Aqueducts of the Inland Waterways

Tame Aqueduct Fazeley Junction

2012-01-22T17:38:00.000Z

Tame Aqueduct - Tamworth

January 2012

This is an image of Shadow crossing the Tame Aqueduct - borrowed from Halfie's blogsite.

Hazlehurst Railway Aqueduct

2011-10-02T20:33:00.001+01:00

Hazlehurst Railway Aqueduct
Near Leek
October 2011

I saw this aqueduct when I visited the Caldon last year and whilst I managed to get a photo of the canal and river aqueducts, the aqueduct over the abandoned railway tracks seemed inaccessible. This time the offside moorings were vacant and I saw a small path down the embankment to the recently cleared track.

Another for my collection.

Went Aqueduct

2011-09-04T19:04:00.001+01:00

Went Aqueduct
New Junction Canal

The New Junction Canal has aqueducts at both ends - not bad for a waterway which is barely five miles long.

Went Aqueduct

In my last post I looked at the Don Aqueduct but this time I turn my attention a few miles north to the Went Aqueduct, its no less substantial alter ego. True, it dosn't have those impressive guillotine gates but as a structure it is very similar. The same oversize steel channel with water so deep the base is obliged to lie in the water below.

Don Aqueduct

2011-09-04T18:45:00.000+01:00

Don Aqueduct
New Junction Canal

Of all the aqueducts on the UK's Inland Waterways network, this is probably the big daddy of them all.

I knew very little of the New Junction Canal till we turned onto it from the Stainforth and Keadby and suddenly, there it was. A huge great lump of an aqueduct carrying the commercial sized NJC over the River Don. The canal it carries is so large and so deep that the immense cassion goes pretty much down to the river's surface, leaving the water to flow under it like a sump.

River Don Aqueduct, South Yorkshire

But its not only its size which is impressive. Each end is guarded with an immense guillotine gate which ads enormously to its grandeur as you approach it from the water.

Don Aqueduct with its belly hanging into the waters below

The aqueduct also serves as an overspill, with surplus water cascading over its sides into the Don below. The sides of the aqueduct bear testimony to the weights involved, sagging down bewteen the supports.

Don Aqueduct with its undulating edge.

Tame Aqueduct

2011-09-04T11:52:00.000+01:00

Tame Aqueduct
Huddersfield Narrow Canal

Just to the west of Stalybridge you come to the last (or first depending on your line of travel) aqueduct on the Huddersfield Narrrow.

Its a precarious iron trough carrying the navigation channel over the River Tame but unusually it has a parallel stone bridge to carry the towpath.

Tame Aqueduct, Stalybridge

Royal George Aqueduct

2011-09-04T11:45:00.002+01:00

Royal George Aqueduct
Huddersfield Narrow Canal

Lying just to the west of Uppermill is the Royal George Aqueduct - one which nearly got away.

Royal George Aqueduct

The rain was slipping down but eased off just enough to let me slide down the bank and grab a single photo before the heavens opened again and I had to hastily tuck my camera inside my waterproofs.

Old Sag Aqueduct

2011-09-04T11:39:00.000+01:00

Old Sag Aqueduct Dobcross
Huddersfield Narrow Canal

Just to the east of the Dobcross Transhipment Warehouse lies Old Sag Aqueduct which carries the canal over Diggle Brook.

Right from the start this aqueduct suffered and the profile of its arch distorted under the weight of water it carried. Like a weebil, it wobbled but didnt fall down, bending but stabilising itself. When the canal was reopened it was repaired using a new steel liner, but the peculiar sag was left in place.

Old Sag Aqueduct, Dobcross

Colne Aqueduct

2011-09-04T11:28:00.000+01:00

Colne Aqueduct
Huddersfield Narrow Canal

Having crossed to the southern side of the River Colne just north of Huddersfield, the canal now switches back to the north side, just above a pretty weir which serves as a swimming hole for the locals.

Colne Aqueduct

River Colne

Paddock Foot Aqueduct

2011-09-04T11:22:00.000+01:00

Paddock Foot Aqueduct

Huddersfield Narrow Canal
Update August 2011
2011 saw a return visit to the HNC, this time tackling it from the eastern end. Vegetation growth prevented me getting a better shot of the north side of Paddock Foot, but I did get an image of the south face, complete with a water cascade which is a result of a very leaky adjacent lock chamber.

Paddock Foot Aqueduct Huddersfield

Carries the Hudersfield Narrow Canal over the River Colne and into a lock of the same name, overlooked by a stunning railway viadict on the outskirts of Huddersfield.
Built around 1811 and closed to navigation in 1944, when the canal was abandoned. Reopened in 2001as part of the HNC restoration project.
Is located at the end of an impossibly filthy and shallow pound. Good luck to all who sail along it (the rest of the canal is fab!).

The Captain's own collection

Stanley Ferry Aqueducts

2011-09-04T06:00:00.000+01:00

Stanley Ferry Aqueducts

Aire and Calder Navigation

Update August 2011
We finally made it to the Yorkshire navigations and crossed the new aqueduct en route to Huddersfield. Of Course, we just had to stop whilst I grabbed some photos of my own.

The old Stanley Ferry Aqueduct

and the new one

Stanley Ferry moorings

Its difficult to reach these far flung aqueducts from a Midlands base, so it is always a pleasure when a fellow blogger manages to get a really good photo, and then kindly allows me to add it to my collection.

I have nb Gypsy Rover to thank for this excellent view of the original Stanley Ferry Aqueduct, a cast iron marvel built in 1839 to cross the River Calder. Technically it is a version of a compression arch suspended deck bridge, which is built on the same lines as the Sydney Harbour Bridge - but much more exciting because it carries 940 tons of water rather than boring old cars.

Whilst is may be nowhere as big as it's antipodean relative, it is none the less a world record holder in that it is the longest cast iron structure of its kind, measuring in at 165 ft long, 28ft wide and 8ft 6in deep, to accommodate the serious commercial traffic which used to operate in the area.

The structure is built around two huge cast iron arches from which the trough is suspended using 35 2 1/4in cast iron hangers, cast at the Milton Ironworks and designed by George Leather.

This site has something of a bonus in the form of a second pre stressed concrete aqueduct, built in 1981 to carry traffic whilst the original was being renovated. This second aqueduct may be a poor cousin in the aesthetics stakes, but it is unusual to see two operating aqueducts running side by side.

Edstone Aqueduct

2011-07-15T22:19:00.000+01:00

Edstone Aqueduct

Stratford Canal

1 June 2009

Update May 2011
During a recent trip along the Stratford Canal I picked up these extra images of this impressive aqueduct:

Edstone, sometimes referred to as the Bearley Aqueduct after the nearby village, is to be found on the Stratford Canal and holds the record as being the longest aqueduct in England.

The aqueduct was built in the early 1800's and spans a road and the Alcester Railway (now the Great Western Railway) via a 250 yard cast iron trough sitting atop 13 brick piers, which vary in height from eight to eleven metres. The channel itself is similar to that used at Longden upon Tern, with the towpath forming part of the baseplate.

www.warwickshirerailways.com

This structure is full of historical interest, and at one time was owned by the Great Western Railway, who fitted a pipe onto it an used it to refill the tanks of passing steam trains.

It also serves as a backdrop for one of the few photos of the infamous canoeist who purchased a solitary license in March 1953 and made a passage along the length of the canal over a series of chilly weekends, a purchase which saved the canal from abandonment. The rest is, as they say, history.

www.stratfordcanalsociety.org.uk

The trough was built without expansion joints, an omission which caused two cast iron plates to break apart and, over a period of 150 years to cause the end buttresses to start to move away from the embankments. The National Trust did a quick and dirty fix in the 1960's, welding a steel plate over the gap and building a concrete buttress to prop up each end. Sadly, these fixes ultimately did more harm than good, with impermeable layers preventing the escape of moisture and allowing the frost to inflict further structural damage.

A proper expansion joint was added in 1992 and then in 2003, some major remedial work was undertaken by Galliford Try. This involved removing the waterproof Gunnite from the buttresses, replacing the engineering bricks inserted into the piers and finally stripping all the lead paint off the cast iron trough before applying a new coat of paint. This £600,000 project was completed under a huge movable tent, without interrupting boat movements and was jointly funded by BW and the Hertitage Lottery Fund on a 7:5 split. Hopefully this investment will see the aqueduct carrying narrowboats in another 200 years time.

