Bartimaeus

The overnight rain we’d heard on the roof gradually petered out in the morning.  As we set off in warm sunshine one of two boaters who were chatting in their t-shirts called to Clare “You know it’s closed do you?”  She replied “Yes, we’re just going to have a look at it!”

I got an email alert in early February about the landslip in the Easenhall Cutting a few miles north of Rugby.  This is one of three routes north we can take when we eventually start to head that way.  As the weeks have gone on the estimates for how long it will take to clear have gradually increased.  The latest is a further two months from now, so we are likely to take one of the other options.

We cruised as far as Brinklow Marina, the entrance to which is the last winding point before the damaged section.  After turning I reversed a little further to get us on to a reasonably puddle-free section of towpath.  The towpath along here is very soggy – only passable with wellies.  We had some lunch and then set off on foot.  I’d vaguely considered getting the tandem out, but we’d have had quite a job getting it to the road on the bridle path that was imitating a bog.  It was still in better condition than a footpath on the other side of the road.

The road meets up with the canal a mile or so further on, at which point we rejoined the tow path.  It wasn’t long before we found the first evidence of the problem – a bunch of working boats moored up by a warning sign.

We picked our way along the towpath as far as the next bridge.  At this point the towpath was very thoroughly blocked by temporary fencing held by stakes against the bridge stonework.  We could just make out something in the canal in the distance. 

There were steps on to the bridge, but the view from there was also disappointing.  We set off along the road heading for the other end of the blockage.  A footpath marked on my map had a new-looking sign up saying “No Footpath”.  I think this may be the route the contractors are using to cut a roadway to access the slip site.

Down in the valley Clare found a very boggy footpath alongside an overflowing stream which led to an aqueduct.  The steps up the side of the aqueduct led to the towpath, which was also barricaded, but not so effectively.  Not very far along we found a sign indicating we’d found the other side of the trouble.  This sign is for boaters who can wind using the winding hole under the arch.  The opportunity to wind is all that remains of the Brinklow Arm.

The Brinklow Arm also marks the point where the surrounding land reaches canal height.  We had approached on an embankment, but were now entering in to the cutting.  It was only a few boat lengths to the main landslip site.

It’s more than a month since the slip happened.  Initial work has cleared vegetation and some of the debris.  The estimated amount of material to remove is 4000 tonnes.  There is concern that removing the blockage could result in further slippage, especially from the off side, so the slopes will need to be stabilised further.

I cautiously followed the tracks of the heavy equipment to get a view from higher up.  The newly exposed slope above the slip is noticeably steeper than the original slope of the cutting.  I wouldn’t want to bet on its stability.

Looking along the canal I could see that the blockage was not very long.  The trail of light in the picture is the puddled surface of the towpath.  The still surface of the canal reflecting the trees is harder to make out.

We retraced our steps as far as the village of Brinklow.  I was thirsty and suggested we make the short diversion to the pub.  Unfortunately when we got there it was completely full of people noisily watching sport ball.  We beat a hasty retreat, I wasn’t that thirsty!

We could cut the corner on our return if we went via Brinklow Castle.  The castle was wooden and was demolished many centuries ago.  The earthworks it was built on remain – clearly more stable than the canal cutting.  At the top we were higher than any land for many miles around.  This area is quite flat though, so the view was not spectacular.

We could hear a green woodpecker laughing at us from some nearby trees.  Although we looked for a while, we could only see pigeons and crows in the branches.  The bird continued to mock us as we headed back to the boat along the quiet lanes.