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Many people assume that canals are like large ponds and that the water does not flow. In fact, canals were built like an artificial river, and have a natural 'flow' of water along them.

One of the important design considerations when a canal was being built was the supply of water. One of the main sources of water for the Lancaster Canal is Killington reservoir (SD5891) which will be familiar to anybody stopping at the M6 services near Junction 37.

The reservoir was built specifically to feed the canal, and the water from it flows about 15km along Killington Beck and Peasey Beck before being diverted into the canal here.

Because this feeder is north of where the canal was blocked to build the M6, the water had to be culverted under the motorway to feed the rest of the canal. As a result, this stretch is still in water but is not navigable from the rest of the canal.