The Structure that DESTROYED an Entire CANAL

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

The Paul and Rebecca videos are always so soothing. Very well told, fascinating and interesting stories, intelligibly and comprehensibly delivered.

[@ewythr]

I play them on the big telly. Some of the best content I've ever seen.

[@totoro123]

Glad you managed to get permission… it must be very frustrating having to stick to public paths for a lot of your films.

[@TIMMEH19991]

That is absolutely amazing that that wall hadn't collapsed having been shoved at least 4 feet sideways! Also kudos to the farmer for letting you investigate and for the info about the aqueduct. Many years ago I was investigating the lower reaches of the Bude canal and a very nice farmer took us to the bottom of the second to last inclined plain which is superbly preserved because its miles from anywhere and there's no access to it at all. A real gent if I ever met one!

[@smiffy1947]

I read somewhere many years ago that the work that went into building the canal was made more complex by the fact that the aqueduct was built on dry land and then the River Marden was diverted underneath! That might however have been the easiest way because Stanley aqueduct had two arches with a pier in the middle of the river. As you saw yourselves the Marden is prone to rapid changes in level as it is a relatively short but steep river - Calne town centre used to flood regularly right up to the 1950’s, a problem that would have been made worse in the 19th century by the fact that the river was held back to feed the canal.

[@MrGreatplum]

Loved this one, Paul and Rebecca. Really caught your enthusiasm on this one - some great shots too!

[@malcolmsmith6615]

I’m SO glad you got to the locks. I made it as far as the aqueduct in the late 70s, but from the south. Back then the aqueduct was intact (apart from the one side that had fallen out). Even though it still crossed the Marden it was too unsafe to walk over and so I never got to see Stanley Locks. Thank you for finishing off a journey I started 43 years ago!

[@cyrildhy8993]

Some years ago when I lived in Calne I manage to walk across the aqueduct. As far as I remember it was just sides with very large holes in the bottom you didn't want to slip. The last map I saw showed a foot bridge along side, but didn't spot in on the drone.

[@brianwillson9567]

Taking both quality and interest of your videos, you chaps must rank in the very first division of film makers. Thank you for this wonderful new year’s present for your followers.

[@shirleylynch7529]

Fascinating video. If canal does get restored it will be in a beautiful setting. How sad that it was all lost. Thank you for telling us and explaining what happened.

[@billwinward9324]

I live very close to where this video was made, I knew about the collapse of the aqueduct and its effect on the canal. What I didn’t know was what is left of the Stanley locks. Magnificent! Thank you

[@johnsmart964]

Absolutely magnificent, as ever. The canals and railways were tied together somewhat, especially in the earlier days of the railways and the latter days of many canals. The work you put into keeping the memory of these important historical places alive is very much appreciated.

[@pwhitewick]

Many thanks!

[@robinsmith8918]

Think of balcombe viea dutt it went on and all the money dried up for rhe canel to shoreham wow what a loss

[@andyhill242]

It was me! I pressed the Join button, sorry Rebecca, you'll have to update the end titles again.

[@PeowPeowPeowLasers]

It's a similar story for the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal. It breached on the Bury branch, near Nob End, in 1936. The breach has never been repaired. And the canal's water supply came from the other side of the breach. And that was that.

[@stevehill4615]

Last time I was up there (the breach is quite spectacular) talking to a local he said there was a proposal by a housing developer to build house's on the paper mill site in exchange for them restoring the breached part of the canal and the road bridge over the canal to the site.

[@eze8970]

Thank you, as you say, all the labour involved, no powered excavators back then! 🙏🙏

[@stephenspacagna6383]

Paul and Rebecca fulfil my Sunday afternoon, Time Team cravings!

[@KillerBill1953]

I prefer railway content but always enjoy anything you produce, thanks.

[@pwhitewick]

This time next week... railways.

[@RetroRatz]

Excellent pieces to camera! Some cracking shots. A very picturesque location 👍 great work

[@johnm2012]

It isn't unknown for the failure of a major structure to cause the closure of an entire route. The damage caused to Bolsover tunnel due to mining subsidence caused the closure of the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway route in the 1950s. It was a grand sounding name but the closest it got to Lancashire was Chesterfield (Market Place), on the "wrong" side of the Pennines, and it petered out in a field just outside Lincoln before ever reaching the east coast. It wouldn't have survived Beeching anyway but it's ironic that it was killed by the coalfields it was built to exploit.

