Stanley

I set off purposefully on this afternoon to continue my rather lapsed investigation of our local stretch of a disused canal, the Wilts and Berks. Looking at the map I could see sections that are simply unreachable on foot and are on private land. Some of it has been built over, but the plans of its restoration are undaunted. There is an ambitious plan in Melksham, for example, to join it to the Kennet and Avon at Semington, very close to its original source, by means of a new diverted section running in part along the River Avon, which would greatly enhance the town centre, with funding looking likely to fall into place.

One section that looked promising to explore was in Stanley, a small village a couple of miles away from Calne. I had previously found the spot where it used to flow under the road on Stanley's main street, and the spot where it was carried over the River Marden on an aqueduct. It was the collapse of the aqueduct that hastened the closure of the canal. I parked near the point where the canal runs under the railway path that I had walked along two days before. The old canal is still visible but is now little more than a ditch.

The path I took is not a right of way but is used by anglers who fish at the Marden. It was extremely marshy underfoot and crossed a somewhat flooded field inhabited by these sheep. It turned out to lead to the same spot where the aqueduct had been that I had visited before, the canal path now separated by an electric fence to keep the sheep from venturing too far and falling in. Alas, there is no means to cross the river, so I could not get to the section I had wished to explore.

Smokey joined me in the study where I was working on the pictures later that evening, but although I took a few pictures, I decided to use a photo from my outing as a blip.

L.
16.1.2014

Blip #1152
Consecutive Blip #014
Day #1391

Wilts and Berks Canal series

Lozarhythm Of The Day:
Nina Simone - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (1964)

One year ago: Smokey 1307 hr