Horse Ramps

[Tim Lewis]

Have had a query asking if there is anywhere else on the canal system other than the Regents Canal that has/had ramps for retrieving horses from the canal.

 

Anyone know?

 

Tim

[alan_fincher]

Have had a query asking if there is anywhere else on the canal system other than the Regents Canal that has/had ramps for retrieving horses from the canal.

 

Anyone know?

 

Tim

Tim,

 

There are for certain 2 surviving on the Tring summit of the GU, one slightly south of Tring station road bridge, and the other by the winding hole and water point just south of the bridge at Bulbourne.

 

As recently as 1970s one was still being used for their intended purpose, as I recall seeing the owner of the horse barge trip boat struggle for ages to get a Shire out, even though (very luckily) the incident had occurred very close to the Tring station one.

 

I'm sure I've seen others on the GU, but can't remember where.

 

Being pedantic, BTW, is there not one at Little Venice that would qualify as Paddington Arm, rather than Regents Canal ?

[John Orentas]

There is certainly at least one surviving in Bugswoth Basin.. I have been told that the ramps were very common in the earlier days but they have been gradually been taken out when other maintenance and repairs have been carried out.

[Hairy-Neil]

I saw some somewhere on my last canal trip, so somewhere between Huddersfield and Chester via Leeds. Hope that narrows it down a bit

[Neil TNC]

Have had a query asking if there is anywhere else on the canal system other than the Regents Canal that has/had ramps for retrieving horses from the canal.

 

Anyone know?

 

Tim

 

Loads on the L&L...esp Blackburn and Burnley. You can see them in Martin's Pennine Waterways tours. There may well be some on the TNC site...but Martin's will be easier to find

[Timleech]

Loads on the L&L...esp Blackburn and Burnley. You can see them in Martin's Pennine Waterways tours. There may well be some on the TNC site...but Martin's will be easier to find

 

 

There are horse steps here at Dutton

 

Tim

[John Orentas]

There are horse steps here at Dutton

 

Tim

 

 

Aren't there one or two in the Ellesmere Port Museum?

[carlt]

Aren't there one or two in the Ellesmere Port Museum?

they'll be up for disposal, then.

[haggis]

Oddly enough, we don't have horse ramps on the Union canal but kicking stones which were meant to prevent the horse falling in in the fisrt place.

 

haggis

[Rick-n-Jo]

L+L Burnley (photo)

 

GU Paddington Arm

 

Huddersfield Narrow

 

could probably find more by careful Googling

 

Rick

[koukouvagia]

There are for certain 2 surviving on the Tring summit of the GU, one slightly south of Tring station road bridge, and the other by the winding hole and water point just south of the bridge at Bulbourne.

 

Is it true that horse ramps are more usually found when the canal runs close to railway lines. I'm sure I've read somewhere that the ramps were often placed where the trains were likely to scare the horses.

Edited February 4, 2009 by koukouvagia

[WJM]

Grand Union mainline coming out of Brentford, on the left on the way up to Clitheros Lock (98). Never understood why that one is there, it is not near a lock or other falling-in hazards. There is also one on one of the middle pounds on the 'thick of Hanwell' six locks near the lunatic asylum.

[Ray]

Is it true that horse ramps are more usually found when the canal runs close to railway lines. I'm sure I've read somewhere that the ramps were often placed where the trains were likely to scare the horses.

 

That would apply at Tring, but I don't think so at Bulbourne.

[billh]

Have had a query asking if there is anywhere else on the canal system other than the Regents Canal that has/had ramps for retrieving horses from the canal.

 

Anyone know?

 

Tim

 

Rochdale Canal near Great Ancoats St in Manchester, below the road bridge, normally boarded over but supposedly the timber can be lifted and the horse walks out, the slope is about 45 degs with brick ridges . The reason for the boards is that the towpath is very narrow here.

Huddersfield Narrow- between locks 1 & 2 west about 100yards east of Whitelands "tunnel"- shallow sloping stone ramp tucked in a corner where the towpath suddenly widens out.

This reminds me of an amusing incident , about twenty years ago.....

We were doing a trip from Ashton to Manchester one very wet Saturday. There were about a dozen passengers aboard and the side curtains on the boat were rolled down against the weather. As Sonny the horse was taking the strain and the boat coming out of Fairfield Top Lock , he slipped on the wet stone and went in the canal before anyone could unhitch the towline. Undaunted, Sonny waded and swam towards the middle of the cut and carried on pulling the boat in the right direction down to Lock 17 ,about 200yards, then got himself out of the canal onto the towpath, pulled the boat the last few yards into the lock and then stopped to graze while the boat was locked down. The odd bit is that none of the passengers were aware of what had happened! Sonny was a great character and lived to the ripe old horses age of 36.

Bill

[Pluto]

Have had a query asking if there is anywhere else on the canal system other than the Regents Canal that has/had ramps for retrieving horses from the canal.

 

Anyone know?

 

Tim

In the Leeds area, those on the L&LC were known locally as 'dog washes' for the obvious reason. There are ramps all the way along the canal, but they seem more numerous in industrial areas. I suspect that this is because more boats would have been tied up in those areas, and that horses were likely to end up in the canal if the boat they were pulling hit a moored boat or struck the bottom on the off side in passing.

 

Washing animals in the canal was not restricted to Leeds. On the summit level there was a problem with sheep washing around 1900, with many local farmers bring their flocks down to the canal, with severe pollution resulting. The canal company decided that it was OK for those whose fields the canal ran through, but not for anyone else.

[Tim Lewis]

Have had a query asking if there is anywhere else on the canal system other than the Regents Canal that has/had ramps for retrieving horses from the canal.

 

Anyone know?

 

Tim

 

 

 

Thank you everbody for your responses.

 

Tim