Found this old feeder canal hiding in some heavy growth next to the canal right by the Woodlawn Road bridge. You can see on Google Maps that it goes on for about 250m then just fades away.

Don’t have a clue how old it is, but it appears to have been forgotten about long ago.

After my long awaited exploration of the old highway bridge hiding in the bushes near Nanticoke Creek I found myself stopping to check out an old chimney hiding in the bush along Highway 3.

I had spotted the chimney sticking out in a clearing behind some bushes many times over the years. Finally having some extra time on my hands I pulled off to the side of the road and hiked on down. At first it seemed like there was almost nothing worth looking at here, just an old chimney sticking out of the ground with a big hole beside it where the foundation once stood. However as I looked around I noticed many more things, such as an old well nearby with plenty of water in it. Not too far from the well there was a large chunk of red bricks, all still cemented together — it first appeared to be a section of the structure that was once there, after looking at it more I was less sure of what it once was.

As I wandered around some more I found a large pile of tires, probably dumped there by someone too lazy or cheap to properly dispose of them. Just a few meters from there I found an old overturned wooden bench which to my surprise was home to two garter snakes. I snapped a couple pictures of them and left them in peace. After that I wandered off about 100 meters to and old and scary looking bridge that crossed the stream. It looked as though it was made of scrap wood and shingles; I didn’t dare to cross it.

After grabbing a couple shots of the bridge my cell phone battery died, and since this was an impromptu trip I did not have a proper camera with me. Armed with only my now dead cell phone, I retreated to my car and drove the rest of the long voyage home.

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite

This is a location I had been eying for quite some time. I’ve driven by it hundreds of times when I was travelling between college and my parent’s place. Just as you’re about to round the bend just outside of Jarvis there’s a bridge over Nanticoke Creek, if you look south bound, you will see an old bridge just 10 meters away. It is much lower than the new bridge and is heavily overgrown. I would have probably never noticed it if it hadn’t been for a friend I was catching a ride home with who had spotted it. After 7 or 8 years I finally took the time to pull over and climb down there for some pictures.

I pulled off at a nearby corner and parked in what looked like just a lane way. It wasn’t until later that I realized this lane way was actually the original Highway 3 as it was when the old bridge was in use. If you look at Google Maps you can clearly make out this old section of Highway 3, which now appears to be under development, with some sort of building being put in at the far end. You will also notice another short stretch of Old Highway 3 further north east. If one looks very closely you can see that the south end extends past Highway 70 turns into a house’s driveway and then eventually the bridge, this whole extension is still paved but heavily overgrown by shrubs and moss.

I climbed down to the bridge from the west end, away from the person’s house. This side was covered in heavy growth and I had to climb under a tree to get onto the bridge. Once upon it I was amazed by how little it felt like I was on a bridge. The paving had been consumed by moss, grass and soil which had formed over many years. Smaller trees were growing right in the middle of the bridge. Despite being consumed by nature the bridge seemed very structurally intact and it was not at all an uneasy experience crossing it.

After snapping a few more photos I climbed back up to the highway and found my car. On my journey that day I stopped at one more location that I’d eyed along that route many times.

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite

It seems this tree was not particularly a fan of hikers…

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite