I revisit the town of Swindon to witness a new line of the Wilts & Berks Canal being dug near Mill Lane at Witchelstowe. I also look at the former line of The North Wilts Canal, near the site of the former GWR Works.
Wilts & Berks Canal Trust:
https://www.wbct.org.uk/
Link to my ‘Swindon’s other railway’ video:
#canal #swindon
18 Comments
Are you coming to the march at the weekend? It would be great to see you. I’m going to live stream
Btw I’ll share this for you
There’s no section under the roundabout, the canal goes under the road behind you, it goes in a straight line under mill lane to the junction in the fields on the other side that then joins up to the new cut and the other arm to the m4 crossing
Those gates were the entrance to the GWR works from the canal towpath. It was all GWR works there, no wharf
The wooded area was a pound between 2 locks
The brackets on the railway wall used to hold until not that long ago, quite large cable and pipes coated in thickly tarred insulations that appeared to serve the BR wagon works on the left towards the end of the track with the wavy roof. The lovely cast iron gates on the other side were indeed an entrance into the significant GWR carriage and wagon works. Being born and bred in Swindon, as kids we cycled down there (particularly on Sunday's) on our way to our regular clandestine visit to the never to be forgotten Swindon railway running sheds. What an adventure! Golden days! 😊
Hi Paul, really interesting Video! funny you should mention the Oasis as the company i worked for when i was a carpet fitter had the contract to fit out the lobby and corridor areas. the carpet was specially woven Royal Wilton and had palm trees on it. M y brother Neville worked on the project. i was on another project working for the MOD at RAF Insworth. Great vlog, Best wishes Darren👍👍👍
That was a very interesting and informative video. Swindon industrial heritage needs preserving, whether it be canals or railways. Great to see the work the dedicated volunteers have done so far to reinstall the waterway around/through Swindon.
As for the derelict Oasis site, what a waste! Please preserve the route of the canal following the proposed redevelopment. There may not be plans tobring the North Wilts Canal back toifd now, but who knows what the future will bring
Hi Paul nice video and info ,and hope your having a good weekend 👌
When the missing Swindon section is completed together with the M4 under bridge will the canal be navigable from Abingdon to Semington and therefore connected to the rest of the canal network ?
The Oasis is a Grade 2 listed building. It is hoped that the new cut beyond East Wichel will rejoin the historic course via the Eastern Villages development and on to Shrivenham
When we moved to Swindon in the '60's the canal was still in tact, then the vandals came calling themselves 'developers'
That video was awesome! I had no idea Britain had so many canals.
Very interesting and informative video on W&B developments at Witchelstowe, which look full of potential. Hopefully, SBC will use this as an exemplar for the redeveloping the Oasis/North Star site, providing a watererway/greenway connection into the centre of Swindon. It obviously costs money, but it also requires the kind of vision and drive seen in developments to the West of Swindon to make it a reality.
Hi Paul, Great video, a good continuation from your previous trips there.
Some real opportunities for Swindon, in the North Wilts part, let’s hope that that something useful can come of it and maintain the possibility for that canal in the future.
Your two winged followers are multiplying, Swans, Ducks and Geese this time!!
Some interesting towpath reinforcement in action it wasn’t until I saw the aqueduct that I realised you were quite so high up on that embankment.
Have a great week!!
Very interesting thank you Paul, l do hope the canal cut will be restored when the Oasis is redeveloped. Jan
The post regarding the culvert under the roundabout is south of the M4. If you are heading west towards junction 16 and look left you might spot a large hollow concrete rectangle. Don't do yhat if you're driving! The canal will pass through it that once the M4 has been tunneled under. The canal will then proceed towards the garden centre and join another section of restored canal at Studley Grange. When the bridge is replaced at the end of this section it will join the next section with a restored lock and then needs to be linked with Temple Firs.
It's wonderful to see & hear about the development & redevelopment of the canal & sorrounds. I am not sure when you have found blue skies this last few weeks, but it's great to see it.