Selly Oak Aqueduct

2011-07-15T20:15:00.001+01:00

Selly Oak Aqueduct
Worcester and Birmingham
February 2010

Update July 2011
Things have moved on with this aqueduct, which was opened for business about six months ago. During a trip to the new Droitwich Canal I paused and scrambled down the bank to grab the following shots:

Selly Oak Aqueuct - towpath view

Selly Oak Aqueduct in profile

And as a bonus this little river aqueduct can be found alongside the new one!

Birmingham is about to get a brand new aqueduct at Selly Oak.

This structure will carry the Worcester and Birmingham Canal over a new by pass at Selly Oak and will involve all sorts of temporary diversions whilst it is being built.

For the time being we can see where it will go from this photo taken by Waterway Routes:

New Selly Oak Aqueduct

Yarningale Aqueduct

2011-07-15T17:53:00.000+01:00

Yarningale Aqueduct
Stratford Canal
3 June 2009

Update May 2011
Another trip and another set of photos:

Yarningale is part of a trio of aqueducts on the South Stratford Canal. Whereas Edstone is the longest in England this diminutive structure must rank as one of the shortest - a runty 42 feet, so short that even Wand'ring Bark can't be contained within its cast iron trough.

Yarningale Aqueduct - Captain Ahab's own collection

This is the second single span aqueduct to be built on the site, crossing a small stream near Preston Bagot. The first was a wooden affair, built in 1812 and washed away by a flood in 1834, caused by a surge from the Grand Union. It's replacement, the aqueduct we see today, was erected in an astonishing 27 days in 1834, having been cast at the Horsley Ironworks, whose output graces much of the BCN.

The aqueduct comes as something of a surprise, with its 9 foot wide channel leading directly into the top of Bucket Lock (number 34) and appears for all the world to be an extended narrows. Boaters therefore find themselves coming to a stop just before the top gates and unexpectedly looking down at a stream passing through a densely wooded valley.

Like its counterpart at Wootton Wawen, the cast iron trough was made without an expansion joint and this resulted in the inevitable split, this time over one of the abutments. Yarningale aqueduct formed part of the "three aqueducts" project in 2003, when major repairs were undertaken to the brick buttresses and the trough, where years of frost damage and corrosion was corrected and the structure rendered safe for many years to come.

I havnt forgotten this blog!

2011-03-24T22:08:00.000Z

Dormant but not forgotten

March 2011

I take a perverse pride in the fact that I maintain two blog sites, one which is very popular (Captain Ahab's Watery Tales) and then there is this one - a backwater which attracts few visitors.

It is a site for real boating anoraks, the sort who were we into trains, would be found on the end of windswept platforms collecting loco numbers.

It is a labour of love, collecting aqueduct photos whenever I chance upon them. I did give it a kick start by using images available on the web, but I am now content to bide my time and post views of then as I come across them, or when fellow boaters send me an image.

This will never be a finished work because there are always more to find. The thing is that I only find them when I am cruising and that means the summer months.

Lledan Brook Aqueduct

2010-11-25T08:00:00.000Z

Lledan Brook Aqueduct

Montgomery Canal

November 2010

This is my first Montgomery Canal Aqueduct, and so a new label!

I can't claim to have bagged this one myself but fortunately I have friends out there that know of my odd interest in Aqueducts, and will take photos for my benefit. Credit for these one goes to Halfe who has published a full post of the structure on his blog.

This is the second aqueduct on the site, the first being a masonry affair later replaced with an iron trough dressed up to look like masonry. The sign board explains all:

Weaver Aqueduct

2010-11-24T22:34:00.000Z

Weaver Aqueduct

Shropshire Union

November 2010

The Shropshire Union crosses the River Weaver just below the Audlem locks.

Even this high up the Weaver is still a substantial watercourse, so substantial that during the War plans were laid to extend the Weaver Navigation to Audlem and then upgrade the Shropshire Union to broad guage to allow larger craft to pass from Manchester to Birmingham.

The plan never came to pass and instead the Weaver continues to flow beneath the single arch of the Shroppie.

Snapes Aqueduct

2010-11-22T21:33:00.000Z

Snapes Aqueduct
Trent and Mersey
November 2010

This one sits mid way own Wheelock Hill (aka Heartbreak Hill).

Unglamorous but functional.

Hazelhurst River Aqueduct

2010-11-22T21:24:00.000Z

Hazelhurst River Aqueduct
Caldon Canal
November 2010

There are actually three aqueducts at Hazelhurst Junction, the main canal over canal structure everyone knows and then there is the river aqueduct in the adjacent field.

The third aqueduct crosses the abandoned railway line, but I couldnt find a way down to the trackbed - so it will have to wait for another visit.

Hazelhurst Aqueduct

2010-11-22T21:17:00.000Z

Hazelhurst Canal Aqueduct
Caldon Canal
November 2010

This perhaps one of the finest aqueducts on the system. Maybe not from an architectural perspective but it does belong to a very elite club of aqueducts which carry a canal over a canal.

The whole set up of the Caldon and its Leek Arm is a bit odd with seveal realignments as the feeder was added and then made navigable. The locks you see today are the third version.

Froghall Aqueduct

2010-11-22T21:07:00.000Z

Froghall Aqueduct
Caldon Canal
November 2010

This rarely visited aqueduct carries the far end of the Caldon over a tributory of the Churnet at Froghall Wharf, beyond the impossibly low tunnel.

Special only due to its inacessibility.

Leek Aqueduct

2010-11-16T22:39:00.001Z

Leek Aqueduct
Caldon Canal
November 2010

Update October 2011

A further visit provided an opportunity for a further view:

The Caldon is blessed with a number of aqueducts but perhaps the humblest is the structure at the far end of the Leek Arm. This carried the canal over a river and on for quarter of a mile to a teminus now occupied by a scrayard.

The watercourse is no more and the channel has been infilled, leaving the aqueduct as an overengineered footbridge to the winding hole where the feeder from the Rudyard reservoir runs in.

Dog Lane Aqueduct

2010-06-26T06:00:00.011+01:00

Dog Lane Aqueduct
Macclesfield Canal
April 2010

This is one of the three identical triplets including Stretton and Northwich - and Kynnersley if you stretch things a bit - call it three and a half !

Dane Aqueduct

2010-06-25T06:00:00.019+01:00

Dane Aqueduct

Macclesfield Canal

April 2010

This lofty beauty lacks the recognition it deserves.

Its single high brick arch carries the Macclesfield Canal high over the River Dane beneath Bosley Locks. Boaters will clock thje embankment but few dice with death and risk broken bones to reach the waters edge and view it from its finest perspective.

Clifton Aqueduct

2010-06-24T06:00:00.013+01:00

Clifton Aqueduct

Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal

April 2010

This is an impressive aqueduct by any standard. All the more so because it has stood empty for the last 60 years but seems as good as the day it was built, patiently awaiting the restoration of the canal.

For the time being it serves as a very handy bridge over the Irwell for walkers and cyclists wanting to enter the adjoining parkland.

Lumns Aqueduct

2010-06-23T06:00:00.014+01:00

Lumns Aqueduct

Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal

April 2010

You could easily overlook this aqueduct, with its archway rooted out and the dry canal bed seemingly entering a narrows.

Whaley Bridge Aqueduct

2010-06-22T06:00:00.000+01:00

Whaley Bridge Aqueduct

Upper Peak Forest Canal

13th April 2010

Higher Poynton Aqueduct

2010-06-21T06:00:00.007+01:00

Higher Poynton Aqueduct

Macclesfield Canal

13th April 2010

Bollington Aqueduct

2010-06-20T06:00:00.005+01:00

Bollington Aqueduct

Macclesfield Canal

13th April 2010

Houghton Dale Aqueduct

2010-06-19T06:00:00.005+01:00

Houghton Dale Aqueduct

Lower Peak Forest Canal

11th April 2010

Chadkirk Chapel Aqueduct

2010-06-18T06:00:00.000+01:00

Chadkirk Chapel Aqueduct

Lower Peak Forest Canal

11th April 2010

Ashton Under Lyne Aqueduct

2010-06-17T06:00:00.004+01:00

Ashton Under Lyne Aqueduct

Peak Forest Canal

11th April 2010

Hawke Green Aqueduct

2010-06-16T06:00:00.007+01:00

Hawke Green Aqueduct

Upper Peak Forest Canal

April 2010

Western portal

Eastern Portal

Marple Aqueduct

2010-06-15T07:12:00.000+01:00

Marple Aqueduct

Peak Forest Canal

Update:
I visited Marple Aqueduct on 12th April 2010 and grabbed the opportunity to take some photo's before the foliage obscrued what view there was. This is a near impossible aqueduct to photograph hence the montage approach.

