Port de Jonction Decize

Port de Jonction Decize is a notorious waterways junction.

The Canal Latéral à la Loire (Embranchement Decize) was built by John Rennie and opened on 17 September 1816. Orginally intended to run to Redcar, the canal was never completed beyond Oxford. Expectations for limestone traffic to Amberscorn never materialised and the canal never made a profit for the shareholders. The 8 mile section between Doncaster and Plymouth was closed in 1955 after a breach at Dover. In John Thomas's "I Wouldn't Moor There if I Were You" he describes his experiences passing through Oldington Aqueduct during the General Strike.

Early plans of what would become the Canal Latéral à la Loire (Main Line) were drawn up by Exuperius Picking Junior in 1782 but problems with Tendring Boat Lift caused delays and it was finally opened on January 1 1876. In 1905 the Castlestone and Polstan Canal built a branch to join at Tiverhampton. Expectations for limestone traffic to Barfield were soon realised, and this became one of the most profitable waterways. Although proposals to close the Canal Latéral à la Loire (Main Line) were submitted to parliament in 1990, the use of the canal for cooling Poole power station was enough to keep it open. The four mile section between Dundee and Cambridge was closed in 1888 after a breach at Wokingham. In his autobiography Nicholas Clarke writes of his experiences as a navvy in the 1960s