Canals around Coventry

You have to take the cars and street clutter away to imagine what it was like when the horse drawn cart, or brewers dray came out of the gates of the Canal Basin warehouse and started it rounds. Such a busy place it must have been with canal boats coming and going. Produce from Coventry, making its way around the country via the canals. There is a lot of history right there in that building, and in the basin itself. I plan to try and find out more. Take photo's and research its past.

Oh Yes please Baz. I really look forward to that. I would love to learn so much more about the Coventry canal and its people. Gilly

They tried to make something of the Canal Basin - but it appears to have failed miserably, the area always seems dead The Coventry Telegraph (Trinity Mirror) have downsized into some of the office space But it does appear that it is another victim of the wretched Inner Ring Road - the Canal Basin is isolated from "life" other than the occasional canal boat

Hi all It is a sad fact that the canal basin has never been brought into a general scheme of our city centre. There is no convenient public transport to it & it is not on the way to anywhere. From the town it is all up-hill, plus crossing the ring-road. Me, travelling in to Cov along the Foleshill Rd. I sometimes get off the bus at the ambulance station & enter the basin at the cafe end, before walking down-hill into the city. I do wonder if a shuttle transport system would work if, Cov rail station, Greyfriars Grn, Hertford St, Broadgate, Bishop St, & the canal basin were routed in this manner. Even a tramway or the like. It would not be cheap, as it needs to cross the ring road, but it would link areas that need linking. I wonder?

The fact is that our canal basin is at the end of a very long arm of the canal system, You travel from Hawkesbury Junction, the other side of Bedworth, to a dead end, passing by the most industrial part of Coventry. And when you get to the basin, there is nothing there. Yes offices and some small outlets, but not much else. Nothing to tempt the boat owners down the 10 mile plus canal. Back in the days when cargo came and went from here, it must have been quite a sight with boats coming and going throughout the day. People rushing around getting the boats loaded etc. I cannot think of any way the canal system in Coventry could ever match what they have done in Birmingham, in making it a destination for people and boat owners alike. They have made a feature out of their canal sides, with pubs and places to eat, hotels, safe moorings for the boats. We build flats along ours and leave waste land with rubbish all over it. I am not getting on at the Council for this, but the state of the canal sides are due to the lack of investment in the right way. Why not turn the old Council maintenance depot at the start of the Foleshill Rd into a mooring site, with secure access and amenities? Apart from giving the council money from mooring charges, it would also attract boat owners down to the basin. Build shops and pubs close to the basin to give boat owners and holiday makers out on the boats a reason for coming down our arm of the canal system....

This article in today's paper speaks volumes about the state of the Canal Basin

It is not just the land at the canal basin which has got the rubbish, loads of rubbish is being frequently dumped in the canal right up to Lady Lane which locals also myself have noticed recently, also especially by the Tesco bridge, which we think this is where it's coming from but seems not with this news. Fearing for the wild life as there is a nature reserve side of the canal, as ducks were dead floating on the canal last week, with like garden rubbish and oil floating on the canal, a month ago along the path side of the Ricoh to the tow path all bins had been emptied into the canal scattered in the shrubbery and a bin attached to a lamp post burned out, which I reported to the council mainly for the wild life at risk, frequently broken glass from bottles being smashed which is hard to avoid a puncture in a wheel chair or bike. I also thought we had a barge which cleaned the canal frequently. Perhaps it's my medication playing tricks on me when I saw it on the news a while ago going up the Coventry canal cleaning all the rubbish from in the canal. When I see mostly other European countries abroad no litter anywhere so why here, are we backwards to them or is there no respect here in this country any more.

I'd like to know why it is called 'Tusses Bridge'?

Perhaps it's where they tied the horses or boat to a wall as them days the canal people preferred the horse which towed the boat trusses where you tie to a wall. Or the side of the bridge right angles beam is truss.

Going off the trains for a moment, and back to the canals and our basin, I went down with camera in hand today to find more about the place (past and now). There is a number of shops there, cafe, hairdressers, newsagents, to name but a few. But I must say, it was not that busy. The old vaults that go under the car park now, was once where coal was stored, is now a music venue, and thanks to a plaque that is there, I can say that the warehouses were there before 1837. The Bishop St end was used for grain and the under-croft was where the canal horses were kept. The middle part of the warehouses had general food stuffs (that's where the large doors are, going onto the road) and the Drapers Field end was for cement. I have a few more photo's that I will post another time. As we have said before in this post, the ring-road system has cut this historic site off from the rest of the City, and with that in mind, it feels right to give you this last photo, that sums up the future of our canal basin....

Thank you for the photos Baz. I have a strong feeling that would be a nice little pocket for tourists here in Perth for adults and children alike. It looks to me as if that area is going to waste.

Thanks for your info and pictures Baz. Very much appreciated. Gilly

Took my camera for a short walk around Longford yesterday afternoon, in glorious sunshine

Here is a bit more history of the building of the Coventry Canal.