A 105 yard masonry aqueduct, constructed by Benjamin Outram between 1794 and 1800 carrying the Peak Forest Canal 90 feet over the River Goyt on three graceful arches.

The structure is innovative in a number of ways, with its oval base piers being made of red sandstone sourced from the nearby Hyde Bank Quarry, and the upper sections using white masonry. The upper sections borrowed a construction technique from William Edwards in the shape of spandrills (drills through the spans!) piercing the haunches of the arches, reducing the weight of masonry.

http://www.pittdixon.go-plus.net/

The end result is a hugely elegant structure fully justifying its status as an Ancient Monument.

As at Chirk, a later railway viaduct runs parallel all but slightly higher than the canal aqueduct, detracting from its grandeur but even so, it has rightly been described as one of the finest monuments to the canal age.

interactive.stockport.gov.uk

Hawthorne Lane Underbridge

2010-05-04T22:58:00.019+01:00

Hawthorne Lane Underbridge (Aqueduct)

Bridgewater Canal

April 2010

An impressive three arched aqueduct spanning a road and a dismantled railway immediately to the west of Watch House Cruising Club, near Waters Meeting.

Hawthorne Lane Underbridge (north)

Hawthorne Lane Underbridge (south)

Burford Lane Underbridge

2010-05-03T22:53:00.012+01:00

Burford Lane Underbridge (Aqueduct)

Bridgewater Canal

April 2010

A classic Bridgewater design with a raised walkway to keep pedestrian's feet dry.

Burford Lane Underbridge (south)

Burford Lane Underbridge (north)

Dunham Underbridge (Aqueduct)

2010-05-02T22:46:00.016+01:00

Dunham Underbridge

Bridgewater Canal

April 2010

A modern addition to the Bridgewater's Aqueducts, built in the 1980's as part of the breach repairs which included the narrows which reach from this underbridge to the River Bollin Aqueduct to the east.

Dunham Underbridge (south)

Dunham Underbridge (north)

Bollin Aqueduct

2010-05-01T22:39:00.013+01:00

Bollin Aqueduct

Bridgewater Canal

April 2010

One of the more famous, or possibly infamous structures on the Bridgewater. This aqueduct and its surrounding embankment gave way in the 1980's, flooding a big area and took two years and several millions of pounds to repair.

Note the concrete butress to the south added in the 1980's.

Bollin River Aqueduct -north portal

Bollin River Aqueduct - south portal

2010-04-30T22:35:00.008+01:00

Bollington Underbridge (Aqueduct)

Bridgewater Canal

April 2010

Barsbank Underbridge (Aqueduct)

2010-04-29T22:30:00.011+01:00

Barsbank Underbridge (Aqueduct)

Bridgewater Canal

April 2010

A very typical Bridgewater aqueduct, located on the western side on Lymm.

Barsbank Underbridge (north)

Barsbank Underbridge (south)

Walton Underbridge (Aqueduct)

2010-04-28T22:26:00.007+01:00

Walton Underbridge (Aqueduct)

Bridgewater Canal

April 2010

Red Brow Underbridge (Aqueduct)

2010-04-27T22:21:00.012+01:00

Red Brow Underbridge (Aqueduct)

Bridgewater Canal

April 2010

Notable as the first aqueduct eas one starts the Bridgewater canal form the west, near the Runcorn Arm.

Red Brow (west)

Red Brow (east)

Lumbrook Underbridge (Aqueduct)

2010-04-26T22:16:00.010+01:00

Lumbrook Underbridge (Aqueduct)

Bridgewater Canal

April 2010

An unassuming concerete aqueduct just east of Stockton Heath.

Chester Road Underbridge (Aqueduct)

2010-04-25T18:08:00.000+01:00

Chester Road Underbridge (Aqueduct)

Bridgewater Canal

April 2010

Aqueducts come thick and fast of the Bridgewater, and a particularly interesting one can be found in Stockton Heath, which carries the canal over both the road and the river.

Shebdon Aqueduct

2010-04-24T18:01:00.000+01:00

Shebdon Aqueduct

Shropshire Union

April 2010

Shebdon aqueduct may not be well known, but the nearby Wharf Inn is a feature of the Shropshire Union Canal.

Coopers Aqueduct

2010-04-23T06:00:00.000+01:00

Coopers Aqueduct
BCN Mainline
February 2010

I went out on a lost canal hunt last weekend, and remembered that an aqueduct exists carrying the River Tame under both the New Mainline and the adjacent railway at Sheepwash Park.

Our journey from the Haines Branch to the Dunkirk Branch took us right past the entrance, so here it is. Effective but uninspiring!

Coopers Aqueduct BCN

RIver Weaver Aqueduct

2010-04-22T23:54:00.000+01:00

River Weaver Aqueduct

Middlewich Branch Canal (SUC)

22.4.10

A recent trip along the Middlewich Branch Canal afforded an opportunity to have a goof look at the River Weaver Aqueduct.

Weaver Aqueduct - North

The descent down a very high and steep embankment was a bit perilous but afforded me a good view of the big central arch, and the two smaller flood relief arches.

Weaver Aqueduct - south

Lickily the water level was down so I walked through the western flood relief arch and capturesshots of both fides of this impressive blue brick construction.

Flood relief channel

Anderton Boat Lift Aqueduct

2010-04-21T21:48:00.001+01:00

Anderton Boat Lift Aqueduct

Trent and Mersey

21.4.10

I hadnt really thought about the Anderton Boat Lift having an aqueduct till the lift keeper instructed me to move onto it. But when I later viewed it from the side it is indeed an aqueduct, and an impressive one at that.

The boat lift lowers craft 50 feet from the Trent and Mersey to the Weaver Navigation and an approach chute is needed to get boats into the cassions. Both ends are protected by guilloting gates to prevent water loss.

Ynysbwllog Aqueduct, Neath and Tennant Canal

2010-02-24T06:41:00.001Z

Ynysbwllog Aqueduct

Neath and Tennant Canal

12th December 2009

The isolated Neath and Tennant Canal system extends about 21 miles, following the Neath Valley north east from Swansea in South Wales. The canal has been abandoned since the 1920's and subject to on and off restoration attempts since 1974.

The navigation has a number of distinct engineering obstacles, including three significant aqueducts.

I am indebted to Martin Ludgate of Canal Boat (Jan 2010) for highlighting the restoration of the .

Ynysbwllog Aqueduct in 2008. This aqueduct used to be a multi arched stone structure, which ultimately failed but as the waterway still serves a function in delivering fresh water to the area, it was replaced with two large iron pipes spanning the gap.

Ynysbwllog Aqueduct in its piped state (Photo: NPT.Gov.uk)

This water delivery function has been the Neath and Tennant's salvation and when the pipes were replaced it was with a new steel trough built to navigable dimensions.

Ynysbwllog Aqueduct 2009 (Photo: Canal Boat Jan 2010)

Low level river crossings like this represent a problem for drainage. In normal conditions the water capacity beneath their arches is adequate, but in times of exceptional flooding, water can be ponded back and threaten the integrity of the aqueduct, and represent a danger to the area beneath it in the event of a catastrophic failure.

The new slimline trough overcomes this problem by maximising the flow capacity beneath its single wide span and, in times of emergency, it should be robust enough to survive floodwaters running over the top as well.

And another old photo of this site in its unreconstructed days provided by Jim of nb Starcross taken in the 1970's:

River Gwendraeth Aqueduct

2010-02-18T20:10:00.002Z

River Gwendraeth Aqueduct

Kidwelly and Llanelly Canal

February 2010

Thank goodness for boating friends, thats what I say!

