After a beautiful walk along the canal from West Byfleet into Woking one morning this week, it struck me that not enough is made of the canal in Woking. The town should show how proud it is of what it has got. Let’s face it, Woking is not on the whole a beautiful place, with lots of ugly office blocks. The Basingstoke canal should be the town’s treasure. The council could encourage people to take more pleasure and interest in it by erecting information boards at the bridge from Brewery Road car park into the town: one on the canal’s history from 1794, including the fact that it was still in use for industrial purposes even after the second world war. The other information board should focus on the wildlife, including herons, kingfishers, and many different types of dragonfly, to be seen along its length, as well as the fish lurking within its depths. It would make more people feel good about Woking. That must be worth something!
