Tag: canal
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Airsaig Canal
Surely the last thing you would expect to find in the Western Highlands would be a canal, the Crinan and the Caledonian excepted of course. But there’s another one in Arisaig. It was built to enable timber to be floated down from a sawmill at Loch nan Eala to the sea. The lade, to give…
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Confluence of the Ripon Canal with the River Ure
At the height of the boom of canal and later railway construction in the 18th and 19th centuries all railways and canals had to have its own Act of Parliament to ensure purchase of land and rights of way. Even the right to navigate rivers had to be the subject of an Act of Parliament.…
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Coots
Confined to the canal towpath again. Rain has kept the bike under cover. I have felt closer to wildlife these last two days than a week on the moors. Foxes yesterday, herons, cormorants, and plenty of ducks, swans, and coots. This pair was hitching a ride in the rain on a log. The saying “as…
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Lee Navigation
Not my usual habitat. Down in London for a couple of days. After the drive down the Lee Navigation canal provided some fresh air of a sort. It flows from Hertford to the River Thames sometimes alongside the River Lea, sometimes parallel with it. A shortage of hills but I did see a pair of…
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Bugsworth Basin
Being brought up in Nottingham I am quite familiar with the Derbyshire Peaks. Beyond Buxton however itĀ was a mystery. I don’t recallĀ ever being to New Mills or Whaley Bridge before. I was amazed to discover thatĀ atĀ theĀ end of the 18th century a canal was constructed through the steep sided valleys into the heart of the Peaks.…
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Paddington Basin
Passing through London. After two hours of being a tourist I had had enough. Found this little oasis of tranquility. An offshoot of the Grand Union Canal.