Approaching the south portal of Blisworth tunnel
Section of the new part of the tunnel. It seems much smaller than when you are travelling through the tunnel
We stopped for the night at Weedon.which has the distinction of being the dead centre of England. That is the farthest away from the coast in any direction It is mentioned in the doomsday book and pre dates the canal by about 700 years as can be seen by the Tudor building in then old village.
We went to see the barracks which were built to house the cavalry during the Napoleonic wars in the mid 1800s
The barracks were served by the canal and are still in water and were once guarded by a canal portcullis.
The branch of the canal used to leave the main line at the boatyard that used to operated by Concoform hire boats
There are 8 barrack blocks which once housed the gun carriages on the ground floor and the soldiers on the floor aboveAll supplies were brought in by the then new canal and there were gunpowder stores and many other buildings associated with an army set to make it last stand to defend England in the event of invasion by Napoleon.
The bascule bridge at the centre of the canal is still evident but missing the water vessel that made it lift.A truly fascinating and historic place that has disappeared from English awareness. A factory and railway line will prevent restoration of a canal destination but oh what a place it would be should it ever be restored to it’s past glory. It is reputed to house a vast store antiques these days.
We went to the Plume of Feathers pub in the old village and took part in the quiz. Last year Sue and I won a Madeira cake as third price but this year with the help of Doreen and Andrew we won second prize of a bottle of wine. That was on top of the 2 small bottles of wine and 10 pounds we won at the Five Bells pub at Bugbrooke on the way to Stoke Bruerne.Doreen and Andrew left us at Long Buckby and we were again on our own
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