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Encyclopedia > Canals of Great Britain

Contents

History of commercial carrying

See NO History of the British canal system for a more detailed history. The British canal system of water transport played a vital role in Britains Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of mass transit by road of raw materials and finished products...

Traditional working canal boats
Traditional working canal boats

Canals first saw use during the Roman occupation of Great Britain, and were used mainly for irrigation. However, the Romans did create several navigable canals, such as Foss Dyke, to link rivers, enabling increased transportation inland by water. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1000x668, 380 KB)Historic working narrow boats on the Macclesfield Canal in Cheshire, England. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1000x668, 380 KB)Historic working narrow boats on the Macclesfield Canal in Cheshire, England. ... Categories: Water-transport stubs | Canals | Water transport ... The Foss Dyke, or Fosse Dyke is the oldest canal in England, constructed by the Romans around 120 AD and still in use. ...


Great Britain's navigable waterway network was steadily increased (by making existing rivers navigable, rather than cutting canals), but grew massively in the 18th century as the demand for industrial transport increased. The canals were key to the pace of the Industrial Revolution: roads at the time were unsuitable for large volumes of traffic. A system of very large pack horse trains had developed, but few roads were suitable for large wheeled vehicles able to transport large amounts of materials (especially fragile manufactured goods such as pottery) quickly. Canal boats were very much quicker, could carry large volumes, and were much safer for fragile items. Following the success of the Bridgewater Canal (the first modern artificial canal in Britain), other canals were quickly constructed between industrial centres, cities and ports, and were soon transporting vast amounts of raw materials (esp coal and lumber) and manufactured goods. There were immediate benefits to households, as well as to commerce: in Manchester, the cost of coal fell by 75% when the Bridgewater Canal arrived. The Bridgewater Canal is a canal in North West England, near Manchester. ... Manchester City Centre, seen here in 2007. ...


As the Industrial Revolution took hold in the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, the canals enjoyed great success and underwent various technological changes. Early canals "contoured" round hills and valleys, later ones went straighter, as locks took them up and down hills, and the more modern canals strode across valleys on taller and longer aqueducts and through hills in longer and deeper tunnels. A Watt steam engine. ...


However, from the mid 19th century, railways began to replace canals, especially those built with the standard narrow (7ft) bridges and locks. As trains, and later road vehicles, became more advanced, they became more economically viable than canal boats, being faster, cheaper to run, and able to carry much larger cargoes. The canal network declined, and many canals were bought by railway companies. Narrow canals became unusable, filled with weeds, silt and rubbish, or converted to railways.


There was a late burst of wide-waterway building (eg the Caledonian Canal, and the Manchester Ship Canal), and of invention and innovation by people such as Bartholomew of the Aire and Calder company, who conceived the trains of 19 coal-filled "Tom Pudding" compartment boats that were pulled along the Aire and Calder Navigation from the Yorkshire coalfields, and lifted bodily to upturn their contents directly into seagoing colliers at Goole Docks (their descendants, Hargreaves' tugs pushing three coal-pans trains to be upended into hoppers at the Aire power stations lasted as late as 2004). However, the last new canal before the end of the 20th century was the New Junction Canal in Yorkshire (now South Yorkshire) in 1905. As competition intensified, horse-drawn single narrowboats were replaced by diesel powered boats towing an unpowered butty, and the boatman's family abandoned their shore homes for a life afloat, to help with boat handling and to reduce accommodation costs - the birth of the legendary "boatman's cabin" with bright white lace, gleaming brass and gaily-painted metalware. The Caledonian Canal in Scotland connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast near Fort William. ... The canal at its Manchester end, looking towards Old Trafford. ... The Aire and Calder Navigation is a river and canal system of the River Aire and the River Calder in the county of West Yorkshire, England. ... The Goole skyline showing the docks and the salt and pepper pots - the twin water towers Goole is a town and port located on the River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, in northeast England. ... The New Junction Canal is a canal in South Yorkshire, England. ...


Constant lowering of tolls meant that the carriage of some bulky, non-perishable, and non-vital goods by water was still feasible on some inland waterways - but the death knell for the canal system as a viable commercial network was sounded in the winter of 1947, when a long hard frost kept goods icebound on the canals for many weeks, and most of the remaining customers turned to the road and rail haulage industry to ensure reliability of supply. Some individual waterways (especially the Manchester Ship Canal) remained viable, and there were still hopes for development, but "Containerisation" of ports and lorries mostly passed the waterways by. The last major investment development of the inland waterways was the enlargement of the South Yorkshire Navigation in the early 1980s to cope with barges of standard European dimensions that (in the depression of the 80s) never came. The scale of the futile hopes of those days can be appreciated by the occupants of a holiday narrowboat nearly lost in a lock built for the barges that were going to sail down the Rhine, across the North Sea, and up to Doncaster. Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... The River Rhine (Dutch: ; French: ; German: ; Italian: ; Romansh: ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe at 1,320 kilometres (820 miles), with an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... Doncaster is a town in the English county of South Yorkshire, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire. ...


