Journeys End

whitelaw · Aug 6, 2012

This is my first and, I admit, brief contribution.

We came upon this old working boat last week during a holiday. It is an old, wooden built converted barge. The hull is oak planking, and there has been a plywood superstructure added. According to the archives, the hull is circa 1820.

The stern post turned out to be a cross section through a whole tree!

Apparently, it was moored here and then its owner, who had lived aboard for many years went into hospital, and, well, never returned. Eventually she sunk and naturally attracted the attention of vandals and others who stripped her of anything of value.

So, on our return journey, I just had to stop and take these.

There is a real feeling of loss aboard this old hulk. This was home to someone for a very long time, and, well, it feels lonely. Even stepping (carefully) on the old gunwale gives one an almost overpowering sense of sadness.

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Well, there it is. Sorry the photography doesnt approach some of the amazing quality you seasoned Urbexers manage, but in my defense I was hanging onto an unstable wreck and trying not to fall into the canal.

night crawler · Aug 6, 2012

That's sad it looks like no one is going to do much with it at the moment, I feel it deserves restoring to it's former glory.

Bones out · Aug 6, 2012

Thats pretty interesting that is.

Thank you for sharing....

whitelaw · Aug 6, 2012

I don't think its going to happen, Nightcrawler. I made a few inquiries with some boatyards. This vessel is well known in the location and the general feeling is that it will be broken up in situ before too much longer. Apparently, when these old wooden ones are taken out and an attempt made to restore one, there is little of the original left so it is not economic. One old canal person said "It's best they just fade away - when they do, the ghosts of them that loved them pass on." A nice thought.

I was so struck by the feelings on that boat though. It was sadness, yes, but there was also a sense of completeness too - it has served its time and now its ready to go.

flyboys90 · Aug 7, 2012

Thats different,great photos.

whitelaw · Aug 7, 2012

A little more info - apparently this is older than I originally thought. It predates the registry! (What was "British Waterways" held a registry of all canal boats - this one existed way before that - now what with Government cuts, British Waterways has become The Canals and Rivers Trust. (sold off, effectively). Hence the barrage of new legislation - boat safety scheme, licensing, in some cases PER river or canal - gone are the days when you could own one of these and just explore every connected and navigable river or canal.

Obviously, to stay within the rules, I won't give any clue regarding the location, however, on my travels, there were many derelict pump houses, locks and abandoned cuttings. There are some potentially rich pickings here for the (safety conscious) urbexer.