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Tranquillity is not a word normally associated with London's roads, or railways. But - long before commuting, complaints about heavy lorries, and the hectic pace of life at the end of the 20th Century - the Regent's Canal became the first great trunk route to link north London with the industrial Midlands and North of England. It created a way in which cargo, brought in to the city by sea, could be distributed to destinations far from the river Thames. And tranquillity is the hallmark of the Regent's Canal. Standing beside the still water, you can hardly believe you're in central London, still less standing beside a great highway.

The Regent's Canal was finally opened in 1820 after a period of eight years, much of which had seen a slow pace of work or none at all, because then, as now, large engineering projects often cost a lot more than was planned, and the company ran out of money. Islington Tunnel, 960 yards (875 meters) long, is the great engineering feature of the canal.

How many people, shopping around The Angel, Islington, realise that a dark, narrow waterway cavern lies beneath their feet, where once strong men were available for hire to "leg" barges through by lying on their backs and walking against the sides of the tunnel? This process of legging through tunnels was pretty slow, so in 1826 a steam tug was introduced which ran until the 1930s, towing several barges at a time whilst the horses trotted over the top of the hill.

All along the canal are reminders of our industrial past, be they wharves, bricked up arches that once led to factories, or buildings which owe their position to the availability of cheap transport by water. Much has changed since the canal was a working cargo route, and in modern times housing has become an attractive use for waterside places. A view over the canal and its passing boats fetches a premium price.

Just why people love to watch boats go by isn't all that clear, but it seems to be universal. There are still boats, of course, although almost all the trade has gone. Private boats, maintenance boats, hired holiday boats, trip boats - the canal never closed and is now a leisure highway. You can walk all along the route (except through the tunnels!) and share that tranquillity with the boats, and of course, the ducks.The best known location is a scene of cosmopolitan crowds, street stalls, and bustling business: Camden Locks. There are in fact three locks at Camden, and none is called "Camden Lock" ! Hampstead Road Lock is the one that is beside the market, and on a summer Sunday the whole area is crowded with people enjoying themselves. They probably don't know that this is the site of an experiment, abandoned in 1818, with the building of the "hydro-pneumatic lock". A complex mechanism, it never worked proper