River Gwendreath Aqueduct

These long winter months offer little scope for collecting new aqueducts, but my friends out there know of my interest and from time to time they post a photo for my collection.

So, today I was delighted to spy a photo by Jim of nb Starcross, taken in 1972 and no doubt one of his recent transparency conversions.

The image is of the aqueduct over the River ~~Gwendereath~~ Gwendraeth (sorry Jim - I'm not good at Welsh names), constructed in 1815 to carry the Kidwelly and Llanelly Canal, a later extension of the earlier Kymers Canal (1766) in West Wales.

These are probably some of the finest aqueduct photo's in my collection, not because of their photographic quality or for the brilliance of the construction, more for their utter obscurity.

Without friends like Jim I dont see how I would ever stumble across aqueducts like this one.

For a fuller history click on the above link to the Starcross blogsite.

Sedgewick Aqueduct

2010-01-09T19:26:00.000Z

Sedgewick Aqueduct
Lancaster Canal
Jan 2010

With winter upon us it is becoming more difficult to collect aqueduct photo's.

Luckily, some of my boating friends are out and about and Jim of nb Starcross came across the magnificent Sedgewick Aqueduct in Cumbria. This aqueduct has been lovingly restored but as it sits on the disconnected northern section few boaters will have seen it.

Sedgewick Aqueduct

I have been saving the many aqueducts of the Lancaster Canal for a special occasion, but as Jim so obligingly posted a particularly good image of it in the snow, it seemed appropriate to add it to the blog sooner rather than later.

Thanks Jim.

Market Drayton Aqueduct

2010-01-09T19:15:00.000Z

Market Drayton Aqueduct
Shropshire Union
9th January 2010

Its nice to have fellow bloggers out there thinking about me.

Adam from nb Debdale managed to squeeze in a short festive cruise, just before the ice of January 2010 closed in seriously. In fact, he returned to his Norbury base on the last day cruising was possible.

Whilst he was out on the Shropshire Union he stopped at Market Drayton just long enough to grrab a photo of its aqueduct, which is built in the stone style so typical of the area.

Thanks Adam.

Aberdulais Aqueduct, Neath and Tenant Cenal

2009-12-13T06:44:00.003Z

Aberdulais Aqueduct
Neath and Tennant Canal
13th December 2009

Of the Neath and Tennant Canal's three aqueducts, the Aberbulais is the only one which stands in it's unreconstructed form.

Aberdulais Aqueduct (Photo: JimShead.Com)

Sadly, the structure is unstable and currently not fit for navigation and will therefore need to be replaced of repaired if boats are to cross the River Neath and enter the northern end of the Tennant canal en route to Swansea Docks.

Railway Aqueduct at Anson Junction, Walsall Canal

2009-12-05T23:38:00.001Z

Railway aqueduct at Anson Junction
Walsall canal BCN
5th December 2009

Just to the south of Anson Junction the little used Walsall Canal crosses the Wolverhampton to Walsall railway line.

Railway Aqueduct Walsall Canal BCN

This crossing is achieved by a very railway looking bridge / aqueduct. Gaining access to railway aqueducts is tricky and I have only been able to capture a view from the west.

Not much clearance for the power cables.

River Rea Aqueduct, Anson Branch BCN

2009-12-05T23:22:00.000Z

River Rea Aqueduct
Anson Branch BCN
5th December 2009

The diminutive Anson Branch Canal (abandoned) contains not one aqueduct but two. In addition to the old railway aqueduct the Rive Rea runs through a brick tunnel, slightly to the south.

Rea Aqueduct under Anson Branch BCN - Eastern portal

The River Rea is prone to flash flooding, hence the very visible high water mark, which was reached the day before our visit.

Rea Aqueduct Anson Branch - western portal

Anson Aqueduct

2009-12-05T20:09:00.000Z

Anson Aqueduct

Anson Branch Canal (derelict) BCN

New photos taken by the Captain in November 2009.

East face of old railway aqueduct on Anson Arm (BCN) - plus Jeff

This structure remains in water and is located on the southern section of the 1.5 mile Anson Branch stub, which linked to the Walsall Canal and served collieries at Reedswood (now a park) and also limestone quarries near Bentley.

Western face of old railway aqueduct on Anson Arm near junction with Bentley Canal

The arched structure was built of Staffordshire blue bricks in 1830, and now carries the canal over Morarchs Way, a walking / cycle path which links to Halesowen.

The northern section of the Anson Branch was severed by the construction of Junction 10 of the M6 in the early 1960's but can still be identified, albeit in a very weeded up state.

My thanks for Mr Truth who spotted the remains of the arm in his wanderings around Walsall.

Brock Aqueduct - Lancaster Canal

2009-11-10T22:54:00.001Z

Brock Aqueduct
Lancaster Canal

An unassuming stone aqueduct built by John Rennie in 1797, carrying the Lancaster Canal over the River Brock.

The waterfall in the background is present because the river level had to be lowered to provide clearance for the canal - without resorting to a sump aqueduct.

Hawkins Basin Aqueduct - Hatherton Canal

2009-11-10T21:08:00.000Z

Hawkins Basin Aqueduct
Hatherton Canal

They don't come any more obscure than this.

Hawkins Basin Aqueduct was a structure built to carry an arm of the Hatherton Branch Canal over Wyrley Brook and into a substantial basin.

Whilst the aqueduct looks fairly unremarkable, the key feature is that it no longer exists, not even a little bit. This structure at Bridgtown was lost as part of the M6 Toll construction and all that remains is a photo of its channel during demolition, and a plan of it's site contained on the Lichfield and Hatherton Canal Restoration Trust website.

Hill Top Aqueduct - Wednesbury Old Canal BCN

2009-11-05T22:03:00.002Z

Hill Top Aqueduct

Wednesbury Old Canal

BCN

This aqueduct stood at the far end of the Wednesbury Old Canal, carrying the cut over the course of the GWR line into its terminus at a basin near Hill Top.

Whilst the canal was built in 1769 as part of Brindleys first phase, the aqueduct would not have been built until about 1858, when the railway and its associated tunnel were constructed across it's line.

Reference documents suggest that photographs exist of this structure, which was still in place as recently in the 1973, several years after the canal's closure in 1954. In the absence of a photo I include a drawing made by Eric Richardson as found in his highly informative booklet "In Search of the Lost Canals of the Black Country".

If you are interested in this long lost waterway, click here to access my companion blog which carries more information.

Dudley Port Railway Aqueduct

2009-11-01T07:00:00.010Z

Dudley Port Railway Aqueduct
BCN New mainline

Sanwiched between the Ryland and Puppy Green Aqueduct lies a third aqueduct, the Dudley Port Railway Aqueduct.

A scramble down the overgrown embankment reveals just the west face of the aqueduct, the eastern side being incorporated into the adjoining railway bridge, which carries the Birmingham to Wolverhampton mainline railway.

The remote location with rusting rails emerging from the undergrowth, only to disappear into more of the same has more than a little 'Fried Green Tomatoes' about it.

Puppy Green Aqueduct - BCN

2009-10-30T07:00:00.012Z

Puppy Green Aqueduct
BCN New Mainline

Just a stone's throw north of the Ryland Aqueduct a second, much smaller but older aqueduct burrows under the BCN New Main Line.

This aqueduct carries Park Lane East from Tipton to Dudley Port.

Ryland Aqueduct

2009-10-28T21:20:00.000Z

Ryland Aqueduct
BCN New Mainline

The Ryland Aqueduct is a relatively new structure, carrying the New Mainline Canal over the Dudley Port Road at Dudley Port.

Ryland Aqueduct - West face

The aqueduct stands independent (just) from the parallel railway bridge, decked out in some splendid paintwork which makes it appear more than the simple contrete trough it really is.

Ryland Aqueduct - east face

Clifton Aqueduct

2009-10-26T14:00:00.001Z

Clifton Aqueduct

Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal

One of three aqueducts built on the Manchester Bolton and Bury canal by Charles Roberts and John Nightingale in 1796.

http://www.salford.gov.uk/clifton-aqueduct-05-d71-web2.jpg

This stone structure with it's three brick arches represents a second crossing of the River Irwell for the canal, and is now a grade 2 listed monument. Like its counterpart, the Prestolee Aqueduct, this structure stand patiently waiting for the ongoing restoration project to reach it and return boats to it's navigation channel.

