Don't stare too long: why our feral, polluted canals are so beguiling

An urban waterway is more than just a short cut through the city - it's a testament to the power of nature over neglect

The roar of the road is receding with each step down and with it the light is changing; it is dancing, mirrored and then dappled in the ripples of the water. One layer down and the city has become an entirely different place.

I, like many, am using the canal as a quiet cut-through. It smells different down here; there's the dankness of the water, for sure, but there's a wealth of green filtering the fumes from above. And the soundscape changes - song birds, the curious grunt of a bank of geese eyeing me and the dog warily, the lap of the water's edge and the groan of metal sidings that are there to repair the bridge.