[@polarlicht4758]

There is always something magical on old overgrown brickwork, hidden in the middle of nowhere. Kinda how it looks like in some Hayao Miyazaki animes

[@mileshigh1321]

Beautiful location again! That canal would be incredible to see restored and of course the aqueduct breach fixed!

[@Andrewjg_89]

Awesome. I have watched many of your interesting videos and I have been so interested in your content. 😊

[@martinmarsola6477]

Thanks to Mat and the farmer for the establishment of this wonderful video. Always glad to see Rebecca and Paul. See you on the next. Cheers mates! ❤❤😊😊

[@hazza106]

You guys have got me looking at culverts, I love right next to the downslink and I’m forever jumping off my bike clambering down and admiring a brick arch!!

[@janecapon2337]

Very informative. I really enjoyed the couch trek to the aqueduct…”Ouch! Brambles!”

[@gaugeonesteam]

Another excellent video! I'm getting to like the canal ones more than the railway ones. I think that's because they go further back in history. Not Roman times but seeing what people were doing 200 years ago in such a tangible way is fascinating.

[@bobly]

Another great video by the pair of you, thanks to Matt as well. Where too next week Paul and Rebecca

[@simonmcowan6874]

Really enjoying the Wilts and Berks canal series.

[@wendybotham9833]

Have to admit, in the opening shot I thought you were talking about the marking in the field and thought that was the filled in canal. 😁

[@anthonymoore6009]

Enjoyed that. Some excellent shots of the bottom lock.

[@emmabird9745]

Hi people. Love your videos. May I suggest that a single structure has doomed many a canal such as the redbridge canal at Andover (where I was born) was doomed by the railway built over it! IE it was filled in to build a railway, much like the S&D and Camerton branches on the Somerset coal canal. Basically they wanted the water for the steam engines.

[@davie941]

great video again Paul Rebecca and matt , very interesting , really well done and thank you guys 😊

[@Sim0nTrains]

Some lovely abandoned structures in this video and that is a lot of flowing water. Great Video.

[@memorialgardens1664]

Always enjoy your video’s sending good thoughts 🙋‍♂️💪💕 Nath and Penny

[@simonbradshaw3708]

Thank you for another really enjoyable video, I hope to see more videos about this canal. Kindest regards, Simon

[@WanderingwithWatto]

Another masterpiece. So interesting and informative. Great job. 👍🏻🚶🏻‍♂️🚶‍♀️

[@macdodd]

Nice to catch you guys actually putting the video up. I've been watching the last few runs my nephew & I have been doing with our last remaining running Husky on his KZbin channel & you popped up in the stream so it was very fortuitous. Nice day you had for filming

[@pwhitewick]

Our pleasure!

[@macdodd]

@@pwhitewick Cheers

[@stewartjones2216]

Amazing picture guy. keep up the good work😃

[@lindamccaughey6669]

Fantastic video guys. What a beautiful area that was. Loved the history of canal and it would be great if it was fixed up. Please take care

[@michaelball1307]

Another great episode from paul & Rebecca...love to see you both looking back on Britain's industrial past...canals and old abandoned railway lines.. always a favourite of mine having grown up in broadstone ...one of your previous exploits about castleman railway...🙂 kind regards Michael..🚂

[@andrewnorth170]

Great video, very informative. You go to great lengths to show us what happened and it comes out perfect.

[@Andrew-uy5gh]

Thanks for another great video.

[@johnstilljohn3181]

That was great. It would be interesting to see if there are any original pictures of the viaduct...

[@radiosnail]

Another good one. The music really adds a lot to your videos .Many thanks.

[@GazzaJAnimal]

Another fab video. Thank you!

[@gbcb8853]

One structure? The M6 did a good job of destroying the northern section of the Lancaster canal. Now restored and, more amazingly, newly connected to the national canal network.

[@eggy77]

I suppose given the efforts that went into building the canals, especially at a time when machinery wasn't readily available it's only right that efforts should now be made to restore the canals, it's still a huge task but it's nothing compared to the task of building the canals in the first place all those centuries ago.

