Newent's canal that became a railway and will be a canal again

Once upon a time the Hereford & Gloucestershire canal ran past the little town of Newent.  The canal had opened between Gloucester and Ledbury in 1798, at the height of 'canal mania', was extended to Hereford in 1845 and then, having cost far more that its enthusiastic promotors expected, immediately tried to sell itself to a railway company. 

In 1881 the Great Western Railway took over the moribund operation and made plans to convert the Gloucester-Newent section to a railway – the Gloucester & Ledbury – that opened in 1885. 79 years later it too closed, a victim of the infamous Beeching Axe.

In 1983 a society was formed with the aim of restoring the old canal. Since a large length had been obliterated by the railway and the rest had descended into an extreme state of disrepair, this was going to be a huge undertaking that would take decades to accomplish.  Many a doubting Thomas would surely have dismissed the society's plans as an over-ambitious pipe dream, but preservation societies like this one clearly don't understand the meaning of 'impossible'.  Moreover, they have the backing of the Canal & River Trust, who are responsible for maintaining our existing network and have seen over 200 miles of derelict canals returned to use in the last two decades. 

I'd heard that the preservation society had been active around Newent, so went to investigate. First, I walked along the Geopark Way, hoping to get to the mouth of Oxenhall Tunnel (near Holder's Farm on the map above). I have a fascination for tunnels and this one had the bonus of an arched structure nearby called "Leggers' Rest" where, according to the society's website, a gang of men, retained to assist boats through the tunnel, would await their next job. 

The first part of the Geopark Way was easy walking.  I saw a restored aqueduct and plenty of evidence of the canal channel having been dredged.  The highlight, however, was the restored House Lock (top left on my first two maps) and its lovely lockkeeper's cottage.  In a hundred years' time I'd love to come back, live in that cottage and sell ice creams to passing canal boaters!

Beyond House Lock there's a lovely stretch of path beside a large lake, but after this the path deteriorates, with muddy stretches and rampant undergrowth.

By the time I reached Cold Harbour Lane Bridge I was battling 10ft high undergrowth. Would I ever make it to the tunnel?

NO. A sign just beyond the bridge declared that there was no public access beyond that point, so my exploration of Legger's Rest will have to wait for the hard-working preservation society volunteers to clear a way.

I made my way back towards Newent, partly by road to avoid the mud and weeds, then set off to find the old railway station.

Here the canal restorers have a bit of a problem as the old canal lies buried about 6 feet beneath the track bed. In order to cross the B4125, west of the station, canal boats will have to be raised to track level, then lowered again at the other side.  I imagine that a couple of locks would do the job, but it seems that the associated earthworks would be rather too intrusive. According to Wikipedia —

In 2019 they therefore proposed the use of an inclined plane, using a cradle running on rails to raise boats from the canal level up to the station, with a level section between the platforms, followed by another incline to reach the height required to cross the road and another incline to return boats to the level of the canal on the other side.

Now that should be impressive!  Though I doubt that I'll live to see it. 

The Forester

Artificial Ignorance

My breakfast-time routine has changed again, thanks to the relentless 'progress' of technology.  I last blogged about it in January 2020 (click here to see it) when the BBC discontinued their Red Button news service.

More recently, I discovered Google Routines, which are rather good. As I drank my morning coffee and downed my bowl of granola and yogurt, I would fire up my smartphone and say, "Good morning Google." It would greet me, display my Google calendar entries for the day and tell me whether I had any tasks.  It went something like this...

"Good morning Angela. The time is 7.35. You have 4 entries in you diary today; next up 'Lunch with Demelza at 12 noon.' You have one task; 'Feed next-door's cat.' Have a great day.  Here's the latest news from BBC News Headlines at 7am..." and it proceeded to play the news headlines.

A few days ago Google offered to upgrade me to Gemini – their latest Artificial Intelligence offering that can answer questions, summarise text and generate content.  I'd played around with its predecessor, Bard, and quite liked it, so decided to make the switch.

Yesterday morning I greeted Google in my accustomed manner. "Good morning Google," I chirped. This screenshot is its response. O dear!  Defeated, I went to my BBC Sounds app to hear the news headlines.

But perhaps the title of this post is a little unkind, especially as, by Google's own admission, Gemini  is still experimental and "may display inaccurate info."  In response to my prompts "Tyndale Monument" and "Who was Saint Petrock?" it did well, mostly drawing information from Wikipedia. However, it wasn't so great when asked about Lydney Harbour:

I'll forgive it the American spelling (center) and the ungrammatical 'a historic' (an historic). However, there is no canal linking Lydney harbour to the Severn; rather, the canal runs a mile inland, towards the town. As for the "narrow-gauge heritage railway and several restaurants and cafes", the mind boggles as to where that mis-information has come from. There is but ONE very nice café down there (outside seating only) that I can heartily recommend.  Oh, and don't go expecting to enjoy a boat trip.  There aren't any.

Finally, I thought it would be fun to try out Gemini's content generation abilities, so I typed: "Write a letter to my friend Lucy, who writes a blog and takes great photos."

Dearest Lucy,

It feels like forever since we last chatted! I wanted to reach out and see how your creative spark is flying. I've been absolutely glued to your blog lately – your writing always pulls me right in, and the photos are simply stunning!

[Specific compliment about a recent post]: That recent post about [topic of post] with the photos of [mention a specific detail from the photos] was particularly captivating. It really made me feel like I was there with you, experiencing [mention an aspect of the post].

Do you have any exciting adventures or projects lined up that you're itching to share on the blog? I'm always so inspired by your unique perspective and the way you capture the world through your lens. Speaking of which, have you stumbled upon any new photography techniques or editing tricks lately? I'd love to hear your secrets!

