the safety requirements that I would be expected to follow which seem pretty stringent yet Crack willow overhanging a canal I would argue was quite dangerous why don't they keep it down to manageable sizes.

[Max Sinclair]

Willow trees have no place on canal banks, they suck up considerable volumes of water and when they fall the root balls tear out a large hole.
The old canal engineers kept the banks clear of all growth except turf.

[Clive Field]

"British Waterways has a dynamic management system"

Shome mishtake surely????

Clive at Saul

[Andrew Denny]

Willow also stores itself automatically on your narrowboat roof!

[Halfie]

Iain, in my experience willow burns very well. In our woodburner it gave a good heat, even better than ash.

[Jess]

The pictures are here:

http://gallery.nslm.org/main.php?g2_itemId=2942

[Jess]

This also happened to me, although it was a white popular. I was eating breakfast and heard this strange noise outside, so went to look. As I was looking, half of the tree spun and fell onto the boat directly above the window I was looking out of .. I nearly had a heart attack! Fortunately very little damage was done - just some scratched paint.

[iain smith]

apparently willow is rubbish for burning,very good for drainage.