From canals@tclayton.demon.co.uk Sat May 1 11:25:24 1999 Date: Sun, 05 Jul 1998 21:41:15 GMT From: Tony Clayton Reply-To: canals@blacksheep.org To: canals@blacksheep.org Subject: To Basingstoke (nearly) Part Four Day 4: Sunday June 28th - Mytchett to Greywell After the storms of the previous day we woke up to sunshine, so after making good use of the shower facilities at the Canal Centre we set off towards Ash. Almost immediately we passed a pub, Potters, with its own lay-by (actually more of a branch canal) which we had not been aware of! Very soon after leaving Mytchett you enter Mythchett Lake. This is of a good size, but most of it is MoD property, and is fenced off so that boats cannot enter the main part of it. It was clearly a popular place for the Roach Pole merchants, but for once there is plenty of room to cruise just out of reach of their floats. You leave the lake under a railway bridge that carries a single line track frquented by surprisingly quiet shuttle trains. Soon after there is a rather decrepit footbridge which the map marks as private. The offside here is attractive pine and bracken woodland. We then arrived at Ash Vale, where a rather scruffy building proudly announced that it was the oldest working boatyard in the country. There was no sign of life there (nor on our return journey). Soon after is Greatbottom Flash, another lake, not so large as Mytchett but certainly a good size. There is no fence, but you are advised not to have a quick burn-up around as it is quite shallow more than 100 feet from the towpath. Again, the long poles were out, but undisturbed by passing craft who can keep well away. There are many coots and a number of great crested grebe here. Heath Vale Bridge has the Swan pub alongside, but there are no convenient mooring posts. The bridge is also the access to Ash Ranges, and the activities there are clearly audible! When I first crossed this bridge back in 1978 you could walk across the canal dryshod, as a silt bar had built up from the nearby stream that enters the canal here. I have a photograph of the dredger in the middle of the canal removing this obstruction. Soon after you reach Ash Wharf. This is a good stopping place, with Budgens supermarket open on Sundays, and yet another fish and chip shop if you are so minded. The former chandlery by the bridge is now a car saleroom. There is a newsagent SW of the crossroads. After our shopping we headed onwards. There follows the famous Ash Embankment which was breached back in 1968, and restored using the Deepcut railway line to carry clay. Now there is a dramatic aqueduct halfway across, with views of the road and many lakes crammed with fishermen. The aqueduct could have been a spectacular design, but the plans were refused and had to be modified. This was where we met our first moving boat (other than those we had locked up with or seen at Mytchett), and inevitably we had to wait as they chugged slowly over the aqueduct in a strong crosswind. This section has very weedy fringes out of the central channel... Ash Lock was therefore for us, with the bottom gates already open. The nearside ground paddle was locked, but the other filled the lock reasonably quickly, and we were on our way past the back of several Army barracks. There is a small private military bridge, then the beautifully painted and gilded 'Iron Bridge' before you arrive at Farnborough Road Bridge. Farnborough Road Bridge is the lowest on the canal at 5ft 10in headroom, and it looks even worse. We had an extra inch as the summit pound was very slightly down. The deck of the bridge slopes in two directions, with it being slightly higher on the left, and the lowest part is on the nearest side of the bridge, so once in the clearance rises. I know that we can get under Broadford Bridge on the Wey easily even with Hazel's wheelchair on the roof, and I found that we had about half an inch clearance here, so I didn't need to move it. As you can imagine, our approach speed was very slow! Soon after Hazel spotted what looked like a dead rabbit in the water, but it was clearly a stuffed toy face down. We retrieved it, and it proved to be a delightful bull with a ring in its nose, so he has been christened 'Basingstoke' and after a good wash in our washing machine now joins Stripy Bevere (a rabbit from Bevere Lock), Rah ('Ruddy Awful Holiday' from Grafton Regis), the Action Man from in the Oxford Canal and other friends. This is another delightful section, even more so when there is no activity at Farnborough Airfield. Oak woodland on one side compliments pines and bracken on the other. Another flash, at Eelmoor, was occupied