The Ripon Canal.

Ripon Canal

The Ripon Canal in North Yorkshire, England opened in 1773 to link the city of Ripon with the navigable section of the River Ure at Oxclose lock, the canal engineer being William Jessop. One of the primary purposes was bringing coal to the city, North from the Yorkshire coalfields. The opening of the Leeds and Thirsk Railway in 1848 led to a significant decline in this trade, as it became cheaper to bring Durham coal South. The canal was officially abandoned in 1956, and more recently re-opened in stages after restoration work. The entire length has a canalside walk.

Ripon is said to be the most Northerly point of the connected canal system, a claim which will be affected by the potential reopening of the Lancaster Canal above Tewitfield. The Lancaster canal, until the opening of the Ribble Link in 2002 was not considered part of the connected canal system. There is no mooring in the terminal basin itself, but there is short-term mooring just to the South. There is also a marina near Ripon Racecourse.

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