[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
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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
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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
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