By Pam PickettTHE Grantham Canal, popular with walkers, cyclists, fishermen, birdwatchers, nature lovers and all seeking peace and tranquillity finally has its own guide, inclusive of a section-by-section pictorial record of the canal—theGrantham Canal Guide.
The Grantham Canal GuideLooking at the excellently drawn and easy to follow maps, and many of the pictures which I understand have been received both from British Waterways and Christopher Tizzard of the Grantham Canal Society, plus the clarity of the detailed information contained with regard to both those villages and hostelries bordering the canal, I’m not at all surprised to hear that it has taken more than two years of intensive work to bring the guide to completion. 200 years of historyPacked with more than 200 years of history between its wipe-clean covers, and sized to fit into a reasonably sized pocket this guide, not only chronicling the past history of the canal, but also looking to its future potential to create yet more of that history is a positive ‘must have’ for all. At a mere £4.99 a copy the guide is certainly deserving of a place on every bookshelf. Photo: Pam Pickett
Author of the guide Tony Pitman says with time going on and memories beginning to fade, creating the Grantham Canal Guide has at the same time fulfilled his wish to create for posterity a comprehensive record of the history of the canal, something previously lacking. . |
Tony tells me a great deal of support for the guide has been received from both the Nottingham and Derby’s branch of the Inland Waterways Association and via Mike Snaith’s Exxon Mobil Volunteer Involvement Programme. The Notts & Derbys Branch of the Inland Waterways Association, whose Chairman Nancy Johnson has contributed a very informative foreword to the guide and the Exxon Mobil Volunteer Involvement Programme have each contributed one thousand pounds towards the cost of printing the guide. Superb colour platesPhotographs dating back to the 1800’s, both of the canal and of some of those who used the canal have been sourced. These photographs appear in the guide. In addition to those photographs from the past there are many superb colour plates showing the flora and fauna to be found on the Grantham Canal today. A canal still so little changed by time that as you walk the towpaths you can almost see those boats, so long ago loaded with coal or fertiliser, and hear the soft footfall of those who’ve gone before. Photo: Pam Pickett
With excellent photographs of the birds to be seen on the canal contributed by Andrew Hall, Nottinghamshire Birdwatchers, and pictures received from Natural England, plus an impressive list of not only the type of covering on each length of the towpaths you may wish to walk, or cycle, but also the distance of each of those lengths, this guide is definitely the most comprehensive of all of the canal guides I have seen.
The detailed map of the Grantham CanalOur canals are described as a wildlife sanctuary, a linear park and a transport system. Sadly the latter use is no longer applicable to this the most beautiful and romantic 33 miles long Grantham Canal, closed in 1936 as a result of short-sightedness on the part of some in the past This canal, exempt in the main from traffic noise or light pollution remains sadly inaccessible to boaters today as a result of a lack of those funds so desperately sought to restore it to its full working potential. It is hoped that the Grantham Canal Guide, certainly worthy of a place on every bookshelf, will now play a part in raising funds toward the full restoration of this sleeping beauty, the Grantham Canal. Tony Pitman and all involved in the creation of the Grantham Canal Guide are to be congratulated for a job very well done. |
