The London Canals

Yesterday we had the opportunity to geocaching along the London Canals. We walk over one of the canals every day it is really close to some of our flats. At first the canals looked kind of sketchy with the dirty water and the graffiti along the brick walls down into the canals. After we started walking a little further past the first geocach, we started to see long and narrow boats where people lived. Some of these boats had the doors open to them and we were able to get a glance or two in as we were walking by. It was interesting to see, I don’t really understand why someone would choose to live in one of those small boats I would thing it would be rather in convenient and too much of a hassle.
As we continued to walk down the canals we came across some really large and beautiful homes. Many of these homes had steps that lead down to the canals. However their were gates that prevent people from getting to the canal form the steps. I believe at one time the owners of the houses used the canals as a form of transportation but now that is no longer the case.

As far as the infrastructure goes I believe the canals were once used to transport goods as well as people in and around London. After doing a little bit of research I found that the, “Canals were built to serve the heavy industry of the north and midlands and whilst London had industry and the country's major port, it did not have coal mines and the surrounding south east of England was mainly agricultural”

The canals have a long history many were built in the early 1800’s. and on several occasions their have been attempts to turn the canals into railways.

There is some discrepancy as to who were the first to create canals. The Chinese can claim that the Grand Canal of China was one of the first, in the tenth century, although even earlier examples existed in that country. The earliest canals were connected with natural rivers, either as short extensions or improvements to them. The difference between a natural river, and a wholly man-made canal is clear, but in between are many variations of river improvement and extension so it is therefore difficult to be precise about which navigation can claim to be the first canal! The familiar pound lock which is in use today in Britain is said to have been invented by Chhiao Wei-Yo, in the year 983, in China, although the mitre gate, an important part of the canal lock today, is credited to Leonardo Da Vinci

http://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/history/ukcanals.htm