Really interestingly the gates open
Song: "Rivers run dry dust breath in the air
to dark days do you have a terrasphere"
all right had everybody good afternoon welcome to Whitewicks Abandoned Railways
now today we're not abandoned railways, although we are looking at an Abandoned Canal.
You will see in teh background a railway station and that is Chard central or
charge Joint, Chard joint which London South Western Railway and GWR
shared however as we said right now we're stood where we think chard canal
basin was which is the start point of chard canal yep taking up the
same route is a railway towards Taunton and we're going to see what.... --oh no,
the railway went out the same route as the canal because the canal was first.
a good point again so anyway we're gonna see what a canal paraphernalia we can
find today because we thought we're in the area
we've got a spare half a day so let's see what we can do with canals welcome
to Whitewicks abandoned canals
right first job is to find an incline and we'll chat about that when we get
through here.....
i think we need to get through here....
you're gonna hit me in the face in a minute
there's a gap through here and then we go for this like really old kissing game
oh my god okay
Swap sides canal talk should we not be like a different railway talk I didn't think of
that right so don't look at this canal as we
said because it was abandoned 160 years ago or whatever 18 early 60s
obviously when railways were becoming a big thing and we thought we have a look
at it and one of the things we first noticed again using the rail map online
website which is a really useful thing because he does canals as well work on
and look at and one of the things that they highlighted or the guy's
highlighted on the rail map online is all the features as you know these are
the features of the canals and we noticed a lot of Inclines and tunnels and
my assumption was Inclines are locks, but they aren't no it turns out
they're not this is how little we know about canals
So like Augustus in Scotland or whether or any way you go up and you kind of feel locking
you up yeah Cane Hill locks in new devices that's what we are something of
an incline was it turns out that's not the case it turns out as you probably
already know an incline is an incline so they would literally put on this canal I
use tubs so they weren't boats but instead Tubs.
anyway but there were tubs and they were then put in more tubs on here or
literally lifted out and water and well it's a different research on this class
see how they did propelled says but yeah they got they were pulled up and down
the incline.
It is all very new to us so we're looking for first of all it remains of a
canal tunnel and then the remains of the canal incline and no clue really where
they are but because we're looking for something thats built in 1842
and abandoned 24 years later with no clue what we're after
we're on a big hill that also tells us that we're at the top of what we think
is the ilminster incline so basically from the bottom down there slope there we're
pretty sure that is the Incline and just here you have what we think would have
been a small Basin before the brickwork just over there which we think is the
top end of the northern portal the Ilminster Canal tunnel it was the double barge, or width,
tunnel so I guess that means you get two barges or tubs tubs so our tubs so we
think there is the northern portal and that makes sense because a lot of empty
earth work there a hole and there will be the incline incline the plane
okay so what you're looking at just ahead of us and we're facing south is
crimson Hill now under crimson Hill they've built a 1800 yard tunnel and
there's some pretty crazy pictures online of people they've actually gone
in there and gone all the distance there's a few recent collapses if I am not successful
in obtaining those pictures but just google Crimson Hill tunnel and
you'll see some amazing pictures, First thing so we're walking up and other side
let's try and find crimson Hill or the incline and the tunnel and back there
you've just seen we've just done a little overlay of the the farm buildings
which is supported by the aqueduct yeah what's left of it to our left and really
now is over there is the canal we're gonna walk up a bit further up here
first see if we can see the incline which then goes into
the long tunnel.
So James green yes, James Green
originally had the idea and not only the idea but he was the one that was
originally trying to put it together yeah and he took it to parliment.
He suggested they could raise fifty seven thousand pounds
Parliament said yeah and said with the potential to borrow another
twenty but the interesting thing is I said you need to have built some of the
tunnels first and the total cost of the canal once they'd built it all one
hundred and fourteen hundred and forty thousand pounds compared to the 57 that
they've suggested. okay so we are trying to find now the
incline. The Wrantage Incline be also try and find stuff we're now
basically in a field the pathway goes across there Rebecca that's no good to
us so I think where Rebecca stood now it's halfway up the incline it goes down
there thanks Rebecca and can you point out way as well glamorously excellent
and that way is up towards the top of incline. So we're gonna keep walking all the
way up there and see if we can find the tunnel entrances
Wow so this is crazy it's a beautiful sight isn't it yeah
it's like lovely cutting really or not all night but it kind of is ornate
because it's stone it's literally just like around me yeah that's it
right this is what we read as well it's really exciting it's only one barge wide there
yeah you can't get two bars in a wide beam it is very small yeah but in the
middle it would avoid it they had passing places what we're looking at now
people is a 1,800 meter or yard tunnel it's over a mile long and it had passing
places in the middle, thats insane this this is amazing stuff amazing
bit history let's see if we can't get bit closer he's going down everybody
wanna try and get down to the shelf there at least so I can try and take a
picture inside. I don't
know how deep that is that's the only problem but I just fascinated by this
engineering so they had to build this before they got full allocation
to build the whole canal.
The fact it gets wider in the middle and some of the pictures we've seen the
people they've gone inside here where the middle is always almost like this
rather than like a traditional tunnel works like that so you've got the real
pressure of this bit this was wide almost like that so it's not surprising
that there's been a few collapses in the middle although it doesn't look
like it here does it no it looks like a traditional tunnel and that shows you
that what do we say the tubs were six feet wide
yes so 6 foot 6 foot wide tub that shows that that can probably just get through
there cuz I know that's much of a lot wider than a 6 foot 26 foot long and so
nice but why right imagine just on your journey along there maybe you had a
stick to push along maybe you literally pushed along the roof in one of those
tubs you just come up the incline and also that's another interesting point
that Wantage incline there that delayed the opening of the the canal because
they had some wire brake suddenly yes you sat on a table in a casein yes
my brakes yeah it damaged some of the cassons that's mad
isn't it mm-hmm and yet unreported having fully died but
sometime it's gonna have look see if we can see any further downhill good luck
I'm looking at the water below me now and that's I'm thinking two feet deep
plus the silt so I am not going with my wellies on.
however really interestingly the
gates open is it yeah I mean if the water is lower you could get in because
it's not pad locked let's get some piccies.
Ok running short on time, number one its hammering it down and number two
we're nearly the northern part we do want to see the final aqueduct nearly
five arches bridge yep so we do is that final I hope is going
to show up before we get there but we're hoping to see this it looms down hills
down tunnel
okay so this is this is um aqueduct bridge, how did they come up with that name
I don't know if it is originally called aqueduct bridge obviously this is a last
aqueduct on the northern section as we head north on the canal so we think
you can walk out of this let's go have a look
so when you look the start of the aqueduct they all start the bit you can
get out just there I'm Rebecca it's difficult to see how this was an
aqueduct what how do they build these sort of things but the more you go this
way and we can go this way a little bit you can kind of get an idea now because
so you got brickwork down there and next to the brickwork you've got what is
obviously part of the embankment so actually it was banked up over and above
the bridge there and you can see the massive into the it so it's probably
what I'd know four or five feet deep which makes sense maybe the three or
four feet deep was make sense for a canal so if I'm stood kinda here yeah
there's what's that free feet hold back on the bank yeah interesting
from the banks of the river tone and this beautiful aqueduct built in 1842
for the canal we bid you farewell we hope this is something a little
different if you like to see more band and canals last now in the comments
below it's not something we're in 10s new
shoes leaper if you like it then we will more than happy to bring you some more
about of canals case you find canals were doing railways head it tonight
yesterday so yeah so we heard you enjoyed today's little vlog explore not
too much in terms of historic education from our point of you because we know
very little about old canals but I've been enjoyed explore any way and we
shall see you next time