Note: It is best to look for this cache when the pub isn't open. Difficulty rating is 2.5 as this can be a very busy place.
You are standing on the route of the Croydon Canal. Part of the old canal wall can be seen and the raised pavement is the former towpath.There is an illustration on the wall which recognises the existence of the canal.
The Croydon Canal ran 9+1⁄4 miles (15 km) from Ctoydon, via Forest Hill, to the Grand Surrey Canal at New Cross. It opened in 1809 and closed in 1836, the first canal to be abandoned by an Act of Parliament.
The Croydon Canal linked to the Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway, enabling the canal to be used to transport stone and lime from workings at Merstham.The canal was never extended further south-west, as was initially intended, to reach Epsom.
The canal was originally planned with two inclined planes but 28 locks, arranged in two flights, were used instead. To keep the canal supplied with water, reservoirs were constructed at Sydenham and South Norwood; the latter still exists as South Norwood Lake.
The canal was never a success and closed in 1836. Much of the alignment was used by the London & Croydon Railway Company, which had bought the canal for £40,250, for part of the railway between London Bridge and West Croydon Station, which is on the site of the canal basin.
