Old Canal Thoughts - Long Ago & Far Away By Ian Dunn B.A., A.T.D. Near the tunnel at Hincaster, when there was water in the cutting, there were some stables on the north approach and here lived an old canal worker who was always good for a chat. He said that often he and his fellow workers used to pull piglets out of the water. These he said came from the slaughter houses on the edge of the canal basin in Kendal. They were obviously dead and were thrown into the water. The flow of water must have been considerable going south to the locks at Tewitfield to have carried them thus far. After the water was drained in the 1950’s we walked through the tunnel. You could see the workmanship of the builders from the eighteenth century and also the rope that went through the rings on the end of iron stakes driven into the walls. The rope was for pulling the boats through the water, the horses went over the hill to be reattached to the barges or packet boats and so history says the horses walked
Inside the tunnel -Hincaster
themselves the one mile over the hill, but I think maybe not. A the bricks for the lining of the tunnel were made at Heversham, the clay was dug out, then put into moulds and fired. They made so many bricks that an auction was held after the completion of the tunnel to sell off the over-production. The mounds can still be seen where the excavation for the clay took place. When the canal held water I used to fish on the south end of the tunnel and throw my line in as far as possible. The perch that swam to my worms were pale and horrible looking so I soon gave that up and went to open water. Often, if you were quiet, a kingfisher sped past and perhaps if you were really lucky they might perch on a branch (Continued on page 26)
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