The Canal that Flowed BACKWARDS!
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- Опубліковано 19 сер 2023
- Welcome to the Story of the Wendover Canal. Its really rather quirky. This week we try and walk most of the length of this Abandoned Canal, currently being restored by the amazing people at the Wendover Canal Society. You can see their work here:
wendovercanal.org.uk/
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Going down, the water was first emptied into the side pond. Then the bottom sluices would be opened. Going up, the water in the side pond was let back into the lock first, then the top sluices were opened. This saved half a lock of water each way.
That description brings back memories!
I used them on a narrow boat holiday in the '80s. Not many people understood how they worked, or used them, but they must help keeping the summit filled by reducing the loss to the downward locks
@@Paul.J.Mitchell theyd stopped using them when i worked on that stretch. shame, as preserving water on that stretch is still a problem.
I have used them in the past, but not on the GU (can’t remember where). I wonder if any are still working; I know the majority (if not all) GU ones aren’t anymore. Apparently it’s cheaper to back-pump water than to maintain the side ponds and associated paddle gear.
@@malcolmsmith6615 The explanation given when the sideponds were taken out of use was more straightforward. Boaters were deemed too dumb to operate them successfully. Perhaps an education campaign would have been a better idea!
I had my first experience piloting a narrowboat about a month ago and went through the Tring cut and along the navigable section of the Wendover Arm to just past the Tringford Pumping Station. Amazing experience as you say navigating the Wendover Arm, keeping clear of all the vegetation. The water level on the Tring summit was low on the day we did it too which didn't help! There's no turning back once you have committed to navigating the Wendover Arm - I was very glad to make it to the turning point at the far end! Good to see you promoting the work of the Wendover Canal Trust.
Excellent, thanks for sharing martin.
That was fascinating. Thank you to all those volunteers who keep these waterways alive for others to enjoy.😊
Wonderful work being done by these Trusts. It must feel like a slap in the face to hear of the withdrawal of government funding.
How interesting. Most enjoyable. What a lovely gentleman. Obviously cares a lot. Wishing them success. Thank you Paul.
Many thanks
I became aware they were called ponds when on a barge holiday with friends in 1994 we managed to open the sluices in the wrong order and emptied out one such pond thereby grounding someone else's barge. The angry lady very helpfully shouted at us "You bunch of wallys! You've drained the pond!". I've been grateful to her for the education every since
More commonly called "pounds", ie, they impound the water.
Pound not pond
Gosh, I just coincidentally travelled down this virtually with Narrowboat that James built - a transformation in the summertime.
Thank you, very interesting topic well presented. Took me back over 50 years to a trip down the Grand Union.
I used to work for Grebe Canal Cruises on that stretch of canal from the age of 16 to 22. One day I want to do a video recreating the tour, but the pounds on either side filled up to preserve water back in the day, using 1/2 of the amount of water each time.... Edit... I see I'm not the first to say that, Glad my memory is in tact!!
That toll house and canal section was the filming location for the film 'The Bargee' with Harry H Corbett and Eric Sykes.
Lots of canals were infilled with local authority rubbish. As far as I know moving that rubbish to a modern landfill incurs Landfill Tax which is something like £100 per ton. When you add in the excavation costs and transport costs it soon starts to become prohibitively expensive. If the government want to realise the economic and health benefits of reopening the canal network for leisure purposes they need to exempt these projects from the Landfill Tax.
Another joy to watch Paul, it just gets better all the time.
Thank you.
I remember doing that very walk (started at Tring reservoir car park) about 8 years ago on a bright summers day. Absolutely brilliant walk, and got as far as the (winding?) turning area with 2 narrow boats moored there. Couldn't really get any further than that due to restoration works. My favourite part of the walk was bridge no 5, or Little Tring bridge which was completely rebuilt and opened by David Suchet (of Poirot fame) in 2001. The brickwork under the bridge is incredible, rather like an arch in an arch as the bricks are offset on a 30 degree tangent. There will be a civil engineering term for it but it eludes me... A great walk on a warm summer day. (Edit: It's called a skew arch bridge)
Very good - I used to Live near Tring 🙂🚂🚂🚂
Fascinating background to a walk I've done several times. I never realised that it was anything other than a commercial branch to serve Wendover. And to find that the crystal clear chalk stream between the church and town which is alongside the Ridgeway walk, is an essential feed! We'll done in getting the gaffer to contribute as well.
Could you do a video on the the canal that used to run through Forest Hill/Sydenham/Penge/Crystal Palace.
It’s so interesting, in Forest hill the pubs still have the rings for mooring and the wall of the canal is part of the road opposite Forest Hill train station.
