Text Extracts

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Two of the following items appear on pages four and five of the book …

... others failed to make the cut due to lack of space. 

To fit the whole waterways system into only 128 pages involved hard choices and a heavy pruning of material. A second book of similar size could be written without repeating any of the over 400 descriptions of 'features to visit'

Waterway spotting*
(a quick guide)

Waterway spotting requires more than standing on a railway platform. Move around an unfamiliar town, look for the clues. Spotting the local waterway can be just as much fun as spotting the canal-style lettering on 'Eddie Stobart' lorries.

Some town names almost guarantee you will find a waterway, although it may no longer be in use. Inland ports such as Newport, Coalport, Stourport, Ellesmere Port, Port Sunlight, have given their name to the towns that grew up around them.

Road signs indicating hump-back bridges,
waters edge and 'beware ducks' are useful,
as are pub-signs which retain such old names as
The Ferryman, Wherry, Navigation Inn, Barge, Lime Kilns, The Shroppy Fly.

Street names such as Water Lane, Weir Road, River View, Canal Way, Quay Street or Potato Wharf tend to give the game away. More obscure names including words such as causeway, mill, marsh, mead, meadow, lammas, hythe and staithe can also help.

Stand on a slope, the river is likely to be downhill.
A canal can be either above or below you, although it will generally try to stay at a consistent level for long stretches. So, if you have glimpsed it nearby, look for the continuation at about the same contour.

Randomly parked cars on the edge of a rural road often indicate a bridge with waterway underneath. The owners of the cars will be one of the main groups who use waterways… fishermen.

Often, if you know a waterway is nearby, this
extra detective work will give final confirmation.
If you are sure of your approach, and all else fails, see if a local resident knows the whereabouts of his nearest waterway............... but not everybody does!!

*Spotting abandoned canals is a specialised sport, and not recommended for the unwary.

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Navigating

Motorsport navigators instruct their drivers and read the signs.

Your map-reader will see road signs, mostly in white lettering on coloured backgrounds. Blue backgrounds on motorways, green on trunk roads will help you along, but signs naming the forgotton villages that are beside waterway features are often the small white ones with black lettering.

If you are lucky, as you get closer, the sought-after name might also appear on special brown
'tourist' signs.

All entries in the Directory pages of this book, end with a suggested 'approach' from a nearby major road or motorway junction. The suggestions will rarely be the only possible approach, and not necessarily the shortest or the quickest, but will involve as few twists and turns as possible. Experienced navigators might then, knowing where the site is, choose a different route of their own.

Waterway features are found all over the country. It is easiest to approach them by boat or car.
To get to the sites of the suggested 'short strolls', it is generally feasible to arrive by bus or train as well as by car. Ordnance Survey Landranger map references are given to help pinpoint these locations.

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Barges … but not always.

Eskimos have dozens of words for 'snow'.
The word chosen depends on what use can be made of the snow. Similarly, there are many words that distinguish between types of 'barge': -- keels, ketches, cruisers, shortboats, dayboats, narrowboats are just some of the craft that use our waterways. Confusions can come from the fact that some boats use sails, others need to be towed (a dumb barge, a butty) and some, more modern, are self-propelled, with diesel or petrol engines. There are even a few survivors driven by steam. They can be grouped by use (commercial and pleasure boats) or by size (barges and narrowboats).

Most canals are one of two standard sizes...
broad canals, and narrow canals. Strictly, the name does not refer to the width of the canal itself … rather to the dimensions of the locks along them.

As locks and boats fit hand-in-glove, the size of existing local craft dictated the lock-size on a new canal, and after the canal was open, the tables were turned, and lock-size dictated the size of new canal craft.

Often when canals were designed to join two rivers, locks were made 14'-15'wide to accommodate existing river craft e.g. Leeds & Liverpool, Kennet & Avon. Where water is plentiful e.g. Bridgewater Canal or the Wey Navigation leading from the Thames, they can also be wide, but where canals climb to hill-top summits, locks are designed at half that width in order to reduce water-use e.g. locks on the Trent & Mersey and Staffs & Worcs. Canals are just under 7' wide.

If a present-day boat is to travel the whole system, it needs to be as narrow as the narrowest canals and as short as the shortest lock... roughly 7 feet wide and 60 feet long, which is why new boats are often narrowboats, even if they are based on rivers!

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Waterside Inns

Motorway service stations provide refreshment to drivers, as did the coaching inns for passengers on stagecoaches … with 'horses standing at livery' for the businessman with his own carriage. They appear in roughly the right position to serve  long-distance travellers, sometimes including overnight accommodation.
So too on the waterways.

Riverside Inns were established where boats awaited the correct weather and tide before going out to sea, for example the 'Anchor & Hope' near the 'Cutty Sark' at Greenwich.
Others were established where gangs of men awaited the correct conditions to continue hauling boats upstream against the current, for example the 'Jolly Waterman' beyond the tidal limits on the river Severn.

Canalside pubs are blessed by modern-day retired recreational seamen. This part of the 'heritage' sprang up to serve the working boatmen at the end of their days run …often with overnight stable blocks. Unlike at sea, they find that these relaxed atmospheres are always close on the canals … often only a towpath away.

Pub names often give away these origins… The Navigation, The Boatman, The Ferryman, The Wherry, The Barge, Navigation Inn, Lime Kilns, The Shroppie Fly, the variety of 'watery' names is legion.

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Water : the hard taskmaster

Water insists on finding its own level … even across distances of many miles.

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Hay : the early fuel

Hay was the petrol of the 1700's. Nothing moved without a horse. Horses did not move without hay.

Waterways were used to bring it from the countryside to the growing urban areas, and huge haystacks balanced precariously on barges regularly negotiated the varying levels of our rivers. Wisps of hay would collect underneath the bridges as the loaded barges squeezed past. So much so, that even today, a warning of danger beyond a bridge is given by tying a bunch of hay underneath the bridge arch.

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Enjoying the water - to walk or stroll

Until recently, I frequently enjoyed walks alongside water. A drink in a pub or a visit to a park overlooking the river or canal made a pleasant pause in an afternoon' trip. However as a newly-qualified grandfather, I find pleasant pauses now involve ice-creams or swings and slides, and the afternoon is limited by the effort needed to push a buggy. My walks have become altogether gentler, and I have had to seek out new places to stretch my legs, but still beside water.

Many published walks are most suitable for 'fit young men'. If, like me, you are older and want to take small children or a partially disabled aunt with you, the most walking you can manage is a gentle circular amble taking about an hour. This is a different kind of walk … more a 'stroll'… but mine are still beside water.