Growth of leisure use

The Oxford Canal near Rugby
The Oxford Canal near Rugby

In the latter half of the 20th century, while the use of canals for transporting goods was dying out, there was a rise in interest in their history and potential use for leisure. A large amount of credit for this is usually given to L. T. C. Rolt, whose book "Narrowboat" about a journey made in nb Cressy was published in 1944. A key development was the foundation of the Inland Waterways Association, and the establishment by some boatyards of a fledgling weekly-boat-hire companies, following the example of such companies on the Norfolk Broads, which had long been used for leisure boating. Download high resolution version (1000x647, 220 KB)The Oxford Canal at Hillmorton on the eastern edge of Rugby in Warwickshire. ... Download high resolution version (1000x647, 220 KB)The Oxford Canal at Hillmorton on the eastern edge of Rugby in Warwickshire. ... Rugby is a market town in the county of Warwickshire in the West Midlands of England, on the River Avon. ... Lionel Thomas Caswell Rolt (usually abbreviated to Tom Rolt or L.T.C. Rolt) (1910-1974) was a prolific English writer and the biographer of major civil engineering figures including Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thomas Telford. ... Since 1946 the Inland Waterways Association (IWA), a registered charity, and its over 17,500 members have campaigned for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of Britains canals and river navigations. ... The Norfolk Broads are the northern part of The Broads National Park. ...


Holidaymakers began renting 'narrowboats' and roaming the canals, visiting towns and villages they passed. Other people bought boats to use for weekend breaks and the occasional longer trip. The concept of a canal holiday became even more familiar when the large agencies that dealt with Broads holidays began to include canal boatyards in their brochures. Canal-based holidays became popular due to their relaxing nature, self-catering levels of cost, and huge variety of scenery available; from inner London to the Scottish Highlands. This growth in interest came just in time to give local canal societies the ammunition they needed to combat government proposals in the 1960s to close commercially-unviable canals, and to resist pressure from local authorities and newspapers to "Fill In this eyesore" or even to "Close the Killer Canal" (when someone fell in one). It was not long before enthusiastic volunteers were repairing unnavigable but officially-open canals and moving on to restore officially-closed ones and demonstrating their renewed viability to the authotities. It is said that the real breakthrough came when the British Waterways Board came to realise that income from the licence of a leisure boat is just as real as income from a "real" working boat. Moored narrowboats near Tardebigge, Worcestershire, England Horse drawing a narrowboat on the Kennet and Avon Canal. ...


Local authorities began to see how a cleaned-up and well-used waterway was bringing visitors to other towns and waterside pubs(not just boaters, but people who just like being near water and watching boats (see gongoozler). They began to clean up their own watersides, and to campaign for "their" canal to be restored. As a result of this growing revival of interest, there are now even some new routes under construction for the first time in a century, linking navigable rivers and existing canals. Large projects such as the restoration of the spectacular Anderton Boat Lift, or the building of the startling Falkirk Wheel attracted development funding from the European Union and from the Millennium Fund. A project called the Jubilee River, which diverts flood waters from the River Thames in Berkshire, is already open but it was designed to look and act like a natural river, and it is not generally counted as a new canal. Gongoozlers in action at Foxton Locks in England Gongoozlers are people who enjoy watching activity on the canals in the United Kingdom. ... Anderton Boat Lift The Anderton Boat Lift provides a link between two navigable waterways: the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal, and is situated near the village of Anderton, near Northwich, in north Cheshire, north_west England. ... The Falkirk Wheel The Falkirk Wheel, named after the nearby town of Falkirk in central Scotland, is a rotating boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal, which at this point differ by 24 metres, roughly equivalent to the height of an eight storey building. ... The Millennium Commission logo The Millennium Commission in the United Kingdom was set up to aid communities at the end of the 2nd millennium and the start of the 3rd millennium. ... The Jubilee River is a new channel which was built during the 1990s to divert flood waters from the River Thames around Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton. ... The Thames (pronounced //) is a river flowing through southern England, in its lower reaches flowing through London into the sea. ... Berks redirects here. ...