Congleton Aqueduct

2009-10-25T14:00:00.000Z

Congleton Aqueduct
Macclesfield

This Aqueduct represents the third of a trio which were designed by Thomas Telford and, on this occasion, constructed by William Crosley on or before the canal opened in 1831.

You will find the others at Nantwich and Stretton on the Shropshire Union and all feature extensive use of cast iron as a channel supported on cast iron rib arches, set onto some rather splendid curving butress walls.

Take a look at the others and you will see the family resemblance, with Nantwich being the first built in 1826 and Stretton the last in 1832.

I can't take credit for this photo, that goes to Adam of nb Debdale, who kindly allowed my to use it. Cheers Adam.

Spring Coppice Aqueduct at Shelmore Embankment

2009-10-24T15:00:00.000+01:00

Spring Coppice Aqueduct at Shelmore embankment

Shropshire Union

For those in doubt, the Shelmore Embankment is the long high embankment immediately to the south of Norbury Junction. It's not the embankment which breached in August 2009 - that one is the equally impressive Shebdon Embakment a few miles to the north. I mention this only because I get the two muddled up!

Spring Coppice Aqueduct - west

The Shelmore Embankment has two aqueducts, one at each end. I have no idea what the southern one is called locally, but as it lies next to Spring Coppice I have assumed that the aqueduct bears the same name.

Spring Coppice Aqueduct - east

It's a quality structure, with a lofty barrel arch and dressed stone portals. The aqueduct carries a busy but narrow country lane and can be easily found if you listen out for regular car horn tooting, as vehicles approach it's blind entrances. Mooring to take a look as this structure is problematic, given the incredibly shallow margins in the area. The only realistic way of stopping is to hover in the narrows which contains the flood control gate, and hope no other boats arrive. I was lucky - I had the place to myself but was amused to see a narrowboat steam round the corner from Norbury just as I got underway again!

Prestolee Aqueduct

2009-10-23T13:34:00.000+01:00

Prestolee Aqueduct
Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal

This is one of two surviving aqueducts on the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal, built in the late 1790's to cross the River Irwell.

The structure is built of stone and its four spans extend for 185 ft, carrying a broad 16ft 6in wide water channel. This is now a listed monument (Grade 2) and is patiently awaiting reconnection to the main system.

Moat Brook Aqueduct at Pendeford Bridge

2009-10-22T15:00:00.002+01:00

Moat Brook Aqueduct at Pendeford Bridge
Shropshire Union

Whilst the Moat Brook is technically a tributary of the Penk, at the point it crosses the line of the Shropshire Union Canal it is a much more significant watercourse, demanding a far more substantial aqueduct.

Pendeford Bridge Aqueduct

In contrast to it's disappointing southerly neighbour, this aqueduct is much more dramatic, with a well constructed archway and dressed stone portals.

Wheaton Aston Aqueduct

2009-10-21T15:00:00.000+01:00

Wheaton Aston Aqueduct
Shropshire Union

Just below Wheaton Aston's solitary lock and just before the BW service block, the Whiston Brook makes its way under the Shropshire Union Canal via a substantial brick archway. This is a pretty normal aqueduct structure for the Shropshire Union.

Wheaton Aston Aqueduct

If you didn't know it was there you would never even notice it.

Ryehill Aqueduct

2009-10-20T15:00:00.000+01:00

Ryehill Aqueduct

Shropshire Union

Aqueduct hunting sometimes throws up surprises, and this is one of them. The Ryehill Aqueduct (if that is what is is called) is a mystery structure, which is overlooked by both Pearson and GeoMaps - which is very strange given the latter's attention to detail.

Ryehill Aqueduct west portal

Sure, the both recognise the passage of Marston Brook further south under the Wheaton Aston Embankment, but neither feature this most illuminating structure.

Ryehill Aqueduct, central channel profile

The Ryehill Aqueduct carries a disused access track under the northerly end on the Wheaton Aston Embankment via ha high vaulted archway. The really interesting feature it that within the tunnel the profile of the canal bed is visible in inch thick cast iron. I had always attributed the shallow sloping margins of the Shropshire Union to recent leak control measures, but this cast iron section suggests that the saucer shaped profile is original, and was therefore part of Telford's design.

Ryehill Aqueduct, eastern portal

And the overhead channel isn't the only mystery the aqueduct presents. Pinned high along its sides are chunky electrical cables, now disconnected and sagging down. Why have such a substantial power supply in the middle of nowhere? The answer probably lies in the brick structures in the adjacent fields, the remains of a world war two airfield. I assume that the tunnel and aqueduct served to connect two parts of the aerodrome, which was also the likely target of the bombers which hit a narrowboat in Wheaton Aston lock carrying unsheeted aluminium at night.

The question is: Which came first, the aqueduct or the airfield?

Who says that local history is boring!

Damside Aqueduct

2009-10-19T20:56:00.001+01:00

Damside Aqueduct
Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal

The Damside Aqueduct is the missing structure on the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal, demolished in 1965 for a road and river crossing at Darcy Lever.

http://www.mbbcs.org.uk/gallery/pages/14.damside-air.htm

I can only find this arial shot of the aqueduct, which will have to be rebuilt if the full canal restoration is ever to take place.

Norbury Aqueduct

2009-10-19T15:00:00.001+01:00

Norbury Aqueduct

Shropshire Union

I knew that there was an aqueduct at Norbury cos the good book told me so.... but for the life of me I couldnt see it!

I wandered round the junction, peering down the embankment behind the BW office but nothing, not a stream, a road not even a footpath. I was on the point of giving up wen I saw a display board near the entrance to the marina, tracing out a local walk and there it was, about half a mile off to the south.

Norbury Aqueduct west

Well, I had tied up and was in no hurry so I wandered off down the lanes and finally came across it, and a very fine structure it is too, with impressive portals and a high barrel vaulted roof. As it pierces the foot of a very high embankment the tunnel is surprisingly long and so narrow that you wouldn't want to try walking through at the same time as an oncoming tractor.

Norbury Aqueduct, east

Rather than retrace my steps I decided to scale the embankment and return via the towpath - easier said than done. The embankment is on the very edge of what is climbable without crampons, and even then it was only by using all fours from time to time, plus bits of ivy, low hanging branches and sundry weeds.

However, its a good aqueduct and well worth the effort.

River Penk Aquecuct at Pendeford

2009-10-18T15:00:00.000+01:00

River Penk Aqueduct at Pendeford

Shropshire Union

The Penk is a significant river, one of four the Staffs and Worcester canal follows along its east west route. You would therefore expect the Shropshire Union's crossing to be a significant event, but in reality the river is so near it's source at Wergs that the resulting aqueduct is exceedingly humble.

River Penk Aqueduct at Pendeford

The watercourse passes through two very modest box culverts immediately to the south of Wolverhampton Boat Club at Pendeford, and were it not for the detail available on the Shropshire Union GeoMap you could very easily overlook it's presence altogether.

Moat House Bridge Sump Aqueduct

2009-10-17T10:00:00.000+01:00

Moat House Bridge Sump Aqueduct

Staffs and Worcester

I am developing quite an affection for the humble sump aqueduct.

It had never really occurred to me that crossing a watercourse which flows neither above nor below the level of a canal would cause a problem, but it does. What do you do if the surface level of the stream is below the surface level of the canal, but above the level of the canal bed?

Moat House Bridge sump aqueduct

The answer has to be to force the water down a submarine culvert which burrows under the canal track, and then pops up again on the far side. A solution which is similar to the humble U bend under your sink. The problem with this solution is that if something heavy falls down the sump it probably won't be washed out the other side and, over time, an accumulation of these 'somethings', say bricks, will block the sump and need clearing out, which is no mean feat when it is completely full of water.

There is an original sump aqueduct just below Deptmore Lock further along the Staffs and Worcester, but this one has clearly been renewed at some point and the original brick duct replaced with a series of strudy concrete pipes.

All in all not much to look at, but an ingenious solution to a very real problem.

