Post by Dave on Aug 21, 2018 16:14:55 GMT
Stover Canal Walk 21st August 2018
I had a day off work today as my car was booked into a garage in Newton Abbot for a full service and MOT. As I drove over from Paignton I thought to myself how times have changed from when I was a young man.
Back then probably due to not having a lot of spare money, MOT day would fill me with dread and I would spend most of the day worrying about how much would be found wrong with my car and the total cost.
Today when I dropped my car at my good friend Mikes garage Autolow, I simply said replace anything that needs it, put two new tyres on the back and I will see you later on. I never thought about the car for the next three hours as I was out enjoying my walk along the Stover Canal.
I started my walk at the Town Quay In Newton Abbot walking along the bank of the River Teign and then crossing over the main Kingsteignton Road into Jetty Marsh Nature Reserve.
This was a first for me which I find rather strange as I was born in Newton and grew up there, but then where I lived at Buckland there were woods we used to play in. The pathway is flat and it is not too long before you come to the Newton end of the canal.
This part is known as the tidal Whitelake channel and from here the barges would have gone onto the River Teign heading for Teignmouth Docks. Due to the expansion of the local ball clay industry, James Templer built the canal in 1790. It had been planed to build it all the way to Bovey Tracey, but it only got as far as Ventiford making it just 1.7 miles long.
James son George Templer built the Haytor Granite Railway which opened in 1820 to connect his quarries at Haytor Rock to the Ventiford. Basin. Parts of the old track bed have recently been found at the Ventiford Basin.
From the Whitelake Channel you walk along the now restored toll path with the canal down on your left, there is no water in the canal and if you did not know what it was, you would never know as it is so overgrown.
A good walk later you come out onto the road at Teigngrace and cross over it to continue your walk to the now fully restored Graving Dock lock, this lock is probably unique in the United Kingdom, in that it was reconstructed with a dock at its side, which could be used as a dry dock when the lock was empty to repair the barges etc.
The next leg of the walk takes you to the Ventiford Basin which is as far as the canal went, it was great to see even more of the old granite railway had been uncovered since I was there the last time.
The Stover Canal Society was formed in 1999 and they have done so much work on restoring the old canal, they hope soon to be able to re water the Ventiford Basin and it would be good to see some water once again in a part of the canal.
The canal was used up until 1937 and still had water in it until 1951 when a bank breached and flooded a nearby clay pit. It would be great to see the whole canal open fully again one day, but I do not think that will ever happen due to the huge amount of work that would be required to clear all the vegetation and make the bed water tight.
If you are interested in the granite railway check out this post where I went and found the biggest preserved part of it in Yarner Woods near Bovey Tracey.
davesworld.proboards.com/thread/573/yarner-haytor-granite-railway-yarrow
You might also like to check out this post, Stover Trail Cycle Ride
davesworld.proboards.com/thread/551/stover-trail-cycle-ride-march
Time to turn around and head back to the garage, I stopped at the snack cabin on the Town Quay and bought a sausage bap and can of coke, boy I needed that. Got to the garage car ready to drive home and paid up with a smile on my face. Back to work tomorrow and have to wait until Sunday for my next day off and sadly will have to work on bank holiday Monday.