River terraces and canal towpaths are usually fairly level. The strolls suggested in this book are therefore never strenuous, even for a family pushing a child's buggy. Stiles are avoided, and there are relatively few, if any, steps or really steep slopes. If there might be such a problem, an alternative (possibly longer) route is suggested. Where possible, I have found a play-area with swings and slides for the kids.

For those with more time or energy, a proper, longer walk is also suggested.

Directions for getting there by road are given, but a car is not essential. Most are within reach of public transport… many are not far from a railway station.

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'Moira Cut' meanders through gently rolling countryside. Away from motorways and dual carriageways, it even avoids almost every village on the way. Absolutely without slopes, the towpath follows this broad canal for 22 lock free miles along a single contour at 300 feet. Hedges and reed lined banks create a wildlife corridor harbouring many species, eg dragonfly, heron, kingfisher.

Early (1781) designs were to link Burton upon Trent to the coal and limestone deposits at Ashby Would and onwards to the recently opened (1769) Coventry Canal. Over 20 years later it opened for 30 miles between Coventry Canal and a scatter of tramways serving into the coalfields but failed to arrive at Burton and missed Ashby by 5 miles. The coalfields were extensive and produced the highest quality coal until the Donisthorpe pit closed. For over 150 years it was carried by water to London markets. Subsidence undermined the canal leading to successive breaches and closures of the northern extremity in 1918, 1944, 1957 and 1966. The London Midland and Scottish Railway Company could not give the canal away... the Coventry Canal Company refused the offer. Restoration plans attracted Lottery support in 1997 but a little local difficulty jeopardised the project for a time.

Management and Restoration
British Waterways Alrewas Tel: 0/283 790236
Ashby Canal Restoration Project Tel: 01530 273956
Ashby Canal Association Tel: 01455614816

Moira Furnace (Tel: 01283224667)
Currently under restoration, a massive brick structure with its own (dry) wharf arm directly below. The blast furnace was finished the year the canal opened and operated for 8 years. The excellent coal became highly prized in London and was thus worth more as coal than when used to create iron. The foundry continued for 40 years and limekilns for 150 years. Industrial heritage trail and parkland.
From M42 J11, use A444 / B5003, going north-east.

Measham Pottery
Supplied to order, including personalised inscriptions, from Mrs Brown's canalside shop in Measham but made 5 miles away in Church Gresley. Salt glazed, generally brown, earthenware jugs, jars, chamber pots, kettles and, most famously, the tea pots treasured as 'best' by many a boatwoman. Oldest 1792: others celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (1879) and Edward VII's coronation (1902). Buy a modem replica to support the canal restoration project. Approach from M42 J11. Use B5006 going north.

Snarestone
Limit of navigation (since 1967) is in an open field just beyond a short (250 yard) wide beam tunnel. From M69 J1, use A5/A444/B41l6 going north'east.

Boat Trips
Sutton Wharf Rose Tel: 0378 734073

Tourist Information
Ashby~de-la-Zouch Tel: 01530 411767
Hinkley Tel: 01455 635106
Nuneaton Tel: 024 7634 7006

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Some aero-engines are equivalent to 2000 horsepower, but when canals were first designed, both Smeaton and Telford famously worked out that the power of a real horse depended very much on how it was applied. They found that eight packhorses were needed to carry one ton, a cart horse could pull two tons but a boatman's horse could haul over fifteen times as much. A 'payload' up to 30 tons along a waterway was common, which meant that one narrowboat was equivalent to 250 packhorses.

A horse would not give a continuously steady pull and when he eased off, unless boatmen were lucky or careful, the rope collapsed into a tangled skein. All canal engineers knew this. Many construction details that can still be seen on today's canals are a particular shape because of the help the boatman and his horse needed.

Snagging of towropes
If a long rope suddenly caught on anything, tree stump, rough stone, bridge arch or hand-rail ...... it spelt disaster for the boat, its cargo and sometimes killed the horse by jerking him into the water.

Long ropes would tend to cut sharp corners, for example where the canal suddenly widened after a bridge or at a junction between canals. Vertical rollers were sometimes erected to ease the passage of the rope.  At other bridge holes this was not done, and the wet towrope, full of stone dust from the towpath, wore deep notches in the brickwork arch.

Sometimes, a 'smooth' cast iron angle might be bolted to protect the arch, and although iron is more resistant to abrasion from rope, the enormous tension still left deep scars.

Engineers built bridges with smooth parapets of rounded coping stones or bull-nosed bricks. Any handrails or walls that came between the boat and horse, were tapered away into the ground to eliminate snagging.

Boats don't have brakes
To slow down or stop, you cannot put a horse into reverse. Wooden bollards are the answer. The cotton tow-rope is given one or two loose turns around a bank side post and then pulled tight. Friction between the wood and rope can act to slow up to 30 tons weight of boat as it runs past, resulting in posts with sculpted waistlines, the remains of which can be seen all around the system.

A video of this, and other skills in working horsedrawn boats, is available from the Friends of the National Waterways Museum Tel: 01453 318054.

Quiet travel on horsedrawn trip boats
Foxton Vixen Tel: 0116 279 2285
Guide Bridge Maria Tel: 0160 320 8338
Godalming Iona Tel: 01483 414938
Hebden Bridge Sara Siddons Tel: 01422 845557
Llanfrynach Dragons Tail Tel: 01874 665382
Llangollen William Jessop, James Brindley Tel: 01978 860702
Newbury Kennet Valley Tel: 01635 441154
Tiverton Tivertonian Tel: 01884 253345

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from Short stroll
 at Bath Abbey

Hot water, river and canal

Hot springs, Roman Baths and Georgian Circuses have for centuries attracted millions of visitors to the 'World Heritage City' on the west bank of the River Avon. But the grandest Georgian Street of all is on the opposite bank, as is the Kennet and Avon Canal which dramatically hugs the side slope of the valley.

Start the short stroll from:.

