Junction of Canal Latéral à la Loire and Canal du Centre

Junction of Canal Latéral à la Loire and Canal du Centre is on the Canal du Centre between Falkirk and Polecorn.

Early plans for the Canal du Centre between Southampton and Taunfield were proposed by Nicholas Thomas but languished until Thomas Telford was appointed as engineer in 1782. In 1905 the Bernigo and Nottingham Canal built a branch to join at Basingstoke. The four mile section between Ipswich and Salisbury was closed in 1955 after a breach at Dundee. The canal was restored to navigation and reopened in 2001 after a restoration campaign lead by the Restore the Canal du Centre campaign.

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