C&O Canal

Below the main streets of the old quarter, a narrow nineteenth-century canal runs quiet beside the river, its towpath shaded by trees, its old locks and lock-keepers' houses still in place. This is the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, whose beginning in this neighbourhood is now a peaceful walking and cycling route through history.

The canal was built in the nineteenth century to carry boats and cargo inland along the river valley, hauled by mules along the towpath, a great work of its age meant to open trade to the interior before the railways overtook it.

Though it long ago ceased to carry commerce, the canal and its towpath survive as a protected historic park, running for many miles up the river valley, with its beginning right here among the old warehouses of the quarter.

The towpath is the draw: a flat, shaded path along the water, popular with walkers, runners, and cyclists, leading from the busy streets of the quarter out into greener country along the river.

Old locks, lock houses, and stone-built features line the route, and in places the history of the canal is brought to life with restored boats and displays, so a walk is also a lesson in nineteenth-century engineering and trade.

Close to its start, the canal runs right through the old quarter, with footbridges, old industrial buildings, and cafes along the banks, a calm green seam just below the bustle of the shopping streets.

The contrast is part of the charm: step down from the busy main street and within moments you are on a quiet, tree-shaded path beside still water, the city's noise fading behind you.

The path connects the neighbourhood to the wider riverside park system, so it is a favourite route for locals exercising and for visitors wanting a green escape without leaving the city.

It is free and open, walkable in either direction for as long as you like, from a short stroll along the old locks to a longer ride out of the city along the river.

The canal is at its best in the gentle light of morning or evening, and lovely in autumn when the trees along the towpath turn, a quiet, local pleasure away from the main sights.

Walk the shaded towpath beside the old locks, with the still water on one side and the old quarter above, and the slow, nineteenth-century life of the canal comes back. When you climb the steps to the street, the busy modern quarter resumes just above the water.