Abbey Church Yard and Pump Rooms Where street entertainers of amazing quality perform to present day pilgrims. With the Pump Rooms on your right, face the Abbey. turn right, pass down close to its south side past a square of seats in front of the Tourist Information Centre and out onto Orange Grove. Cross the road to overlook ‘Parade Gardens’, turn left and follow the balustrade into ‘Grand Parade which overlooks the river. Walk upstream and cross: 

Pulteney Bridge (1774): Symbol of Bath This is one of only two river bridges in England with shops on both sides. Designed by Robert Adam, it was funded by William Pulteney to open up his meadowlands on the east of the river. Just beyond the eastern end of the narrow carriageway, on the right, there are 36 busy steps winding sharply down to the ‘Riverside Walk’. West facing pub gardens overlook the river, boat trips upstream start from here and, on the left, is the Beazer Garden Maze. (Alternative ramp access to the river is available by using Grove Street almost opposite...
turn back at the foot of the slope and walk under the road). Further along the walk is:

Pulteney Sluice (1972)
Opened by the Lord Mayor of London, the workings of this precursor to the Thames Barrier are clearly visible. The curved and counterbalanced sheet metal ‘dam’ can be swung out of the way in times of flood to allow excess water down to the sea. For a superb view of the triple-stepped weir and the renovated ‘Empire Hotel’ and formal Colonnade under the bus stands go up onto the ‘roof’. Continue downstream, past visiting boats, Bath Rugby Club, ice cream sellers and sandwich eating office workers to: 

North Parade
Georgian ladies ‘paraded’ in the afternoons, much as once occurred in Continental villages, to show off their finery and see who was in town. Bath also has a wide pavement South Parade, but this one has been commandeered by traffic.
Reach road level by entering the Leisure Centre Grounds and turning right up their access lane (alternatively’ use the twisting stair from under the bridge), pass over the river. Cross Pierrepont Street at traffic lights, down North Parade Passage past Sally Lunn ‘s Refreshment House (1482) to:-

Abbey Green
Monastery Gardens enclosed the hot springs for 500 years until Henry VIII’s time (1563). This remaining plane tree was probably outside the garden walls surrounded by some of Bath’s few pre Georgian buildings. Look up to the right, see the Abbey Towers.
Return to the start at Abbey Church Yard.

A second stroll (of less than two hours):- 

From Pulteney Sluice. Continue under North Parade past the ‘Pride of Bath’ trip boat, along the riverside to:-

Ferry Lane
A former crossing point into the medieval walled city. Turn inland past the wall of Bath Cricket Club, under the railway bridge to a busy main rood. Cross to Pulteney Gardens and, at the end, walk up the slope, .follow the metal railings to arrive at:

Abbey View Lock
The last feat of Rennie’s engineering was to drop the canal 74 feet to meet the navigable River Avon. This involved a steep flight of seven locks and, coupled with two pumping stations returned the lost water up to the nine mile pound.
Abbey View Lock is in the centre of the flight. Immediately uphill it has a large side pound / turning place and nearby the remaining chimney of one of the pumping stations.
Follow the towpath uphill. At the top lock note the assistance provided by the Bath Humane Society. At the next bridge go up to the road. Cross diagonally to the end of the bridge parapet. Go down the towpath opposite new houses in front of the trip- boat wharf
The next bridge is a ‘turnover’ bridge where the horses would walk up the slope, over the bridge and turn back on themselves to reach the opposite towpath. This way the towing rope did not have to he unhitched!! Do the same and follow the towpath railings under Cleveland House, the Canal Company HQ. You are now entering the cutting at:-

Sydney Gardens (1795)
At great expense (£2000) the company negotiated an out-of-sight passage through these new gardens. At each end the canal enters by an ornate tunnel and between is crossed by two delicate cast iron footbridges inscribed ‘Anno 1800’. Between the footbridges is a short flight of steps into the Gardens. Once inside the formal layout keep straight on over Milway Bridge, go left and see how the next transport revolution was allowed through (1841)... also in a cutting but with a special garden path giving an ‘Orchestra Stalls View’ of the amazing steam trains going by.

To return to Pulteney Bridge exit the garden (slightly downhill from the railway), turn right down the pavement into the driveway of;

  Holburne Museum (Tel 01225 466669)
Stand in front of the main door. This building ends the most magnificent view of Georgian splendour in Bath... Great Pulteney Street. 100 feet wide and 1000 feet long, the street is lined by stone built four storey terraces on the axis of Pulteney Bridge.
However, to avoid traffic, follow the driveway round so SYDNEY PLACE (carved in 6 inch high Roman lettering). Cross the road into short Sutton Street which leads into Henrietta Park. After enjoying the park go out the far end, turn left up Henrietta Street to Laura Fountain and Pulteney Bridge.

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from Short stroll
 at Oxford Gaol

Early canal, Thames moat and castle keep.

Famous for undergraduate rowing and punting. Oxford is bounded by the water meadows of the two rivers and riddled with multiple streams. There are museums and colleges in abundance and many passageways, alleyways and riverside walks.

Start this 'figure of eight' short stroll from:.

Hythe Bridge and Upper Fisher Row
Look at the waters upstream:-
- on the left: Castle Mill Stream off the Thames
- on the right: the final stretch of the Oxford Canal
- between these is the towpath, and a semi-circular weir allowing excess water to overflow into the river. Turn downstream. Cross the road, follow the few steps to the riverside walk. After 50 yards, cross the next (bus only) road along Lower Fisher Row's waterside to:-

Quaking Bridge and St George's Tower.
'Verminous dungeons' were built into Oxford's Norman (1071) castle. Developed over the years (1166-1855) and used as Oxford Gaol for centuries, modern day prisoners finally left in 1997. Keeping on the south side of the weir for Castle Mill (1071-1930), follow the castle walls round to the end of Paradise Street. Cross Castle Street, turn left up towards the pub. On the left of the pub are the flagstones of Bulwarks Lane. Go in and keeping the garden wall to your left, you will find the modest door labelled:-

Canal House
Former headquarters of the Oxford Canal Company overlooked the coal wharf and is now used for lodgings for the Warden of St Peter's College. Bulwarks Lane follows the original curving line of the castle outer bailey. Continue down until you can turn right. At the end of the alley is:-

Old Fire Station: George Street
Partof 24 hour Oxford. Restaurants, cinemas, a theatre and pubs galore front this street.
Turn left down George Street. At the end, cross onto the Northern side of Hythe Bridge Street and (going west) follow Worcester College wall. Cross over the river by Hythe Bridge at the centre of this 'figure of eight' stroll. This time go upstream to the end of the terrace houses in Upper Fisher Row.
Pushing past the light undergrowth, follow the ancient stone wall of Rewley Abbey (1280). The pointed arch on the left is the water gate to the abbey. (If the undergrowth is impassable the alternative is to circle clockwise following the garden wall of modern apartment blocks and use road pavements to regain the riverside walk.)
Continue until you can lean on the western parapet of the new road over Sheepwash Channel. Look down onto:-

