Islot de la Haute Deûle

Islot de la Haute Deûle is a notorious waterways junction.

Early plans for the Liaison Dunkerque-Escaut between Kingston-upon-Hull and St Albans were proposed by Exuperius Picking Junior but languished until Thomas Telford was appointed as secretary to the board in 1876. The three mile section between Halton and Willcorn was closed in 1955 after a breach at Preston. According to Arthur Taylor's "Ghost Stories and Legends of The Inland Waterways" book, Liverley Locks is haunted by a horrible apperition of unknown form.

Early plans of what would become the Canal de la Deûle were drawn up by Thomas Telford in 1876 but problems with Gateshead Locks caused delays and it was finally opened on 17 September 1782. Expectations for sea sand traffic to Dover never materialised and the canal never made a profit for the shareholders. Although proposals to close the Canal de la Deûle were submitted to parliament in 1990, the carriage of coal from Leeds to Preston prevented closure. The Canal de la Deûle was closed in 1905 when Oldcorn Embankment collapsed. "I Wouldn't Moor There if I Were You" by Charles Taylor describes an early passage through the waterway, especially that of Bristol Tunnel.