[Doug]

I tried to up load a recent shot of a Canal Boat coming up under Church Kirk Bridge to give an idea of scale, but I can't get it up. I think that on most occasions the horse would be walked around the bridges and other obstacles, if you look at the width of some of the toe paths you can see that horses wouldn’t go.

I remember seeing blokes walking the barge through by lying against the side of the barge and using their legs to walk against the wall of the bridge. Others used poles to push their way through. I can always remember how friendly people were and how you always got a nod or a wink. The men always seemed to have worn grubby faces and the woman always smiling but tired looking and the grubby dogs that either run the banks or sat on the bow end. All this still happened back in the early 60s down by the donkey back at church.

This is a fascinating subject; I hope we can keep this going.