Railway Swing Bridge (1844)
The London North Western Railway arrived in Oxford across the Sheepwash Channel at this very low level, forcing bargees to ask permission of the signalman to allow the bridge to be swung. This could only be done in accordance with the railway timetable... and thus forced significant delays on river traffic. Now fixed in the open position.
Complete your crossing of the Sheepwash Channel, then either turn left and under the main railway bridge to join the Thames Path or:-

Return to the start by turning right and along the canal towpath between the two waterways, but first cross the cast iron bridge at :-

Isis Lock (1796)
Bult by prisoners six years after the canal arrived in Oxford, this lock was originally wide enough to allow Thames barges access to canal wharves. Since narrowed to conserve water.
Explore the covered market and university colleges or for a much longer walk to Iffley lock:- Start from Railway Swing Bridge go to the main river, turn downstream along the Thames Path to:-

Osney Bridge
The limited headroom under this bridge stops larger boats from proceeding upstream to Lechlade.
Use this bridge to cross the river and, on the left, a metal footbridge to gain access to visitors moorings in East Street. Follow Thames Path for 3 miles. Past Osney Lock, the original 'Oxen Ford' at Folly Bridge, an old wharf crane at 'Head of the River' pub, Christ Church Meadow and the University Boathouses to Iffley Lock. Cross the lock and follow the footpath towards Iffley Village and Church, but first stop a moment at:-

Iffley Old Lock (1635)
The structure of the bywash is all that is left of the first scheme to bring reliable navigation to a wharf downstream of Folly Bridge (Now Head of the River Pub), The first pound locks on the Thames were here at Iffley, at the Swift Ditch (Abingdon) and Sandford.

Getting there:
Approach from the M40 J8. Use A40 / A4142 south to Redbriidge Park and Ride.
Any Park and Ride. Join at .
Parking from George Street / New Inn Hall Street. Join at .
From station exit go straight along Hythe Bridge Street. Join at .

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Arching north between the Red and White Rose Counties, this wide canal effectively provides a coast to coast waterway route. Climbing up through some of the most attractive scenery in the country spectacular locks lead to the summit on one of the lower passes across the Pennines, typified by the environs of the lock flight at Greenberfield.

A wide canal, 127 miles long and made suitable for Yorkshire keels (62 x 14) needing 200 bridges and 93 locks, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was by far the most ambitious project by a single company.

First mooted at a meeting in Bradford (1766) this bold canal, the first to attempt a Pennine crossing, was somehow a relic of the Wars of the Roses. Finances were controlled by Yorkshiremen and this led to much discussion of the route to be taken through Lancashire.

It became a canal in two pieces which were not connected for 40 years. At the start two virtually lock free sections were built, one in each county... 24 miles from the River Douglas to Liverpool and 16 miles from Bingley to beyond Skipton in Yorkshire (1773). Then the valley up from Leeds to Gargrave was conquered with staircase’ locks (1774) and connection made to the River Aire (1777).

After an 8 year delay the summit tunnel at Foulridge was tackled (opened 1796), the canal extended to Blackburn (1810) and then the final link was completed (the lock flight at Wigan:1816). Thereafter, Lancashire improvements included a link to the Bridgewater Canal (1820), lengthening locks to Liverpool (1822) and a link to the Mersey through Stanley Dock (1846).

The company was always independent of the railways, partly because their wide boats could carry twice the load of the standard ‘Midlands’ narrowboat.

Management and Restoration
British Waterways, (Liverpool to Greenber Field),
Wigan Tel: 01942 242239
British Waterways, (Greenber Field to Leeds),
Bradford Tel: 01274611303

Merseyside Maritime Museum: Albert Dock
On Liverpool’s waterfront and within walking distance of the present day canal terminus, (1/4 mile short of the original one at Pall Mall [closed: 19601) there are five converted warehouses around Albert Dock (1846). Built for shallow draft sailing vessels, the dock is now used for floating exhibits and the warehouses contain the Maritime Museum working displays and the modern art collection of the Tate Gallery (1988). From M6 J23, use A580 /A59 going west and south.

  Aintree Canal Turn
Sharp corner on the Grand National Race Course, five miles inland from Stanley Dock in Liverpool. Approach from M58 J7. Use A59 going south.

Scarisbrick (1821)
Change here for the sea side! A regular passenger
service ran from industrial heartland of Manchester to meet with a stage coach from here to Southport. Approach from M58 J3. Use A570 going north.

Burscough Junction
Rufford Branch (1805) drops down 7 locks and replaced the earlier Douglas Navigation which had been exporting coal from Wigan for over 60 years (1741-1805). Tarleton Lock enters the tidal River Douglas and gives access to the Ribble estuary. Approach from M6 J27. Use A5209 going west.

Wigan Flight
Five locks from Liverpool, two locks from Runcom and eleven locks from Lancaster; a flight of twenty one wide (14 foot) and short (60 foot) locks rises (215 feet) to meet (and in 1851 to ‘take over’) the 13 mile southern pound of the Lancaster Canal. Approach from M61 J6. Use A6 going north. Turn south; stop at the canal bridge beyond Aspull.

Johnson’s Hillock Locks
Ten miles of the southern section of the Lancaster Canal had already been built from Walton to Wigan (1799) when Leeds and Liverpool proposed to connect and utilise their line (1810). In order to seal the deal, the Lancaster built this flight of seven locks and extended their Wigan end by a half mile.
Approach from M6 J8. Use A674 going north. 

Burnley Embankment
Overlooking the ‘Weavers Triangle’ of industrial archaeology, over 60 feet high, over 3500 feet long, a major feat of engineering is now paralleled by the M65. From M65 J12, use A6114/A682 going south.

Foulridge Tunnel (4900 feet)
Foulridge was the Achilles’ heel of the canal. It was
constructed mainly as a cut-and-cover project, took six years to build, seriously overran its budget, collapsed three times (1824, 1843, 1902) and was regularly closed in summer due to shortage of water (especially 1824, 1826). Five reservoirs, at Foulridge Lower, Barrowford, Winterburn, Rishton and Whitemoor, were built before this was solved. It was also unlucky for cows. One fell in (1912), swam the wrong way, and was only pulled out after struggling through the whole length of the tunnel. Apparently the landlord’s brandy revived the animal. From M65 J13, use A6068 /A56 going north.

Gargrave
On the borders of Yorkshire Dales National Park twelve locks pass under the ‘most picturesque route to Scotland’, the Settle to Carlisle railway. App roach from M6 J36. Use A65 going south-east.

