(Maurizio Crispi) Qualche giorno fa, partendo da Limehouse Basin (ubicato nella vasta zona londinese nota con il nome di Docklands), ho deciso di avventurarmi in una corsa lungo il suggestivo Regent's Canal che prosegue sino al Victoria Park (ed oltre), costituendo un'importante via d'acqua nell'ambito delle cosidette "British Waterways".
A differenza del Limehouse Cut che pure si diparte dal Limehouse Basin e che procede diritto come una stecca per miglia e miglia, il Regent's Canal è ingentilito da numerose pigre curve e movimentato dalla presenza di chiuse, tuttora funzionanti, che devono essere di volta in volta superate per consentirne la navigazione.
E' possibile vedere lungo di esso numerose case galleggianti ormeggiate o in navigazione.
Le chiuse si azionano a mano e quindi gli stessi proprietari delle chiatte possono procedere autonomamente nell'operazione di apertura e chiusura dei lock, ma il passaggio da una singola chiusa richiede parecchio tempo e molta fatica (il meccanismo deve essere azionato a mano).
Oggi si può osservare soltanto questo tipo di pigro movimento nomadico, ma un tempo - prima dello sviluppo dell'industria automobilistica - il canale ebbe una funzione fondamentale per il trasporto di merci, di derrate alimentari e di materiale da costruzione.
Oggi, il Regent's Canal è in declino sotto quel punto di vista, ma è una bella sopravvivenza del passato e, in più, rappresenta un piccolo ecosistema fluviale.
All'inizio del Regent's Canal si lambisce il Miles End Stadium.
Tutt'attorno, si ergono degli edifici condominiali, ma stranamente si aprono anche delle distese di terreni incolti che danno l'idea di essere in piena di campagna.
E ci sono luoghi di sosta con tavoli da picnic e, qua e là, panchine per la sosta.
Questa corsa mi è realmente piaciuta!
La prossima volta vorrei arrivare sino a Victoria Park.

(Da Wikipedia) Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London. The canal is 13.8 kilometres (8.6 miles) long.
First proposed by Thomas Homer in 1802 as a link from the Paddington arm of the then Grand Junction Canal (opened in 1801) with the River Thames at Limehouse, the Regent's Canal was built during the early 19th century after an Act of Parliament was passed in 1812. Noted architect and town planner John Nash was a director of the company; in 1811 he had produced a masterplan for the Prince Regent to redevelop a large area of central north London – as a result, the Regent’s Canal was included in the scheme, running for part of its distance along the northern edge of Regent's Park.
The entrance to the Regent's Canal at Limehouse, 1823.
As with many Nash projects, the detailed design was passed to one of his assistants, in this case James Morgan, who was appointed chief engineer of the canal company. Work began on 14 October 1812. The first section from Paddington to Camden Town, opened in 1816 and included a 251-metre (274 yd) long tunnel under Maida Hill east of an area now known as 'Little Venice', and a much shorter tunnel, just 48 metres (52 yd) long, under Lisson Grove. The Camden to Limehouse section, including the 886-metre (969 yd) long Islington tunnel and the Regent's Canal Dock (used to transfer cargo from seafaring vessels to canal barges – today known as Limehouse Basin), opened four years later on 1 August 1820. Various intermediate basins were also constructed (e.g.: Cumberland Basin to the east of Regent's Park, Battlebridge Basin (close to King's Cross, London) and City Road Basin). Many other basins such as Wenlock Basin, Kingsland Basin, St. Pancras Stone and Coal Basin, and one in front of the Great Northern Railway's Granary were also built, and some of these survive.
The City Road Basin, the nearest to the City of London, soon eclipsed the Paddington Basin in the amount of goods carried, principally coal and building materials. These were goods that were being shipped locally, in contrast to the canal's original purpose of transshipping imports to the Midlands. The opening of the London and Birmingham Railway in 1838 actually increased the tonnage of coal carried by the canal. However, by the early twentieth century, with the Midland trade lost to the railways, and more deliveries made by road, the canal had fallen into a long decline.