Photo-a-Day  (Thursday, 27th June, 2024)

And the trusted wheelbarrow.
The men were know as Navies.

Don't forget they had the luxury of steam cranes, wheelbarrows and donkeys.

And jellyganite to blast away the rock,

I bet those cobbles slow the cyclists down.

So true Dennis . Walking , cycling , fishing , boating .....and nothing beats a canal side pub .
Makes me wonder what ' glorious assets ' the Motorways may prove to be a century from now after the car becomes obsolete .

That’s a lovely scene Dennis.
I bet that ‘ hardy breed of men’ didn’t wear safety helmets and workwear either. They probably wore baggy breeches tied with string and they would have sweated cobs. Hard working and underpaid. We owe so much to them.

Agree Dennis.
Same could be said for the trans Pennine rail routes, Standedge and Diggle, and the Calder Valley.
Post war most of New Springs, Aspull, including the canal, had a run-down appearance. It is fine now.

Oh yes, a lovely scene. Good shot Dennis.

I put a comment up earlier but seems to have vanished into the ether.
Many years since I've been along there, it looks very different from the industrial past. Lovely picture Dennis and well composed, the sunshine makes it look all the more inviting.

Not forgetting many Irish men played their part in the navigation of the canals and roads.
They probably thought that would be better than working down the mines after working on the land back home and being used to the fresh air of the ‘auld
homeland’. Being one of the ‘Navvies’ rather than being a ‘pit Mon’ …sounds ‘ healthier’ but the accidents were probably just as bad.

Poet, I think it would have been cheaper to have invested in a four lane canal from London to Manchester than HS2.
Who would want to travel at 200 miles per hour and miss all that beautiful countryside and scenery along the way.

Today one may embrace the progress of leisure craft along the umpteenth wonder of the world, by volunteering to operate the locks known as the Wigan flight.
Summer job for someone there Dennis.

Once upon a time, not long ago a friendly worker in a life jacket from the building at the top offered a passerby (me) a brew and a job with.. no pay!

Who would have thought it.

I fib you not.

Presume a life jacket would have been provided, because since those tough navvies finished the cut.. umpteen folk have drowned in it. Some in mysterious circumstances, including a constable from the old Hindley police station photographed recently by you Dennis (the station not the PC)
They would drag bodies out with a grappling hook in those olden days. I was informed plenty of healthy excersise may be gained by spending a day helping interesting new folk. Well that's according to Joe or whatever his name was and he said "some may even offer you a six pack" .. Pop in for a brew, provide your number and they would do the rest, resulting in a call for a lift on the locks when needed. I declined the offer as I was a visitor to the area, but did say I would mention it to locals. Job done. Nice one Dennis.

Those uneven cobbles and the one at Wigan pier want taking up and replacing with a nice bright coloured tarmac.

Lovely pic Dennis,I often think along those lines,and as comments say no health and safety or specialised workwear.'Sweating cobs!' remember that saying we'll Veronica.

A point about cycling if I may .
A chap near me is ninety next year . If you see him walking he is slow , measured and hunched and looks very fragile if I’m being honest . You should the transformation when he gets on his bicycle, My Goodness !! You would think his on the Tour de France . He flies up the street up to a junction , one glance and speeds off even faster . He becomes a different person !
When he returns home if you are crossing the road and he comes flying around the bend , you need to jump for cover the speed he’s going - he’s like Dennis the Menace !
My sister who also cycles , says , I feel like that on my bike as well but she never explains it other than that .

PS. The gentleman concerned never once misses the ice cream van when it sings into our square and has already got his large ice cream before the many children arrive at the van !

Sorry Dennis for my distraction away from your lovely picture .

Great photo Dennis I cycle up there regularly.Dave asked me to let him know how my Windsor trip was ……Was brilliant Dave,not overcrowded and ate at Don Beni restaurant in Eton just over the pedestrian bridge near to Windsor Castle,great weather.

Dennis credit where it’s due we will never see people working like the navvies did and a lot of people in England are related to the Irish as I am maybe distant but true.WIMPEY stands for we import more paddies every year (joking)

John (W) so glad you are enjoying Windsor it’s a lovely place, if a chance go around the cloister at Eton.
Dennis apart from the incredible work the navies did, the engineering and surveyors undertook to creat this masterpiece of work with instruments they had at the time still amazes me.
As you say leaving a legacy for us all that they could have never imagined.