Blisworth and Blizzards

Having recruited Shannon to 'baby' sit the reluctant walker (Alex that is) we set off at lunchtime to walk the Yardly Gobion to Blisworth Tunnel section of the canal. It was a lovely sunny day so Chris donned his shorts, not realising that it was actually only 4 degrees.

We were not sure exactly were to park to reach the section we stopped off at last time but, after stopping twice to clear up dog sick, we finally recognised the place from last week. This section of the canal up to Stoke Bruene is beautiful with no buildings, just lovely fields and views.

It wasn't long into our walk that Chris admitted that his legs were a bit chilly - of course I was extremely sympathetic ;-) It was so cold that the canal overflow was frozen solid.

Stoke Bruene itself was reasonably busy, even for such a chilly day, and there were lots of narrow boats moored there with their wood burners chugging out smoke. We tried to persuade Neo to walk over the lock gate but he was having none of it so Chris had to walk him back to the bridge to cross over as we neared the entrance to the Blisworth Tunnel.

Blisworth Tunnel Facts
At 3,076 yards (2,813m) long it is the third-longest navigable canal tunnel on the UK canal network after Standedge Tunnel and Dudley Tunnel (and the ninth-longest canal tunnel in the world). At its deepest point it is 143ft (43m) below ground level.

Work began in 1793, but errors by contractor left a wiggle in the tunnel, and after three years work it collapsed due to quicksand, claiming the lives of 14 men. It was then decided to begin again with a new tunnel.

By the time the rest of the Grand Junction Canal had opened between London and Braunston, Northamptonshire in 1800, apart from the crossing of the River Great Ouse, the section of canal from Blisworth to the lower end of Stoke Bruerne locks was the only section unfinished. This was despite the tunnel having been under construction for seven years: the gap was filled by a temporary horse-drawn tramway over the top of the hill, with goods being transported from boat to wagon and back again. The tramway, built in 1801, was Northamptonshire's first railway. In March 1805, the tunnel was finally opened and the rails were used to connect the main line of the canal to the River Nene until the branch canal to Northampton was constructed.

There was some major rebuilding of the tunnel in the 1980s, with sections lined with pre-cast concrete rings. It was also used to test out the materials that were later used on the Channel Tunnel. One of the unused rings is on display just outside the south portal. Along the length of the tunnel there are ventilation towers built of brick.

The walk over the top of the tunnel begins with a woodland walk but soon takes you onto a mile long section of the Blisworth Road - not the best dog walking environment. They have obviously having some bizarre weather here; as we came over the hill in view of blisworth, there was a section of the road and inch deep in hail stones.

Walking back to Yardley Gobion was lovely as it was very quiet and the sun was beginning to set. It had been a hard walk as the canal path along much of this section is just boggy mud and the final section seemed much further on the way back than it did when we started.

Time walked: 4 hours
Distance walked: 11.5 miles
Blisters: 0