Stretton Aqueduct

2009-10-15T15:00:00.000+01:00

Stretton Aqueduct

Shropshire Union Canal over A5

This cast iron aqueduct carries what was the Birmingham Junction Canal (and embosed as such on the cast iron plaque) over the A5 at Stretton in an 11ft wide trough, resting on curved brick abutments topped off with some rather beautiful circular stone towers.

http://www.flickr.com/

The aqueduct comprises five sections, each 6ft 6 inches long and supported by two curved cast iron ribs.

The road layout was adapted in 1961/2 by lowering the road surface by four feet, giving some much needed extra headroom beneath the arch. Additional supports were added to the abutments at the same time.

Repairs in 1958

http://www.virtualwaterways.co.uk/

The same scene in October 2009

Presumably the 13' 6" headroom sign displayed in the 1958 photo above would now read 17' 6".

I revisited this aqueduct on a glorious October morning in 2009, capturing the following side on shots:

Stretton Aqueduct east

Stretton Aqueduct west

Lune Aqueduct

2009-09-30T20:12:00.000+01:00

Lune Aqueduct

This aqueduct, constructed by John Rennie Snr, is considered to be the finest in the North west.

The aqueduct, with its five classical stone arches, carries the Lancaster Canal over the River Lune using a rusticated form of masonry. The piers were built in a hurry using special form of concrete incorporating Italian pozzolana powder, which allowed them to be finished before the 1794 /5 winter floods arrived.

The structure was, as ever, over budget at £48,000 - an overrun which played a large part in the plans to connect the canal to Preston being abandoned.

Bollington Aqueduct

2009-09-27T22:54:00.000+01:00

Bollington Aqueduct

I spotted a very nice photo of the Bollington Aqueduct on Debdale's recent trip in the area and, with Adam's kind permission, have added it to my collection.

This 60 foot high structure is one of two Telford build in the town, the other one carrying the Maccie over a river.

If you look closely you will see someone peeping over the parapet photographing the photographer! Don't you just love the excessively tall streetlight.

Dorset and Somerset Canal aqueducts

2009-09-17T22:54:00.000+01:00

Dorset and Somerset Canal Aqueducts

The thing about collecting aqueducts is the way that, one attuned to the word, they seem to crop up all over the place. I indulged myself by buying a copy of Waterways World (September 09) last weekend and was fascinated by Michael Coward's article on the above canal.

This ill fated waterway was as hopelessly over optimistic in its aspirations as it was underfunded. What was supposed to be a 45 mile waterway between Bradford on Avon to Poole on the south coast, with an 11 mile branch from Frome actually became an isolated 8 mile length, built around 1800, suspended in 1803 and given up for dead in 1825.

This waterway was therefore a spectacular failure, but it did leave some interesting remains in the form of two aqueducts :

Coleford Aqueduct - photo courtesy of Martin Bodham

The Coleford Aqueduct, a double arched effort which continues to stands tall and proud above Lover Coleford High Street.

Murty Aqueduct - photo courtesy of P Dindorp

The second aqueduct is further east, at Hapsford, is a much lower crossing over the River Mells known as Murtry Aqueduct. The canal may have been an economic failure but its legacy is a testimony to the enthusiasm and vision of the local business community.

2009-09-15T22:11:00.000+01:00

Brewood Aqueducts

Shropshire Union Canal

An outing on the boat wouldn’t be complete without adding at least one new aqueduct to the collection. The southern end of the Shropshire union strikes off across the top end of the River Penk catchment basin, crossing numerous small tributaries, which trickle under the embankments via an assortment of tunnels and culverts. It’s this sort of terrain that causes trouble for ardent aqueduct hunters. Which of these passageways does one class as an aqueduct and which are mere culverts and therefore to be disregarded? My rule of thumb is that of the passageway is too small to be theoretically shuffled or canoed through, it isn’t a real aqueduct.

Horses Brook Aqueduct, north Brewood

The passage of Horses Brook under the embankment just north of Countrywide Cruisers is right on the cusp of acceptability onto this site, with its diminutive archway being a mere 4 ft high. I think that this tunnel could be negotiated if one had a will to do so, a point to which generations of Brewood youth could probably attest. However, with its sagging centre section and the sonorous drip, drip, drip of water leaking from the canal above ensured that my investigation remained completely external.

Not that an external investigation was easy. First there were the stinging nettles and then a very slippery bank with my descent only slowed by desperate grabs at the overhanging trees. Getting back up wasn’t a whole lot better! The archway is therefore included as proof of my perseverance, even if it could be argued that “it is only a culvert”.

South Brewood Aqueduct, tributory of the Penk

Not content with the northerly aqueduct we also took a walk past the more southerly stream, an unnamed but more substantial watercourse. This stream is accommodated by a substantial brick arch, similar in proportions to a typical canal bridge and probably created around the same former. The growth of seasonal vegetation prevented a descent photograph, with its outline more apparent to the naked eye. I will try and get a better shot of this structure during the winter months.

Gorton and Openshaw Station Aqueduct

2009-09-01T20:54:00.000+01:00

Gorton and Openshaw Station Aqueduct
Stockport Branch Canal (disused arm of Aston Canal)

This short, lock free 4.5 mile branch canal is a side arm of the Ashton Canal in Manchester, making it's exit from the mainline at Clayton Junction and included two aqueducts. Only the aqueduct at Gorton remains, now carrying a footpath over the railway line.

Photo courtesy of Martin Ludgate

The Gorton aqueduct was originally constructed in stone in 1797 but was later replaced in 1906 with a steel structure spanning a newly widened railway, and remains in situ today. The second aqueduct also crossed a railway and was located mid way along the arm, a structure which has been demolished.

Photo courtesy of www.penninewaterways.co.uk

The line of the canal remains remarkably intact and whilst meaningful trade ceased in the 1930's, it was dredged in the 1950's before finally being abandoned in 1962, and infilled over the following decade. Given it's lack of scenic beauty it is remarkable that an active restoration society is hard at work seeking to reinstate this waterway. Maybe the gentrification of the Ashton Canal has reached a point where this side arm would be an attractive option, providing a safe mooring can be found at the far end.

Wolverton Aqueduct

2009-08-21T23:07:00.000+01:00

Wolverton (or Cosgrove) Aqueduct

Grand Union Canal

21st August 2009

The Wolverton Aqueduct is something of a late entrant to the world of canal aqueducts, hence its iron construction rather than the more common stone / brick. The aqueduct carries the Grand Union Canal (or the Grand Junction Canal as it was then known) over the Great Ouse.

Photo courtesy of Jay Tilston

Know locally as the "Iron Trunk" this structure was built between 1809 and 1811 by Benjamin Bevin to replace an earlier William Jessop aqueduct, which consisted of a wooden trough supported on brick piers. This older aqueduct collapsed in 1808 and its base piers can still be seen.

This replacement trough was cast at Ketley Ironworks in 18 sections ,with side plates bolted on at varying angles. The towpath is cantilevered out from the trough riding 35"' 6" above the river.

I seem to remember reading that a tremporary flight of locks was built down to the Ouse whilst the new aqueduct was built - but I may be wrong?

This area could soon be the scene of further change, as and when the long awaited Fens Link to is built along the course of the Ouse, expanding the cruising scope for widebeamed craft.

Teme and Rea Aueducts, Leominster Canal

2009-08-21T22:33:00.000+01:00

Teme and Rea Aqueducts

Stourport and Leominster Canal

21st August 2009

A walk along the line of the long abandoned Leominster Canal will yield two substantial brick aqueducts which are all the more glorious for their delicious state of disrepair.

Strictly speaking this is the Stourport and Leominster Canal but in reality its waters never came close to merging with those of the River Servern at Stourport, its planned terminus. This underfunded and ill conceived waterway was started in 1791 and, after much stopping and starting, struggled west from Leominster for 18.5 miles, falling 12.5 miles short of its target. The channel was dewatered in 1851, its limited traffic poached by the newfangled railway network.

Along it's route the canal crossed the rivers Rea and Teme which was achieved on a couple of rather fine brick span arches.

At first glance the Rea aqueduct looks OK, but its 150 years of abandonment have not treated it kindly with much of one face now collapsed into the river below. The structure is now so unstable that even the footpath over it has been closed - not that that stops determined explorers.

The Teme aqueduct has suffered an even more brutal fate, with one arch deliberately destroyed as part of an army training exercise in the second world war.

