Contents:
Events Calendar
Belturbet Town
Branch History
Ballinamore-Ballyconnell
Canal
Lough Erne
European Wanderings
Out and About
Overseas Tourist Information
1994 Cruising Guide
Photos |
European Wanderings - Trains Planes and Automoblies - A tale of Three Cities London Paris and Amsterdam
It may be a case of trains,planes and automobiles and for good measure underground transport, but whatever the
reason I missed a piece of canal history right under my nose or more correctly above my head. I am referring to
the Canal Saint Martin in Paris, but before we get to that, lets take a step backwards to early October 99.
It was at this time my better half Phan ,suggested we accompany a Japanese friend to London ostensibly to see London,but
really it was about Harrods and Cashmere coats as it turned out. Arriving in Paris late due to the ever present
traffic control problems accompanied by "we thank you for your understanding", only for the 100th time
this year, I fell asleep only to wake and find I had 1 hour to make it to Gare du Nord(not including showering
,shaving, dressing and all the other daily ablutions) to catch the Eurostar to London Waterloo. Failure to meet
the goal is a dose of the "treatment" heaped with relish (your flavour) on the Dodo…that's me. As the
story goes I made it with 10 minutes to spare, the moral of the story being pack the night before and forget the
excusez-moi, just make the train or the treatment awaits. A vacuum is positively deafening besides.
Well of course,the Eurostar horses along;bingo out of the tunnel we emerge in no time at all, whereupon I have
that "we thank you for your understanding" feeling as we limped along on outdated track to arrive 1 hour
later at Waterloo. Vive La SNCF et Eurostar, les autres..bof.
Having no interest in Harrods, I had surfed my way innocently of course onto the London Canal website and duly
announced to all and sundry, Saturday morning was blocked out in my social diary for a visit to the canal museum.
Howls of protest but good northern determination saw off the naysayers. Canal fever in the air I set off …..without
my camera. The Dodo lives.
For those of you how don't know the London Canal museum is located at New Wharf Road, behind Kings Cross station.
Unknown to me was the existence of the Battlebridge canal basin on the Regents canal with the canal museum being
housed in one of the original ice houses. Read on. After a few wrong turns I arrived and was duly allowed entrance
after shelling out a few quid.Armed with my little brochures I immediately made for the bookshop.Nothing of consequence
on Irish canals, but a wide variety of books, videos, canal knick knacks on British canals. All good stuff.
On entering the museum proper through a life size lock, I was met by a lot of non canal related material on display
such as vintage ice cream machines, milk related contraptions, badges, ice cream vending bycles and God knows what
else and something about ice. Is this a canal museum or what?. Well yes, if you take time to follow the montages
arranged around the walls, you will discover the transport of ice to the city of London was an important component
of the London canal trade. Horse manure went the other direction.
|