[@foghornred]

well done exposing that canal you do some good work,

[@petertrevena804]

Love you both ❤

[@philiptownsend4026]

That was a beautiful production.

[@paulharvey9149]

A kind farmer indeed - but surely, nobody can rival your passion for all things canal, Paul! So in the aerial shot at 0:58 there appears to be an old watercourse - or road - approaching the camera from the bend in the river to the top left. As the locks were to the right of that view (and actually there is a ramp from the field up to what I assume was the bridge above the top lock), what was this used for?

[@Roverswelsh]

Another relaxing video. Great work!

[@robertdonaldson6584]

Salut from Brunswick, Maine , US.

[@trevorlewis7907]

Very interesting

[@Jimyjames73]

Very good - thanks for sharing 😉🚂🚂🚂

[@lotsofspots]

Are there any images around of what the aqueduct looked like?

[@pwhitewick]

Oddly I've just been sent one. Have a look at my twitter feed and you'll see it

[@lotsofspots]

@@pwhitewick Nice, thanks! :D

[@dukeofaaghisle7324]

I would love to see more videos on the Wilts & Berks Canal. I have walked and cycled along the lovely Marden valley (Chippenham - Calne Railway line) and I regularly cross the route of the canal at various points along its south-western reaches. I must say I am intrigued how the Canal Trust hope to restore the A4 crossing at Pewsham - it would be a civil engineering challenge!

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

A gent called "Court Above The Cut" has been putting up some nice videos of the progress on the Wilts and Berks.

[@dukeofaaghisle7324]

@@theoztreecrasher2647 Thanks - I’ll take a look.

[@nigelgladwell1783]

happy new year to you all love the videos looking forward to 2023

[@pwhitewick]

Happy new year!

[@notmozart1]

Always a pleasure!

[@legothoron1]

quite a bit thinner than the old Welland Canal and Rideau Canal locks

[@rozannaherring1578]

All very fascinating. Can you tell us how the aquaduct was breached? Flooding? Would really like to know what happened.

[@JohnAdorjan]

I’m sure this is a fine video in total but I gave it a like 14 seconds in already just because of the “and I’m Matt” surprise.

[@taffythegreat1986]

The breach doesn’t look that wide, so why didn’t they just dam it back up? Another good interesting video 👍👍👍

[@colinmcgregor123]

Hi Paul, why not try no rucksack when clambering in about/under trees

[@fromthetaperoom6325]

Similar story on The Chesterfield Canal. A tunnel (now under the M1 motorway) repeatedly suffered subsidence and eventually collapsed in 1907. (Because someone thought it would be perfectly ok to dig for coal right under the tunnel!) By 1907 the railways had overtaken the canals, and the repair costs were unjustifiable, thereby cutting Chesterfield off from the canal network.

[@peterrobinson903]

A new re-aligned tunnel is in the restoration plan for the Chesterfield Canal which will connect the town to the rest of the canal and complete the final part.

[@forkliftofzen5318]

Paul: " No potty mouth or insulting people." Me: Well, I see I'm never going to be a guest on this channel.

[@earlmarshall5054]

happy new year to you both

[@ynot6473]

@ 3.50, ground paddle hole.

[@michaelsilcock7933]

Paul's voice on the voice over gives me asmr

[@DadgeCity]

It would've helped me if you'd added a diagram to show the layout of the aqueduct (bridge), and the position of the breach (hole/collapse).

[@pwhitewick]

Fair comment. There wasn't much context there, but I try not to "over diagram" when possible.

[@DadgeCity]

p.s. as usual, I went to the NLS maps site to look at the area, and ended up reading about Stanley Abbey and Spye Arch. I know abbeys aren't your thing, but there doesn''t seem to be a video about these two places on YT (apart from an interesting talk about the abbey) - maybe the farmer would let you do a video about the abbey site too? It fascinates me when a location seemingly in the middle of nowhere has been the focus for so much human activity (abbey, mill, canal, railway...).

[@colinbagshaw1796]

Any chance in future of the odd pencil sketch to show what some of these ruins looked like. I couldn’t make out what the old aqueduct looked like 👍

[@pwhitewick]

That would involve me drawing Colin.... eeeeek

[@malcolmrichardson3881]

Great video, with some daring shots of crumbling masonry, showing the need for some vital restoration work - a large and complex undertaking judging by your video. Are there any plans in the offing?

