A canalside walk

Roger suggested that we walk from Lapworth to Lowsonford alongside the Startford Canal and back.  There's a great place to eat in Lowsonford called the Fleur de Lys.  Always keen to eat out rather than have to cook I readily agreed.

We have walked this route a couple of times before but this time it was different.  The Canal and River Trust use the winter months to repair the canal system.  It is the Stratford Canal's turn and that meant that parts of it had been drained.

The other side of the lock in the above photo.

The next lock which apparently is having a new lock gate.  They are replaced every 25 years.

The Fleur de Lys on the other side of the canal

And an Anthony Gormley sculpture - another reason why I readily agreed to the walk.

I hadn't read about it properly before we went so I was surprised by the size of it.  I was expecting a much taller sculpture not a life size man.

The barrel-roofed lock-keepers cottages built along the Stratford canal are the only ones of their kind.

Across the bridge to the pub and a lovely lunch

before walking back to the car the same way we came.

A quirky garden shed/playhouse by the canal

The repairs from the other angle.

Not the prettiest walk but very interesting.

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

The amazing tunnel entrance

Last week I showed the Autumn photographs I had taken on our trip to Westonbirt Arboretum.  I included a photo of a tunnel entrance and Mary W from Florida commented: That tunnel is amazing - do you know the story behind it? How old it is? It stirs up many questions!

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