Tag: canal

A canal walk through Chalford

The wooded valley rises sharply on either side, the River Frome runs along the valley bottom, and stone cottages cling to the slopes on either side.

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I set out for a walk along the canal, not intending anything more than a quick explore. I began near Chalford and thought of walking in the Stroud direction, but on the spur of the moment I decided to follow the canal through Chalford village instead as I hadn’t gone that way before.

This is a typical view of the canal in this section
A gentle stroll turns into a major plan

I was enjoying my walk and soon decided to extend it as far as the mouth of the canal tunnel at Daneway Inn. While driving home afterwards I had the idea of walking the entire route in small chunks. So I now have a plan for the old Thames and Severn canal; I’ve done several sections previously, but this time I hope to repeat the walks, covering as much as possible in short sections, and writing up each walk for Journeys of Heart and Mind (JHM).

Part of the canal runs through a tunnel with several sections blocked by collapses, some other sections run through private property and can’t be accessed. Others have been filled in, turned into roads, or are otherwise not walkable. But where the canal has been restored, the towpaths are in great condition. Elsewhere, towpaths are usually passable, especially in dry weather, and they are usually open for use even when the canal itself remains derelict.

Making a start

I was able to park the car right by the tow path (Map), just off London Road west of Chalford (very near Belvedere Mews). Don’t assume you’ll be able to do the same; you might, but there’s only room for half a dozen cars here.

The canal is quite derelict in this section, there’s water in it at many points, but not everywhere. The stonework and brickwork of the locks is severely damaged, and more recent structures such as pipes and small bridges cross the canal and will need to be rerouted or rebuilt. In places the canal has been filled in and one section has been used as a diversion and is now part of the River Frome. The eastern part of today’s route will be very expensive to restore; there are, for example, sixteen locks to rebuild, and not just a simple refurbishment of the masonry and new, timber, lock gates. For the most part it will be a combination of restoration and refacing where possible, but full reconstruction from scratch in many places where the damage is particularly severe.

It’s hard to grasp how destructive the natural world is to our built environment. The canal was dug 235 years ago (completed in 1789) and during its period of use must have been well maintained and repaired whenever necessary. The last narrow boat traffic passed this way about 100 years ago. It was already in bad shape by then, but natural decay, leaks and the growth of trees has resulted in the dereliction we see today.

Section by section

Leaving the car, and carrying my rucksack with a water bottle, I headed east along the tow path. I didn’t take a map, but the path is well marked. I subscribe to the OS maps on my phone (good enough for walks like this) and next time I plan to use the OS 6-inch map for 1892 to 1914 to better understand the canal’s surroundings while it was still in use.

The River Frome in Chalford

(Hint: Click any image to enlarge it.)

The section through Chalford village is very pretty, on the information boards it’s likened to a Swiss valley. That’s a fair comparison, I think. The wooded valley rises sharply on either side, the River Frome (or Stroudwater) runs along the valley bottom, and stone cottages cling to the slopes on either side. If you could only visit one place along the canal, Chalford would be an excellent choice.

Swan’s nest

Beyond the eastern end of Chalford, the tow path passes a lake on the left; originally this was a mill pond, supplying water to turn the wheel at Baker’s Mill. When the canal was constructed, water supply was a frequent problem and the mill pond was extended by the canal engineers to keep this section of the canal full enough even when the locks were operating frequently due to higher traffic levels. The lake is partly silted up now, especially close to the mill, and it has become a wildlife reserve. Passing this point I spotted a swan’s nest in use and a group of mallards nearby.

Marsh marigold in the canal

Some sections of the canal are badly silted and are full of plants like this glorious marsh marigold close to Siccaridge Wood. The nature reserve is well worth a visit if you have time. The site stretches up the hill from the canal and faces south, so it’s a warm spot when the sun shines and likely avoids early frosts in autumn and late ones in the spring. Further on again, a small footbridge crosses the canal and the tow path continues on the north bank until it reaches Daneway Lane.

I stopped at the Daneway Inn for a lovely Coronation Chicken sandwich with a simple salad and some crisps along with a welcome cup of coffee. I have to report that service was prompt and I felt welcomed. The canal continues a little further and the path resumes from the corner of the Inn car park. The tunnel portal (Map) looks mysterious and, frankly, uninviting. It would have been an adventure to travel through the tunnel in a narrow boat; one day it may be possible again!

The north-western portal of the tunnel
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Cirencester Wharf

There would have been bargaining and haggling, tobacco smoked and ale downed

Modern residents of Cirencester may not know that the town once had a wharf where canal boats tied up to load and unload goods of all kinds, including coal, manufactured goods, and timber. There were small hand-operated cranes on the quayside to help with handling heavy items.

The canal was a branch from the main Thames & Severn Canal that ran through Siddington and is currently being restored by the Cotswold Canals Trust.

So where was the wharf?

The wharf lay at the bottom of what is now Querns Hill, less than half a mile south of where Cricklade Street meets the Market Place. It was an easy trip by horse and cart for any of the businesses in the town in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and would have been a bustling hub of activity. The area was large enough to turn arriving barges for the trip back to Siddington; imagine the sounds and smells as horses were harnessed and roped for departure or released to rest and graze after arrival. Money would have changed hands as goods were loaded or unloaded from carts and dreys. There would have been bargaining and haggling, tobacco smoked and ale downed, jokes and banter and laughter, bread, cheese and meat passed around. People would have greeted one another and said their goodbyes because barges were used to carry passengers as well as goods.

Does anything remain?

Surprisingly, yes! Parts of the towpath remain as footpaths and can still be walked, though the canal has been filled in and there’s no sign of it in the area near the wharf. There are dry stone walls that were once the boundary walls of the canal; you can see these when you know what to look for. And it’s not hard to trace the route of the canal on foot.

Begin near the bottom of Querns Hill, where it meets Querns Lane and Sheep Street, find the view in the location photo below.

Location of the wharf

You are now looking at the site of the old wharf. It stretched from close to the building on the left (beyond the parked cars and the wall) across to the right hand edge of the photo. The canal leading from the wharf headed directly through the building in the centre of the photo and on through the trees in the centre.

The trees follow the line of the old canal

The photo above shows the same trees but looks back towards the wharf; the buildings on the left are close to those in the first photo. The canal would have more or less followed the line of trees from the buildings on the left right up to the yellow vehicle, and the course of the towpath remains along the garden boundaries hidden by the parked cars. Turning 180° from this view there is a house built over the route of the canal, but walking around it and crossing the road, the footpath between the houses is again the old towpath. What’s more, a dry stone wall on the left hand side of this path is almost certainly the old boundary wall that ran along both sides of the canal. The wall is high here, about 2 m, but beyond the town and in farmland the wall was only 1 m or so. It’s easy to visualise the canal here, mentally remove the tree, imagine water where the grass is, and you have it!

The old towpath and boundary wall, the canal was where the grass is

I was quite surprised to find so much remaining and still identifiable. Local history can be very fascinating and sometimes the detective work is easier than expected. It would be nice to have some of these remains marked and explained on noticeboards.

If anyone reading this is interested in helping to research the Cirencester Branch of the canal, please leave a comment below and I’ll make contact.

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(Article updated 20th July 2020)