These Abandoned Canal Relics shouldn't be here!!

[Music] late November a little bit colder it  has been for a little while this is one of those   videos where if you're watching it then I found  what I'm looking for and it's definitely worth   watching this video If you're not watching this  then carry on not watching this I bought with me   a print off of a map so I can show you the route  as I'm going along it maybe a bit of zigzagging   today so try and keep up welcome to a little  journey again along the wilts and box Canal this   side we're on the Eastern end rather than the  Western end and it's quite spectacular [Music] but nothing quite like an abandoned canal and  there is got a little bit of water in you want   to go in there because it's probably going to  be full of silt and such and just behind me here   looks like the site probably a bridge or a swing  Bridge or something like that let's go have a look   say I say Bridge this is a lock it's almost  certain lock it's thin it's brick lined all   fenced off nicely but probably full of 100 Years  of rubbish I've come to Hawaii very shortly but   have a look at this yeah still a little bit to see  but obviously here is where the canal raised up   I'll stand at the very end you can look down  at the site of what is probably Grove Lock not   sure haven't got any notes on this I wasn't  expecting to see this but the journey is now   going to head let's just do a quick map check so  I've parked up here just to the east of Wantage   now I've kind of headed down through these Woods  just to here and I thought if I cut across those   woods I can get to the canal quicker than what  I planned thankfully I did because I found this   old lock so anyway there's a few more bits to  see as we head east up the canal towards the   Thames but the real treat for us today is up  at um ardington I think it's got Arlington but   we have to zigzag old way kind of cross country  to get there so let's make some tracks [Music]   legal name is the Wilts and Berks Canal I think  and ready for opening and use in 1810 lasted to   1914. it's a good stint for a canal let's look at  this little stretch here suspect it's a Haven for   wildlife some of these roots and corridors um  anyway our journey today is going to see us go   further east this time in fact last time we  came to this canal we're down near the summit   today and melksham right along the west  end of it today you find me on the East   End very close to the Thames just to the east of  Wantage looking for something quite spectacular [Music] [Music] Canal just here oh that's lovely it's  a quick map check now I'm gonna try and   make some Headway along that bottom route with  slightly curves to the north and main heads East   [Music] classic site of a swing Bridge don't think  this one had a name a little bit of lanyard out   here thin gap down there um classic Hallmarks  of uh that style where the bridge would have   swung out nicely in either direction better  boats and your barges and Your Vessel through   a quick Map update footpaths aren't great around  here in terms of getting where we want to go in   a selfish way we want to get across Neville  Swan we're going to head north but we can't   gotta head to South first let's get on a road  walk up the road then no cross and get to where   we want to go yeah but that's all part of  the fun but look what we've just found here oh wow [Music] so I've stepped onto the top part of the lock  sturdy brick here come quite safe you wouldn't   want to go any further down for a number of  different reasons through me now you've got   the the depth of the lock ahead and about five  or six feet in front of me you've got the site of   where the lock Gates would have been this section  here shallower part we've got the channel to the   left and the right water would have been able to  flow through those to fill the lock itself looks   I want to say very modern despite the  fact that it's 1810 it still looks in   great condition this bodes very well for the  trust obviously when they get to this section   and when they want to redo this section  obviously a lot of work to be done [Music] all right I know where near is um far east  as I thought it was still got a little bit   of a way to go before I circumnavigate Neville's  Farm just want to get across that field really   I've got this huge Loop doesn't matter it's a  nice walk the sun is shining I rain and we've   just already had a treat of that gorgeous  lock back there I'm gonna shut up for a bit   um and get my feet moving and  get to where we want to be [Music] so this is fun [Music] I just come off the road for a bit of respite  um and this is a bit where the boots and box   car goes underneath the road not very spectacular  you would have seen their lovely old Canal Bridge   with the track going over the top of it about  a kilometre in that direction up the canal is   the first thing I want to show you the first  spectacular thing but we can't go out there it's   really marshy boggy there's no footpath more  importantly so once again we've got carry-on   zigzag it's going to continue that way now  back to the West upper pathway then