Today
The route of the canal lies in a largely agricultural area dotted with small villages and minor roads.
Despite the building of railways along both arms, there are traces of the Paulton arm of the canal and of the Radstock arm. A short stretch of the canal where it joins the Kennet and Avon at the Dundas Aqueduct was restored during the 1980s, and is used for moorings. Excavations of the old stop lock showed that this had originally been a broad (14 feet (4 m)) lock that at some point was narrowed to 7 feet (2 m) by moving the lock wall. While some canal features are on private land, the towpath may survive in places as a right of way, while the later railway between Midford to Wellow is being surfaced to form part of National Cycle Route 24. It has been proposed that a statue, commissioned by Sustrans, of William Smith, the father of English Geology, will be sited next to the path on the line of the canal commemorating his work as surveyor on the canal and his recognition of the significance of rock strata.
Read more about this topic: Somerset Coal Canal
Famous quotes containing the word today:
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone; You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
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—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)