Lord Thanet’s Canal (1797)
Privately funded, this very short branch gave access to a tramway from Lord Thanet’s limestone quarries. Approach from M6 J36. Use A65 going south-east. 

Bingley Five-Rise (5 locks rising 60 feet) Awesome centrepiece of 5 sets of staircase locks within 5 miles of each other. In combination with 3 more staircases to the south, it was part of the bold attack on the slopes of the Pennines. There are 3 sets of two-rise plus 4 sets of three-rise plus Bingley five-rise, a total of 23 locks rising 155 feet over 16 miles from Kirkstall to the long pound past Skipton. From M62 J26, use M606 /A6177 /A650 going north.

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from short stroll
at Wigan Pier

Two Georges (Formby and Orwell) are celebrated in a classic recreation of times gone by. Canal side buildings and the towpath form an island of calm in the centre of a one way traffic system. Single payment is inclusive of a trip on the water, but there is much to see free of charge.

Start the stroll by standing at the:

Waterbus Stop
The canal carried imports of raw cotton bales from Liverpool Docks and locally mined coal for the engine. All grades of yarn were exported by boat from this basin. The hoist stopped opposite the doors at each floor level.
From here look:
to the left for Trencherfield Gardens. Well equipped kids play area and walled garden with seats.
straight ahead for The Mill at the Pier.
Cotton warehouse adapted for jazz concerts, etc. Pier ticket holders occasionally get in free. Go around the engine house and ask in the Tourist Information Centre:
- on the right is the The Trencherfield Engine House Whistle from this 2500 horsepower original (1902) steam engine can be heard on the half-hour at the start of each demonstration run.
Here is the 70 ton / 27 foot flywheel. Thousands of spindles on the live floors of  't'mill' were powered front this single source. Cotton spinning is also explained on the hour on the ground floor as part of Wigan Pier’s all-in ticket. For those without tickets there is a towpath but if you have a ticket catch the waterbus to:- 

The Way We Were
The Wigan Pier Theatre Company uses these displays to remind present generations of ‘The Way We Were’ - not always a happy life. Look for a victorian school room, a colliery disaster, the Boer War and (on the top floor) a complete pub transported from Hope Street and reconstructed by shopping centre developers. Walk west past full size canal artifacts displayed in the canal side gardens. lip the wide steps to:-

Seven Stars Bridge
The Pub sign makes the Plough of the seven stars. (cross the canal (but not the road), return to the towpath.

  Wigan Pier is 200 yards along the southern bank of the canal. Colliery Waggons were pushed to the edge of the canal and coal tipped directly into waiting boats. Follow the towpath across the canal main line and turn left onto the metal bridge in front of:-

Gibson’s Terminal Warehouse
(1777, rebuilt 1984) now the Orwell Pub has twin loading bays that allowed goods to he hoisted directly from the boats to the upper floors. Alternatively, use the main canal towpath underneath Pottery Bridge to Waterbus Stop (Note the two sets of rollers to stop towing ropes chafing the bridge.) The Orwell Pub and ‘Way We Were’ buildings were both warehouses and boats would have tied up directly under the overhanging ‘cats’: the timber walkways on the canal frontage are recent additions to allow easy access.

A longer walk to Whalley’s Basin
From Waterbus Stop and Lock 87 follow the towpath south (perhaps detour to the covered Dry Dock and British Waterways Depot opposite), cross the main road (Poolstock) and down to: 

Lock 86
Locks are counted from Leeds (82 miles). Only 5 locks to Liverpool (35 miles). Then go up the Wigan 21 towpath via:

Whalley’s Basin
Formerly a gathering spot at the end of the Ince Hall Colliery arm for boats awaiting orders. Now a bog home to wildlife.

A shorter walk would cross the new bridge over the Leigh Branch Junction. Along the towpath for a short way, cross the next footbridge overlooking the:

Wigan Power Station Site: Girobank 
The coal fired Wigan Power Station (1948) was closed (1972) and replaced by this modern computer centre. Turn right, follow the lower path round. At the access road turn right to cross the canal again and (at the light controlled junction) cross Poolstock (Road). Through the pavement railings is the:

River Douglas
Rising in the north, passing underground through the town and forming the old navigation from Wigan to the Ribble until the canal bypassed it to Sollom and Tarleton.
Turn to the right along the pavement, cross the canal and left onto the towpath at and return to

Getting there:
Approach from M6 J26. Use A577/A49/ going east.
East along Wallgate, turn right into Queen Street and right again down Chapel Street. Parking at Trencherfield Mill. Join at
From either station exit into Wallgate, walk downhill under the railway viaduct. Join at

Landranger Map 108 Ref SD 57 05

Clear Text Pages
from short stroll
at Skipton Castler

Stroll around this granite ‘Gateway to the Dales’ and into a deep ravine cut next to Eller Beck.

Start the stroll from:

Skipton Castle Forecourt
Dominated by the Norman-French motto of the Clifford family built into the balustrade over the main gate. Cross the grave yard of Holy Trinity Church safe from the roundabout traffic. down eleven steps into Mill Bridge Road and down the hill to the bridge over Eller Beck. Alternatively, follow the narrow pavement around the outside of the churchyard (no steps). Opposite is: -

High Corn Mill (At the foot of Chapel Hill).
Once took its power from the rapidly falling Beck. Old millstones are let into the courtyard floor. Go into the little, grassed open space and follow the white balustraded towpath snaking northwards away from the town. The beck on the left is higher than the canal cut on the right. The cut is.

Springs Branch or Lord Thanet’s Canal.  
Only a thousand yards long but acts both as a moat to the castle and, until 1946. allowed limestone boats to be loaded by a metal chute (still visible) from a tramway (no longer visible) delivering from quarries further up the hill.
Keep going uphill until a short path to the left leads through a gateway into the shared driveway serving a few splendid houses. Walk away from the gale to the top of Chapel Hill, down past the Chapel and High Corn Mill to the B6265 to Grassington. Cross the road. A short way down Water Street is a:

Single Beam Footbridge which crosses over the beck onto the towpath! (A safer way is to join the towpath at the High Corn Mill.) From the slightly bumpy towpath look out for the sluices which controlled the flow of the beck to the, now defunct, mills further downstream. A small stream flowing energetically could power many machines. 

To return to the start at rejoin the road at the Coach Street narrow bridge and turn left into the cobbled Victoria Street, through the covered passage into Sheep Street and left again past the market stalls into the High Street to return to Castle Forecourt.

