Close to the housing estate that I live on runs the route of what used to be the Wilts and Berks canal. The canal has long since been abandoned but over recent years a group of volunteers from the Canal Trust have started to restore sections. 
These first two pictures are some parts of what remains of Pewsham Locks. (You might be able to tell it was a misty day when I took these pictures). Work is well under way in the clearing and restoration of this part of the canal. 
There are also other parts of the canal, like 'Double Bridge' above which have been fully restored.
And a few sections, like this which have been cleared and then refilled with water, giving a real sense of what the canal used to be like. 
Couldn't resist a snap of these lovely orange bricks which were starting to light up in the sun as its rays burnt their way through the morning mists. 
As the volunteers work on clearing the canal way I guess they unearth all sorts of things and there is a bag of rusty loveliness sat on the side of the path (a couple of these pieces are now sat in my back garden as I thought I'd have an attempt at some rust dyeing soon).This is a walk that I will return to many times in the coming months, not only because it is so convenient being right on the doorstep, but also because of the work that is being done, there is always something new to be seen as the landscape changes with the progression of the restoration work.
As I've mosly concentrated on bricks and mortar in this installment, I'll be returning to this walk in another post in the not too distant future to share some of the wonderful nature and landscapes of the walk.
1 comment:
Wow, what an interesting set of pictures!!! Thank you for sharing. I have seen an old abandon canal before, and it just fascinates me that there was a canal in the area, just like the canal that was in your area, because there doesn't appear to be any source of water near by. Where did the water come from. And when I think that the canals were for boats that is even more amazing to me. Now today I want to study old canals! I will look forward to your further pictures and thoughts on this canal.
You also said you would do some rust dying? I've never heard of that before. I am a member of your artsmail yahoo group and like your work! Have you done a lot of dying before? I would like to try to dye some ugly fabrics I have. I've also heard that dying a whole patchworked piece, say in a beige or coffee stain, can join a scrappy look into a united look.
Well..on to looking at water canals.
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