[@hedleythorne]

Super video, enjoyed that

[@xr6lad]

So when the aqueduct collapsed and the canal ran out of water; were many barges trapped or had to be abandoned?

[@iainhunneybell]

Lock sluice == “paddle” 😊

[@SnaccDaddyy]

Great work as always, would love to know where you get your music from and the names of the pieces. They are very relaxing to listen to

[@jeffreybail353]

you can see on the terrain that there is something underneath

[@telx2010]

The hiStory we get and our past are two very different things.

[@danielcallender8649]

If the branch Canals was lower how'd it supply water to the main line?

[@allenatkins2263]

I hope the canal will be restored.

[@graemerigg4029]

Basingstoke? Then make it so! - Ruddigore

[@mikeakhurst1855]

Great video. Rebecca is “bramble” a new nickname for Paul! Lol😅😂

[@Basaljet]

Nice one. Did you say there is possibly of restoration? Happy new year

[@atlanticx100]

What I find sad is that the canal network is one of the things that built our country yet we just let it go. My main point is with the fractured world we are living in as regards energy and politics we need them again.

[@fredericksaxton3991]

Please help me here, that lock you would not venture into is about 3-4 feet wide, how wide was it supposed to be?

[@rodneymcgovern5984]

On narrow canals, the locks were 7 feet wide.

[@fredericksaxton3991]

@@rodneymcgovern5984 Thank you.

[@a11csc]

❤️👍

[@janinapalmer8368]

Do you know what actually caused the aqueduct to be breached and just how big was it ?

[@jim-md6ej]

How do Mr Grey.. It was obviously the aptley named Casper 👻 stomping around above them, Think the chances of it being a heavy footed spook are pretty much unlikely.

[@SamSitar]

how would they fix the aqueduct today?

[@Rail_Focus]

Top video, lock looks a bit precarious to say the least, passed saving? Be a shame if it were just allowed to collapse

[@annarboriter]

Tree roots

[@timmeekings3492]

Do you have any merch available?

[@bullettube9863]

I wonder why they didn't just dig a cut through the hill instead of building tow locks?

[@ducthman4737]

But still it functioned during 100 years. How many things we build today will last that long.

[@bohicajohnson7203]

After the breech, why not close the lock gates?

[@rodneymcgovern5984]

Because the aqueduct appears to be on the western side of the locks, so the breach would drain the canal of water before the water reached the locks!

[@FightinAggieFarmer]

Sad something so small ruined a canal that long.

[@paulbennett772]

Zoom - not pan

[@Wojtekpl2]

Lots of talking and not too much of actual information about what happen there, why, maybe some old photos, maps . Not good. Please try to learn from Martin Zero.

[@pwhitewick]

I'm not sure what else I could have added? We discussed the history of the canal, then explored a part that nobody had been to in decades. Then visited the spot which discussed how the breach of the canal was made. If I added anything else perhaps that would be too much talking? With regards photos we use as many as we can without breaching copyright. Sadly there are very few available here that can be used without paying thousands.

[@memorialgardens1664]

@@pwhitewick You did a great job 🧠🤝

[@michaelmiller641]

@@pwhitewick you don't need to learn from anyone!

[@kevinmothers904]

@@pwhitewick Sigh! Martin Zero rarely videos south of the Midlands. A high percentage are about the Manchester area. He does his thing (lots and lots of talking and the occasional photograph) and you do yours. I subscribe to you but not him. I wonder why? Carry on with the good work and ignore the detractors.

[@Lindafoy11]

Paul and Rebecca's videos are ALWAYS my Sunday evening pleasure.......fascinating, entertaining and informative...In fact they are BRILLIANT! Am an History buff of many years, Stately homes, castles, Iron age hill forts, Roman remains etc...but Old industrial archeology is my absolute Fave area...... NO comparisons elsewhere, anyone who thinks other-wise ....well, don't bother watching!

[@robertcoleman4861]

👍👍👍👍👏👏🍺☕🫖😎

[@ThatCoalSoul]

Happy New Year you two, here's hoping you add to your already great public content cache! Metc.=