A longer walk to Airville Park From Sheep Street pass back through the passage to Victoria Square shops, cross over the (one way) Coach Street and down to:-

Waterside Court and Canal Junction Where the Springs Branch joins the main line and 50 minute wide beam boat trips can be booked. Return to cross over the main road ‘A6069) and down a slope back (into the main Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Follow the towpath (for about 200 yards) past Brewery Swing Bridge.
If no boats are coming Gawflat Swing Bridge leads you up to Airville Park with its swimming pool, pitch and putt and children’s play area.

A second longer walk to Skipton Woods From Springs Branch  follow the footpath further up the Eller Beck to the Round Dam into: 
Skipton Woods  close to the old Embsey Quarry and the new A59 bypass. Return is possible via Short Lee Lane and the B6265 Grassington Road to 2

Getting there:
Approach from A1(M) J47. Use A59 west.
Suggest east of High Street. Join at
Parking at Coach Street. Join at
From station exit cross road. Join at

Landranger Map 103 Ref SD 99 52

Back to Wigan / Skipton page

Clear Text Pages
from Opening Chapter

Waterways were vital routes for marauding invaders. Military expeditions penetrated up-river and established their garrisons at the limits of navigation. Romans at Colchester and Rochester, up the Thames at Dorchester, on the Dee at Chester. They even extended the natural limits of the Trent to get to Lincoln. Later Vikings raided for loot and slaves, entering from the sea and captured and settled as far inland as York. Navigation on the great rivers was mentioned in 'Magna Carta', but the vested interests of millers and fishermen slowed progress upstream.

As rivers were modified to improve navigation, coastal trade penetrated further inland. Tonbridge, Norwich, Peterborough, Worcester, Burton-on-Trent, Gainsborough and Newark, became important inland ports.

The rapid expansion of the industrial revolution, was assisted by canals, until overshadowed (after fifty years) by railways and (within this century) by road improvements and new motorways financed by Government.

Canals are now recognised as a unique snapshot of pioneering British innovation, surviving from a time before cameras were invented. They now have a new lease of life as a quiet haven for wildlife, walkers and fishermen as well as for their original purpose... navigation of all shapes and sizes of boats.

Tidal estuaries and the sea.

Some say our longest river is our coastline.

John Masefield's 'Dirty British coaster with it's salt cake smokestack' was only one of a long line of craft designed to hug the sea-shore and take their cargoes wherever wide estuary funnelled the tides deep inland.

The scouring action of the tide and the shape of the lower reaches of the river itself, dictates how far upstream shallow-drafted coastal shipping can go. Deep rivers can be navigated many miles inland, particularly on spring tide or when the river is full of winter rainwater. On the other hand summer flows can be so low that riverbed shallows are exposed and navigation halted.

Four rivers, the Severn, Thames, Mersey and Humber+Trent were for centuries the major routes inland. Worcester on the Severn, Staines on the Thames, Runcorn on the Mersey and Gainsborough on the Trent were all inland ports that grew up at tidal limits. Smaller rivers enabled Chester, Bristol and Kings Lynn to flourish when the only roads were a dilapidated Roman legacy, and before rail was invented.

Upriver travel

Rivers provided food and power in medieval times. Fishermen and owners of water-mills threw fish-traps and weirs across the flow to control the water for their use. However, one of the promises of the Magna Carta (1215) was that the Great Rivers of the Kingdom were to be open to all men.

Authority to "improve navigations" was passed from Parliament to 'commissions' of local citizens. Initially the work involved clearing obstructions such as fishtraps and weeds. Later more positive improvements were undertaken, generally starting where the tidal influence was weakest.

Clearing towpaths alongside the river eased the labour of gangs of men hauling on ropes attached to boats bows, 'bowhauling'. Wider horsepaths followed. Short 'cuts' or canals bypassed difficult shallows or bends. Constant depth of water in both summer and winter was ensured by impounding the stream behind small dams or weirs; the top of which set the depth of water on the upstream side.

Until locks were invented, downstream movement was achieved by 'shooting' the rapid water flow over a partially open weir, and upstream by a huge effort pulling the boat with rope and winches against the same partial waterfall. Rivers were thus improved step by step, but navigation 'improvements' always led to arguments between mill owners and boatmen.

'Pound locks' were the break-through.

Introduced on the Thames to get from Burcot up to Oxford (1635) they meant that the volume and depth of water above a miller's weir could be retained at the same time as vessels made their way up-stream. Locks became commonplace. On the Wey to Guildford (1663), the Ouse to Bedford (1689), the Kennet to Newbury (1723), the Avon to Bath (1727), the Mersey and Irwell to Manchester (1736), the Medway to Tonbridge (1750), the Nene to Northampton (1761), the Ure to Boroughbridge (1775), the Thames to Lechlade (1791), the Trent to Nottingham (1801) and, much later the Severn to Worcester (1858).

Despite these improvements, some present-day cities (e.g. Birmingham) were a series of landlocked villages with little reason for people to travel between the valleys where they lived. When they did, people went on horseback and goods went by 'trains' of pack-horses. Many tracks were muddy in summer and impassable in winter. Wide drovers' trails delivered herds of sheep, cattle, and tar-footed geese long distances to market towns.

The main routes stayed on hill sides and ridges as far as possible. River crossings were by ferry or ford; some place names have survived for hundreds of years, for example Guildford, Wallingford, Wilden Ferry. Bridges were only built across rivers and streams when the banks were close enough to be spanned by the engineering skills of the time. They tended to be far up-stream e.g. Radcot on the Thames (958 & 1787), and only wide enough for two pack-horses to pass e.g. Gee Cross near Manchester.

Canal system

The first modern British canal was built when a scheme for controlling the Sankey Brook between St. Helens and the Mersey at Warrington was abandoned in 1757. An 8-mile long canal was built alongside the brook instead, following the principles of locks and weirs that had been used to bypass an obstruction on the River Exe in 1567.

A second canal originated within coal mines at Worsley near Manchester, which incorporated a system of underground drainage waterways. Coal was already being loaded directly into primitive narrow boats at the coal face and floated out to the surface on water swept along by the mines' drainage channels. The Duke of Bridgewater, who owned the mines, had the idea that, if the channel were extended to Manchester, coal could be equally directly unloaded..... no transhipment would be required.

The six mile Bridgewater Canal between Worsley and Castleford in Manchester was opened in 1765. The new canal crossed over the River Irwell on a stone aqueduct at Barton. This caused such a sensation that it became an instant 'tourist attraction'.

