The course of the Wisbech Canal

Image: © Evelyn Simak Taken: 22 Apr 2009

This view was taken from the northern end of Collett's Bridge Lane > http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1266945. The trees seen in the background mark the course of the old Wisbech canal. A public footpath is running along here, emerging in Chapel Lane, Elm, further to the northwest > http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1267558. The Wisbech Canal (opened in 1797) - planned as a means to improve the status of Wisbech as a trading centre - linked the River Nene at Wisbech with Well Creek at Outwell. It was constructed on embankments for most of its 8.4 km length because of the low level of the Fen landscape. When the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway opened in 1883, running parallel with the canal, the coal transported by the railway was initially loaded into boats for further transport but by 1922 all traffic had ceased and in 1926 the canal was abandoned. Derelict for many decades, the section nearer Wisbech was filled in during the early 1970s, allowing for the construction of the A1101/Churchill Road link without destroying the historic town centre. The rest of the canal was used as a landfill site. Sections which were not buried under the new road (A1101) have been planted with trees and can be walked. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisbech_Canal

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