Oxford Canal

The Oxford Canal is a 124 km ( 77 miles ) long canal in England and runs from Oxford via Banbury and Rugby to Coventry. It combines simultaneously the Thames at Oxford with the Coventry Canal and the Grand Union Canal.

The Oxford Canal runs mostly through Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire and is one of the most scenic canals in England.

In the 18th century, he introduced a main thoroughfare for trade between the Midlands and London dar. Today it is used mainly by recreational and house boats, narrowboats.

History

The Oxford Canal was built in several stages over a period of about twenty years.

The British Parliament passed in 1769 the corresponding law for the construction of the Oxford Canal. The main objective was to connect the industrial area around Birmingham with the Thames, and thus with the British capital.

Construction work

The work was conducted at the beginning of the English engineer and canal builder James Brindley. When he died in 1773, was taken by his assistant Samuel Simcock the line. In the year 1774, when construction was advanced to Napton, originally approved budget was used up and the project had to be stopped for a short time.

1775 further funds for the sewer construction were approved and the construction was resumed. In 1778, the channel Banbury reached. With the completion of the last section to Oxford could be started due to renewed funding problems until 1786.

In this last section from Banbury to Oxford extensive cost -cutting measures were carried out. These measures included the use of cheaper materials (eg wood instead of bricks ) and the inclusion of existing waterways (eg the River Cherwell at Oxford).

The last part to Oxford was officially put into operation on 1 January 1790. For a short time the Oxford Canal was one of the most important and most profitable routes in England, on the Oxford Canal Company transacted the bulk of trade between London and the Midlands. Were transported mainly coal, stone and agricultural products. With the commissioning of the channel of the coal price in Oxford fell within a very short time to one eighth.

A more direct route between London and the Midlands, the Grand Union Canal, was completed in 1805 and resulted in the trade on the Oxford Canal from this time decreased significantly.

Competition Railway

After 1820 was increasingly competition from the onset of railway construction. 1823 the first plans for the construction of a railway line between Birmingham and London have been developed. Originally, the connection should also lead over Oxford to London, however, the railway company decided under Robert Stephenson in 1830 for an alternative route via Coventry, not least for fear of flooding problems caused by the Thames at Oxford. 1838, the Association was officially put into operation. With declining steel prices and advancing technology of rail transportation became more attractive. Thus, the length of the rail network in England multiplied by 742 miles in 1838 to 5127 in 1848. Railways The Conveyance of Mails Act of 1838 stipulated that the railroad had to convey the correspondence of Royal Mail. More powerful engines and huge investments in infrastructure eventually led to the fact that a large part of the goods was diverted from the channels on the rail.

The Oxford Canal today

Narrowboat

Today, the Oxford Canal is almost exclusively used by sports and canal boats, the so-called narrowboats. On the English waterways some 48,000 boats are allowed ( 2004). Narrowboats have a width of 208 cm and a length of up to 22 m and are driven by diesel engines.

The following figure shows how a narrowboat passes through a sluice.

Fishing

Especially in the early hours of the morning and the evening hours when the traffic subsides on the channel, many anglers find one. With the improving water quality can be caught today, among others, perch, chub and carp. Licenses are allocated by the operator of the channel ( British Waterways ).

Cycling and walking routes

The Oxford Canal is still surrounded by well-preserved towpaths. These paths directly on the river bank once served as a working way for workers and draft animals, especially horses. Today the towpaths are intensively used by walkers and cyclists, although the way especially after prolonged rainfall and winter are partially impassable. Hikers will appreciate the Oxford Canal Walk as well-marked hiking trail a total of 133 km from Oxford to Coventry.