This morning I walked through heritage of a different kind, the canal network here in the Black Country is much closer to home in both time and space than Belas Knap. The canals were once the industrial lifeblood of this country, carrying heavy goods along their lengths; drawn by horses or driven by motors, the boats carried heavy goods that would have damaged the roads.
While Belas Knap was serene, seemingly (some might say literally) from another world; the canals were full of the activity of Humanity. As I walked I met joggers, dog walkers, cyclists, I gave one couple directions, and talked for a while with a charity fundraiser. A cafe at the local nature reserve was a hive of people, sitting chatting as their dogs waited with the kind of loyal patience only a dog can show.
The network is old and in some places more dilapidated than in others; in many places it provides a much needed contact with nature for so many people, but its funding is threatened and it needs government legislation to help protect its future. It seems an insult, that something built with the sweat and toil of so many men (in many places lives were lost) could be so easily and short-sightedly closed and maybe filled in.
The canals still offer a simple if indirect route to places, and are still an amazing feat of engineering. With the world past the peak of our oil supply, I found myself considering that in years to come these old routes might once more offer a vital service to us all.
You can find an Instagram post here.
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