About 1972 finds us approaching the northern end of the Netherton Tunnel, which needs no introduction. A broad tunnel, with tow-paths on both sides, and illuminated by gas-light, it was another late triumph of canal engineering, opened in 1858. It superseded the older tunnel nearby, which was made in the late 18th century & was small & narrow & caused delays of hours & even days to get through it. Here, the ‘northern’ portal is visible through the right-hand arch of the bridge.

And here is the ‘northern’ portal – the tunnel actually runs more north-east to south-west, but it’s obvious what is meant. Actually, these photos. came about quite by chance. A friend and I were lamenting that just nattering together (& playing old jazz 78 rpm records) after having been out for a Sunday Lunch was ‘wasting a useful Sunday afternoon’; and that it would be good to get out into the fresh air and go somewhere and do something. I asked him what he suggested. He replied ‘Well; I’ve always wanted to walk through the Netherton Tunnel.’ So I said ‘Right then. Let’s walk through the Netherton Tunnel. Where is it?’ Bear in mind that this was nearly fifty years ago, and my ignorance in those days was even more all-encompassing than it is now. 8^)   So we set off, with no equipment other than a rather dubious electric torch.

We duly arrived at the southern portal, which you see here. However, besides taking the rather weak electric torch (without which, to be honest, the walk would have been an extremely foolhardy thing to attempt), I was resourceful enough to take along a portable cassette recorder, in case any useful comments might be made during the expedition.

And here we are, triumphant at the other end. Note the naïveté of the graffiti in those far-off days. People mostly just wrote their names. Truly, those were simpler times. I’m the pudgy chap on the right. Alas, my old friend on the left, who suggested this expedition, departed this life nearly twenty years ago. I wonder what it means. We didn’t walk back through the tunnel; we’d had enough of it by then. We walked back over the top, and got soaked to the waist from tall grass & other vegetation. But it certainly was an unforgettable Sunday afternoon, nearly 50 years ago. Here are some extracts from the recording made that day: