THE author of a new book detailing the 200-year history of the Lancaster Canal believes the restoration of the Northern Reaches to Kendal could prove too ambitious.
But Gordon Biddle points to the volunteer revamp of 'the first furlong' at Stainton as an indication of just what can be achieved. He also highlights successful restorations of other canals around the country - Rochdale and Huddersfield - that were also once considered "pipe dreams" but are now back in operation.
"The Lancaster Canal Trust's plans for restoring the Northern Reaches to Kendal are nothing if not ambitious," says Mr Biddle in the book 200 Years of the Lancaster Canal: An illustrated history. "The eight locks at Tewitfield would require new gates and gear, and tunnel-like bridges would replace seven culverts, three of them under the M6, one of which would need a substantial diversion of the canal to gain sufficient headroom.
"Half-a-mile of new canal and an aqueduct would be needed to cross the A590 Kendal link road near Brettargh Holt, and onward to Kendal three new bridges, one of them an opening bridge."
He adds that land sold at Sedgwick would have to be brought back into canal ownership and points to the £2.2 million of repairs to the flood damaged Stainton aqueduct as a measure of what it will cost to restore the waterway back to Kendal.
"Realistically, therefore, many millions will be needed for total restoration," he says. "So, will it happen? Stranger things have happened, not only at sea but on canals, too."
Mr Biddle's book, published in the year before the bi-centenary of the canal, records its long, and at times, uncertain existence. It is illustrated with dozens of old and current photographs showing landmarks, including bridges, tunnels, aqueducts and milestones, along the whole length of the waterway.
"This is a well researched book and ranks as one of the best I have ever read," said Lancaster Canal enthusiast Frank Sanderson. "One of the problems with authors, is relying on anecdotes provided by others, often passing on misinformation.
"Gordon, being a life member of the Lancaster Canal Trust from its inception, manages to ensure his information is accurate and factual."
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