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Abandoned canals...


twocvbloke

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Reading through the thread on the K&A lock times, I noticed that BW abandoned this stretch for some time, and I got thinking, are there any other canals in England they have abandoned, or are still abandoned, but still filled with water, that BW haven't even touched? I know there are some unnavigable canals looking at Jim Shead's site, but are there any others not listed there? :lol:

Edited by twocvbloke
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There's the Melton and Oakham.

 

This is still navigable in portable boats as tts a canalised river, the locks need rebuilding and the weirs raised.

 

I'm not sure you are right there, the Melton Mowbray navigation is a canalised river (and still navigable with canoes), and then the Oakham which is of course a true canal and not navigable in any way?

 

Other possibilities:

 

North Walsham/Dilham

 

Dingwall

 

Coombe Hill Canal

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I'm not sure you are right there, the Melton Mowbray navigation is a canalised river (and still navigable with canoes), and then the Oakham which is of course a true canal and not navigable in any way?

Indeed. A short stretch of the Oakham near Ashwell would theoretically be navigable by canoes - not sure the fishermen who maintain it (very well) would be too chuffed, though!

 

The Melton Mowbray Navigation's an absolutely gorgeous river, though - it'll be delightful when it's restored. The first step gets underway next year, I believe: Sustrans are rebuilding the entrance bridge at Syston (currently a low walkway) to give navigable headroom.

 

 

Elsewhere, there's a few isolated bits of the Wyrley & Essington that are still in water but unnavigable.

Edited by Richard Fairhurst
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Wendover arm of the GU, at the Wendover end.

 

The canal is being restored, and a short extension past Tringford has taken it under a reconstructed bridge to a proper winding hole, making navigation of the open bit far easier.

 

There is then a stretch that has been de-watered for years, (being worked on).

 

After that it's in water.

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Sorry

 

I lump the whole lot together as 1 waterway, ergo "the melton and Oakham" The others are more correct.

 

Richard is absoluetely correct it's a fabulous navigation, which given the fact its still in water suprises me it's not already been reopened.

 

I fully intend to navigate the full length in my little inflatable next weekend complete with camera.

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The Grantham Canal should have been reopened years ago. Surely one of the simplest restos?

 

In theory the Brownsover arm of the N Oxford, running to Dodford, is still navigable but BW, in their wisdom, have stanked it off.

 

Can someone inform me of the direction of this thread? is it only about abandoned, and unrestored waterways?

 

The Oakham would come under that.

 

Or is it about canals that are abandoned but currently under some form of restoration?

 

The Grantham would be under that category.

 

If its a free for all let me know! :lol:

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Reading through the thread on the K&A lock times, I noticed that BW abandoned this stretch for some time, and I got thinking, are there any other canals in England they have abandoned, or are still abandoned, but still filled with water, that BW haven't even touched? I know there are some unnavigable canals looking at Jim Shead's site, but are there any others not listed there? :lol:

#

 

How about the Nutbrook Canal which linked the Nutbrook Colliery (amongst others I think) to the Erewash Canal at Stanton ironworks.

A few weeks ago part of it was still in water, as is the feeder reservoir.

Plenty of stonework still exists also.

 

There is an entry in wikipedia for those interested.

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I believe that there are far more abandoned and/or disused canals than any of us might imagine, certainly in my very local area the canal system tended to be based on the mining industry, when the coal ran out so did the canal that served it..

 

It wasn't really BW that did the deed though, most were gone long before a nationalised canal system was ever considered, it was financial expediency and general apathy that saw an end to them, they just suffered a slow ignominious death.

Edited by John Orentas
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Abedare Canal

Adelphi Canal

Adur Navigation

Andover Canal

Ashburnham Canal

Bedale Beck

Bishop Monkton Canal

Bond End Canal

Bottisham Lode

Bourne Eau

Bowser's Canal

Bude Canal

Bungay Navigation

Bure Navigation

Caistor Canal

Cann Quarry Canal

Car Dyke

Carlisle Canal

Cassington Cut

Chard Canal

Cinderford Canal

Charnwood Forest Canal

Comstall Navigation

Croydon Canal

Cumberland Market Branch Canal

Cyfartha Canal

 

Bored now but will carry on later, if there's a demand....

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The original criterion was "any other canals in England they have abandoned, or are still abandoned, but still filled with water, that BW haven't even touched".

 

Think that excludes most of your list, Carl - AFAIK the Aberdare's entirely infilled; same for the Adelphi; the Adur's a river, not a canal; small bit of the Andover in water, so you can have that; not sure about the Ashburnham; Bedale Beck is a river; Bishop Monkton - hm, maybe, not sure it necessarily merits the full "canal" title; Bond End Canal - well I moor on the bit that's still in water :lol: so that doesn't count as entirely abandoned; and so on...

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Car Dyke

 

There is a school of thought that says the Car/Carr Dyke (you see it spelt both ways) was never used as a navigation in Roman times, however, there is a short length of it, that is navigable today and connected to the national system too as the Sleaford Navigation/Kyne Eau uses its course for perhaps 1/3 mile or so about a mile to the west of South Kyme.

 

See:- http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=51...mapp=newmap.srf

 

It's the straight length that runs south east from Ferry Farm, Ewerby Waithe Common. Where the Kyme Eau veers off to the east towards South Kyme, there was once a lock dropping down here, from whence the Carr Dyke was navigable to its junction with the Heckington Eau. The navigation continued via the Head Dike and Skerth Drain to make a junction with the South Forty Foot Drain, near Swineshead Bridge.

