If you have followed my blog for any length of time you will know that Roger & I love to walk alongside canals. I love them because on the whole the path is flat. There are occasional ups and downs alongside the locks but unless it's a whole flight of locks the rise and fall is very little. In addition we are trying to walk the full length of all the canals in the West Midlands although we don't restrict ourselves to just that area.
We were very surprised to find this canal as we hadn't known it existed.
However a little investigation on the map showed that there had been a canal at one time. And then we did some more research. It was built in the late 18th century and was part of a 36 mile inland waterway connecting the River Severn to the River Thames. At the time it was a really successful Canal.
The tunnel face is most unusual. It is known as the Coates Portal (the nearby village is called Coates). It is one end of the Sapperton Tunnel. It was restored in the early 1970s having fallen into disrepair. The canal was abandoned in 1910-11 but there are plans for volunteers to restore and reopen the canal. Sadly the inside of the tunnel is in such a bad state that this may never happen.
The Canal and River Trust look after most of the canals in Britain and they have a great website detailing the history of the canals.
Thanks Mary for asking about the tunnel and the canal. It has been really interesting to find out more.
Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice
