Help me place this photo....

[Guest]

This is a pic. taken in 1996 or 97. It's a long shot but I'm wondering if it can at least be placed roughly to at least the canal (using the paddle gear and poss. location).

 

 

We were on holiday staying at Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds at the time and had driven east in search of canals for a towpath walk. I don't believe we got as far as the GU. It features my two daughters Emma and Claire and our late retriever Winston. By my reckoning it will be the South Oxford somewhere between Napton and Banbury???

 

We have never cruised down there yet and have not seen the paddle gear down there so I'm not sure...can anybody confirm if this is a likely location?

 

Many thanks...

 

 

 

 

.

Edited February 20, 2011 by MJG

[RLWP]

Grand Union. It's a broad lock, so not Oxford, and it has the characteristic Ham & Baker paddle gear

 

Richard

[Tiny]

To start the ball rolling it is the Grand Union between Calcutt and Knowle.

[Neil TNC]

GU "candles" paddle gear. I would think Stockton?

[Guest]

Grand Union. It's a broad lock, so not Oxford, and it has the characteristic Ham & Baker paddle gear

 

Richard

 

Thanks Richard - I didn't think we had got that far - we must have passed over the South Oxford to get there.

[RLWP]

To start the ball rolling it is the Grand Union between Calcutt and Knowle.

 

Why between Calcutt and Knowle? It's the only bit of GU I know well, and I had a specific location in mind on that stretch

 

Richard

[canaldrifter]

GU "candles" paddle gear. I would think Stockton?

 

Not Stockton. The steps are wrong.

 

I reckon bottom lock, Knowle, going by the steps and bollard position, grass and paddle gear.

 

Tone

[imnogeek]

Does this help safe link

[Neil TNC]

Looking at Michael Van De Berg's site:

GU Linky

I go for Hatton28, or Hatton37

[canaldrifter]

Knowle locks No 47 Gates in:

 

http://www.foxysislandwalks.co.uk/AstonJC-Lapworth.html

 

(nice site)

 

Tone

 

You could be right.... again!

 

http://www.thebw.net/Canal1/Canal102/Canal102_M/canal102_096.html

 

Tone

[Guest]

Looking at Michael Van De Berg's site:

GU Linky

I go for Hatton28, or Hatton37

 

Getting very warm I think -

 

28 though looks as if the bollard is on the grass

 

 

37 however looks pretty bang on to me.

 

 

 

 

Many thanks...

 

 

PS - and my recollection of the direction we drove is clearly wrong too - as that is north not east from we we were staying at Moreton.

Edited February 20, 2011 by MJG

[Neil TNC]

Getting very warm I think -

 

28 though looks as if the bollard is on the grass

 

http://www.thebw.net/Canal1/Canal102/Canal102_M/Canal102_096/DSCF0573.html

 

37 however looks pretty bang on to me.

 

http://www.thebw.net/Canal1/Canal102/Canal102_M/Canal102_096/DSC09850.html

 

Many thanks...

 

Yep!

Michael is totally bonkers (but a nice guy), he has walked just about all of "The BW". I think he has a piccy of all the commom BW locks and bridges on his site.

[alan_fincher]

Why between Calcutt and Knowle? It's the only bit of GU I know well, and I had a specific location in mind on that stretch

 

Richard

Don't think anybody has answered this ?

 

That paddle gaer is totally unique to the 1930s modernised GU Birmingham line, and Calcutt and Knowle are the two extremes at which it can be found.

 

All the rest of the GU uses standard "pinion and rack" type gear.

 

But I suspect you knew that, and I've failed to understand the question ?

[carlt]

Help me place this photo....

 

I've printed it off and placed it in my drawer...

 

Does that help?

[David Schweizer]

I would guess that you probably travelled from Moreton along the Fosse Way to the location, and that it would be one of the Fosse locks, which are easily accessible from the Fosse Way with roadside parking nearby. :-

 

 

I am prepared to be corrected, but as Alan suggests, the characteristic "top hat" paddle gear is a feature of the Widened section of the Northern Grand Union Canal. Certainly not on the Oxford.

Edited February 20, 2011 by David Schweizer

[Guest]

Considering that you would have probably travelled from Moreton along the Fosse Way to the location, I guess that it would be one of the Fosse locks, which are easily accessible from the Fosse Way with roadside parking nearby. :-

 

 

I am not so sure TBH David. We did walk a fair way from memory so we could be a fair way from any road,

 

- and in the photo of the Fosse locks you have posted it looks like the edges of the steps are painted white - that could be an illusion though, and of course they could have been painted since...

 

ETA - additionally the 'scallop' that is painted into the white tip on the balance beams in the Hatton lock 37 pic. exactly matches the one in my pic. (The Fosse ones are painted square), my money is still on Neil's suggestion.

Edited February 20, 2011 by MJG

[RLWP]

Don't think anybody has answered this ?

 

That paddle gaer is totally unique to the 1930s modernised GU Birmingham line, and Calcutt and Knowle are the two extremes at which it can be found.

 

All the rest of the GU uses standard "pinion and rack" type gear.

 

But I suspect you knew that, and I've failed to understand the question ?

 

I didn't know/remember that Alan, you've got my question and the answer right

 

Richard

[David Schweizer]

I am not so sure TBH David. We did walk a fair way from memory so we could be a fair way from any road,

 

- and in the photo of the Fosse locks you have posted it looks like the edges of the steps are painted white - that could be an illusion though, and of course they could have been painted since...

 

ETA - additionally the 'scallop' that is painted into the white tip on the balance beams in the Hatton lock 37 pic. exactly matches the one in my pic. (The Fosse ones are painted square), my money is still on Neil's suggestion.

The painting cnnnot really be used as an indicator as styles change from one era to another. I can remember a time when all the locks between Knowle and Calcutt had the ogee shaped edge to the white paint. I can also remember when the steps were not white edged at all.

 

Perhaps you can think back and remember whether the locks were all a good walk apart or almost on top of each other. The Hatton flight comprises of something like 21 locks most of which are a few hundred yards apart and never very far from the road which runs more or less paralel to the canal. The Fosse locks are all at least a quarter of a mile apart. One is very close to a road, two others are within a few hundred yards of the DFosse Way and the others are a very long way from any road.

 

The Bascote locks are a good walk from any road, but the towpath is on the other side, so they cannot be the ones you visited.

Edited February 20, 2011 by David Schweizer

[alan_fincher]

I would guess that you probably travelled from Moreton along the Fosse Way to the location, and that it would be one of the Fosse locks, which are easily accessible from the Fosse Way with roadside parking nearby. :-

 

Not the one in this picture, though, I think, as I believe it has one step too few ?

[RLWP]

It's pretty hard to place. Radford bottom for instance has the right number of steps, brick lined mouth to the lock, that pillow-shaped bottom step, steel section balance beams. But the towpath is the other side.

 

Which side do we think the single lock chamber is in Martin's photo? I think it's to the right because of where the trees are in the background

 

Richard

[David Mack]

Not Stockton. The steps are wrong.

 

I reckon bottom lock, Knowle, going by the steps and bollard position, grass and paddle gear.

 

Tone

 

I don't think its Knowle. The locks there are deeper than elsewhere on this strech, as 6 narrow locks were replaced with 5 wide locks, and this doesn't look deep enough. Also, at Knowle there are only small landing areas at the bottom of the steps on the right hand side looking uphill. So if this is Knowle, the photographer would have been in the water!

 

David

[john6767]

Putting my Poirot hat on, I would agree it is probably Hatton, reasoning as follows.

 

We know it is Calcutt to Knowle for certain due to the paddle gear, and if you travel from Calcutt to Knowle the towpath is on your right until almost up Hatton, it then switches to the left, but before you get to Knowle it has switched back to the right again. So all that way down from Calcutt to Leamington the towpath is on the other side to where the girls are sitting. I would guess that with the girls and the dog you did not cross the lock gates, and were on the towpath side, therefore that rules out the stretch.

 

Ruling out Cape as they are not rural, and Knowle would be a long way and not an obvious route from Morton. However Hatton is really straight forward route on the A429 (did it a couple of weeks ago).

 

QED; it is likely Hatton.

 

Many of the Hatton locks have the old narrow lock on the towpath side, so I think those are ruled out, and others do not have the straight steps. So in my mind that leaves Hatton 28 or 37 as Neil said. Assuming you parked by the BW yard, then 28 is a fair walk as it is almost at the bottom, so 37 would seem to be favourite.

[RLWP]

<snip>

 

Many of the Hatton locks have the old narrow lock on the towpath side, <snip>

 

Many of the Hatton locks have the old narrow lock on the off-side! The top ten certainly do

 

Richard

 

I'd still go for Fosse locks as the fosse way goes from Moreton in Marsh

[john6767]

Many of the Hatton locks have the old narrow lock on the off-side! The top ten certainly do

 

Richard

 

I'd still go for Fosse locks as the fosse way goes from Moreton in Marsh

 

They certainly do, probably more than half, but very many also do not have the straight steps as well

 

It could be Fosse, but that would mean there were on the off-side, it just seems less likely, but perfect feasible.

 

 

EDIT: sad that I am, just counted 12 off-side and 9 towpath. But the top 4 of of course have the towpath the other side.

Edited February 20, 2011 by john6767

[RLWP]

They certainly do, probably more than half, but very many also do not have the straight steps as well

 

It could be Fosse, but that would mean there were on the off-side, it just seems less likely, but perfect feasible.

 

 

EDIT: sad that I am, just counted 12 off-side and 9 towpath. But the top 4 of of course have the towpath the other side.

 

I counted them too

 

Richard