At Ebley stands a reminder of a once significant communications trunk route that once ran alongside our canal. This sole remaining pole and a few sawn off stumps in the ground at Lodgemore are all that remain. Old photo's capture the full splendor of this once important piece of telephone infrastructure.
Pairs of tensioned hard drawn cadmium/copper wires once spanned between the poles. Canals, like railways, were an ideal place to run such routes. The Shropshire Union Canal has a unique example just north of Norbury Junction
Back in 1985, the last reaming open wire pole route in the area could be seen running up Chalford Vale alongside the main line railway. It too, has long gone. The Ffestiniog Railway, in North Wales, still operates and maintains a substantial heritage pole route, keeping alive the skills and practical knowledge of a once common sight.