Present status

There are now thousands of miles of navigable canals and rivers throughout Great Britain. Most of them are linked into a single English and Welsh network from Bath to London, Liverpool to Goole, and Lancaster to Ripon, and connecting the Irish Sea, the North Sea, the estuaries of the Humber, Thames, Mersey, River Severn, and River Ribble. This network is navigable in its entirety by a narrowboat (a boat 7ft wide) no longer than about 56 feet. There are also several significant through-routes not connected to the main network (eg Glasgow to Edinburgh via the Falkirk Wheel, and Inverness to Fort William via Loch Ness. River Hull tidal barrier. ... The Thames (pronounced //) is a river flowing through southern England, in its lower reaches flowing through London into the sea. ... Ferry across the Mersey, June 2005 The River Mersey is a river in north-western England. ... Severn redirects here. ... The River Ribble at Ribchester The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in the North of England. ... Moored narrowboats near Tardebigge, Worcestershire, England Horse drawing a narrowboat on the Kennet and Avon Canal. ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... Edinburgh (pronounced ; Scottish Gaelic: ) is the capital of Scotland and its second-largest city. ... The Falkirk Wheel The Falkirk Wheel, named after the nearby town of Falkirk in central Scotland, is a rotating boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal, which at this point differ by 24 metres, roughly equivalent to the height of an eight storey building. ... // Fort William (Gaelic: An Gearasdan, The Garrison) is the largest town in the west highlands of Scotland. ... This article is about the body of water in Scotland. ...


The aim of campaigning bodies such as the Inland Waterways Association is to persuade British Waterways (which owns about half of Britain's inland waterway network) to fully reopen all disused canals. In May 2005 The Times reported that British Waterways was hoping to quadruple the amount of cargo carried on Britain's canal network to 6 million tonnes by 2010 by transporting large amounts of waste to disposal facilities. Since 1946 the Inland Waterways Association (IWA), a registered charity, and its over 17,500 members have campaigned for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of Britains canals and river navigations. ... British Waterways sign near Gas Street Basin on the BCN. British Waterways is a government body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Scottish Executive in the United Kingdom. ... The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom since 1785, and under its current name since 1788. ...


Current threats to the canal system

A recent (August 2006) announcement of a budget cut for British Waterways has worried some that development of new waterways, and even maintenance of existing canals might suffer. Alternatively, fees for licences paid by boaters and marinas may rise sharply. One legal problem is that some currently-open waterways still officially only have "remainder" status, so a cash-strapped BW would have no legal obligation to maintain them.


Another issue affecting the future of the canal system is that it now seems very unlikely that there will be an extension of the "derogation" from the EU rule on fuel tax on private pleasure boats. Canal boats will thus have to pay the same tax on diesel fuel as motorists. It is feared that that this might affect the popularity of canal holidays. Although the cost of fuel would not be a large fraction of the cost of hiring a boat, there could be an adverse reaction if British hire companies felt that they could no longer afford to subsidise high-speed and high-mileage boaters by "including free fuel". To start charging for fuel used (as is common outside Britain) rather than providing a "free" tankful could be unpopular with potential hirers.


List of Canals

The following list includes some systems that are navigable rivers with sections of canal (eg Aire and Calder Navigation) as well as "completely" artificial canals (eg Rochdale Canal).