Some Of the canal is still present near forest Hill boys school and near Crystal Palace. Lots of evidence hidden away.
Love your channel.
Another fabulous production from the Whitewick team this one especially because I've always had a passion for the UK's canal network,,, Keep it up👍
Those side ponds were build to save water. Instead of letting all water go down the canal in one emptying (like a boat going down), the first half of the lock was emptied into the side pond and only the other half going out down the canal. When the lock was to be filled again (boat going up) the lock was fist filled with the water from the side pond, which could fill it to almost half again, before upstream water was needed. That way water use could be almost halved. Almost as it doesn't fully work out as the side pod has a limited area.
The ponds to the sides of the locks were a water saving measure. Rather than empty into the lower canal, the lock partially empties into one of the ponds. When refilling, you first empty the pond into the lock, and then open the gates from the higher level.
The water looked crystal clear at Wendover. Another interesting video.
hello again Paul and Rebecca , great video as always , well done and thank you both 😊😍
I was raised up in Gamnel Cottages in 1970 alongside the Heygates flour mill, where my father and uncle, Danny and Harry Napper, worked as packers.
I live in Exeter now, but I always loved that stretch of water frequently walking along the Tring Cut, Wendover Arm usually joining up from Weston Turville reservoir when I lived in Stoke Mandeville passing the ornate iron bridge at Halton.
Going back to Tring to live with my father in 83, I enjoyed going to reservoirs and helping the narrowboats go through the Marsworth locks, joining the Aylesbury Arm, or travel up to Milton Keynes and beyond.
As you are a railway fan, did you know that the oldest branchline was based on further upline at Cheddington leading to Aylesbury High Street.
Another brachline I loved was the Nickey line that stretched from Boxmoor Station, Hemel Hempstead to Harpenden.
Really enjoyed that thanks Paul. Thanks for taking me along. Please take care
Thanks 👍
I was first introduced to Wendover by my ex-wife, whose mother and grandparents lived there where M-in-L met F-in-L who was an instructor at RAF Halton. I recall driving down a lane with a large ditch on one side that was part of the Wndover Arm, or a feeder to it.
Also interesting in Wendover was the disused railway with the old crossing gates still insitu.
"I just point at stuff and say 'ooooh'" -- yep, that's me too!!! 😁
Wendover (and Aylesbury) were originally meant to be on the mainline of the Grand Union Canal when first proposed, but the Squire of Amersham blocked the route further south while the people of Hertfordshire went 'yes please' instead and so the route went the long way around via those towns and the slightly higher col near Tring. That was the first of several London-Midlands transport links over the ensuing years proposed to use the most-direct and least-steep route through the Chilterns, using the Misbourne Valley and Wendover Gap, with Amersham saying no and Hertfordshire places saying yes and so the route going that way instead. The GCML uses the gap, but leaves the valley to avoid Amersham (which has since grown up the hill to reach the station). After 250 years of successful blocking (though, of course, Amersham NIMBYs killed the planning reform the Government was looking at after a bye-election - so they are still a force to be reckoned with!) there's a London-Midlands route going via Amersham. And the tunnels have been built right under the Squire's (former) estate!
Very interesting. The Colne Valley/Misbourne Valley/Wendover Gap route certainly looks geographically like a nice low-level route through the Chilterns. But the GWR Aylesbury branch was tacked on the end of their Maidenhead-Bourne End-High Wycombe branch and the GCML simply used the existing Metropolitan Railway which had been extended from Wembley and Rickmansworth. Did the Met ever consider a route via Uxbridge rather than Rickmansworth to avoid the Amersham hump? Ironic that HS2 uses the route, but is the type of train that least needs gentle gradients.
@@iankemp1131 the GCML was aiming for Denham. The Met was originally going to use the Chess Valley to get between Rickmansworth and Chesham. NIMBYs in both valleys meant a combined route on the ridge between the two.
Side ponds, used to save water.
Ah I see. That reminds me of the Caen Hill Locks in that case
Love the juxtaposition between the late winter walk and the summer interview with the chap from the trust. Great stuff :)
Canal with industrial buildings next to it, it reminds me of Armitage Shanks which is next to the Trent and Mersey Canal. Nice video Paul.
Thank you very much!
We used to go there as kids also, we often went to Tring and Ashridge forest.
I should imagine it was quite the playground
Another informative video as always. It’s a shame the follow through didn’t come out as it should have. But as historic mistakes raise their ugly facts, the follow up is now on its way. Thank you for the video as always, Paul. Hopefully this generation will see it’s proper conclusion. Regards to Rebecca, and enjoy your week ahead. Cheers Paul! ❤😊
Another very interesting show today Paul … thank you 🙏
Another fascinating video Paul! Low score on the Whitewick bingo though! No 'portals'... No ' Dooblydoo'...
