by: Domain Yo
It seems that the Cotswold Canals Trust have a watery rival in Stroud. Today we can exclusively announce the completion of the first section of a new underground canal, The Stroudunder Navigation, which will eventually run from Brimscombe Port to Saul Junction.
Dr Lapri Folo from the Gloucestershire Curious Lid Society is the brains behind the scheme. He explains, "It seemed like a crazy idea at first but then we started to think about all of the stuff that stands in the way of the above ground canal and our idea suddenly made sense. There are no obstacles underground and, because there are no hills, you can build a canal without locks, thus dramatically reducing the overall cost. We decided to dig by hand rather than use machines and we selected the smallest spades we could find to reduce the chances of hitting rocks. Initially we were worried that we could lose our way down there and head off in the wrong direction so we introduced a rule that you should only dig directly in front of where you are standing. And, of course, we can dig at night because it's already dark down there."
The Blog has obtained exclusive pictures of the project.
Dr Folo and the team:
Work in progress
The first boat to use the newly opened section:
We wish Dr Folo the very best of luck with the next stage.