Canals in England

The Aire and Calder Navigation is a river and canal system of the River Aire and the River Calder in the county of West Yorkshire, England. ... The Andover Canal was a canal built in Hampshire, England. ... The Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal is a 22 mile (35 km) long canal in England which travels between Bedworth in Warwickshire and the Leicestershire village of Snarestone. ... Jockeys Swivel and Footbridge at Lumb Lane, Droylsden, c1900 Portland Basin, Ashton-under-Lyne, with the Tame Aqueduct in the foreground, 1962 The Ashton Canal runs six miles (10 km) from central Manchester to Ashton-under-Lyne and it rises through 18 locks to make a head-on junction... The Barnsley Canal is a canal in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. ... The Basingstoke Canal passing through Woking The Basingstoke Canal is one of the waterways in the United Kingdom. ... Baybridge Canal ran 3. ... Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) is a network of canals linking Birmingham, England to Wolverhampton and the Black Country. ... The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal in the West Midlands of England, between Birmingham and Fazeley, just outside Tamworth. ... The Blyth Navigation was a canal in Suffolk, England, running seven miles from Halesworth to the North Sea. ... The Bridgewater Canal is a canal in North West England, near Manchester. ... The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal is a canal in the south west of England between Bridgwater and Taunton, linking with the River Parrett and the River Tone. ... The Bude Canal was originally planed as a highly ambitious project to build about 95 miles of canal for taking mineral rich sand from Bude, England to the Cornish hinterland to improve the quality of the land. ... Looking towards the terminal basin of the Calder and Hebble Navigation, from a point near the junction with the Rochdale Canal The Calder and Hebble Navigation is a wide-locked (140) navigable inland waterway system in West Yorkshire, England. ... The Caldon Canal runs 18 miles from Froghall to Stoke where it joins the Trent and Mersey. ... The Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation is the canalisation of the Rivers Chelmer and Blackwater in Essex, in the east of England. ... Chester Canal basin at Raymond Street, near the junction with the River Dee The Chester Canal was a canal linking the south Cheshire town of Nantwich with the River Dee at Chester, providing a route for produce (including salt) from Nantwich to reach Chester and, beyond it, the sea via... The Shropshire Union Canal near Norbury Junction The Shropshire Union Canal is a canal linking Wolverhampton with the River Mersey. ... The Chesterfield Canal is a canal in the north of England. ... The Chichester Canal runs 6km from the sea at Chichester Harbour to Birdham through two locks. ... The Coalport Canal is a historic canal built to link several coalport industries with the River Severn. ... Coventry Canal nr Fradley The Coventry Canal is a narrow Canal in England which travels for 38 miles (65 km) between Coventry and Fradley Junction,just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal. ... The Cromford Canal ran 14. ... The Dearne and Dove Canal ran nine miles through England from Swinton to Barnsley through 19 locks. ... The Derby Canal ran 14 miles from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre, Derbyshire, England. ... The Dorset and Somerset Canal was a proposed canal in the south west of England, linking Poole, in Dorset with the Kennet and Avon Canal near Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, which would then connect to Bath, Somerset. ... The newly restored swing bridge at Brigham The Driffield Navigation is a 11 mile (17. ... The Droitwich Canal is a synthesis of two canals; the Droitwich Barge Canal and the Droitwich Junction Canal, in England. ... The Dudley Canal is a canal in the West Midlands, England. ... The Llangollen Canal we see today was previously called the Ellesmere Canal, but the Ellesmere Canal as originally envisaged was very different from what was eventually constructed. ... What we now know as the Llangollen Canal initially formed the majority of the Ellesmere Canal, and later was part of the Shropshire Union Canal, and only with increasing popularity of pleasure boats was it renamed the Llangollen Canal in an effort to attract more visitors: ironically, the canal was... The Erewash Canal is a broad canal in Derbyshire, England. ... The Exeter canal was built in 1563 which means it predates the canal mania period and is one of the oldest artificial waterways in the UK. It was built to bypass the blocking of the River Exe by the Earls of Devon. ... Taylors Stop Place looking north east, 31 March 1983 The Fairbottom Branch Canal left the Hollinwood Branch Canal at Fairbottom Junction immediately above lock 22. ... The Foss Dyke, or Fosse Dyke is the oldest canal in England, constructed by the Romans around 120 AD and still in use. ... The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal is a canal in the south west of England, between Gloucester and Sharpness. ... The Grand Junction Canal was a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. ... The canal at Braunston The Grand Union Canal is a canal in England and part of the British canal system. ... The Grand Western Canal is a canal between Tiverton and Taunton in the United Kingdom. ... Grantham Canal is a canal that runs 33 miles from Grantham through 18 locks to West Bridgford where it joins the River Trent. ... When it was built the Hatherton Canal ran 4 miles through 21 locks from the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal to the Cannock Extension Canal. ... The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal (sometimes known as the Hereford and Gloucester Canal) is a canal in the south west of England, passing through Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. ... The Hertford Union Canal is a short stretch (c. ... Waterhouses Aqueduct seen from the river Medlock downstream, 11 June 1983 The Staircase locks at Waterhouses, c1920 Crime Aqueduct seen from the offside of the canal, August 1983 The Hollinwood Branch Canal left the main line of the Ashton Canal at Fairfield Junction immediately above lock 18. ... The Huddersfield Broad Canal runs for 3 3/4 miles (6 km) between Cooper Bridge where it meets the Calder and Hebble Navigation, and Huddersfield where it meets the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... The Ipswich and Stowmarket