Royal Gunpowder Factory, Waltham Abbey

2009-08-11T18:23:00.000+01:00

Royal Gunpowder Factory, Walthan Abbey

Lee and Stort Navigation

The trouble with this interest in aqueducts is that I end up finding out about some really interesting stuff, but which isn't actually about the subject in hand. Luckily my main blog, Captain Ahab's Watery Tales provides scope for elaboration, so if you want to know a bit more about this strange site I would suggest that you click across and take a look.

The Royal Gunpowder factory site extended to 10 miles of navigable canal used to transport explosives either in the form of raw materials or as finished product. Locks mean bumps and bumps could mean bangs - very big bangs. The site was therefore constructed on only two levels and spanned the River Lee on four occasions.

The first two aqueducts were very fine affairs, built in the early stages of the development on the site in 1878/9. These sturdy aqueducts were prefabricated off site as three huge slabs of cast iron, floated into place and then riveted into a single trough in situ. Only one of these aqueduct remains, but it stands in remarkably good condition, complete with a very impressive embossed royal insignia.

A third less elaborate aqueduct was added in 1904, near Newtons Pool. Much of this aqueduct remains save one end of where its base place was smashed out when two huge nitro glycerine explosions occurred in 1940.

The in house canal network operated until the 1940's when a last, and very utilitarian aqueduct was built to link up to a new mixing house. Newer is not always better and this structure, a simple concrete channel sat atop a row of concrete pipes has long since vanished.

Whilst the aqueducts are not cutting edge technology, their location is very interesting and the fact that the site contains three of only 26 cast iron aqueduct built on the UK makes this holy ground for ardent aqueduct hunters!

26, hmm. Thats quite a big number. I wonder where all the rest are? More hunting needed.

The photos are courtesy of www.londoncanals.co.uk

River Dove Aqueduct

2009-08-08T19:30:00.001+01:00

River Dove Aqueduct

Trent and Mersey Canal

A classic Brindley aqueduct, built just before 1770 to carry the Trent and Mersey canal over the Dove.

From a design point of view the aqueduct is interesting. The limited clearance between the bottom of the water channel and the normal surface level provided no scope for high arches, which are needed to cope with the significant volumes of flood water which need to pass under it from time to time.

As Brindley was unable to provide the capacity by using high arches he compensated by extending the length of the aqueduct and in so doing increasing the number of smaller watercourses available to eleven.

Judging by the above picture of the aqueduct when the Dove is in flood, the end result is barely enough. Having said that, the aqueduct has stood for 240 years! The need to withstand the huge lateral forces of the river in flood probably accounts for the wider than expected water channel and margins.

By way of a bonus there is an extra arch just to the east of the main aqueduct, which could probably be seen as a separate aqueduct. However, as it merely carries a small side stream of the river Dove I am including it on the same page. If this single arch has a unique name please let me know and I will afford it a page all of its own!

River Rea Aqueduct - Kings Norton

2009-08-01T08:46:00.000+01:00

River Rea Aqueduct - Kings Norton

Worcester Birmingham Canal

One of the more inaccessible aqueducts, impossible to the east and b****y difficult from the west!

I slithered down a slippery clay bank and only avoided falling into the river courtesy of a conveniently overhanging sycamore tree. Now I know how relieves Zacchieus felt when he was bursting at the seams with enthusiasm to see Jesus come walking past!

The lighting conditions were a nightmare, in deep gloom from a heavy canopy of leaved with a searing blasts of light from the top of the embankment. I really must get a better camera.

Both photos (poor though they are) are from the captain's own collection.

Aqueduct Lane Aqueduct - Bittell

2009-08-01T08:31:00.000+01:00

Aqueduct Lane Aqueduct - Bittell

Worcester Birmingham Canal

This dripping and dank brick aqueduct carries the canal over Aqueduct Lane, but woe betide anyone who tries to pass through in anything larger than a Ford Transit.

Both photos are from the Captain's own collection

Immediately after the aqueduct there is a particularly lovely house with extensive moorings, one which I would love to own save its one huge drawback (and its not the diminutive size of the access tunnel). The M42 runs on an elevated section only a few hundred yards to the south and the roar of traffic is incessant.

Alvechurch Footpath Aqueduct

2009-08-01T08:20:00.000+01:00

Alvechurch Footpath Aqueduct

Worcester Birmingham Canal

A remote aqueduct which carries the Worcester Birmingham Canal over a muddy footpath just south of Alvechurch.

The scale of the archway would suggest that it carried something more significant than a footpath, but the absence of a stream and the limited headroom for a train makes its original purpose something of a puzzle. GIven its similarity to its near neighbour at Aqueduct Lane, maybe it provided access to a quarry or something.

Both photos are from the Captian's own collection

Wolverley Aqueduct

2009-08-01T07:59:00.000+01:00

Wolverley Aqueduct

Staffs and Worcester Canal

I include this aqueduct mainly to illustrate the point where I feel that an aqueduct is no longer an aqueduct, but that depends on the weather!

Photo of Wolverley Aqueduct from the Captian's own collection

This aqueduct carries the Staffs and Worcester canal over a tributary of the Stour, just north of Kidderminster. In dry weather the channel is visible but at the time of my visit we were in the middle of a very wet spell (aka any British summer) it was completely submerged and operating as a sump.

Do you see my dilemma? It's not just the nature of a structure that makes it an aqueduct, it also depends on the flow of water beneath. Maybe a need a category called "seasonal aqueducts", but that's getting silly!

Stour Aqueduct - Stourton Junction

2009-08-01T07:46:00.000+01:00

Stour Aqueduct - Stourton Junction

Staffs and Worcester Canal

Its confusing to have two aqueducts called the same thing, but its a fact that the Staffs and Worcester Canal passes over the River Stour twice. Firstly just north of Stourton on the confluence of the diminutive River Stour and Smestow Brook.

Photos from the Captain's own collection

The single arch span is typical of Brindleys "lowslung and chunky" design. Getting a good perspective on it is very difficult for the western perspective in the summer due to the vegitation, and the eastern side looked like an impossibility.

The second Stour Aqueduct is about eight miles downstream in Kidderminster, where a much more substantial Stour crosses back to the eastern side of the canal.

Holliday Street Aqueduct - Birmingham

2009-07-31T09:16:00.001+01:00

Holliday Street Aqueduct - Birmingham

Worcester Birmingham Canal

A particularly impressive cast iron aqueduct which carries the Worcester Birmingham Canal over Holliday Street as it approaches Worcester Bar and Gas St Basin.

The structure is completely hidden from the canal, with high walls blocking any view and from below it looks remarkably like a railway bridge, being too long for a normal aqueduct.

The ironwork is very ornate and has been refurbished in recent tears, with sympathetic Victorian style street lights installed to dispel some of the gloom beneath, hopefully rendering pedestrian traffic safer in so doing.

All photos are from the Captian's own collection

River Trent Aqueduct(s) - Great Haywood

2009-07-31T07:26:00.000+01:00

River Trent Aqueduct(s) - Great Haywood

Staffs and Worcester Canal

I just knew what this one would look like before I wormed my way around the end of the balustrade and down onto the adjoining field.

It's a Brindley canal so it had to be a low slung heavy masonry aqueduct with multiple arches to accommodate the erratic water flows of the upper River Trent. Whilst it isn't immediately apparent, this aqueduct has four arches, with the outer two largely obscured by vegitation.

And so it was - a classic!

But that's no all. No there's more.

At Great Haywood there is not one aqueduct but two. Very close to the main river aqueduct there is a second narrows which carries the canal over a single arched aqueduct beneath which lies the remains of the old millstream. The mill building remains, but the pools, weirs and streams have all been built over and from the upstream side only a sliver of water is visible behind a security fence.

All photos are from the Captians personal collection - July 09

Deptmore Lock Sump Aqueduct

2009-07-31T07:13:00.000+01:00

Deptmore Lock Sump Aqueduct

Staffs and Worcester Canal

I was sitting at the foot of Deptmore Lock, reading a copy of Canals and Rivers (thin on content) waiting for an oncoming boat to pass through when I saw it. A low brick wall beside me, so I hopped off the stern and leaned over for a look.

Bingo - an aqueduct. So I hauled myself over the fence and slithered over a very muddy meadow to get a photo.

