I went on the bike today, despite the cold and wet. It was enjoyable however and saved me £3 on fuel or about £5+ in bus fare!Remember this blogpost?
http://gzandco.blogspot.com/2010/02/canal-journey.html
I went past again, and it was good to see progress. It will be a couple of years yet until we see boats, but it is getting nearer!
So working upwards:- dammed so that clearing (above) can take place, using ex-offenders as a workforce...and they are enjoying themselves despite the cold, wet and stinky mud!
New lock gates
Arch cleared and mended that goes to..
A filler pond, almost cleared
Yes I DID walk over this!!!! Getting better!!
Next pond up, now full
next lock up
next pond up
Top pond and the Fourteen Locks Visitor Centre and Cafe ( very nice!)
The top lock
My transport!
Much of the towpath down as far as the woodyard by The Welsh Oak pub (see your Chartist history) has been given a tarmac surface and is getting more commuter use, but further down (in Newport County) the money is going towards canal maintenance. There the surface is muddy and compacted gravel, so bike, feet and legs and the bailey (yard) were hosed down after the ride.
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5 comments:
Nice bike.
I can smell the mud and moss from here.
Nice basic bike, less likely to be thieved!
Also about17 years old!!
Looks like you had a fun ride. Trees and everything :-)
It is a decent ride, and plenty of places to cut across to other roads, so I'm not limited to going from Cwmcarn to Newport
I draw the line at going back up onto the towpath from Risca with panniers full of shopping though..it *is* steep to get back up there!!
We went there last Autumn, it was raining heavily and we were a bit disappointed about the lack of canal! The little one was in awe of all the diggers though and we had fun shouting 'echo' under the motorway bridge!
Thanks for showing the photos, its great to see the difference and to see that they are actually making progress.
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