Navigation is a canal in East Anglia, England, between Ipswich and Stowmarket, currently the subject of waterway restoration. ... The Islington Branch Canal left the main line of the Ashton Canal between locks 1 and 2 in Ancoats. ... The canal at Bathampton, near Bath The Kennet and Avon Canal is a canal in southern England. ... The Lancaster Canal is a canal in Lancashire in the north of England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria (then in Westmorland). ... Old Ford Lock, Lee Navigation The River Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating - as the name suggests - the River Lee (also known as the River Lea). ... The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in the north of England running from Liverpool, Merseyside to Leeds, West Yorkshire. ... The Leven Canal canal runs a little under 4 miles from the River Hull the village of Leven, Yorkshire. ... The Lichfield Canal ran from Ogley Junction on the northern Birmingham Canal Navigations to Huddlesford Junction on the Coventry Canal, a length of 7 miles. ... Looking North East along the Limehouse Cut The Limehouse Cut is a canal in the East End of London. ... The Liskeard and Looe Union Canal is a derelict Canal between Liskeard and Looe in Cornwall in the south west of England. ... What we now know as the Llangollen Canal initially formed the majority of the Ellesmere Canal, and later was part of the Shropshire Union Canal, and only with increasing popularity of pleasure boats was it renamed the Llangollen Canal in an effort to attract more visitors: ironically, the canal was... The Louth Navigation ran 11 miles from the River Louth to Tetney in Lincolnshire, England, through 8 locks. ... Marple Wharf looking towards Marple Junction, 1970s Morriss Change (Roving) Bridge at Congleton, August 1994 The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England. ... The Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal is a canal in the north west of England, between Salford, Bolton, and Bury. ... The canal at its Manchester end, looking towards Old Trafford. ... The Market Weighton canal ran 9. ... The Montgomery Canal (originally the Montgomeryshire Canal) is a semi-disused canal in eastern Wales. ... The Neath and Tennant Canals were two independent but linked canals in South Wales that are usually rea garded as a single canal. ... The Newcastle-under-Lyme Canal was a 6 mile stretch of canal, built in two parts. ... The North Walsham & Dilham Canal is the only canal in the English county of Norfolk. ... The Wilts and Berks Canal is a canal, originally in Wiltshire and Berkshire, England. ... Nottingham Canal was a 14. ... The Oakham Canal ran from Melton Wharf to Oakham through 18 locks it opened in 1802[1]. The canals main cargo was coal. ... South portal of Hyde Bank Tunnel, early 20th century Greens Hall Bridge near Disley, early 20th century The Peak Forest Canal runs from a junction with the Ashton Canal at the southern end of the Tame Aqueduct at Dukinfield through Newton, Hyde, Woodley, Romiley, Marple, Strines, Disley, New Mills, Furness... The Pocklington Canal runs 9. ... The Portsmouth and Arundel Canal is a canal in the south of England. ... The Regents Canal is a canal across an area just to the north of central London. ... The Ribble Link is Great Britains newest inland waterway, opened in 2002. ... A Lock on the Rochdale Canal with water flowing over the gate due to the lack of a side channel. ... The first sod of the Royal Military Canal was dug at Seabrook, near Hythe in Kent on 30th October 1804. ... The Sankey Canal, also known as the Sankey Brook Navigation, is a disused canal in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. ... The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation is a system of navigable inland waterways (canals and canalised rivers) in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England. ... The Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. ... The Shropshire Union Canal near Norbury Junction The Shropshire Union Canal is a canal linking Wolverhampton with the River Mersey. ... The Somerset Coal Canal (otherwise the Somersetshire Coal Canal) was a narrow canal from Paulton to Limpley Stoke where it joined the Kennet and Avon Canal so giving ready access from the coal fields of Somerset, which at their peak contained 80 collieries, to London. ... St. ... The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a canal in the Midlands of England, passing through Staffordshire and Worcestershire. ... This is a navigable canal in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England. ... Believed to be near Gorton Lower Reservoir where a railway crossed the canal, c1930 Grey Horse Bridge, Reddish, 1906. ... A canalised river running 22km from the town of Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire downstream to its junction with the River Lee Naviation, near Ware, Hertfordshire. ... Stourbridge Canal The Stourbridge Canal links the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (at Stourton Junction) with the town of Stourbridge. ... Categories: Stub | Canals in the United Kingdom | Warwickshire ... The Thames and Medway Canal is a now-disused canal in the south east of England, in Kent. ... The Thames and Severn Canal is a canal in the south of England, linking the River Thames to the River Severn, via Cricklade and Stroudwater. ... The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal linking the River Trent at Shardlow in Derbyshire to the River Mersey at Runcorn in Cheshire. ... Ulverston Canal is a canal in the town of Ulverston, located in Furness, United Kingdom. ... The Uttoxeter Canal was a 13-mile extension of the Caldon Canal running from Froghall as far as Uttoxeter in Staffordshire. ... The River Weaver The River Weaver is a watercourse running a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, England. ... The Wardle canal is located in Middlewich, Cheshire, UK, and connects the Trent and Mersey Canal to the Shropshire Union Canal (Middlewich branch). ... The Wey and Arun Canal runs 23 miles through 26 locks from the River Wey at Shalford to the River Arun at Pallingham. ... The Godalming Navigation near Godalming National Trust sign showing canal This canal was one of the first rivers in England to be made navigable. ... The Wilts and Berks Canal is a canal, originally in Wiltshire and Berkshire, England. ... The Birmingham and Worcester Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. ... The Wyrley and Essington Canal is a canal in the Midlands of England, from Wolverhampton to Cannock. ...