Eleven years later, the Duke extended his canal to the River Mersey close to the tidal limit at Runcorn. Manchester was then linked to Liverpool estuary by a reliable waterway with only one flight of locks where the canal stepped down to the river. This presented severe competition to the variable water flows on the Mersey & Irwell Navigation.

The next canals to be built were those of the Grand Cross with the aim of interconnecting the navigable reaches of the four great rivers of England and Wales: - Staffs &Worcs. (1772) leading from R.Severn, Trent & Mersey (1777) connecting the Humber to the Mersey, and Oxford (1790) leading to the Thames . all joining up around the Birmingham area.

A disjointed network of turnpike roads presented no serious competition to these canals, and the first railway (Stockton & Darlington (1825) was not even under discussion.. Over 35 new canals were promoted in Parliament 1792-1794, the years of canal mania.

Success

Once canals began to connect with river navigations and each other, traffic became more than a local affair. Trade increased, and for a while some companies began to pay dividends way above the maximum interest (5%) then paid on savings

Sankey Brook Navigation paid up to 20% (1772). For 40 years the Oxford Canal Company paid over 20% to shareholders, and sometimes achieved 33% (1824-1826). More common were the dividends of 4%-5% which the railway companies guaranteed to existing shareholders when they began to 'buy out' the canals as unwelcome competition.

Predatory railways

Canals were a prime way of coal and moving heavy materials for all kinds of construction. e.g. limestone chippings, timber, boulders. Some Acts of Parliament authorising canals required them to move materials for repair of roads at no charge. Railways required heavy construction materials in greater quantities and as a result were often constructed alongside the canal, (e.g. the Great Western Railway to Bristol) and, like turkeys voting for Christmas, many canal companies carried their maximum tonnages at the time of railway construction.

Railway companies always set their termini close to canal termini, e.g. Paddington in London, Castlefield in Manchester. As soon as railways opened, they were able to under-cut canal rates to attract business. Canal companies struggled, boatmen were expected to take such a large cut in their money that they could no longer afford to keep their families in houses on the bank. Living aboard in tiny cabins became the norm for long distance carrying.

By the railway age, Birmingham had an intricate network of canals serving hundreds of factories. Railway companies were content to transfer goods to boats for the last leg of the journey. Boats within Birmingham did not travel far and were only used on a day-by-day basis. These 'day-boats' did not have cabins for the crews' family.

Railway companies purchased canal companies. Sometimes with a promise to run the two systems together, even though canal maintenance tended to suffer, but sometimes specifically to make use of existing tunnels.

The third longest canal tunnel at Strood in Kent (1824, 12000 feet) was converted to rail. The longest canal tunnel (through the Pennines at Standedge 1811, 16 000 feet) was used to help create a railway tunnel alongside. Side passages were built at regular intervals giving access to the working faces digging the rail tunnel alongside. When opened, smoke from passing steam trains overwhelmed many canal crewmembers.

Two world wars

Carrying on the canal system was faced with extra competition after the First World War. Men had learnt to drive army lorries, and cheap surplus vehicles thronged a road system built for horse and cart. Again under-cutting of rates took place. Lorries could travel door to door, and were often off-loaded by the labourers at factory yards before they helped the boats.

During the Second World War, canals were part of the defence strategy. The Kennet and Avon was fortified as some sort of 'Maginot line'. The improved Grand Union was used to relieve the railways from the carrying of coal, steel and cement and boatmen were augmented with emergency all-female crews, the celebrated 'idle women'.

Revival

Post war, all transport was nationalised. Road and rail were 'flavour of the month', waterways were mere adjuncts to docks, and waterborne trade faded. The coup-de-grace was a very severe frost in 1963, which left boats and their cargoes frozen immobile in iced-up canals for three months.

However, a bunch of enthusiasts, inspired by a book written as war broke out and published immediately afterwards, formed an early environmental pressure group and started to campaign against public and political indifference. The fledgling Inland Waterways Association (IWA) used direct action (Stratford Canal 1947, Standedge 1948, Dudley 1959), exhibitions (Heals 1948), media events (Market Harborough 1950), parliamentary battles (1956) and public campaigns (1968 Act) to press its cause. It encouraged the stewardship of the National Trust (Stratford 1960, Wey Navigation 1964) and even thought to bid at auction (Basingstoke 1947).

Meanwhile the first independent trusts and restoration societies were set up (eg River Avon 1952) and volunteers got organised nationally (1970) to achieve the physical restoration of navigations at little cost to 'authority' (celebrated after 25 years by a 'Big Dig' on the Wilts & Berks. Canal 1995, 1000 volunteers). More recently, these efforts have been matched by major grants from Lottery Funds.

Under the slogan 'The fastest way of slowing down' there is now an industry employing thousands caring for all kinds of pleasure boating. Hire-boats, trip-boats, electric-boats, etc., carry people using the water to retreat from a world dominated by ever- faster machines. Canoeists, oarsmen, fishermen, towpath walkers and ramblers or just passers-by, do their own thing and share the delights of sitting at picnic sites, restaurants and pubs overlooking water, made more relaxing by the sight of boats floating by.

In the nineties, the IWA, whilst continuing to lobby responsible bodies, has turned it's attention to the small 'characteristic details' which distinguish between individual canals, and which stem from differing designers, their growing engineering confidence, and the increasing financial confidence of canal shareholders. They seek to 'preserve the fast-disappearing artefacts and structures which make our waterways a historic record unique in the world'. After visiting some of the places suggested in this book, you may come to agree with their recent Chairman Audrey Smith, who claimed our waterways are:--

'an enormous piece of living liquid history'.

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Clear Text Pages
from Closing Chapter

Thanks are due to the Waterway Recovery Group for their assistance with this page.

Waterway Recovery

Once upon a time there were, broadly speaking, 4000 miles of navigable waterways in Britain consisting of 1000 miles of rivers and 3000 miles of canals.

An official study after WW2 identified only 2500 miles available for navigation. Since then 300 miles have been restored, and within three years a further 150 miles will be added.

Although this still leaves 1000 miles to go, it is a massive engineering achievement which has brought enormous benefits to people living nearby .. ranging from the simple delights of walking through a corridor of wildflowers and wildlife to profiting from business opportunities presented by water-borne visitors.

Such an achievement has involved partnership between many organisations, but was inconceivable without the practical help of volunteer navvies.

Once used exclusively to deliver the goods, the connected network is now mainly used by people out for a week or fortnights holiday. 'Circular tours or 'Rings' are popular, especially if they take about 14 days to complete. Existing examples are Cheshire Ring, Four Counties Ring, and future possibilities include the Wessex 'figure of eight' centred on Swindon, the 'Don Ring' via Chesterfield and Rotherham, and shorter rings linking Leamington and Stratford-on-Avon or Droitwich and Worcester.

