Tim Lewis Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_fincher Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 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 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Orentas Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy-Neil Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I saw some somewhere on my last canal trip, so somewhere between Huddersfield and Chester via Leeds. Hope that narrows it down a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil TNC Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timleech Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Orentas Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 There are horse steps here at Dutton Tim Aren't there one or two in the Ellesmere Port Museum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlt Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Aren't there one or two in the Ellesmere Port Museum? they'll be up for disposal, then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haggis Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick-n-Jo Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 L+L Burnley (photo) GU Paddington Arm Huddersfield Narrow could probably find more by careful Googling Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koukouvagia Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billh Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pluto Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Lewis Posted February 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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