Locked Up Traditional Cache
Dalesman: As there's been no cache to find for a long time, I'm archiving it to keep it from showing up in search lists, and to prevent it from blocking other cache placements.
Please note that if geocaches are archived by a reviewer or Geocaching HQ for lack of maintenance, they are not eligible for unarchival.
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Positioned near a lock on the Rochdale Canal.
The area is easily accessible on foot.
Bring your own pen please.
The navigable stretch of water running through Todmorden is called the Rochdale Canal. This canal runs for 33 miles from Manchester, where it connects with the Aston and Bridgewater Canals, to Sowerby Bridge, where it links to the Calder and Hebble Navigation.
It is now a popular route for tourists holidaying in Canal boats, and Water Gypsies living on their vessels. Through history however it has undergone various transformations.
During the late half of the 18th century canals were becoming more and more popular as a way to transport goods across the Pennines. In 1794 construction began on both the Rochdale and the nearby Huddersfield Canals. By 1799 the canal was open between Sowerby Bridge and Todmorden and from Manchester to Rochdale. The canal opened all the way to Manchester in 1804. This made it the first canal route to cross the Pennines. Later the Hudderfield route opened in 1811 after having difficulty with the Standedge tunnel construction, and the much longer Leeds and Liverpool route was not completely open until 1816.
The Rochdale Canal was built with a massive 92 locks. These were supplied with water from the many reservoirs that also prevented the high 600 ft summit level from drying up.
In 1830 a railway closely following the route of the canal was proposed. The Manchester and Leeds Railway opened in 1841 reducing the use of the canal for business. The canal company was forced to reduce tolls and leased the canal to a consortium of railway companies in 1855. For a while the canal still remained profitable, but by the 20th century its use was dramatically reducing. The last boat made its journey across the Pennines on the Rochdale Canal in 1937. In 1952, the canal was closed apart from the short section between Castlefield and the Ashton Canal junction at Piccadilly. The Ashton was abandoned in 1962 and by 1965 the nine locks on the Rochdale through Manchester city centre were almost unusable.
However in 1972 interest in the canal was taken again. The Ashton section was re-opened and the Rochdale Canal in Manchester was made good. As interest grew the Rochdale Canal Society was formed. Restoration of the canal was promoted and in the 1980’s and 1990’s bridges and locks were restored to open stretches of the canal between Todmorden and Sowerby Bridge.
When the M60 motorway was constructed through Chadderton, allowance was made for the canal and a new channel was constructed below the motorway construction. Unfortunately the same did not happen when the M62 was constructed right across the line of the canal at Castleton. The northern end of the A627M motorway and a traffic roundabout obstructed the canal a little further on near Queensway in Rochdale. The other major obstruction was the Co-op superstore in Failsworth, built right across the canal at towpath level.
On the section between Littleborough and Manchester, a number of bridges had been made un-navigable, locks had been "cascaded" and some sections of the canal had been made shallow for safety. In 2000, the canal was transferred from the Rochdale Canal Company to the Waterways Trust. Funding of 23 million pounds was announced, mostly from the Millennium Commission and English Partnerships that would enable the remaining obstacles to be removed. In July 2002, the whole canal became navigable once again, almost 200 years after its original opening. Once again the canal is a route for people to journey up and down its length from Manchester to Sowerby Bridge and beyond. Today however the waterways are used more for business from pleasure than transportation of goods, and the tow paths for leisurely strolls as opposed to waterside bridleways.
Hidden near the Rochdale Canal this cache was originally a 35mm canister, but it kept being muggled. It's now something more 'natural'. No space for swaps I'm afraid.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
unir n frng juvyr lbh jbex vg bhg.
Treasures
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