we're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside.
(for the full effect - click on the above link, and let it play in the background whilst viewing this report
)
Welcome to this, the fourth installment in the Underground Boating trilogy.
You may remember us from such previous underground boating buffoonery as:
Why is all of Bristol staring at us?
If these are Catacombs – why don’t the locals speak French?
and
FFS don't sneeze unless you want to wear Crimson Hill as a hat!
Once again we find ourselves in the West-county – Somersetshire to be precise.
('we' being Cap'n Urbanity Sparrow and Popeye Mc Styru)
Indeed, to make this report accessible to the West-county it is designed to primarily be Windows 3.1/Scrumpy O.S 1.2 Beta compatible
(other users please turn you PC clock back 19 years to match Somerset time)
Having upgraded his nautical fleet to include a new 'Explorer 200 Pro' seasoned boater Urbanity had an urge he needed to fulfil – but enough about his quirks
– he wanted to go boating too!
And so, our quest today was Lillesdon Canal Tunnel - not the biggest by any means, at only 400 yards, but one that we needed to do, as it lies close to our previous conquest, Crimson Hill tunnel, and, like Crimson, formed a section of the long closed Chard to Taunton canal, (this has been on the 'to-do' list since Crimson) Completed in 1842, the canal was never commercially viable, and closed in 1868.
So, on with the pics!
The entrance is not that big!
Really not that big!
In fact, quite a squeeze if you are an inflatable boat!
Entering thorough the very top of the long silted up entrance we were treated to a joyful wade through deep, wader grabbing, mud with the added bonus of only about 3 foot of headroom!
After about a 100 yards of fighting to retain our waders.....
We reached water!
The eagle eyed amongst you will spot the rather old, home made, raft in the above picture - this was pretty old, well, very old,
and far too dangerous to use
(so obviously Urbanity had a go - pics later
Now apologies dear reader, but most of these pics are hand-held 'point-and-shoot' pics - as an inflatable boat doesn't provide the best of platforms for a tripod.
Now, where I could, I took proper pics as obviously I don't mind getting my tripod damp, as can be seen in the pic below...
(Just for clarity - that's a full height tripod, and yet the lens cap is dangling in the water!
So on with some more pics!
Is there a geographer in the house??
Oh yes, there's one..
The far end of the tunnel is blocked by an electric pumping set up - starting automatically this pump fires into life every few minutes, pumping water up to the farm above - probably to make cream teas or something.
And so back to that raft:
(above) urbanity risks not only life and limb - but more worryingly the ridicule of the interweb if it all goes wrong.
All in all a fun little paddle!
My £9.99 Union Jack boat (seen below on a previous trip) has survived another trip, as indeed have my Lidl waders.
And as an added bonus I seem to have gained a new torch (sorry Urb' - I'll get it back to you)
I'm sure Urbanity will be along with some pics too.
Thanks for looking - please leave via the gift shop (do try the cream teas - they're very nice!)
.
o(for the full effect - click on the above link, and let it play in the background whilst viewing this report
)Welcome to this, the fourth installment in the Underground Boating trilogy.
You may remember us from such previous underground boating buffoonery as:
Why is all of Bristol staring at us?
If these are Catacombs – why don’t the locals speak French?
and
FFS don't sneeze unless you want to wear Crimson Hill as a hat!
Once again we find ourselves in the West-county – Somersetshire to be precise.
('we' being Cap'n Urbanity Sparrow and Popeye Mc Styru)
Indeed, to make this report accessible to the West-county it is designed to primarily be Windows 3.1/Scrumpy O.S 1.2 Beta compatible
(other users please turn you PC clock back 19 years to match Somerset time)
Having upgraded his nautical fleet to include a new 'Explorer 200 Pro' seasoned boater Urbanity had an urge he needed to fulfil – but enough about his quirks
– he wanted to go boating too!
And so, our quest today was Lillesdon Canal Tunnel - not the biggest by any means, at only 400 yards, but one that we needed to do, as it lies close to our previous conquest, Crimson Hill tunnel, and, like Crimson, formed a section of the long closed Chard to Taunton canal, (this has been on the 'to-do' list since Crimson) Completed in 1842, the canal was never commercially viable, and closed in 1868.
So, on with the pics!
The entrance is not that big!
Really not that big!
In fact, quite a squeeze if you are an inflatable boat!
Entering thorough the very top of the long silted up entrance we were treated to a joyful wade through deep, wader grabbing, mud with the added bonus of only about 3 foot of headroom!
After about a 100 yards of fighting to retain our waders.....
We reached water!
The eagle eyed amongst you will spot the rather old, home made, raft in the above picture - this was pretty old, well, very old,
and far too dangerous to use
(so obviously Urbanity had a go - pics later
Now apologies dear reader, but most of these pics are hand-held 'point-and-shoot' pics - as an inflatable boat doesn't provide the best of platforms for a tripod.
Now, where I could, I took proper pics as obviously I don't mind getting my tripod damp, as can be seen in the pic below...
(Just for clarity - that's a full height tripod, and yet the lens cap is dangling in the water!
So on with some more pics!
Is there a geographer in the house??
Oh yes, there's one..
The far end of the tunnel is blocked by an electric pumping set up - starting automatically this pump fires into life every few minutes, pumping water up to the farm above - probably to make cream teas or something.
And so back to that raft:
(above) urbanity risks not only life and limb - but more worryingly the ridicule of the interweb if it all goes wrong.
All in all a fun little paddle!
My £9.99 Union Jack boat (seen below on a previous trip) has survived another trip, as indeed have my Lidl waders.
And as an added bonus I seem to have gained a new torch (sorry Urb' - I'll get it back to you)
I'm sure Urbanity will be along with some pics too.
Thanks for looking - please leave via the gift shop (do try the cream teas - they're very nice!)
.
Love it! 