None of this would have been possible without the initial enthusiasm of volunteer navvies, and much official funding is only forthcoming if matched by their valuable work.…

Navvies

The concept of voluntary work on the inland waterways was born in the early 1960s and has steadily grown. From the early days when very few volunteers worked on projects such as the Peak Forest and Ashton Canals near Manchester, the lower River Avon in Worcestershire and the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal in Warwickshire, the position has changed out of all recognition. Now there are over 30 voluntary groups spread all over the country, with an estimated workforce of over 3,000 people.

From the Forth & Clyde Canal in Scotland to the Chichester Canal in the South, the Bude Canal in Cornwall to the Ipswich & Stowmarket Navigation in Suffolk, voluntary working parties exist attached to local canal societies, branches of the Inland Waterways Association and regional WRG Groups. They either work regularly on some project in the immediate area or as a mobile task force, travelling up to 250 miles in a weekend to work where their help is most needed, thus giving a boost to local effort.

This mass of enthusiastic voluntary labour (known as "navvies" after the original constructors) can present problems of organisation and the number of bodies involved can present problems of co-ordination. It quickly became clear that some central organisation was needed to overcome these problems, assist with financing, supply and loan items of large plant and advise on methods and technique. 1970 saw the formation of the Waterway Recovery Group.

The Waterway Recovery Group

The Waterway Recovery Group was formed by enthusiasts who had been active in voluntary restoration work since the mid 1960s. Their aim was to be a co-ordinating force, not centred upon any individual project but backing up and assisting local groups on any worthwhile project.

Since then (1970), considerable knowledge of restoration methods and a large pool of plant and equipment has been amassed. At present, the group has a variety of excavators, a fleet of vans, a ten station radio network, plus a bewildering variety of dumpers, pumps, mixers and other sundry equipment.

All of this is freely available on an 'expenses paid' basis and drivers/operators can be found too. WRG can also help with the supply of labour and has co-ordinated groups of volunteers visiting important sites, such as the Ashton and Peak Forest Canals, the Upper Avon restoration, the Droitwich and the Basingstoke Canals, resulting in a constant flow of labour and ensuring smooth operations.

Major Projects

Perhaps the most spectacular early episodes were the Big Digs. Undertaken as demonstrations of the staggering effectiveness of well co-ordinated voluntary labour, dramatic improvements were made to long derelict stretches of canal. Twice in the Manchester area and again in Dudley, Woking, Welshpool and Droitwich and Wantage, WRG organised mass working parties with work forces of between 180 and 1000 people.

In March 1972 came 'Ashtac' when some 850 people descended upon the Ashton Canal near Manchester. In one weekend's radio-controlled onslaught, they removed over 3,000 tons of rubbish from the canal. The project, officially estimated to cost £15-20,000 was completed for a total outlay of only £1,800. (Map on page 8).

In October 1991, over 1000 people reclaimed over two miles of canal in a single weekend at Wantage on the Wilts & Berks Canal (Map on page 104).

WRG's largest project to date has been the rebuilding of the four Frankton locks at the junction between the Llangollen Canal and the Montgomery Canal and the three Aston Locks on the same canal. During 1993/4, a four acre wetlands nature reserve was also constructed on the Aston site. Built entirely by volunteers at a cost of just over £100,000, there was a saving on contract prices of over £200,000! WRG had long been a leading voice in the campaign for restoration of the canal and, financed by its parent organisation, the Inland Waterways Association and a Department of the Environment grant of £37,500; WRG undertook these works, on a canal which has been derelict since 1936. The work at Frankton was completed with an official re-opening in 1987 and the locks were restored to a higher standard than that of their original construction! The success of this work and that undertaken in Welshpool some years earlier by the Prince of Wales' Committee has brought local authority and central government investment in other schemes on the canal and plans for the complete restoration of the whole 35 miles of this unique and scenic are well advanced. (See Map on page 81).

None of this would have been possible without the initial enthusiasm of volunteer navvies and much official funding is only forthcoming if matched by their valuable work.

Canal Camps

Most voluntary work must obviously be done at weekends, for even navvies have to earn a living. However the exceptions to this rule are the Canal Camps, first organised in the early 1970s for a few weeks in mid-summer, which have now expanded into a flourishing annual programme.

20 or so weeks of Canal Camps are organised each year which offer the opportunity to achieve a vast amount of work in a short time; it is not unusual for a camp to achieve in a week or two what might take the best of local societies many months of weekend workparties.

Camps have due regard for an ever increasing list of legislation on health, safelt, land contamination, wildlife etc.. They are held the length and breadth of the country from long established restorations such as the Montgomery and Wey & Arun Canals to such new projects as the Sleaford Navigation, the Derby Canal and the Wilts & Berks Canal. Some camps also help out at the IWA's National Waterway Festivals, providing much of the back-up and site organisation for events which attracts tens of thousands of visitors in one weekend.

Camps attract a wide range of people, from young volunteers taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme to waterway enthusiasts who wish to make a contribution to restoring and preserving the system which gives them so much enjoyment. On a Canal Camp, age doesn't matter, nor does previous experience as, although everyone is treated the same, no one is asked to work beyond their capabilities and any necessary skills are taught. A Canal Camp is a worthwhile week in the open air with 20 or so like minded people, with lots of hard work, fun and an enjoyable social life.

Future possibilities

Waterways attract many people for many purposes. Houses, restaurants and pubs overlook water. Families with push-chairs or walkers with dogs enjoy a quiet environment away form the hassle of traffic. The continuous hedgerows and undisturbed undergrowth harbour delicate flowers such as cowslips and primroses and support abundant wildlife such as otters and heron.

Movement of heavy goods by water is not quick but is a fantastically efficient use of energy. Currently most boats on the water are used by people seeking a week or fortnight's holiday. Circular tours or 'Rings' are popular, especially if they take about 7 or 14 days to complete. Existing examples are Cheshire Ring, Four Counties Ring and future possibilities include the Wessex 'figure of eight' centred on Swindon, the 'Don Ring' via Chesterfield and Rotherham and shorter rings linking Leamington and Stratford-upon-Avon or Droitwich and Worcester.

Future possibilities are endless, and it is not necessary to afford an ocean-going cruiser to enjoy the water. Most people live within 5 miles of a waterway; take a walk down there and enjoy it … for free.

Website : www.wrg.org.uk

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