6.9 Exploring the abandoned Lapal Tunnel 

I now at the age of 76 have a hobby called geocaching. I went the other day to find my 18,890 cache on a path very close to the Halesowen end of the tunnel. That made me recall my youth in about 1955. When we came down to the tunnel from Quinton along Lapal Lane. We made a raft from pallets and spent hours down here. In later years, I became the owner of the boat yard at Hopwood and entered wasthills tunnel in a rowing boat to try and rescue workers killed in the tunnel collapse. After one of the workers had run back to the boatyard to try and get help. How things have changed. Only this week did I come across not my first electric boat but the first electric boat I have seen that was powered only by solar panels. Regards Peter Stanton "Pedro"

An excellent video of the Lapal tunnel Andy. Most enjoyable. I can't believe that although thirty shafts were sunk in order to construct the tunnel, only one was ever left open as an air shaft. By comparison, the Wast Hill tunnel on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal which is shorter than Lapal by over a 1000 yards has three air shafts over its length. I read somewhere that the structure over the air shaft for the Lapal tunnel was demolished in 1978 and the shaft was covered over.

I’ve been looking forward to this episode and I wasn’t disappointed. Thx Andy another great video

How interesting. Such a shame that the tunnel is lost forever. Best of luck to those who are working to bring the Lapal Link back into service - it will be such a useful connection when re-established - good to see some recent progress has been made!

This is really cool! Thanks Andy and Happy New Year.

another brilliant video Andy, look forward to the next..!

Wonderful bit of detection Andy. Thank you All the Best for 2022.

Loved the video. Me and a friend of mine tried the same trip at the end of the seventies. There was a little more evidence then but not much more. We did find the ventilation shaft though

Hugely enjoyable, thank you very much! I can see these videos being an educational resource in the near future!

A very interesting video that has explained a few things that I first became aware of some 15 to 20 years ago. At that time I was working for Royal Mail, and for some of that time I was based at the Selly Oak office, and often delivered mail in the area around the eastern portal to the tunnel. I was rather intrigued by the fact that Bottetourte Road had a gap in it (not far from the remains of Weoley Castle), which just seemed to be now used as a footpath. It did occur to me that it looked like either a filled in canal, or possibly an abandoned railway. A bit of research revealed that it was indeed the line of a canal. When I asked about the posts along the side of Stonehouse Lane, that appeared to be some form of ventilation, by the side of the grassy area where you ended your video, I was told that the tunnel had been filled in with household rubbish, and the poles were to vent the methane gas that was being given off. I was later told that rather than it being the filled in tunnel, it was where the cutting leading into the tunnel had been filled in, that was giving off the gas. This ties in with the photo that you have of the eastern portal of the tunnel, and explains how you were standing above it. I've just completed my second year living aboard a narrowboat, and only recently discovered your channel - I look forward to watching the rest of your videos.

Brilliant, I've wanted to visit his area for a while. Well done.

You are a master of your craft. Well done.

Enjoyed that Andy & happy new year to you 😊

Been looking forward to this one...

Well done Andy. I live in this area. I will share it on the local history groups for you and on the Lapal Canal trust page too.

You might try asking Nonsuch Primary School on Wood Leasow, there is a spoil heap in the school grounds.

Went up that tunnel loads of times 50s @ early 60s as a kid with my mates .Lived in Alwold Rd Weoley Castle .Great cut to play on ,great place to grow up.

Amazing finding 3 of the 250 year old tunnel shafts.. the first one was quite obvious the big ring of debri and sunken ground.. I wonder if the owner of the property had any clue what was in his garden? Another fantastic video Andy.. Happy New Year from Missouri USA!

"The line of the old Lapal Tunnel runs underneath the bungalow just behind me." fade, which causes said bungalow to distinctly move downwards. That was quite spoooky.

Interesting, I live in Tipton alongside the Birmingham main canal but I didn`t kow about the canal or tunnel in this marvelous video, well done.

Nice one Andy, pity there's not much left to see. I suppose we'll have to wait until they build the new route above ground before we can walk along the rest of the route.

I lived opposite the Stonehouse pub for many years. Where you stood in the last seen is the top of the clay pit for the California brickwork. Next to the ASDA carpark entrance is the wall that over looked the cut before the tunnel entrance.

Nice one Andy, the other long tunnels are; the mighty Standedge on the Huddersfield narrow canal which was and is the longest in England at 5698 yards, the Sapperton tunnel on the Thames and Severn canal (which I just happened to be next to today), Sapperton is 3817 yards and finally the Dudley tunnel at 3154 yards which I have been through in one of the Trusts boats.

Fascinating! I stayed for a couple of nights in Reservoir Rd near the Eastern portal around 2006, specifically to explore the BCN by bicycle. Many properties in this road were flooded in 1958, due to the canal breaking through its embankment. I tried, like you, to follow the route of the tunnel over the hill through the park, but it was confusing without proper maps and research. I found the Western branch ok. If they ever manage to create a link over the hill, it will be fantastic, and much more attractive for boaters than the claustrophobic original tunnel.

Brill i know exactly where you are standing at california end ive heard of it but never knew where it went to and from thanks Andy ... happy new year ,Neil

Funny to think there are people in those new houses with no idea their house is directly over a sealed up tunnel.

I'm wondering if the reason for the tunnel collapses was due to the many construction shafts that were dug out. Back then I doubt that the infill was compacted well and allowed water seepage which liquefied the ground and resulted in it becoming unstable. The photographs from the 1960s seem to me to support this theory.

Happy NewYear from this unseasonal warm Walsall.

Great episode will there be one to Shelly oak

Is the tunnel really plugged with concrete under the M5? I have heard this much disputed by different people

what a shame it is partially filled with concrete because apart from the tunnel itself and the battery retail park at the junction the rest of the whole line of the canal still looks in place. would be a wonderful restore. in the days of construction of the canals, brick manufacturing works were small enterprises and local so if they didn't have good materials to make the bricks with . . . . well! leominster canal suffered the same problems.