During the 70’s and 80’s the canal was restored from its junction with the River Wey to the Greywell tunnel, as few miles short of Basingstoke. The tunnel had partially collapsed many years before and had become a very important habitat for bats. Beyond the tunnel very little remains of the canal and restoration right into Basingstoke would, in any event, have been very difficult.
In the late 80’s early 90’s the construction Blackwater Valley Relief Road, to by-pass the Hampshire towns of Aldershot and Farnborough, could well have threatened the very existence of the canal, had it not been restored and become an important local amenity. The road had to cross the canal at a point where it is on a high embankment, and once that embankment had been breached and a major road driven through restoration of the canal would have been unlikely.
The new road was constructed to run below the canal with an aqueduct taking the canal across the road.
This photograph shows the completed aqueduct shortly after its opening.
The aqueduct is an interesting structure, and is essentially a series of troughs joined together to span the road and the River Blackwater. The clever bit is actually within the aqueduct, under the towpaths, and consists of a series of high-tension cables, which hold the trough sections together by holding them in compression, thereby enabling them to withstand the tremendous weight of water.
This gives the appearance of a very simple, but elegant, structure but in reality it is quite complex .
An interesting feature close to the aqueduct is a bat cave; no not a residence for some super human hero, but a purpose built roost for bats. This area with its many lakes and nearby woodland and is an ideal feeding area for bats and the cave will make and undisturbed roost for bats to colonize.
