Lancaster Canal Trust
Peter Jones
The speaker on 20th April was Peter Jones from the Lancaster Canal Trust who gave an illustrated talk on the history of the canal, especially its relevance to Kendal.
He described the muddy tracks in this “terrible country” (they filled potholes with large rocks in those days!) which preceded the development of the canal in the 1790s and how the eventual building of the waterway saved time and money for transporting mainly coal and lime. The coming of the railways saw the decline of the canal in the 1880s: it finally closed in Kendal in 1941.
More recently there have been projects to reinstate the filled-in lengths of canal, which is now blocked by the motorway, bridges demolished etc; astronomical costs make it unlikely in the current financial climate.
The Trust has however opened the Towpath Trail and runs boat trips from Crooklands during the summer months. It is run entirely by volunteers.