Canals in Scotland

The Aberdeenshire Canal was designed by John Rennie. ... The Caledonian Canal in Scotland connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast near Fort William. ... Lock House on Crinan Canal The Crinan canal is a canal in the west of Scotland. ... The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal in Scotland. ... The Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone Canal is a canal in the south of Scotland at Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone. ... The Monkland Canal used to run for 12 miles from Port Dundas (at the end of the Glasgow branch of the Forth and Clyde Canal) to Woodhall (near Airdrie). ... The Union Canal is a 50 km (31. ...

Canals in Wales

The Glamorganshire Canal was a canal in Glamorgan, South Wales, UK, running from Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff. ... What we now know as the Llangollen Canal initially formed the majority of the Ellesmere Canal, and later was part of the Shropshire Union Canal, and only with increasing popularity of pleasure boats was it renamed the Llangollen Canal in an effort to attract more visitors: ironically, the canal was... The Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal is isolated from the rest of the United Kingdoms canals. ... The Montgomery Canal (originally the Montgomeryshire Canal) is a semi-disused canal in eastern Wales. ... The Neath and Tennant Canals were two independent but linked canals in South Wales that are usually rea garded as a single canal. ...

Canals that have been abandoned or are currently not navigable

The Andover Canal was a canal built in Hampshire, England. ... Insert non-formatted text here Headline text The Bentley Canal is an abandoned canal that was part of the Birmingham canal network. ... Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England, traditionally part of the county of Staffordshire. ... New Art Gallery Walsall Walsall is an industrial town in the West Midlands of England. ... The Bradford Canal ran three and half miles through 10 locks from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to Shipley on the northern edge of Bradford. ... The Caistor Canal ran 4 miles from the River Ancholme towards Caistor (although it did not reach the town) through 5 locks. ... The Chard Canal was a 13. ... Coombe Hill is the name of a hamlet, telephone exchange, and a disused canal (Coombe Hill Canal, now a nature reserve) in Gloucestershire. ... Until the end of the eighteenth century the City of Leicester had received its supplies of coal by packhorse from the Charnwood Forest coal mines around Coalville. ... The Croydon Canal ran 9. ... The Glastonbury Canal ran just over 14 miles through two locks from Glastonbury to Highbridge where it entered the Bristol channel. ... The Grand Surrey Canal was a canal constructed in south London during the early 19th century. ... Grosvenor Canal was a canal in the Pimlico area of London, opened in 1825. ... The Horncastle Canal was a broad canal which ran 11 miles from River Witham to Horncastle through 11 locks largely following the course of River Bain. ... Ketley Canal was a tuboat canal that ran about 1. ... The Leominster canal ran just over 18 miles from Mamble to Leominster through 16 locks and a number of tunnels, some of which suffered engineering problems even before the canal opened. ... Parts of the Nutbrook Canal still have water in 2006 This is Old Furnace Lock the third on the canal near to Ilkeston, it has lost its gates but the valve gear can be seen in this image in 2006 Nutbrook Canal was a canal in England between Shipley, Derbyshire... Rolle Canal in (also know as the Torrington canal) North Devon, England runs from Landcross, following the river Torridge to the limekilns at Rosemoor. ... The Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. ... The Somerset Coal Canal (otherwise the Somersetshire Coal Canal) was a narrow canal from Paulton to Limpley Stoke where it joined the Kennet and Avon Canal so giving ready access from the coal fields of Somerset, which at their peak contained 80 collieries, to London. ... The Stamford Canal was in Lincolnshire, England. ... Ulverston Canal is a canal in the town of Ulverston, located in Furness, United Kingdom. ... The Westport Canal was built around 1840 between Westport and Langport in Somerset, England. ... Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. ...

