River Adventures in the Land of the Summer People
A Sudden Shock on the Local News
The thing about belting around travelling here, there and everywhere is that you can miss important things which happen back at home. For example, after one trip abroad this summer I was sitting in our living room with the local news on in the background, when I spotted a very good friend dominating the TV screen. It was Ian Macnab aboard his boat the Duchess of Cocklemoor - so I turned the sound up and was appalled to hear that this wonderful old vessel had been vandalised.
By the time I could hear what he was saying, Ian was telling the TV reporter how people had been so generous in their donations after the boat had been damaged, he and his team had been able to fully revamp and repair this much-loved community asset.
Ian Macnab aboard the Duchess of Cocklemoor
An Optimist’s Take on a Cruel Act
One of the things I love about my friend is that he is one of the few perpetual optimists I know in this often mean and cruel world. So many people (probably me included) would have focussed on the fact that some idiots had seen fit to wreck a lovely old vessel when it was moored in the middle of its home-town, Langport. A boat which Ian and his team had spent so many thousands of unpaid hours turning into a thing which gives so much joy.
But Ian’s entire take on the matter was the reverse. Instead of being angry with the vandals he was massively heartened by the public response. “Isn’t it wonderful that there are so many kind and generous people around,” he told me this week. “I’ve been involved with The Duchess for years now and, if I’m honest, I’d become a little weary with it all. There were times recently when I wondered if all the effort had been worth it - and suddenly here was this outpouring of kindness and support from the community and beyond. It turns out people love the idea of the Duchess and, thanks to their generosity, we’ve been able to completely revamp and repair her.
“I always believed the Duchess of Cocklemoor represented a good thing - and when good things are done, then perhaps good things continue to flow from that. The Duchess proves it.”
From Ferry No.2 to a Somerset Community Treasure
It was nearly ten years ago that this newspaper first reported that a Langport town councillor had decided to use his own funds to purchase a semi-derelict vessel - one that, with a fair wind and a lot of hard work, might eventually be used as a community asset.
I wrote then how many readers might have recollections of this particular vessel in her past life when she was known as Ferry No2 - one of a pair that spent decades plying between Teignmouth and Shaldon. Similar ferries still link the two Teign estuary communities today, but dear old No2 was condemned more than 20 years ago.
The condemned Devon ferry 9 years ago
Ian, a man of boundless enthusiasm, purchased the wreck with a plan to get her going again and launch her on a section of the River Parrett above Oath Lock. This riverine lockgate, in the heart of the Somerset Levels, effectively prevents anything upstream being tidal, which means the river tends to be full of water. Which, in turn, means it is navigable.
Duchess of Cocklemoor 9 years ago
And that is partly why Ian’s plan was such a wonderful idea - because, along much of this five-mile length, the river is elevated above the surrounding flat-lands on raised banks. Which means a voyage hereabouts is the boating equivalent of riding on the upper deck of a double decker bus. It’s all very wonderful indeed. One of the best and most genteel boat voyages in the region.
How The Duchess of Cocklemoor Was Restored
“For about 20 years I’d been discussing the idea of boats on the river,” Ian told me at the time. “But people discuss things and nothing gets done - we’ve had various river festivals over the years and I felt if you don’t do anything, then nothing ever happens. It needs a team effort really, but some mad person needs to kick it off. And that, in this particular case, seems to be me. I took the jump and bought Ferry No2 after seeing her for sale on the internet.”
A massive refurbishment was duly carried out - and during the intervening years the renamed Duchess of Cocklemoor has taken thousands of people along this lovely stretch of river.
Duchess of Cocklemoor prepares to sail
“She is used as a community asset,” says Ian. “There’s a whole team who help and what happens is that groups of interested people - WI’s, University of the Third Age, and the like - book a trip and make a donation.
“When I saw her lying half-sunk at the bottom of the river a day or two after she was vandalised, I thought at best we’d have to massively increase the amount we recommend these groups make as a donation. Which is not what it’s all about because we’re non-profit-making and we always want the joy of a river voyage to be affordable. Now though, thanks to all the generous donations, we’ve been able to repair her and fix everything without having to borrow funds and be forced to ask our groups for more.”
A Green Future: Cedric Lynch’s Electric Motor Innovation
Six years ago, Ian turned to his friend Cedric Lynch—brilliant inventor and pioneer of electric motor technology. Cedric converted the Duchess to run silently on electricity, powered by solar panels on her awning.
Cedric Lynch (left) aboard the Duchess
The result? A whisper-quiet, eco-friendly community boat that glides along the Parrett using sunlight.
As Ian proudly puts it: “We’re not about making money—we want to set an example of eco-friendly community boating for others.”
Langport’s Riverboat: A Symbol of Kindness and Community
Today, thanks to the outpouring of generosity, the Duchess of Cocklemoor is once again sailing proudly. She remains not just a boat, but a symbol of what happens when community spirit overcomes cruelty.
“She’s designed to trickle wealth into town,” Ian says. “She proves that when good things are done, good things continue to flow.”
To find out more about the Duchess visit - https://duchessofcocklemoor.co.uk/
Ian Macnab and passengers on the Parrett
The Story of the Parrett Before it Reaches Langport
The River Parrett originates in the low hills above Crewkerne, near the hamlet of Chedington. Unusually for this area, the river flows north, crossing the peninsula to empty into the Bristol Channel rather than taking the easier route to the English Channel. This journey is mirrored by the 50-mile-long Parrett Trail.
The river seems to fight shy of people wherever it can. It wriggles its way between North Perrott and the town of Crewkerne and skirts around communities such as Merriott, West Chinnock, South Pertherton, Stoke-sub-Hamdon and Martock. Once it has passed this linear old town, built from local golden hamstone the Parrett enters the great flatlands of the Somerset Levels.
This peaceful stretch of the river passes through an area once covered in apple orchards around Kingsbury Episcopi, a tradition which is still, happily, upheld by local cider makers today.
On its way north it touches the hamlets of Thorney and Muchelney - the ‘ney’ parts of their names denoting that these were once, back in Saxon times, small islands in a great swamp. Muchelney always seems to me to have an air of ancientness about it, with its ancient Benedictine Abbey and thatched buildings. When great sheets of water lap against the hamlet during the regular flooding of the Levels, it really can feel like an island.
From here, the Parrett meanders a rather wonderful and scenic mile to reach Langport, a town whose name, meaning "Long Port," aptly describes its lengthy main street. I think it’s fair to regard Langport as the heartland of the river - located, as it is, halfway along the Parrett Trail.
It’s a wonderful town to visit, with good restaurants, pubs, cafes and a centre offering bike rentals so that you can get out and explore the flat-ish wonders of the local landscape.
