DETROIT: Riverwalk

The Detroit Riverwalk runs for five and a half miles, and will eventually run from the Ambassador Bridge through downtown to Belle Isle. It's purpose is to help with the ongoing reinvention of Detroit by drawing people into the city. To a point it works - people are certainly spending time there, but whether they are then going downtown is another matter. We spent Saturday afternoon there, walking around the state park [the only park in the USA located in an urban area] spied a lighthouse, saw fancy arty maps, the RenCen building [the General Motors world head quarters] to the Hart Plaza. It was nice seeing a river that was greeny-blue in colour rather then the normal brown river water colour of the River Humber that I grew up with, it also seems a good place to go fishing with the amount of fishermen perched over the fences or going up and down in boats.

This river in fact has a key place in Detroit and American history. With the introduction of prohibition in 1920, smugglers took advantage of the location of the motor city to Canada. In places the river is less then half a mile wide and with the adjoining lake of St Clair, 75% of all liquor entering the USA came across the Detroit River into America from Canada. And how did it come over - well through many ingenious ways including a pipeline, dragged under boats, through cable systems and even one daring skater pulling a sledge full during a rather cold winter when the river froze. By 1929, illegal liquor was worth $219 million dollars to Detroit. If you're interested here's a pretty interesting article about the river's role during prohibition.

With parking free there's no excuse to blow off some cobwebs with a walk along the river and see a different view of the city. There is also a place to hire bikes which we're certainly hoping to do once it gets a little warmer - we're even thinking of hiring a tandem which would be interesting to see us on!

Where are your favourite places to go for a breath of fresh air?