Lancaster Canal
Lancaster Canal
The Lancaster Canal was opened in 1797, to take coal north and agricultural products south. Fast passenger boats, such as the "Waterwitch", ran on the canal linking Kendal, Lancaster and Preston. When the M6 was constructed in the 1960s, 14 miles of canal were cut off. This stretch is known as the 'Northern Reaches' and is the subject of an ambitious £50 million restoration scheme to restore the canal to the heart of Kendal by 2008. The National Cycle Route runs along the in-filled line of the Lancaster Canal in Kendal. In Lancaster, the canal also offers an attractive route round the city centre. The Lune Aqueduct on the east side of the city is one of the seven wonders of the canal age.
Tewitfield
North of Keer Aqueduct, on the way to Tewitfield, is the Capernway Arm. This is a short branch to an old quarry, now offering a small amount of sheltered moorings. A caravan site and some private mooring runs alongside the east bank just prior to the Arm. The canal then winds around a hillside and ends abruptly just north of Borwick and alongside the M6 Motorway. There are two areas for mooring at Tewitfield, the first, just north of bridge 138, room for around 6 boats, depending on length. Just north of Tewitfield, the locks are now abandoned, albeit there is talk at present to refurbish these and again open the canal to Kendal.
Borwick is a small but attractive village. Overlooking the canal is Borwick Hall, a large and somber Elizabethan Manor House, built around a 15th century tower. The Tewitfield terminus, as it is currently known, has full amenities supplied by British Waterways and there is ample safe mooring for people wishing to leave their boats and take a long walk towards Kendal, following the old canal tow path.
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