Wander beside London's Oldest Canal

Limehouse Cut links the Lee Navigation and Bow Creek to the Thames at Limehouse and, as a result of changes made in 1968, also to Limehouse Basin (formerly known as Regent's Canal Dock) and the Regents Canal. It is only one and a half miles long, but was completed as early as 1770, as a way to offer river traffic seeking access to the River Lee an easier route than the difficult one via Bow Creek.


Back then, the cut had to be built for sailing barges, and it can accommodate vessels up to 19 feet wide and 88 feet long, though this would no longer be possible as the original lock to the Thames has now been replaced.

Access for cyclists and pedestrians was improved in 2003 with the addition of an award winning floating towpath which is made up of 240 metres of pontoons at the Bow Locks end, and is a bit like new one on the Regents Canal near Kings Cross.

It's a pretty boring stretch of canal in places, and has been a prime site for development of new build flats for docklands workers in recent years, but it's nice enough, and it has an interesting history.

For more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limehouse_Cut