by fishermen, who were out in great numbers, it being a sunny Sunday afternoon. There were also large numbers of cyclists and walkers, so the canal is clearly very popular, and deservedly so. We had a pleasant lunch here. We continued on. We met another boat moving (seen later in Guildford on our return trip), and two more very low bridges, nominally the same height as Farnborough Road but actually about half an inch higher. At Reading Road Bridge there is a wharf with good access to Fleet shopping centre, and a handy petrol station on the north side of the canal. Soon after there is the Fox and Hounds pub, with mooring bollards occupied by several young fishermen. There is a water point here, but you have to ask the landlord to switch on the supply. The following section is famous for its badger setts, especially after Malthouse Bridge. Crookham (or Zephon Common) Swing Bridge provided some exercise, and was a real pig to get moving. Apparently this is a common hot weather problem - the stays expand and drop the deck onto the abutments. I could not shift it, and I needed the help of a young couple fishing nearby. When we tried to shut the bridge we found that there is no stop, so it promptly went too far the other way. Incidentally, there is no way you can land on the swinging side, so we had to tie the boat onto the bridge, pull it through and tie it to the other side so that I could operate the bridge and move the boat through. The next few miles to Odiham are blissful. Deep cuttings, high embankments, and a gentle meander through the lush woodland. There is a wharf at Crookham by Chequer's Bridge, which is of unusual design and is LOW, but not as low as the three previous low bridges. When I say LOW, I mean Hazel has to get down off the roof rather than just duck. At Barley Mow the view of the bridgehole was totally obstructed by a weeping willow. 'A trim is very much needed' I thought. There was no sign of the John Pinkerton trip boat, except that the water seemed very muddy (it is shallower along this section). Soon after I noticed that there was movement in the water surface, and then we came up behind them just short of the site of Pillars Bridge. They were very helpful and soon pulled over to let us past on the straight leading to Broad Oak Bridge - they commented that they were scraping the bottom in places. At Colt Hill the aspect changes. The wharf had mooring bollards, almost all of which were occupied by fishermen, so we carried on. There is a lonely straight section here, and a recently redecked Lodge Bridge is also LOW. The old deck had no balustrades, and so they put a new girder bridge over the top. We found Caelmiri moored outside a gate leading to the Jolly Miller, but noone was about, so we continued through Swan Bridge, after which the canal becomes very narrow in a cutting behind private gardens. It then opens out and you arrive at North Warnborough Lift Bridge. Contrary to the info in the guide book this is not hydraulic (it used to be), but is moved by a rope winch, complete with fairly complex instructions. You can moor up on the lifting side on both sides, although the eastern side is not really designed for this. You open the box, lower the barriers, take the winch handle out of the box (the throw of which you can vary, which is useful), release the brake, wind up the bridge (quite a lot of turns), apply the brake and move the boat through. A hint - when you want to lower the bridge use the lower socket for the winch handle as it is more direct and you do not have to turn the handle so many times. We were through, and were soon crossing the Whitewater Aqueduct and at the final winding hole. A boom prevent further progress, as would the shallowness, weeds, and coots nests in the middle of the channel. We moored up at what I believe is one of the most delightful spots on the UK canal system. Dabchicks passed up and down, along with several families of swans, ducks and coots. The castle nearby is moderately interesting, and of course, no boats were moving! The Whitewater Aqueduct is notable as having perhaps the least difference in water levels between the canal and river below that I know, about a foot! After supper I trundled Hazel along the remarkably smooth towpath to Greywell Tunnel. This derelict section is truly delightful, with many coots busy cooting, dabchicks dabbing, crystal clear water, and a wide variety of weed growth. The tunnel portal is in good condition, and a path leads down so that you can see in. -- Tony Clayton 'Linton', Godalming Wharf Home Page http://www.tclayton.demon.co.uk ... Beware of quantum ducks. Quark! Quark!