Some time ago I reported on the
concrete filled wellies (rubber boots) embedded in the bank at Stoke Bruerne. During the summer I discussed this with a BW surveyor I met near Long Buckby and he let me into a secret. These aren't the only boots embedded in a canal bank. Evidently one particular member of a BW maintenance gang, when finishing a bank restoration job, used to regularly dispose of his wellies by putting them in the bank. It was his form of signature or in modern terms "graffiti tag". Presumably the boots were free issue.
I was also told that a pair of boots was located along the Buckby Flight. Well I can now reveal that they are just below Lock 9 not far from the railway bridge. They were visible during our recent trip up the flight because of the very low water. I don't know specifically of any others on the system but I remain vigilant, particularly when I see banking repaired using concrete-filled bags.
Concrete-filled Wellies on the Buckby Flight
