A section of the Regents Canal, just east of the eastern portal, of the Islington Tunnel.
Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London. The canal is kilometres ( miles) long. In 1927, the Regent's Canal Company bought the Grand Junction Canal and the Warwick Canals, the merged entity coming into force on 1 January 1929 as the Grand Union Canal Company. A new carrying subsidiary was formed, the Grand Union Canal Carrying Co, with a fleet of 186 pairs of new narrow boats. A vigorous expansion policy was combined with a successful drive for new traffic much of which was carried on the Regent's Canal. Iron and steel for Birmingham, imported via Regent's Canal Dock, was won from the railways by offering a quicker and cheaper service. Other traffic commodities included grain, raw materials for HP sauce, leather waste, last blocks, cresylic acid, zinc ashes, and even cheese. The decline of the 1920s had been reversed, and tonnage rose from 8999 tons in 1931 to 168,638 tons in 1941. In August 1938 the Cumberland Basin was dammed off and drained and in the next two years it was formally abandoned. The Regent's Canal was nationalised in 1948. By this time, the canal's importance for commercial traffic was dwindling, and by the late 1960s commercial vessels had almost ceased to operate, the lorry taking over the traffic not already lost to the railway in the 19th century, and closure of the Regent's Canal Dock to shipping in 1969 was the last nail in the coffin. A new purpose was found for the canal route in 1979, when the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) installed underground cables in a trough below the towpath between St John's Wood and City Road. These 400 kV cables now form part of the National Grid, supplying electrical power to London. Pumped canal water is circulated as a coolant for the high-voltage cables.
Size: 3744px × 5616px
Location: East of the Eastern Portal, Islington Tunnel, Islington, Regents Canal, London, England
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: beautiful, boats, canal, islington, leafy, leisure, moored, moorings, narrow, path, peaceful, reflections, regents, summer, tow, trees, walking, water
