Taking a walk today to the grocery store I took a few snaps of the bridges at the junction and was lost in thought thinking about how this whole network was dug by hand over 200 years ago.
This particular section of the canal system was completed in 1790 and to think we are still using it today is incredible. Predating the Railways and nearly allowed to completely fall into neglect and disuse in the 1960’s the network is still being restored and reclaimed. It’s exciting to think we will have more canals to explore once they have been fully restored.
The canal network has found a new lease of life for people taking short holiday breaks and for people like us who choose to live onboard and cruise the network. We have over 2000 miles of navigable canals to explore. 2000 miles extending from Leeds to liverpool and all the way down to Bristol. London, Birmingham, oxford and Cambridge all accessible on the canal network.
I like to take a moment,wherever we are moored, to photograph the bridges as well as any of the old architecture as it really is a living museum and a joy to be able to explore at a very slow pace.
It’s also a joy to be able to share it with many people, some of whom had no idea the canals existed and that you can actually live on them.
It’s a great way to live and I think a lot of people are now thinking about it as an alternative to houses. Being able to work online means being mobile is not a problem.
So it seems that the historical past has now offered a solution to modern living.