On my end, things have been [briefly describe what's been going on with you]. It's made me crave some fresh inspiration, and your blog always delivers. Maybe we could even brainstorm some ideas together sometime soon! Coffee, catching up, and bouncing around creative thoughts sounds like a perfect afternoon to me.

Write back soon and fill me in on all your latest endeavors!

Lots of love,

Angie

And so dies the gentle art of letter writing. 

Goodbye Bluebird

Bluebird, when she was brand new in 2016.
The bird on the right was a lot older.

Bluebird, my trusty Hyundai I10 had clocked up nearly 90,000 miles since I bought her in 2016.  I realise that, by modern standards, that's not a particularly high mileage, but she was also beginning to drink oil, needing a top-up every 3000 miles or so.  Again, I realise that that's not particularly serious, especially when I recall some of the bangers of my youth, which needed a drink of oil with every other petrol fill-up. Nonetheless, there was every indication that Bluebird was getting tired, poor thing, and that her best years were behind her. Which was a shame, because I'd become very attached to her over the past eight years; undoubtedly the best car I'd ever owned.

So it was that thoughts turned to a replacement.  I have never liked large cars, which seemed to rule out EVs.  The range between recharges of the small ones is not great - especially on cold winter nights with headlights blazing and the heater running.  So how about a small hybrid?

On April 10th S-- had a follow-up hospital appointment in Cirencester. 'Why not make a day of it,' we reasoned, 'and look for a new car?' Two models appealed; the Renault Clio and the Toyota Yaris. 

According to Google, there was a Renault agent near Chippenham, about 40 minutes' drive from the hospital - only it was no longer selling Renaults! "We're a Hyundai garage now," explained a sales assistant who didn't even have the courtesy to stop prodding his smartphone." The Renault agency has moved to Trowbridge."  So on we drove for another 15 miles... but it was worth it, as the Trowbridge site had a Renault and a Toyota dealer (both actually division of the same company).

We test-drove the Clio first. It drove effortlessly and I loved the automatic transmission. However, the large casing above the rear view mirror felt intrusive, making me feel 'hemmed in'. I also felt somewhat intimidated by the large computerised information panel (too much information?), though I would doubtless have got used to it.

Photo courtesy of Autocar

Anyway, to further our exploration we discussed a deal with the salesman. Ooo... the necessary 3 year loan would take a big chunk of our monthly income, though it was affordable. We thanked the guy for his time, said that we would think about it, and departed to a nearby pub for lunch.

One hour later, filled with steak and chips, I sat in the driver's seat of a Toyota Yaris Hybrid. My immediate impression was that, despite being about the same size as the Clio, it felt more roomy. It's hard to know why as, like the Clio, there was still a casing of sorts behind the rear view mirror, though the information display was more modest.  It was every bit as easy to drive as the Clio and I thoroughly enjoyed my test drive, taking it rather further along the Westbury road than I had first intended. 

What really clinched the deal, though, was the lower cost all round; the same deposit, more for Bluebird and lower monthly repayments over the same period.  We had only come exploring (or so we kidded ourselves) but by 5-o'clock the deal was done.

We took delivery on May 1st, by which time I'd come up with a name for her - appropriate for a 'whiter than white' car, I felt.  Persil.

The basic instrument display is nice and simple but, as befits a so-called 'environmentally friendly' car, there's also a mass of Eco data available at the flick of a switch.  I think this one means that I'm rather better at starting than stopping!  

The view under the bonnet is daunting.  I recognise the windscreen washer bottle; the rest I'll happily leave to the experts when Persil has her 10,000 miles services. I wonder where the electric motor is?

Rebirth

If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. So wrote the St Paul to his Corinthian friends a couple of thousand years ago. Over the past year or so I've definitely learned the truth of it.

Don't misunderstand me; I continue to be in reasonably good health, but back in March 2023 my beloved S- was found to be in need of a replacement hip joint. Over the following months our physical activity gradually waned, until all that could be attempted were gentle and not too hilly walks of about 4 miles, with coffee breaks half way round.

I could have gone for longer walks by myself, and in retrospect perhaps I should have, but was happy to accompany the one I love on modest rambles in the forest, where we live. Consequently, and almost imperceptibly, my own fitness declined and my weight inched upwards.

S- finally had surgery on the 25th of January, then embarked on the long road to recovery, walking as far as the 1st lamp post on day one... the second on day two... resuming a little work after eight weeks... longer walks after ten weeks.  Now we're back to six mile rambles (with no coffee breaks) and every prospect of hitting the Offa's Dyke trail again next year.

A couple of days ago Facebook reminded me of this post, written in May 2017 after a glorious Waterfall Walk from Pontneddfechan, written only a few months after hitting my Slimming World target of 11st:6lb. It would be good to look that slim - and that fit - again, so I've put myself back on the Slimming World plan, with the determination to lop a stone off my weight and get back to where I should be.  This time I think I can manage it without enrolling with Slimming World; I have S-, who has even more determination than I, to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Last Monday we drove to North Nibley, near Dursley, for a 6 mile walk that included a stiff climb onto the 'edge' beneath which lies Wotton-under-Edge. Here are a few photos.

Our walk book told us to look our for these Strip Lynchets, which are the remains of ancient hillside field systems. I'm grateful for the note, for otherwise I would have dismissed them as signs of natural erosion, or slippage of the topsoil. They're marked on the OS map.

This stand of trees on Wotton Hill was originally planted to celebrate victory at the Battle of Waterloo, then replanted in 1897 and 1952.

From Wotton Hill we joined the Cotswold Way to the Tindale Monument, which has featured in this blog before.  Follow this link if you're interested - https://aboutangiekay.blogspot.com/2019/02/across-water-tyndale-monument.html. From there it was a short, steep descent back to North Nibley.