The Leeds to Liverpool Canal has been a perpetual part of my life. As a child, my friends and I spent many a day playing on its banks. I remember once when I was about ten, my friend and I found a canoe tied up on the edge. We got in it and paddled out into the canal – using our hands because we had no paddles! Of course, being silly children, we tipped the canoe over and fell in the water! After climbing out of the canal and returning the canoe, we ran home as quickly as possible to change our clothes, hanging them out to dry and hoping against hope that our parents wouldn’t notice!!!