Secretive
The canal is easily suggested as a secret of the city, there are areas which many people may never even see of the canal, but furthermore there are events surrounding the canal which might never be witnessed. On every visit to the canal I have been on, I have seen evidence of community and trust, which leads onto my next initial thought.
Community
In my visits there has been an undeniable sense of community. The people who I've there know one another. They help one another and they share with one another. Whilst I was there, I walked past a woman holding a dog which had fallen into the canal. She had rescued it from the water and started taking it back home to be dried when a boy on the other side of the canal spotted her. The dog was his and before I knew it the woman had returned the boy's lost dog and was advising him on what to do next. It is the things which happen in an area that make it, that was a prime example to me.
Historical
The canal is not a new addition to Nottingham. It was created long ago to provide the city with a trading route which was efficient enough to match the needs of industry. It used to be a busy place full of boats trading up and down from place to place, whereas now it is far more of a leisurely place instead.
Sinister
Having lived in Nottingham all my life, I have heard more than one story about the canal in connection to crime. This creates a shadowy persona for the canal, which is something which definitely comes across when passing under some of the bridges. Whether or not this feeling is connected to the things I have seen/ heard of it before hand I am unsure of, but there is without doubt a sinister feeling about some of it at night.