The real problem with "London's Lost Route To The Sea" was that too many seperate companies were involved. From London to Littlehampton you had the following. 1) Thames Commissioners. 2) Wey Navigation. 3) Godalming Navigation. 4) Wey & Arun Canal. 5) Arun Navigation. If you wanted to go to Portsmouth you had to use the services of another company. 6) The Portsmouth & Arundel Canal. Whilst there were attempts to reach agreements on tolls over the entire route they were not very successful. Where as the London Brighton South Coast Railway linked all of these places (and many more besides) as a single entity. The reason that there are no surviving locks in Sidney Wood were the canal crosses the watershed between the Wey and the Arun as well as the border between Surrey and West Sussex is because they were removed in the late 1920's & early 1930's to help to provide local employment. This was particularly true over the very cold winter of 1929-1930. The bricks recovered were then reused. As for Orfold Aqueduct (Lordings Lock) the Arun Navigation Canal didnt drop to river level. It actually continued running parallel to the river to Pallingham which was the traditional northern terminus of navigation on the river Arun. With a history of navigation going back to 16th Century. The canal entered the river via a double lock. The only example of such a structure in Sussex. Whilst the lock keepers house survives the lock itself was filled in at least 60 years ago. I would urge you to read Paul Vine's seminal book 'London's Lost Route To The Sea' as it explains all of this . Also Middleton Press (The late Vic Mitchell's excellent publishing enterprise) has published four books by Paul Vine on Inland Waterways in South East England with volumes on Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex & Kent. 'London's Lost Route To The Sea' being covered by the volumes on Surrey and West Sussex. Again this book provides a good reference point.
@@paulmessis1094 That must have been a very time ago as it was certainly filled in by 1970. I know that because I had lunch with my parents at the lock keepers cottage. We were taking to its location and were told that it had been filled in and grassed over some "10 -15 years earlier" They were not sure exactly when I would guess between 1958 and 1964 approximately. However I have not been to Pallingham Quay for over 20 years. So the lock could have been re excavated easily in the time.
@@nicholaskelly6375 Hi Nicholas, weird, I went maybe a 10 years ago and although it was turfed and they had a table on the base, the lock chamber was very much evident - there wasn't water so I suppose it was filled.
@@paulmessis1985 Interesting I guessed that the owners had done some work to excavate the lock chambers. As noted when I saw them it was nearly impossible to work out exactly where they were. Apart from the locks on the Southwick Ship Canal. The Pallingham Double Lock was by far the largest such structure in Sussex. All The Best Nick.
Currently in Chiang Mai, in Northern Thailand, but came across your wonderful video via the Wey & Arun Canal Trust (with whom I am a lifelong member - they do a brilliant job and deserve all the support they can get). I loved your video and it was great to see that beautiful scenery again (despite the awful weather during filming!), but it would have been good to have shown some of the parts of the canal that have been restored too. Well done - great job! I will look out for more...
So glad to you guys walking the W & A Junction Canal I have been fascinated by this canal since reading L G Pine book 'Londons lost route to the sea ' long before restoration started & I even wrote a novel about a journey along it from Littlehampton to London set just after it opened
Home stomping ground for me. Although I now live in Cornwall, I the early part of my childhood was spent in Hampshire and Surrey, later West Sussex and mother still lives about 4 miles east of the Arun-Wey Navigation. . I've walked the entire length of the canal from Godalming to Arundel. My favourite canal route by far, but whether it is prudent to continue with it's revival is open to question, given rising sea levels that will end up innundating the Sussex Weald eventually. Flooding is already an issue in parts. . The Cranleigh branch line closed on 14 June 1965 four months before its centenary, the only Surrey railway closure in the mid-1960s stripping-out known as the 'Beeching Axe', officially termed "The Reshaping of British Railways". This closure was not popular locally. I've walked most of its length too from Peasmarsh Junction to Bramley, Cranleigh, Baynards and on to Rudgewick (where the family home was located at the time) as far as Stammerham Junction at Christ's Hospital, where it joined the Arun Valley Line to up to Horsham. So many of these glorious rural branch lines were to feel the axe fifty-odd years ago... Such myopic thinking, . This is quinessential pastoral English home counties.
