Two small ideas have been raised with British Waterways for the area just beyond Mill Bridge towards the tunnel. One is the installation of a post and finger pointers with directions and distances to Blisworth Arm, Village Centre and North Portal of the Blisworth Tunnel. The second is a noticeboard where village amenities can be advertised to visitors such as the shop, pub, churches and bus stops. Hopefully these will appear in the not so distant future.

The ‘Westley Willows’, a set of three poor looking specimens can be seen on the offside. These apparently used to receive regular pollarding, but obviously not for a while. Maybe an expert eye needs casting over them. The embankment shows clear signs of slippage behind these willows and further along in the direction of the tunnel. British Waterways are monitoring the area.

After a short walk the 18 mile marker borders the towpath (demarcating 18 miles from Braunston). This spot saw hectic activity during the time of active local quarrying. A tramway was constructed from the ironstone pits on the outskirts of the village, passing under Stoke Road and dropping sharply to a small wooden bridge across the canal at this point. Wagons were filled with ironstone, lowered down the slope by cable, sent across the bridge and tipped on end to deposit their load into the waiting boats. The quarries closed in 1921, the bridge has long since rotted away and the tunnel under Stoke Rd filled in, allegedly entombing a mini car. Village Myth? If you glimpse across to the far side of the canal from the 18 mile marker you can just see the wooden supports for the old bridge above the waterline.

Before it reached Stoke Rd, the tramway gully passed through what is now an allotment field. A while ago a set of tram wheels were unearthed, handed for safekeeping to Blisworth Heritage Society and are now in storage at British Waterways Yard at Blisworth Arm.

Hopefully the set of wheels will soon find themselves set on a plinth alongside a short interpretation of the quarrying activity in the area.
Blisworth Heritage Society has already installed an interpretation board further along towards the tunnel slope. This sits on a fine stone plinth to represent the village’s history of quarrying.

The north portal soon comes into view, with the Stoke Bruerne end sometimes visible in the distance. The nearby wall makes a fairly comfortable seat to linger awhile, although eventually this area will be studied by Blisworth Canal Partnership and suggested improvements arrived at. This may include some seating. Please contact us if you have ideas of your own.

The towpath then rises up the steep incline towards the car park. Blisworth Canal Partnership has plans to reinstate the hand rails that used to run down each side. British Waterways’ contractors have started to mow 2-3 foot each side of the slope during the summer months, we will continue to encourage this as it makes such a positive difference.

Our most ambitious project to date, The Tunnel Spinney, has made a tremendous difference to the embankment area. Click on ‘Tunnel Spinney’ on the Navigation Bar to find out more.