You've gotta be in it to win it.
@@pwhitewick I pay my monthly subs!
I love towing paths.
Salut from Brunswick, Maine, US....
8:45 "...but I'm no wildlife expert, so I just point at stuff and say, 'Ooh!' "
Those ponds to the side are a water saving measure, so not everytime a lock changes level, the water goes down stream.
So to lower a ship, first the lock levels between the pond to the side. and only after that, the lock empties the last bit to make it level down stream. To go up that water stored in the side pond is allowed to levle with the lock again, raising up the ship a bit with the water that is saved from previous dropping.
you'd love Louch Hyne here in West Cork, Ireland. It has an inlet to the sea that runs both ways. It forms a series of rapids that reverse with the tide.
...and a few marine species unique to that Lough, no?
Lough Hyne, a wonderful place visited West Cork by bicycle several times 1970-1990's. Camped beside Lough Hyne with my late father in September 79' a great memory.
Great little video there Paul , even if it does look very wet and muddy , this is the things we should be invested in making a better world again
They are a water saving device - are quite effective - if you want to see these actually working go look at the Droitwich Canal near Hanbury - there are lots of these around but most are derelict
Thanks!
Thank you Lynn
The side ponds were used to save water. The lock was emptied into it first, then filled up from it first. They usually save about 1/3 of the water needed to use the lock.
Thanks Paul and Rebeca 👍
There are 3 (or more) local nature reserves at the Grand Union Canal end of the Wendover Arm several of them naturalised lakes made from disused quarries ...
There is much nature in that area, I know it well ...
Being pedantic:) it was the Grand Junction canal that had two summits (Tring summit being one). The Grand Union - being a conglomeration of several older canals including the Grand Junction - had several more.
Thank you Paul, I'm an ex HGV driver, who has passed Tring just a few times in my life 😉, And only now know why in the back of my mind was always that feeling I should know this place,
If you ever get chance, there is a lot here to see. loads Grims Dyke, the ridgeway, plus the rails, and canals!
Another enjoyable and informative video. Thank you😊
Thumbs up for the music choice. Excellent balance between narration and background music too. Perfect accompaniment to a towpath stroll.
Great and very Interesting Thanks Paul
the a41 also cuts through the canal at newport shropshire
Fascinating as always. Great to see something about Tring that isn't dominated by zebras or fleas!
It's a lovely irony that the canal restoration trust has received money from the HS2 fund! Who says things don't turn full circle?!! Thanks for this one, Paul, I had no idea it even existed.
The HS2 Marketing team are woeful. A 345 mile route (originally) that does less damage to ancient woodlands than the 14 mile lower Thames ROAD crossing (Woodland trusts own stats) and they still cannot convince people of the good it will bring.
Youre getting better and better,just shows how tv is a waste of time and money.
TY🙏🙏
Good video guys I’ve walked that section of the canal and also Tring reservoirs as well as walking the whole canal in sections from London to Birmingham
Very interesting video, thanks Paul
Wow. Timely thorough interview and exploration of the Wendover arm of the Grand Union Canal. I'll mention your video in the comments of another YTube person who has some restoration videos as well.
Aren’t they (the pools beside locks) used to refill the lock quickly after it has been used?
Actually it takes longer using the side ponds but it saves water.
Ah,,,my neck of the woods!
Hope you had a good day :)
Tring, tring.... Won't someone answer that phone?
Looks like this video has been in the planning for quite some time, thanks for all your work.
Great to see the Wendover Arm again. I keep meaning to get back to see the restoration progress.
Really interesting to learn that the Wendover Arm had the primary function of feeding the Grand Union and that leakages etc which led to its disastrous failure in this respect, led to its closure - but later provided the impetus for its full restoration. A great project with some stiff challenges ahead, but looks in capable hands to drive it westwards to Wendover.
End of Winter? Yes here in Australia it is!
Great video Paul & Rebecca … my neck of the woods!
Living in Aylesbury, I’ve walked along the Wendover Arm & around the reservoirs at Tring on a good few occasions. There is the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal too . Going back to Wendover .. did you walk along the Wendover Road towards Aylesbury to see the remains of the old Railway level crossing .. gates of which are now at The Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton
Very interesting topic and a video long in the making. ^^
8:48 So do I!
