Göta Canal

Thursday was our rest day. I drove south approx 10km to the Gôta Canal which has a path alongside. The canal was made in the early 19th century to link a string of lakes and form a navigable route from the west coast at Gothenburg to the east coast near Söderköping. Total distance 615 km with 190 km of that actual canal. A total of 58 locks and I saw 8 of them in the 11 km that I rode! And 3 opening bridges – a substantial swing bridge on the main road I drove down. And 2 local-traffic slide-back bridges controlled via video link from the swing bridge control centre.

Six of the locks in My section are very close together with a total drop of 19.4m. Doesn’t rival the Frontenac Steps on the Canal du Midi but still impressive. The locks are staffed over summer by local students, some happy for a chat though they were pretty busy early on. Motor boats and a lot of tall yachts to and from the archipelago just off the coast in the Baltic Sea.

At the swing bridge:

I didn’t have a particular destination in mind, just going for a flat ride, but at lunch time, there was Söderköping.

“Köping” means market . (Pronounced “sherping”) So we have the North market – Norrköping, and the South market – Söderköping.

Along the canal at S there are pavement restaurants with a backdrop of forested cliffs on the other side of the canal and moored yachts. And a cargo bike with an umbrella saying “Ask me”. An outpost of the information centre. She gave me a map and persuaded me to walk around the old town

Although the bell tower looks modern, it apparently dates  from the 16th century.