By: Blonde One
I’m not much of an engineer and I have admitted to being stumped in the past by a bit of Lego, but I know an impressive bit of construction when I see it. The work of Thomas Telford and others, that I have seen over the week on the canal was more than a little bit incredible.
The canals and locks themselves are a feat of genius in my opinion. How they have been constructed to cut their way through the countryside is brilliant. The level of water is controlled using locks to enable the barges to go uphill or downhill. I can’t even begin to imagine how these intricate contraptions were initially designed: who would have such an amazing technical brain to allow them to come up with such a fantastic idea? There are numerous bridges passing over the canals giving cars, pedestrians and cattle an easy passage over the water without getting wet feet.
We ventured over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct which became a World Heritage Site in 2009. It is spectacularly high and apparently is the longest and highest in Britain. On one side there is a handy towpath where you can hop on and off the boat to take some fab photos, but on the other there is a sheer drop down the 38m to the bottom. We felt like we were floating on air! The engineering and construction credits go to Telford and William Jessop.
After crossing the breathtaking Aqueduct we travelled through another of Telford’s constructions: the Chirk tunnel. It was built just before the Aqueduct, in 1801 and is 420m long. This tunnel’s claim to fame is that it was the first in Britain to be built with a towpath as Telford considered legging to be dangerous and undignified. The process of legging, I think, involves lying on top of the boat and walking your legs across the roof.
It is easy to forget whilst holidaying on these canals that they were once a crucial component in Britain’s industry, carrying important cargo to and from towns and ports.
The phrases Blonde One and Blonde Two at the head of the post are smallish and done in a self-effacing colour. Easy to miss. Often I do miss them as I get stuck into the subject. At which point I ask myself: Hang on, is this One or Two? Then spoil it by scrolling back.
But I’ve decided in future I’ll trust my instincts, read through, come up with a choice, and then scroll back to check. Something suggested this thing about canals was One’s work but I hadn’t set the rules then and I can’t say I was right even though I was.
How do I do it (if I do do it). Trade secret. From now on the rules apply, which will mean missing out the first para since my eyes might inadvertently catch the self-effacing answer.
Of course, if you’re put out by this spyplike manoeuvring you could disguise your styles. For a couple of posts, perhaps. Then slip back. We’ll see. I’m on the case.
Roderick the Super Sleuth: I like it! Perhaps we will mix it up a bit to see how good you are!
I like this B1 – we need to develop some deception skills. Maybe you could write a post about cookery and I could give minibus driving tips!
You can try legging for yourself – in the Black Country Museum they have a dark, low tunnel into the depths of a hill where classes of children get the chance to see what it was really like. Very hard work! My lot loved the trip; in fact, the whole museum was a big hit. Was the current on the Llangollen as noticeable in a narrow boat as it is in a canoe?
P.S. “Barge” labels you a gongoozler – “narrow boat”, please!
I have done ‘legging’ in my younger days. At the school where i taught, the year 7 classes used to get taken to the Black Country Museum in Dudley; the boatman always asked for teacher volunteers to ‘leg’ much to the delight of the youngsters. One always had to remember to wear trousers for that outing!
I can’t remember if Blonde Two ever got to go on one of these outings?
Blonde Two has never legged but read all about it as a girl in “Thursday’s Child” which I think was written by Noel Streatfeild and was one of my favourite children’s books.