Somerset Coal canal
Midford to Tucking Mill
February 2014
The Somerset Coal Canal takes a sharp turn to the north at Midford, cutting under the railway arches in what is now the garden of a house and then under the B3110.
At first glance there is no trace of the bridge and I assumed that it had been lost in a road widening scheme during the last century but then I took a second look at the parapet next to the Hope and Anchor Inn. And there it was, a distinct arch so I squeezed past the pub's bins and there on the northern side is the crown peeping out of the undergrowth, the distinctive keystone having survived all this time.
B3110 Bridge
This was the site of a distinctive Weigh House, sadly long gone but its image lives on as the logo of the Somersetshire Coal Canal Society. And so we have to move on, skirting round the house built on its foundations and pick up the trail beyond where the trench reappears cloaked in prehistoric looking ferns.
A footpath follows the old towpath but in the wet it is slick with clay making progress a bit perilous. The channel remains clear and rubbish free for about half a mile, rope swings looped over the trees for the amusement of the local children.
Canal behind Hope and Anchor
And then it all changes with the channel filled with rubble and waste and the footpath switching sides but the going underfoot was no easier.
A drainage culvert still in use
This would be a lovely walk in drier conditions but on this occasion I opted for a return journey along the nearby road and then the railway / cycle way which is parallel but about 40 feet above.
William Smith's house
This section concludes at Tucking Mill and William Smiths House, father of English geology. William Smith has interesting connections with the canal as he served as a consulting surveyor till he was let go due to some questions about his purchase of the cottage. I can see why he liked the area as the local limestone is riddled with fossils, the imprints of ancient plants and animals visible in lust about any bit of newly exposed rock.
Fossils
5 comments:
Opposition side of bridge under Midford road still exists. Its beside the driveway of the house. Its clearly visible from the driveway and if my memory serves correct there is a date or SCC scribe in the pennant stone. I have worked on the house a few times.
Dan
Opposition side of bridge under Midford road still exists. Its beside the driveway of the house. Its clearly visible from the driveway and if my memory serves correct there is a date or SCC scribe in the pennant stone. I have worked on the house a few times.
Dan
How about the lovely canal bridge which was situated at the entrance to Tucking Mill cottages. This has been totally covered by the driveway to what is now Tucking Mill manor but was originally No 1 The cottages. I was born at No 5 and remember when Bath Council filled this section of canal with household waste.
Lyn Clewer(ne New)
What about the lovely bridge which was situated at the entrance to Tucking Mill cottages. This is now totally covered by the entrance to Tucking Mill Manor. It was over this bridge that people reached the terrace of cottages. The canal bed here was filled by Bath City council with household waste back in the late 40`s. I was born at No5 and writing my memories of growing up there. Rumour also has it that William Smith bought the cottage higher up the lane and not the one with the plaque!
Lyn Clewer(ne New)
Just like your investigation of the stone work by the Hope and Anchor, Revealing the bridge, I was very intrigued to see the picture on google maps at https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Midford,+Bath/@51.3450608,-2.3447518,38m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x487180f4a4facbbd:0xa0d8b2667946a80!8m2!3d51.3443217!4d-2.3452842?hl=en-GB
This shows Ladybank house, built on the site of the weigh house, with clearly visible in front of the house the outline of the Weigh house lock island on which the pillars of the weigh bridge stood. Unless my eyes deceive me these are the edging stones of canal at this point. They are not visible on all the pictures google has taken over the years, (drop down top left will get other views for different years) they are covered in grass most of the time only appearing, like crop marks, when the soil dries right out.
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