I live in cannock and part of the old route runs across a field i currently own. Amazing video. Very well made. I dream of seeing this route reopened some day. Thank you for posting.
Another great vlog. Loved the series. Wonderful you are promoting the Hatherton end as I think it's easy to forget this as the work progresses on the Lichfield line and to remind people that volunteers are still keeping the towpath clear to walk.
Having moored our boat at Calf Heath for a decade I am very fond of the Churchbridge Branch (Hatherton) and the Roman Way hotel and with a pub / hotel at each end it makes a great historical walk.
Andy you are a real stalwart ...... Less than 1000 subscribers but you still keep at it. Me too. I will be heading back to the uk with my main objective being working as a brickie on the canal restoration project on the canals somewhere in the uk. Birmingham looks like a great place to head to and make a difference that might last apple of hundred years
Andy ,thanks for posting this ..At 1 :40 there used to be a boatyard , Ernie Thomas . My very first canal boat was from here in 70 or 71 . They were near all old wooden boats as i recall ...Anyone else rember the Ernie Thomas boats ? They all had avian names --Lark,Eagle ,Moorhen ..
Great video, I remember walking the remains from the M6 to the A460 about 7 or 8 years back and coming out by the hotel on the A5. Did not know which way if any it would have once continued. Thank you, it reminds me I need to pop back and walk it again.
Its a lovely walk. In fact, I now have many more archive photos of the canal and its my intention to make a video based on a drone flight along the line interspersed with the old images. Glad you enjoyed it.
Alright, I’ve made a small donation to a project I’ll never see. Oregon USA. I want to know if many narrow boat owners make many donations beyond required fees?
Thats very kind of you Leonard. Whilst the work of the restoration trust is endorsed by Canal and River Trust, the funding is entirely from the endeavours of the restoration team be it membership subscriptions, fundraising activities, spacial appeals, boat festivals, application for grants or corporate donations. Of course, a lot of he progress is made by volunteer labour for their small army of supporters and during the summer months there are few days when a team isn't out working on some part of the 6 mile route. I have never worked out exactly how many boaters are involved - I guess that originally most were, but the appeal of the restoration goes much deeper into the community.
Thank you Leonard! We do have a lot of boat owners as members of the Trust and many of our volunteers are boat owners too. But as Andy says - the appeal does go deeper across the whole community.
I concur. Really interesting and informative. I never miss an episode. You refer to the canal maps app - I couldn’t find it on the App Store so I guess I’m looking under the wrong title. Can you please confirm the app name? Thank you so much 😊
Thats a very tough question to answer! There are over 1000 miles of lost canals but many miles are disconnected or hopeless cases. I have never calculated the number of active restoration groups but there must be between 30 and 50 - Bog ones like the Cotswold Canal or the Lichfield Canal through to the small ones like the Stover Navigation or, more locally, the Sow River Link, the Lapal Canal and the Bradley Locks Group. Maybe 50 understates it - could well be more like 100!
very informative. I have been a waterways fans since i was a child and it makes me FUMING when they allow people to build over old canal routes or disused branch lines and they are ALL making a comback. I do di wish we would STOP building more and more roads and instead REDUCE the number of cars allowed on the roads! Canal and rail are far more eco friendly. Just wondering about the depth of the Seddon Brook for navigation as I see 'rapids' there in places meaning SHALLOW! So wount they need to install a control weir or lock to raise the depth to 1 metre or so?
Basically yes. The old lock chambers will raise the rater level and I guess any locks on the river sections will have associated weirs to control the water flows.
Hi. Most of the time when they replace old bridges, Or a bridge built where they weren't one. They put in a concrete monstrosity. They look uglier the older they get. Can't they put a brick skin over them? To make them look old in the places that are needed to look old
The bridges on the restored canals do just that. However, many of the dropped / replacement bridges were done in classic 1970's brutalist style because they wee in a huge hurry to get our bridge stock into a place where modern lorries could use them.
