In our home county of Yorkshire we recently enjoyed a walk along a section of the old Barnsley Canal. The Barnsley Canal opened in 1799 and ran from Barnby Basin, through Barnsley to a junction with the Aire and Calder near Wakefield, it was closed in 1946.
We started our walk from Walton, Wakefield. Most of the canal is overgrown on this first section, but you can still see the remains of one of the locks.
There are also a couple of stone mounted pulleys along this stretch which helped the tow ropes around the sharper bends in the navigation.
 |
| Stone Mounted Pulley |
We stopped for a picnic overlooking Cold Hiendley reservoir. Both Wintersett and this reservoir were built to supply water to the canal.
 |
| Cold Hiendley Reservoir |
Having passed the reservoir, the canal to High Bridge does still have some water in it - albeit stagnant.
This is a fantastic Autumn walk with some wonderful colours and scenes - a glimpse into our industrial past.
