THE GRAND SURREY CANAL ON THE LOWER THAMES.

FOLLOWING on our "Round the Canals" experiences, I have since traversed the Grand Surrey Canal, which I venture to think the average Londoner knows little of. It enters from the Surrey Commercial Docks, and is the only canal on the south side of the Lower Thames, its destination being Camberwell, some four and a half miles from the start. In its course it proceeds through the localities of Rotherhithe, Deptford, Old Kent Road, Bermondsey to Walworth and Camberwell. Apart from the lock on entering, there are no others to be encountered en route, The canal itself, like others of this description, is, of course, purely of a commercial character, and is the means of transport for goods of all descriptions, such as petroleum, tar, wood, hemp, iron goods, and coal to the numerous wharves along its banks, the coal being chiefly delivered to the South Metropolitan Gas Co., which has a large depot at Old Kent Road. Rowing boats, to be seen on some canals, are unknown here, and the green fields of Surrey are now only a distant memory. Even the luxury of bathing is prohibited under such a heavy penalty as five pounds for each " offence," so that the pleasure-seeker has little scope here.

The waterway, although short, is a fine one, and is kept in good condition, and has a greater depth of water than is usually found in canals. Towards the end of the journey there is a branch to Peckham known as the Peckham Arm, about half a mile in length, and I believe at one time there was also another branch to Croydon - what appears to have been at one time the Grand Surrey and Croydon Canal - but this latter is now a thing of the past. It has ceased to exist as a canal, a railway company having taken it over. The Grand Surrey Canal was, in 1864, taken over and amalgamated with the Surrey Commercial Dock Company, who control and manage it. It therefore forms an important adjunct for the distribution of merchandise in these parts.

One would little think that this short waterway is the means of conveying thousands of tons yearly to the wharves along its banks, and it leads one to wonder why, in times gone by, there were not others of a like description made where waterborne goods could be carried right to their destination. We think the foregoing may be of some little interest to readers, although it is rather outside the routine of previous experiences.

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