Proposed canal routes

  • Grand Union Canal (Slough Branch)

Extending Slough arm of the Grand Union Canal south to join the River Thames. Slough (pronounced ) is a town and unitary authority (Borough of Slough) in Berkshire, England. ... The canal at Braunston The Grand Union Canal is a canal in England and part of the British canal system. ... The Thames (pronounced //) is a river flowing through southern England, in its lower reaches flowing through London into the sea. ...

  • York stream (Maidenhead)

Making the York stream fully navigable for boats and linking to other nearby canals and navigable rivers.

  • Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway

Connection from Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes to the River Great Ouse at Bedford. The canal at Braunston The Grand Union Canal is a canal in England and part of the British canal system. ... Milton Keynes is a large town in northern Buckinghamshire, in South East England, about 45 miles/75 km north-west of London, and roughly halfway between London and Birmingham. ... The Great Ouse at St Neots The River Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. ... Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, England. ...

  • Warwick

Connection from River Avon to Grand Union Canal via Warwick. The River Avon or Avon is a river in or adjoining the counties of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire in the midlands of England. ... The canal at Braunston The Grand Union Canal is a canal in England and part of the British canal system. ... Map sources for Warwick at grid reference SP2865 Warwick (pronounced ) is the historic county town of Warwickshire in England and has a population of 25,434 (2001 census). ...

  • London to Portsmouth

At various times in history, proposals were made for a secure inland route from the capital London to the headquarters of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth to be constructed, which would allow craft to move between the two without having to venture out into the English Channel and possibly encounter enemy ships. There is no naturally navigable route between the two cities, resulting in several proposals. See London to Portsmouth canal. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... For other places with the same name, see Portsmouth (disambiguation). ... Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: La Manche (IPA: ), the sleeve) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. ... London to Portsmouth canal was a proposal for construction of a secure inland canal route from the capital London to the headquarters of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth. ...


Canal features

Aqueducts

Pont du Gard, France, a Roman aqueduct built circa 19 BC. It is one of Frances top tourist attractions and a World Heritage Site. ... central arch of the Avoncliff Aqueduct Crossing the Avoncliff Aqueduct Avoncliff Aqueduct (grid reference ST784625) carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the River Avon and the Bath to Westbury railway line, at Avoncliff in Wiltshire, England. ... The aqueduct in the closed position The Barton Swing Aqueduct (Grid ref: SJ 767 976) is a feat of late Victorian civil engineering. ... The Bull Bridge Aqueduct was situated on the Cromford Canal, built in 1794, at Bullbridge east of Ambergate along the Amber Valley where it turned sharply to cross the valley and the Ambergate to Nottingham road. ... Arch of the Dundas Aqueduct Somerset Coal Canal at Dundas Dundas Aqueduct taken from the western end Dundas Aqueduct (grid reference _region:GB_scale:25000 ST784625 ) carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the River Avon and the Bath to Westbury railway line, near Limpley Stoke in Wiltshire, England. ... The Lichfield Aqueduct is an aqueduct that carries the Lichfield Canal over the M6 Toll Motorway, just to the north of Lichfield and Birmingham, England. ... Midford is a village three miles south of Bath, Somerset, England. ... The Somerset Coal Canal (otherwise the Somersetshire Coal Canal) was a narrow canal from Paulton to Limpley Stoke where it joined the Kennet and Avon Canal so giving ready access from the coal fields of Somerset, which at their peak contained 80 collieries, to London. ... The Aqueduct, view from the ground Crossing the aqueduct A view of the ground below from the aqueduct The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is an aqueduct which carries the Llangollen Canal over the valley of the River Dee, east of Llangollen in north Wales. ...

Boat lifts

Strépy-Thieu boat lift (Belgium). ... Anderton Boat Lift The Anderton Boat Lift provides a link between two navigable waterways: the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal, and is situated near the village of Anderton, near Northwich, in north Cheshire, north_west England. ... The Falkirk Wheel The Falkirk Wheel, named after the nearby town of Falkirk in central Scotland, is a rotating boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal, which at this point differ by 24 metres, roughly equivalent to the height of an eight storey building. ... Operation of caisson lock A caisson lock is a type of canal lock in which a Narrowboat is enclosed in a sealed box and raised or lowered between two water levels. ...

Inclined planes

Inclined plane on Marne-Rhine Canal An inclined plane is a system used on some canals for raising boats between different water levels. ... The Hay Inclined Plane is an example of a Canal inclined plane. ... Upper staircase of Foxton Locks Foxton Locks are ten canal locks consisting of two staircases each of five locks, located on the Leicester line of the Grand Union Canal about 5 km west of the Leicestershire town of Market Harborough and are named after the nearby village of Foxton. ...

