Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
So, today we out and about walking along a stretch of a disused canal which is the 'Thames & Severn Canal'. The canal was opened in 1789 and reached the height of its commercial success around 1850, but due to competition from the railways, the use of the canal was to steadily decline over the next 60 years or so, until it finally closed in 1927.
We start the walk not too far from the Sapperton Tunnel and the Tunnel House, the house was originally built as a hostel for the men who were digging the tunnel. It is hard to imagine just how hard and physically demanding the digging of the tunnel would of been! The Sapperton Tunnel is nearly 3.5 km in length, construction of the tunnel was started in 1784 and was completed just in time for the grand opening of the canal in 1789. The very last cargo to pass through the tunnel was on May 11th in 1911.
As we walk along the towpath, try to imagine what it would of looked like all those years ago when it was a hive of activity in its heyday. This walk might just be one of the most relaxing so far, with the warm sunlight gently back lighting the trees especially in the latter half of the walk.
For more detailed information regarding the canal & tunnel, please pause the video at 04:34 & 06:10 you may be able to use YouTube's zoom function to zoom into the text.
I intend to redo this walk in the autumn but in reverse, preferably on a rainy & windy day.
Thanks for walking with me.
#englishcountryside #cotswolds #cotswoldcanals
So, today we out and about walking along a stretch of a disused canal which is the 'Thames & Severn Canal'. The canal was opened in 1789 and reached the height of its commercial success around 1850, but due to competition from the railways, the use of the canal was to steadily decline over the next 60 years or so, until it finally closed in 1927.
We start the walk not too far from the Sapperton Tunnel and the Tunnel House, the house was originally built as a hostel for the men who were digging the tunnel. It is hard to imagine just how hard and physically demanding the digging of the tunnel would of been! The Sapperton Tunnel is nearly 3.5 km in length, construction of the tunnel was started in 1784 and was completed just in time for the grand opening of the canal in 1789. The very last cargo to pass through the tunnel was on May 11th in 1911.
As we walk along the towpath, try to imagine what it would of looked like all those years ago when it was a hive of activity in its heyday. This walk might just be one of the most relaxing so far, with the warm sunlight gently back lighting the trees especially in the latter half of the walk.
For more detailed information regarding the canal & tunnel, please pause the video at 04:34 & 06:10 you may be able to use YouTube's zoom function to zoom into the text.
I intend to redo this walk in the autumn but in reverse, preferably on a rainy & windy day.
Thanks for walking with me.
#englishcountryside #cotswolds #cotswoldcanals