Saw a quick glance there so not 100%, but on nearby Aylesbury Arm, some of fences are made with old rails from the closed Aylesbury High St - Cheddington railway
superb as ever thank you
I used to go fishing with my late Grandfather there.
Closest Wendover to me was a very rough pub where everybody got their drugs. Lol. Yours is better.
Branches like that might lend themselves (once restored) to having daily 'excursion' canal rides -- restore/rebuild an old canal boat, outfit it to carry 20-40 passengers, and haul it (mules!) the length of the canal and charge a nominal fee -- meanwhile someone speaks on the boat during the trip with the local history -- canal and more. There are a *VERY* few excursion rides like this in the US (so many canals are long gone). Not sure if they actually turn a profit, but it's a great way to introduce the public to the history of canals....
Don’t know if it still happens, but there used to be open days, when it was possible to visit the pumping station and they ran the the old steam pump in steam. From the days When I could walk: park car in carpark adjacent to Marsworth Reservior, around Tringford Reservior, fp upto Wendover arm, pass pumping station , Bulborne, back along GU to very pleasant Bluebell cafe adjacent to starting point.
Oooh good question. It would be good to think that might still be the case.
Got to love a canal video, thanks.
I’m not sure if they are side ponds where you ran water into them when emptying the lock then when filling you ran it back in which saved about half a lock of water OR if they are the old narrow locks when the locks through that section were widened to allow wide beams. They weren’t all done which is why you still can’t take a wide beam from north to south on the network.
There are definitely some side ponds on that stretch of the GU. Back in the 80's we decided to use one, although overgrown, the paddles were still working. We got shouted at by a local...
Was part of this canal used in "The Bargee", film with Ronnie Barker and Harry H Corbett?
I'm slightly frustrated as again, Paul and Rebecca visit near my location, and I've missed them!
Extraordinary coincidence,I cycled that section4 days ago.
In a much better state because of the work of the Trust I think.
@@pwhitewick yes,hats off to them.
Another very interesting video.
How are they preventing leaks? What sort of liner (HDPE?)
I'm surprised you didn't use your ebike. I love riding along toe paths
All these videos make me wonder what percentage of the UK landscape hasn't been changed by people in some way, over the millennia. Not vegetation/cover, but by earthworks and the like. Interesting to think about anyway.
Absolutely great question. I guess more than we realise.
As a non-native to Great Britain, I'd venture to opine the percentage of the landscape is vanishingly small. One of the first things that struck me when I visited your country was that there was just how thoroughly man has left his/her trace on the landscape. Compared to the ever-present wilderness of North America, the landscape of Britain is very domesticated. However, even here man has left his mark everywhere: for example, the pre-Colombian inhabitants were in the habit of setting fires in the woods & grasslands to improve the hunting. Some would say that only to European eyes was the landscape "virgin wilderness".
My first essay I had to write at University was in reply to "Is there such thing as a natural landscape in England" (or was it UK). ... interesting question!
Here's hoping that restoration includes the planting of trees, in quantity.
Hi Paul 😊... nice scenery btw ... how can a canal with locks flow backwards or I thought canals hardly had any flow at all anyway ... I'm puzzled 🤔
So basically this canal didn't have any Locks. But... it did flow backwards on account that it leaked!
@@pwhitewick ohhh... now I get it 😛
Thanks Paul .. you had me puzzled for a while . That must've been a chronic leak or breach .. was it only in the same location or in multiple sites along the course ?
👍👍❤❤😎😎
Personnaly, I think all the Roman roads should be reconstructed and everything else removed.
Have you done one of the Rochdale canal broke it banks and flooded Middleton Rochdale?
Not yet I'm afraid.
😊
Wendover Productions
A bit of trivia - the top lock at Tring was one of the filming locations for the 1964 Galton and Simpson comedy “The Bargee”. Not the funniest movie you’ll ever see (in fact a bit of a duffer) but I’ve got a soft spot for it because it revolves around the last days of commercial traffic on the canals, inadvertently becoming a kind of historical record in its own right. ua-cam.com/video/m6Hf2vKtpYs/v-deo.html
My backyard Paul.... when were you there ?
Last week, and about 6 months ago!
Can'tal
Actual this is.
Is Yoda doing your captions?
Great comment this is.
300 quid per metre is quite alarming...!
I thought that, but then you think it's not just chucking down some stone, it'll be excavating the soil, putting down a base and then the final surface. All that has to be purchased/disposed of and then transported down a narrow, ever-lengthening path to site. Throw in insurances, administration, plant rental, possible footpath closures(?) and it all adds up.
The tow paths are used by walkers, runners and cyclists for Free. They do not pay for the up keep then complain they are muddy. Boaters and anglers pay to use the canals. All users should pay.