A provocative title! Any canal could be described as pointless if it no longer serves the purpose for which it was originally constructed. This can apply to all UK narrow canals. However those extraordinary early engineers have left us with an amazing historical legacy which we are now repurposing into fantastic leisure and wildlife landscapes. All disused canals should be brought back to life. PS I have been a member of the Wey and Arun canal trust since it’s inception 50 years ago!
There is so much industrial infrastructure abandoned in Britain that should be preserved for the nation. Greenaway are a start in reclaiming these treasures. Great work Paul & Rebecca👍
Hi from Australia. In the 60's I was brought up in and around Pulborough, West Chiltington to be precise. Myself and a few friends at the time tried to get a group together to consider restoring this canal after we learnt of its existence in the 19th century. Great to learn that there is a dedicated team now at work doing just that!
Well, the You Tube algorithms are getting increasing more accurate. The bridge at the beginning, "Tannery Lane Bridge," I walked over that this morning! It is an interesting bridge due it being two bridges in one. The original part, a cross over canal bridge is still largely intact with a railway bridge being build over the top of it, with it's arch to one side. The railway did literally destroy the canal at this point The best way for anyone who wants to view it would be to park at the abandoned railways station at Bramley in Surrey, (also worth a look.) and walk up what would have been the track, now a pleasant walking path. Not far south of Bramley I found volunteers working on two more bridges, Lift bridges in this case, the bases looked complete and they were close to installing the lift parts which are being made off side somewhere. Fast bridge is a particularly pretty bridge as you showed, access is very easy as it is yards from the A281 near Dunsfold. Stanley wood is an absolute beauty spot, and would be a treat when the canal is restored through there. Thank you for showing some interesting spots on the canal, I am trying to complete the walk of the entire length of the canal, (Just over half completed of the bits that are accessible.) so I know the effort you have put in.
Hi Paul & Rebecca. A fascinating video. Lordings Lock & Waterwheel a clever and ingenious water powered invention. Should they finish it I would think this would become a massive attraction and a boon for tourism in the area. Looking forward to more videos on this obscure and unique waterway.
Dedicated to your art. Rain holds no fears (maybe your camera). Nice video and very informative. Well done to the society and best of luck to getting the waterway back open.
Paul and Rebecca - I almost enjoy your canal walks more than your railway walks - all the detective work you do is just so fascinating - well done - and I look forward to your discovery of why that aqueduct was built across the river it was intending to join. Of course, many canals were acquired by railway companies, either for conversion, such as the Paisley and Aberdeenshire Canals; or to sink any attempts to compete, as with the Forth & Clyde. And rivers were diverted too. I made such a discovery myself just the other day while walking the stretch between Dollar and Tillicoultry in Clackmannanshire and coming upon the curious site of 'Tait's Tomb' - a cemetery, that forms an island in the middle of a field... Seems a loop of the meandering River Devon was diverted when the parallel railway was constructed! Thanks for sharing your discoveries, too.
Fascinating stuff. Glad the canal is being restored - it's still a valuable asset. It's ironic that the railway that forced the canal's closure was itself closed 100 years later.
i live locally to this canal and it has facinated me for a long time thank you for doing teh walk and teh river you said you didnot name teh name of is the Rother navigation and there used to be a wharf at Midhurst for the small boats to use
Remember doing a sponsored walk to raise funds for the restoration of this canal ‘Wey’ back in the eighties. Thank you for giving the history for its existence.
Interesting area, in the past, I've visited other parts of the Wey Navigation, around the Woking & Guildford area, parts of it round that area are in daily use by narrow boats, a particularly nice area is Pyrford Lock, where there is a narrow road bridge over the canal & a waterside pub, called the Anchor. The canals in Southern England never enjoyed the commercial success of the network up in the Industrial North of England, before the Railways took over!
Canals nearby Rother navigation with a seperate branch to Petworth aka the petworth canal, try and find this, its virtually returned to nature.... The Portsmouth and arundel canal.... The baybridge canal and the coldwaltham cut if the arun navigation.... Thats your next schedule guys
Just to the north of Cranleigh, the line of the canal (just a depression in the ground) passes under a bridge carrying a minor road. The arch of the bridge is scored by barge towropes. What makes it interesting is that the old Guilford to Horsham railway was built alongside the canal at this point and the original canal bridge had a 'new' , higher, bridge built over it to overpass the railway. It's fascinating to see a bridge over a bridge, both crossing long gone transport routes!