Photo is from the Captian's personal collection - July 09

I am not sure I should really include this as an aqueduct as it is more of a culvert really and passable only with the aid of an aqualung. However, it is interesting because it carries a flowing stream the surface of which is below the surface of the canal but higher than the canal bed. The solution appears to have been to create a U shaped sump with a fairly large brick arch into which the water flows on the western side and then wells up again on he east.

It's a good job this structure was well made because it must be the devils own job to fix or repair. I suspect that this structure has been quietly going about its business for over 200 years.

I wonder what BW would do if it got blocked - call in Dyno-Rod?

James Bridge Aqueduct

2009-07-04T19:51:00.000+01:00

James Bridge Aqueduct
Walsall Canal - Wednesbury

A listed structure, completed in 1799 which continues to carry the Walsall Canal, now reduced to a barely navigable ditch.

I have a particular affection for aqueducts which carry canals over water. Strictly speaking this is a road aqueduct, and probably a defunct railway line (now a footpath). However, at the time of my visit the heavens had opened all night and the road was completely flooded.

Boy racers were making the most of the flood, driving through a massive speed and throwing up a huge splash - or maybe they were trying to soak the mad twonk who was trying to take photos.... who knows!

Not a common view of this aqueduct, the only one on the Walsall canal, but interesting none the less. The twin brick arches are unique to the region.

All photos are from the captain's own collection - June 09

Navigation Lane Aqueduct nr Walsall

2009-06-27T23:12:00.000+01:00

Navigation Lane Aqueduct

Tame Valley Canal

Well, I think it is called Navigation Lane aqueduct as it crosses a lane of that name! It continued to provide access to a small group of modern houses, hemmed in by a dual carriageway and the canal embankment. I am happy to stand corrected.

Navigation Lane Aqueduct - southern perspective

This is another no nonsense cast iron trough set atop tall buttresses made of Staffordshire blue bricks. Typical of its type, the cast ironwork has some interesting raised features which helps it stand out from the ordinary. Function came before form on this canal!

Navigation Lane Aqueduct - northern perspective

This structure is somewhat leaky, with water streaming from either end and running into the drains in a constant gurgle.

Hateley Heath Aqueduct

2009-06-21T19:02:00.000+01:00

Hateley Heath Aqueduct
BCN - Tame Valley Canal

This Grade two listed aqueduct was built as part of the Tame Valley Canal, carrying the elevated canal over Hydes Road in Wednesbury.

Hateley Heath Aqueduct - south profile

Hateley Heath Aqueduct - north profile

It comprises a sectional cast iron trough supported on girders notched into brick abutments. The cast iron panels have some rather fine profiling cast into them, and are bolted together across the sides and the bed of the aqueduct.

Whilst the brick abutments are weeping in places, there is very little evidence of leakage in the main trough.

Thoroughly utilitarian but not without interesting detailing. Easily mistaken for a railway bridge.

Spouthouse Lane Aqueduct

2009-06-21T18:31:00.000+01:00

Spouthouse Lane Aqueduct
Tame Valley Canal - BCN

A very substantial rock faced sandstone aqueduct carrying the Tame Valley Canal on its unusual double arch facade. The slight recess contains a shallow segmented brick arch, built in 1844.

Spouthouse Lane Aqueduct - north profile

There is some weeping on the southern face, dripping canal water onto unwary pedestrians below.

Spouthouse Lane Aqueduct - south profile

Generations of kids have scrambled over the adjoining embankments and nearby colliery spoil heaps, and the Grade Two listed status should ensure such feats of adolescent mountaineering continue be be a right of passage for the youth of Great Barr.

River Tame Aqueduct

2009-06-21T18:23:00.000+01:00

River Tame Aqueduct
Tame Valley Canal - BCN

Another obscurity from the backwaters of the BCN. This late addition to the canal network served as a bypass to the overcrowded Farmers Bridge Locks and BCN Mainline. The Aqueduct can only be reached on foot and its dramatic high arch is somewhat dwarfed by the looming presence of the 6 elevated section which runs alongside this stretch.

River Tame Aqueduct - north profile

The River Tame drains a relatively small catchment basin between Smethwick, Wolverhampton and Walsall. Whilst it is usually no more than a stream, it regularly floods. I has rained hard the night before my visit and it was clear that the surface run off had overtopped the banks and ponded up behind the aqueduct, about 2 metres above the river level you see in the photos.

River Tame Aqueduct - south profile

It is also on of the best bits of moving water in the Birmingham area for canoeing, with some good weirs in the Sandwell Valley and Perry Barr areas.

The Tame Valley Canal has been inundated with overnight rainwater and the normally dry spillway was a foaming torrent beside the 68 steps up to the towpath above.

M5 Aqueduct Tame Valley Canal

2009-06-21T18:15:00.000+01:00

M5 Aqueduct
Tame Valley Canal - BCN

One of the more modern aqueducts on the system, carrying the Tame Valley Canal over the M5 in contemporary concrete trough.

Whilst it isn't exceptionally high, the speed of the traffic whizzing by underneath can be quite vertigo inducing!

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1225247

Possibly one of the least crossed aqueducts on the inland waterways? Hands up anyone who has actually passed this way....

Piercy Aqueduct, Hamstead

2009-06-21T13:28:00.000+01:00

Piercy Aqueduct

Tame Valley Canal

This is a 1913 view of the Piercy Aqueduct, one of the last built, in 1844 carrying the Tame Valley Canal over the Old Walsall at Hamstead, Birmingham.

Note the deserted road with just the photographers car in view. This image was taken by the elusive Mr H R Hodgkinson, who was a prolific photographer and local historian with a particular interest in the BCN.

Ten points if you can recognise the politician on the hoarding!

Dungewick Aqueduct

2009-06-19T20:10:00.000+01:00

Dungewick Aqueduct

Wey and Arun Junction Canal

19th June 2009

The fascinating thing about researching aqueducts is how one structure inevitably seems to lead to another.

My research into Gosden Aqueduct took me to the Dungewick Aqueduct, its peer to the south of the summit pound. This carried (or I can now say carries) the canal over the River Arun, or the River Lox, or the River Chid or maybe even the River Tarrant - no one seems quite sure what it is called.

Dungewick Aqueduct 1937

The original structure was very similar to the Gosden, except it comprised three low arches rather than four. This brick built structure was demolished in the 1950's but has formed part of the Loxwood Extension to the ongoing Wey and Arun restoration project, and was reinstated as a single span concrete channel in 2003 to comply with EA requirements for an unimpeded food relief channel.

The end result may not have the patina of ages ingrained into its brickwork, but it certainly does the job and is a huge shot in the arm for the committed band who continue to work on this ambitious restoration project.

The story of its reconstruction is lovingly documented at www.weyandarun.co.uk from which these two images were obtained.

Gosden Aqueduct

2009-06-17T22:36:00.000+01:00

Gosden Aqueduct

Wey and Arun Junction Canal

A low slung four arch brick built aqueduct, carrying the Wey and Arun Junction Canal over Cranleigh Waters.

This aqueduct was engineered by Josias Jessop (son of William) and completed 1816 as part of an inland through route between London and Portsmouth during a time of war with France. By the time the canal was complete the war was over and its main raison detre removed. It did trade profitably for 50 years or so before the railway from which this photo way taken, took over.

The north east side was partially destroyed, possibly when the railway was dismantled but its north west face remains intact.

Both photos are c/o www.canalnavigations.co.uk , which is a site offering a fabulous insight into the little known canals of southern England.

Avon Aqueduct, Warwick

2009-06-12T23:08:00.000+01:00

Avon Aqueduct
Warwick

A graceful three arch aqueduct, built to carry the Warwick and Napton Canal (now the Grand Union) over the currently non navigable Higher Avon.

Records exist which suggest that the Avon used to be navigable "nearly as far as Warwick", but this route has long since vanished and upstream boaters are now halted by a wier a couple of miles above Stratford bridge.

There are longstanding plans to restore navigation on the Avon up to this point, and then connect to the Grand Union either via four locks, or a boat lift type structure. This would provide a wide beam route between the southern and the Avon / Seven cruising areas. This plan is unpopular with some local landowners (including the National Trust), so I don't expect to see this vision realised anytime soon.