Geary’s Bridge No 33 (Ashby Canal) – Wednesday 22nd
July
We availed ourselves of the Snarestone facilities, winded
and set off back down the canal.
Richard had mended the tunnel light, the bulb had gone, so
when we went back into the tunnel, I didn’t have to be Linda the Light this
time! When the canal was built, to cross under Snarestone village without
building a costly flight of locks, engineers excavated the 250 yard tunnel,
which was completed in 1804. Both tunnel portals are Grade II listed. To me they just look like tunnel portals, but
apparently, they are grandly built from ashlar and rusticated stone (whatever
that is!). Positioned directly above the arch head on both portals are recessed
stone niches. These originally held commemorative plaques or inscriptions,
though the lettering has eroded or been lost over the past two centuries.
We lost Richard’s special mug in an incident where a chap
came round the corner on the wrong side of the canal.
Richard had to quickly reverse and ended up
in a hawthorn bush.
His mug was full of
coffee on the taff rail and got knocked onto the deck and broke.
It was a sad time
☹
I had lost
my matching one a year ago, so I hope they are now together again in mug heaven.
We
went passed Shackerstone, or Sacrestone as it was known in the Domesday Book of
1086. Shackerstone is the home of the Battlefield
Line Railway which was originally part of the 1873 Ashby and Nuneaton Joint
Railway which closed to passengers in 1931 and freight in 1969, when it was
saved by volunteers to preserve local rural railway history. Sadly, it only runs diesel trains during the
week and we don’t like diesel trains! An
interesting fact for you! A significant
royal event in the line's history occurred in December 1902, when the brand-new
royal train made its very first official outing which was to Shackerstone Station. Onboard were King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra, and Princess
Victoria. They were travelling to visit
Earl Howe at Gopsall Hall - the famous country estate near Market Bosworth
where George Frideric Handel is said to have composed parts of Messiah.
We
were aiming at mooring on the pontoons at Sutton Wharf where we had moored on
the way up. We pulled in but it was
really too hot so we moved on a bit and found a really nice mooring where we
could sit out under the trees.
During
the evening a very strange boat came passed us.
We had heard about it but hadn’t seen it. It was exhibited at the 2026 Crick Boat Show
and drew a lot of attention and gained names such as the floating shoebox and
an air fryer! We thought it was ugly but
I guess there are people out there who like it as is it a hire boat which costs
over £1000 for the weekend. This is NB
Theta which is definitely a Marmite boat!
11 miles
River Anker Aqueduct (Ashby Canal) – Thursday 23rd
July
A mixed day of cloud and sun.
The canal seemed to be getting more and more difficult to
navigate when passing other boats. We ended
up on the bottom more than once, but nothing serious thank goodness.
We went passed Hinckley where a railway branch, the Hinckley
Branch, was built in the 1870s. The Midland
Railway and the North Western Railway were locked in a territorial was over the
lucrative coal and mineral trade in the area. To settle their disputes, they
agreed to build a joint network. The
line was completed but before it could open the companies got into a massive
corporate deadlock over running rights and operational fees. Neither side would give in so the line was
abandoned without a single train going along it.
We stopped at bridge 23 to go to the Spinney Bank Farm
Shop. It is a must for visitors to the
canal. Our freezer was pretty jammed so
I couldn’t buy that much ☹ However I managed to buy two, yummy looking
steaks and some bits for the BBQ. Oh,
and one huge onion!!
We
were hoping to stop at the River Anker Aqueduct again. We managed on the way up, but only just. This time the whole mooring stretch was empty
– well until we turned up! However, by
about 5pm the stretch was full.
I was doing a few things on the boat and looked out of the side hatch to see what the others were doing - they were all studying their phones intently!
Here is some information on the Ashby Canal. It was
authorized by Parliament in 1794 to tap into the rich coalfields and limestone
quarries around Measham and Moira. When it was finished in 1804 the entire 30 mile
route from Marston Junction to Ashby Woulds was built without a single lock by
carefully following the natural 300 foot contour of the land. In 1846, as the railway boom swept the UK,
the canal was purchased by the Midland Railway Company. Unlike many other
canals that were immediately closed by railway companies to kill competition,
the Ashby Canal remained highly profitable, carrying over 140,000 tons of coal
per year well into the late 1800s.
Between the 1940s and the 1960s, because the canal ran directly overactive
coal seams, the ground beneath it began to shift and sink. This severe mining
subsidence caused the canal bed to crack and lose water. Unable to keep up with
the damage, the northernmost 8 miles were progressively closed and abandoned
between 1944 and 1966, cutting the navigable route down to its current 22
miles. In 1966 the very last regular
commercial coal boat travelled down the canal, marking the end of its life as
an industrial transport network. It was subsequently classified as a
"Cruiseway," transitioning entirely into a recreational route for
narrowboats. At that point the Ashby Canal Association was formed to stop the
canal from being abandoned and filled in
Then in 2000 the Ashby Canal Trust was created as a strategic umbrella
group. Its board includes representatives from local authorities, the Inland
Waterways Association, the National Forest Company, and the ACA itself. They
then launched an ambitious effort to reclaim the lost northern sections. A
major milestone was reached when a small, isolated section at the historic
Moira Furnace was restored and re-watered. Active work continues to gradually
push the main navigation north past Snarestone to eventually reconnect the
entire line.
8 miles
Cherrytree Farm Bridge No 33 (Ashby Canal) – Friday 24th
July
It was goodbye to the Ashby Canal. I’m glad we did it as it is a lovely canal
even though it was shallow. We had heard
that the canal had been dredged earlier on in the year, so were quite surprised
it was so shallow in places. It turns
out that CRT had only done a 3.7 mile stretch, not the whole thing!
Tracey and I decamped, with the dogs, for a walk to Marston
Junction. We then turned right onto the
Coventry Canal. You may remember when we
came off the Oxford Canal onto the Coventry Canal that there is a stop lock as
the Coventry Canal Company wanted to protect their water, well it was the same
at Marston Junction where they required the Ashby Canal Company to build a stop
lock at the junction. In 1819, both companies jointly funded a modification to
narrow the lock chamber. The lock gates were eventually removed, leaving the
Ashby Canal completely lock-free for its entire navigable length. Historical maps and archaeological records
show that two key canal buildings once flanked the junction: "Lock
House" and "Canal House." These provided housing for lock
keepers and toll collectors overseeing traffic between the two canals. Although
the structures were demolished in the 20th century, their site footprints
remain visible near the junction banks.
It was so nice to be away from the overgrown and shallow
Ashby. Suddenly it felt as if we were on
the M1 of the canals (for the width not the speed!).
We passed Margaret and Tony on
NB Huffler. Margaret is a long time blogger and we have
known them for many years now though we haven’t seen them for a long time. It was really nice to see them. Once again, I forgot to take a photo, though
Margaret took one of us departing and has kindly shared it with me.
We stopped near the The Anchor Inn Hartshill and Steve and
Tracey went to investigate but decided it was not for us, plus there was a
marquee in the garden with people setting up for some sort of a party. We moved on!
The next place was nice, under the trees with a wide towpath, then we
started to smell a rather unpleasant smell, so moved on again. We were lucky the third time at Cherrytree
Farm bridge, it sounded nice and it was.
This photo shows just how low the water level is.
9 miles
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