I used to be a volunteer on the canal until moving to Herefordshire. The Trust has made huge progress on restoration in recent years as you will have seen on your walk. I'm sure someone at WACT could give you a full explanation of Lordings lock, it used to confuse me when working on towpath clearance there!
I know this canal and I was on a train from Shoreham and Steyning to Guildford via Cranleigh on the Sunday, the day after the Cranleigh line closed. So I was struck by your opening shots of the remains of the bridge over the canal.
There was also a plan to have a canal from Chichester to London ... you'll find the remnant beside Chichester Marina with house boats on it ... Great history Paul and Rebecca I never knew about this Arun canal
Actually not a plan, it`s part of the Portsmouth to Arun canal, the route crossing Langstone harbour north of Hayling across Chichester harbour. The canal basin end in Portsmouth is now under the Post Office adjacent to the Town station. The railway line running in the former canal.
Fascinating story behind this! (And an ongoing one thanks to the restoration efforts - I love that something pointless can be restored, too) Really enjoyed it and, as always, the great music.
In "The Colonies", they cut a canal from the Chesapeake Bay through the Great Dismal Swamp to Albemarle Sound. It still functions to this day. It's part of the Intercoastal Waterway, allowing smaller vessels to travel the Eastern Seaboard without needed to travel open ocean. Amazingly untouched for over 150 years. The swamp continues to shrink in a small part because of the canal.
For people's information, there is an actual physical lock in the sidney wood area but its in the garden of a private residence... There are a number of disused locks on the canal and brudges just awaiting restoration....it is a truly beautiful canal especially in spring...I got the hardham tunnel grade 2 listed, looking forward to the coldwaltham cut vid.... Be sure to go to where it joins the arun as remains of the lock cottage and lock are still there
Apparently, the biggest stumbling block to the restoration of the canal is that so much of the canal bed is now privately owned and the land owners are refusing to allow the restoration volunteers to work on their land.
@@MrKeithblair Hi Keith, there was a survey done about 20 odd years ago, which determined that full restoration is a possibility - but yes I guess landowners are a stumbling block - I think as the restoration efforts grow, a few of the landowners would maybe be more open to it and obviously in some places as exemplified by where I mentioned in my original post above a re-route would need to occur. But I suppose with anything, time will tell, maybe some of the landowners could make more money opening a marina on their land than farming and who knows what futures could be in store for the Wey and Arun. They've got enough on their plate right now though with some key restoration potentially on the horizon, if their current planning gets the go ahead, that would make full restoration I guess easier on paper in the future. Irregardless, I fully recommend people visit this canal in both the restored and unrestored parts, its a really lovely thing especially in Spring and Summer and the trust does good for the local area and wildlife, so thats great too.
It occured to me, whilst watching this, that normally items of great architectural significance get hidden from view for a good many years, once they fall into disuse. It also occured to me that the Victorians, who constantly show a great deal of thinking in problem solving, failed to see, to some extent, the coming of the railways. But then they designed some fantastic pieces of railway architecture that survives to this day, such as bridges, tunnels, stations and viaducts.
My local canal (and one of the disused railways). They do a great job restoring it. Well done with coping with the awful weather. There are bits I haven't seen before.
You caught me out, I have to admit, I have not watched it yet, I like to save them for the right cosy 'me time' when I can fully appreciate the friendliness of your creations...bless you both...need more of your legs...lol
Hi Paul and Rebecca - only recently found your canal "adventures" and was very interested in the Wey and Arun as i explored a small part of it about 40 years ago. The particular part in question was the Gosden Aqueduct near Shalford, Guildford and i still have a photo somewhere - i haven't had a chance to re visit it recently ( if it has still survived) as i now live in Wiltshire I obtained a good deal of information from " The Lost Canals of England and Wales" by Ronald Russell published in 1971 which gives a potted history of each canal plus walking details, long before RU-vid! It's a good book but could have done with a lot more photos.It a.lso contains such gems as the Tavistock canal, the Bude canal and the Liskeard and Looe Union canal to name but a few. Keep up the good work.