back across now you may not get the essence  of how much of a walk this has   been due to the highly skilled  editor that matters these videos   um it may just look like a seamless  transition from way back there to here Arlington top lock that's what we're picking  up so the line of the canal went North here   and as I said it interacted with the railway the  railway crosses there perpendicular but first of   all just here Arlington top block other side  which we'll do afterwards Arlington Marsh lock   and trust me you want to see them [Music]  hello this is good there is Arlington top   lock first of two that I'm going to show you  today but just have a look at this right there okay so I made up that bank and uh oh goodness  me this is what we make videos for sites like   this Ardington top lock all down there below me  insanely dangerous one of the things you don't   want to do if you explore places like this is  stand in it extremely dangerous I'll show you   why because just over here you've got tree it  seems to have either grown out on the side of   it collapsed inwards brick still and it's um in  its roots there ready to fall down there's about   six or seven bricks they're balanced horizontally  between two Roots so madly dangerous down there   that 20 foot drop right we're going uphill now so  we're at the top end of Arlington top lock which   is oddly the South End very similar design to the  one we've seen before there's the bits where the   water goes down and that way we'll see if we can  get down there because it's a lot safer that side   if it's not too marshy okay so that way there  you've got the um the Basin before these locks   I'm just going to have a look in the top end of  the lock before the lock gate and just look you   can see the beautiful um old lock gate set down  there there's none this end they have long gone   that's reclaimed right now I'm in the top part  of the lock and I'll probably be about here in   water and you have a gate up there with the  salute that would let the um the water out   of the channel down in there and directly into  their filling the uh the the pound of the lock all right one last look at that gorgeous  image up the lock looking self because now   I've got to head all the way back through  that farm then head north and all the way   back through just to follow the line of the  canal yet more zigzagging bit frustrating [Music] [Music] think I think I can see  some masonry I can see a pathway go back   into that field but above all we've got what  looks like the top of a lock ah yes oh that's   just oh and even better than the one before  when I show you what's down the other end my first observation is on the uh the Basin or  the bit before this we've got a load of masonry   line in the wall didn't see that on the others  maybe just wasn't there it had been nicked but   because we're in the middle of nowhere here sort  of a mile from any road or anything perhaps that's   why this has got some uh whole line of masonry  along the side but let's step into the lock more   masonry that side and now we're into brick  good quasi brick look at that 222 years old   that brick uh you've got what looks like the  stop lock bit at the start and again you've   got the the channels the sluice channels where  you've had the gate coming down blocking off   that water if you lift the gate the water goes  in into the lock just in the channels below and   look at that for a view at the end of there  you've got some utterly stunning uh log Gates can't really get a great shot because I'm actually  in the canal there's a Walling there for the   canals on that in the canal stood on some really  sketchy um soil but you can see just about that   way there and the old lock gate trees growing out  of it pushed it to one side and I really really   hope to see this canal one day back in water  and in use there's so much of it um that can   be saved and we've seen already some of the work  that some of the people are doing on here there's   our countless volunteers and I really think if  you are looking for a project that's local to you   well anywhere between down in melksham Trowbridge  Swindon on up to where we are now wanted nearly   at the Thames now near the end of the journey  you could perhaps get involved if you want to   um this is what this channel lives for this is  what I absolutely love trying to find out bits   of this bring you back some of the infrastructure  that's been abandoned for over 100 years 1914 this   was last in use and last Saw traffic it would  be amazing to one day in my lifetime see this   back in use if you like what we do on this channel  click um on the old thumbs up give that a Boop and   um yeah I should bid you farewell back next  week uh 5 p.m Greenwich Mean Time see you then [Music]

Channel: Paul Whitewick

Views: 63,258

Keywords: abandoned canal, disused canal, canal history, paul and rebecca whitewick, old canal, uk walk, whitewicks abandoned railways, paul and rebecca, the whitewicks, abandoned places, drained canal, abandoned canal boats, disused

Id: Kqa4NcKBPXg

Length: 12min 43sec (763 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 11 2022