If it leaked then, will it not leak now?
I think part of their mammoth task is relining!
Horrible weather. No signs or Rebecca. She’s a game lass, surely not worried her makeup will run in the rain?
I'm not sure there were side ponds on the GU. More likely they are the sites/remains of the old narrow locks which were removed after the upgrade to wide locks in the 30's. Many old narrow locks were made into spillways/weirs to regulate water levels in the pounds between locks.
HS2 money? They should just spend the lot on the canals.
8:55 these canals was built, and they were used for a purpose. Yesterday, their purpose was not needed anymore. Today, they have no purpose, except for the history they possess, and the scenery, along with the man made nature, they provide.
If you desire for people to participate in these canals, especially if local. You need to provide a purpose for the canals to exist. If you want to bring people and families to the neighborhoods, and the areas surrounding these canals. For the rejuvenation of these communities, or even for the purpose of building memories and stories to tell others about these canals. You need to have a purpose for these canals to exist.
Transportation of goods is probably not going to be the most efficient option for business, and the other options that was used in the past, probably are not going to be much of a benefit, either.
What if there was a race, if this race was to be held biannually, at the beginning of the season, and the end of the season. This race could be to see who can transport so much of a type of goods, from A to B, and B to C, C to D, etc… Points across such as C to Q, could also be had. If points were awarded for the time, and/or the type and amount of goods transported, with points being deducted for, getting too close to the edge of the canal. Maybe disturbing wildlife, such as if there is a duck, that landed in the canal, if the duck took off flying, and the barge was too close, unless the duck landed too close to the barge. Or if someone on the shore was too close and the duck flew off, such as they were acting in part of the barge captain.
In communities where it might be a community activity. People could take their weekends and/or people could make their primary income, with small docks, which they could prepare goods, or process raw materials, and then they could, place them in smaller barges, if needed, with clear covers to keep other people from tampering with them, especially if baked goods, or materials that will become baked goods. The smaller barges could be floated down by currents, and if needed, they could be placed on barges that are powered by rc boat motors, placed on their smaller barges. To other people who have their own small docks which they are producing goods or further processing materials themselves. That means that a person could watch something that they bought, being produced by the hands of people, probably from their own community, or the community they were visiting. Imagine someone with a small oven, baking muffins, and they pick up their mobile device, and click several places, and a few minutes later, they have a small barge floating up to their dock, with fresh strawberries on it. If there was a honer system in the vendors up and down the canal, the person receiving the strawberries, could place the currency, in a slot in the barge, where it was not out in the view of everyone, and it was secureish. There could even be people who would be rc barge captains, especially in the canals that didn’t have a strong current or not quick enough, or too long of a distance. Imagine placing an order for a basket, and seeing the choice of material and trim being delivered, then every time you look at it later, for years to come. Knowing that it was produced by several different people in your community, or one that you had visited. These people would be doing something that they enjoy, and would be making some side money, if not their primary income, while others would be entertained.
You know, giving the canals a purpose, entertaining.
What about some gambling. Have a bunch of minibarges made, like 200, 300, or more. If the canal has a good flow rate. On each minibarge, place a number, or charge for people to place their name in a minibarge. Then release them into the canal and see which one gets to the other point, and/or you could have several horse shoe shaped contraptions, that the minibarges could get trapped in. With one or multiple minibarges being released from up stream, and each horse shoe spot being marked with a award of money, goods, or other prizes. The minibarges could be used many times over, and sold to provide additional funds for the rejuvenation of the canals and the maintenance of the bridges and features.
The councils that dumped rubbish in the canals need to be fined for fly tipping 😂😂😂😂 and made to clear it up under a community service order.
Mildly distracting to be cutting between three different views for your interviewee!
Impressive as I only had 2 camera's!
I had the pleasure of living in this area in the 80s and 90s, and the Wendover arm - specifically around Halton (and on up to Buckland) - was a delight to see in the Autumn. It probably looked pretty grim on the rainy day that you visited though! so between that and time constraints, I can see why you kind of skipped over it!
Last time I saw Drayton bridge was around 1989. Its concrete facing was horrendous, even then, and as there wasn't a drop of water in the cut for at least a mile in each direction it just sat there looking isolated and abandoned. I've still got a pic of my (then wife) standing on the empty bank of the canal.
Full marks to what the WCS has achieved since that time, and good luck with their plans for the future. Given what they've already achieved, I'm sure they will attain their goal.
Funny - I used to go trainspotting in Tring too!
If I recall you need a quick eye!
@@pwhitewick Steam trains were a lot slower.