Just found your channel a week ago and now I'm totally hooked on your awesome videos. I'm from New Zealand and i can relate to your channel as in the Early 1990s the government privatized the railways and we lost some stunning branch lines almost overnight. Luckily communities started turning these lines into walkways and cycleways and repurposing old stations. A few groups decided to lease disused lines and are now running trips on them using modified golf carts with the longest tour journey being almost 100 miles long. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Good to see more of the disused bits. I often run over that double bridge on the Downs Link old railway between Bramley and Cranleigh where the canal went underneath. Was also at Loxwood last weekend on the very nicely restored section. Wasn't quite sunny that day :)
I always enjoy your videos. The awful weather must have made this one particularly difficult to film. Your comment about the end of the war with France is quite right however I don't know that this was the thinking of the British Government at the time. Britain had been at war with France for much of the eighteenth century and 1815 and the defeat and exile of Napoleon was a huge victory. However I guess that the thinking at the time was that within a few years Britain and France would be at eachother's throats yet again and the canal would be needed to transport goods and military material to the South Coast. I have forwarded the link to this video to my uncle as I am not sure he is still actively involved in the Wey and Arun trust.
Great video! Run Common that you mentioned, had a pub, now a private house, formerly called the Watermam's Rest, as the canal was very close by. The railway (Bramley -Cranleigh) then went close to the other side of the house and it was then called the Railway Arms. Maybe there was a Halt at Run Common?
Watching it and thinking "I do hope the weather is not as soggy as in your video" ... when I'll next be exploring disused canals, inspired by your videos! 🤞🥾⛅ Thank you for today's video, the maps / graphics were appreciated.
Loving your films as I make my way through them one a day, this was fascinating as are all your videos. We live on the Wirral Way, so if you ever need accommodation to explore this railway just get in touch. Loved the history around Radstock and Bath, used to be a copper there many years ago, now a happy artist doing bugger all really. I do appreciate how you go out in our lovely British weather, brolly akimbo.
Spent many years on the Wey with various boats with a mooring at the junction of Wey/Arun with the dreaded National Trust. Living in Portsmouth we enjoyed the delight of experiecing both ends of the Wey/Arun when on the sea or the canal. Great news they continue to try to open the canal but just how they get round the new housing estate built in place of the canal is something I always wondered?
I was just thinking that.... 😊 I didn't really notice watching on my phone or streaming to my TV, but I'm just rewatching it while listening on a nice set of headphones and the music is wonderful. Just a shame 99% of people probably won't notice the effort put into it!
Brilliant..l find these interesting...and at the same time sad... However, grateful that a group of dedicated volunteers take there time to return some to visual history...
Having a background of canal restoration projects in Swindon ( WBCT) I find these videos fascinating, specially if they have anything unique . E.G. the wheel workings. What a brilliant idea. I will investigate more details from the trust website. I did see you did cover a small section of the WBCT a while ago. You need to come back and visit the rest and what has happened since your last visit. 😁😁😁
Very, very happy you did this, it's proof that unlike wot some think, the South DID have canals, they just didn't have the traffic to sustain them. From my memory of reading about it, one of the issues with the Wey and Arun is it used to dry out.
Fantastic stuff - coming from Horsham, this is probably my “local canal”. I love the work that the wey and Arun canal trust have done but I think it will be a long time before they complete it!
It is your local canal. Take a drive out to Loxwood near Billingshurst. There is an information centre at Loxwood by the Onslo Arms. You can also take a pleasure boat on the canal at that point.
The name of the River at the end is the River Rother at Hardham, and was joined to the Arun navigation by the remains of a Lock on the grounds of Hardham Water treatment works. There is a fish pass there to enable sea trout to gain access to the Rother and for Southern water to extract from the Rother, as the Arun is tidal as far as Stopham bridge. The river Rother was navigable up as far as Midhurst.
I had to pause to look at the schematic for the water wheel. So these cunning victorians used a river running downhill to pump water uphill into the canal. Most ingenious!