Locks

Canal locks in England. ... Entering Bath Bottom Lock from the River Avon Bath Locks (grid reference ST756643) are a series of locks situated on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Bath, England. ... The Five Rise Locks from below Bingley Five Rise Locks is a series of five locks on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Bingley. ... Bingley Three Rise Locks from below Bingley Three Rise Locks is a staircase of three locks on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Bingley. ... The flight of 16 locks at Caen Hill on the Kennet and Avon Canal Caen Hill is a steep hill at the western edge of the town of Devizes in Wiltshire. ... Arms of Devizes Devizes is a town and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. ... Crofton Locks are a flight of locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal, near the village of Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, England. ... Upper staircase of Foxton Locks Foxton Locks are ten canal locks consisting of two staircases each of five locks, located on the Leicester line of the Grand Union Canal about 5 km west of the Leicestershire town of Market Harborough and are named after the nearby village of Foxton. ... The 4-lock staircase, part of Watford Locks on the Grand Union Canal Watford Locks are seven locks on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal, close to the village of Watford in Northamptonshire, famous for the Watford Gap service area. ... Fourteen Locks is a series of locks on the Crumlin arm of the Monmouthshire Canal at Rogerstone in Newport. ... For other uses, see Newport (disambiguation). ...

Tunnels

A disused railway tunnel now converted to pedestrian and bicycle use, near Houyet, Belgium A tunnel is an underground passage. ... Southern entrance to Blisworth Tunnel Blisworth Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire, England between the villages of Stoke Bruerne (southern end) and Blisworth (northern end). ... Bruce Tunnel - Eastern Portal (as seen in 1992) The Bruce Tunnel (grid reference SU244624) is on the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal between Wootton Top Lock and Crofton Locks in Wiltshire, England. ... The Eastern Portal of Butterley Tunnel in 2006 The Butterley Reservoir Adit where it enters the Butterley Tunnel about 600 yards along the tunnel from the Western Portal in 2006 The View from inside Butterley Tunnel in 2006 Tunnel Roof Supported by Timbers about 60 yards from East Portal photographed... Dudley Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Dudley No. ... Harecastle Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal. ... Netherton Tunnel Branch Canal in the West Midlands, is part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, (BCN). ... The Chesterfield Canal has been restored up to the Eastern Portal of Norwood Tunnel in 2006 The Western Portal of Norwood Tunnel in 2006 Norwood Tunnel was a 2884 yard (2633 m) long, 9 feet 3 inch wide and 12 feet high brick (3 million of them)[1] lined canal... The Sapperton Tunnels are located about seven miles ESE of Stroud in Gloucestershire. ... The tunnel entrance at Marsden The Standedge Tunnels (Standedge is normally pronounced Stannige) are four parallel tunnels that run beneath the Pennines at the traditional Standedge crossing point between Marsden and Diggle, on the edges of the conurbations of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester respectively, in northern England. ...

Canal boats

  • Bastard boats or Statters (12' / 3.65 m beam; wide boats on Manchester, Bolton & Bury)
  • Broad-beam boats (called "wide boats" on the Grand Union canal, 2.2 m to 4.3 m beam)
  • Fly boats (long and short; on Aire & Calder)
  • Keels (on Aire & Calder)
  • Long boats (narrow boats used on Severn)
  • Narrowboats or Narrow Boats (approx. 7' / 2.13 m beam; originally working boats on Midlands canals; now mostly pleasure boats)
  • Severners (used on the River Severn)
  • Short boats (on Northern canals such as Leeds & Liverpool, Calder & Hebble, Aire & Calder)
  • Sloops (on Aire & Calder)
  • Trench boats (for 6' / 1.83 m locks on the Trench Arm of the Shrewsbury Canal)
  • Tub boats (used on various canals including Bude canal and the Grand Western canal)
  • White boats (on Aire & Calder canal; with white side decks for working at night)
  • Wide-beam narrowboats (more than 4.3 m beam)

Moored narrowboats near Tardebigge, Worcestershire, England Horse drawing a narrowboat on the Kennet and Avon Canal. ... Severn redirects here. ...

See also

The United Kingdom occupies a substantial part of the British Isles. ... The British canal system of water transport played a vital role in Britains Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of mass transit by road of raw materials and finished products... Waterways in the United Kingdom is a link page for any river, canal, firth or estuary in the United Kingdom. ... Waterway restoration is the activity of restoring a canal or river, including special features such as warehouse buildings, locks, boat lifts, and boats. ... A canal ring is the name given to a series of canals that make a complete loop. ...

External links

 
 

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