Stop 7 - Lee Navigation

Make sure your volume is on: "Waypoint 7 - Modern Park"

Show transcript

The 1960s were the last gasp of Britain’s canals as an industrial facility. The long, cold winter of 1963/4 froze the canals solid, making it impossible for them to deliver any goods at all, and driving their last remaining customers away to rail and road alternatives.

But in the late 1960s the Government began to invest in the canals as a possible leisure resource, and local communities and enthusiasts were also pushing for restoration projects to keep the waterways open.

Old commercial narrowboats were adapted to miniature floating houses, with kitchens, toilets, showers and bunks. A family could rent a boat for a holiday, or buy one to live on permanently. The boatyards along the waterways provided rentals, repairs and services, and the British Waterways organization dredged the canals, maintained the equipment and ensured the moorings and towpaths were safe.

With canals becoming cleaner and generally more fun, a canalside house was also more desirable. Old industrial sites were converted or cleared and cleaned up for residential use, a trend which continues today. On the next page, you can hear some of the modern canal boat livers talking about their lives and their boats.

Continue along the river path, but then turn right where the footpath crosses the water and follow that path to Mandeville Place. You will pass one of the Park’s many art installations – the History Tree (one of ten trees planted at the entrances to the park, with individually inscribed bronze or steel rings) – along the way.