 

BTW, I was in Boston the other day and was able to examine the works in progress to reinstate the lock at Black Sluice, linking the South Forty Foot Drain to the Tidal Witham. The long term aim is to make a non tidal link between the Witham at Boston, linking in with the rivers Glen and Welland and eventually via a new cut to the Nene at Peterborough.

 

Work started last October, the chamber should be complete and the gates being fitted this month and is due for completion by december

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There is a school of thought that says the Car/Carr Dyke (you see it spelt both ways) was never used as a navigation in Roman times, however, there is a short length of it, that is navigable today and connected to the national system too as the Sleaford Navigation/Kyne Eau uses its course for perhaps 1/3 mile or so about a mile to the west of South Kyme.

 

See:- http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=51...mapp=newmap.srf

 

It's the straight length that runs south east from Ferry Farm, Ewerby Waithe Common. Where the Kyme Eau veers off to the east towards South Kyme, there was once a lock dropping down here, from whence the Carr Dyke was navigable to its junction with the Heckington Eau. The navigation continued via the Head Dike and Skerth Drain to make a junction with the South Forty Foot Drain, near Swineshead Bridge.

 

BTW, I was in Boston the other day and was able to examine the works in progress to reinstate the lock at Black Sluice, linking the South Forty Foot Drain to the Tidal Witham. The long term aim is to make a non tidal link between the Witham at Boston, linking in with the rivers Glen and Welland and eventually via a new cut to the Nene at Peterborough.

 

Work started last October, the chamber should be complete and the gates being fitted this month and is due for completion by december

 

 

I'm pretty certain that (a) Carr Dyke is on the map at Timberland (running from the top of Timberland Delph north wards) and again possibly at Dunston Fen - if its the same one as you refer to and heading towards Lincoln and also supposedly Roman I wonder if it ever linked up with the Fosse Dyke? - I'll get my map out soon and have a look

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I wonder if it ever linked up with the Fosse Dyke? -

 

From my understanding it ran from Washingborough, so probably not. Various lengths are incorporated into the current dykes that criss cross this area and retain their original drainage function, notably between Washingborough and North Kyme where it has very much a contour canal feel to it. The further south you go the more truncated it becomes. The diverted or abandoned lengths have often filled in or otherwise obliterated.

 

It's mostly marked on the OS Landranger series maps, often as "Car Dyke (course of)"

Edited by Hairy-Neil
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Neil, the route you described from Kyme Eau to Black Sluice, is this the path down through Maryland Locks, which is still marked as such but of which there is no trace? I have always understood Car Dyke to have used the route of the North Delph from Washingborough to join the Witham about a mile above Brayford. I'm sure that I've read somewhere of this route being used in the last hundred and fifty years or so as a relief for the Stamp End lock when repair or re-building was necessary.It will be very useful when the time comes to join the Grantham canal to the Witham as it will avoid re-instating the railway swing bridge at Brayford. As I have previously posted if anyone wishes to pursue the probable extent of Roman inland navigation in Britain reading 'The Piercebridge Formula' by Raymond Selkirk is an interesting if contentious introduction. Regards, HughC.

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Reading through the thread on the K&A lock times, I noticed that BW abandoned this stretch for some time, and I got thinking, are there any other canals in England they have abandoned, or are still abandoned, but still filled with water, that BW haven't even touched? I know there are some unnavigable canals looking at Jim Shead's site, but are there any others not listed there? :lol:

 

Bottisham Lode

Last few hundred yards of Tat Bank Branch

First few hundred yards of Hatherton

Cape Arm

Digbeth Basins

Langford Canal [branch of Chelmer & Blackwater] - but is this really unnavigable? It is not in Jim Shead's lists either.

Wallis's Arm [well, it would make a nice little mooring on the 80' or so that is in water!]

The canal network in the Waltham Abbey Gunpowder factory

Pudding Mill River? [seemingly not a canalised river desite the name; maybe I'm wrong]

Parts of the Ipswich & Stowmarket

A lot of waterways in the Fens.

The Anson Branch?

 

 

It would be interesting to see a similar list for rivers that were once navigable but are no longer....River Nar,

River Cherwell at least as far as Banbury, River Gipping.

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The 'Swift Ditch' near Abingdon was once the main navigation channel of the Thames with a very old pound lock at its upper end. The lock is now a weir and the channel itself is quite overgrown but I managed to get most of the way up it yesterday in the dinghy.

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Bottisham Lode

Last few hundred yards of Tat Bank Branch

First few hundred yards of Hatherton

Cape Arm

Digbeth Basins

Langford Canal [branch of Chelmer & Blackwater] - but is this really unnavigable? It is not in Jim Shead's lists either.

Wallis's Arm [well, it would make a nice little mooring on the 80' or so that is in water!]

The canal network in the Waltham Abbey Gunpowder factory

Pudding Mill River? [seemingly not a canalised river desite the name; maybe I'm wrong]

Parts of the Ipswich & Stowmarket

A lot of waterways in the Fens.

The Anson Branch?

 

 

It would be interesting to see a similar list for rivers that were once navigable but are no longer....River Nar,

River Cherwell at least as far as Banbury, River Gipping.

 

The Pudding Mill River hasnt been navigable since the 1960's, and furthermore it has been obliterated completely for the Olympics.

 

The Royal Gunpowder Mills canals are dry and overgrown - at certain strategic locations (aqueducts, wharves, junctions) it has been cleared and forms a static exhibit so that the story of the Gunpowder canals can be told to visitors. Part of the system is now a walkway. The short lower level section is in water so could be done by canoe if the management agreed to it.

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