For canals of Northern Ireland see the Canals of Ireland article
History
See History of the British canal system for a more detailed history.
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. Great Britain's canal network was steadily increased, but grew massively in the 18th century as the demand for industrial transport increased, and new canals were constantly added until the mid-19th century. This large inland network was used as a transport system. Roads at the time were unsuitable for large volumes of traffic, and road vehicles were unable to transport large amounts of materials quickly. Canal boats proved more than adequate for this task, and so canals were constructed between industries, and between cities and ports, with vast amounts of materials from manufactured goods to coal and lumber being transported. As the Industrial Revolution took hold, the canals enjoyed great success, thriving in the late 18th and early 19th centuries before railways replaced them as the major goods transportation method in the latter part of the nineteenth century. 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 greater cargos. The canal network declined, many canals becoming unusable, filled with weeds, silt and rubbish. Some canals were even converted to railways.
Present status
However, in the latter half of the twentieth century, the canals saw a rise in popularity through their use by holidaymakers, who often rented a 'narrowboat' and roamed the canals visiting places they passed through. Canal based holidays became popular due to their relaxing nature, cheap costs, and huge variety of scenery available; from inner-London to the Scottish Highlands. For this reason the canal system was renovated and disused parts were reopened. 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.
The aim of bodies such as British Waterways (which owns about 50% of Britain's inland waterway network) is to fully reopen all disused canals. There is now a large waterways network of canals and navigable rivers throughout Great Britain, with most canals being linked to either other canals, navigable rivers or the sea.
Despite being man-made, the Jubilee River was designed to look and act like a natural river, and so is usually counted as such.
Canals in England
- Aire and Calder Navigation
- Andover Canal
- Ashby Canal
- Ashton Canal
- Barnsley Canal
- Basingstoke Canal
- Baybridge Canal
- Birmingham Canal Navigations
- Birmingham and Fazeley Canal
- Blyth Navigation, Suffolk
- Bridgewater Canal
- Bridgwater and Taunton Canal
- Bude Canal
- Caistor Canal, Lincolnshire
- Calder and Hebble Navigation
- Caldon Canal
- Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation
- Chester Canal (now part of the Shropshire Union Canal)
- Chesterfield Canal
- Chichester Canal
- Coalport Canal
- Coventry Canal
- Cromford Canal
- Dartford and Cray Navigation , Kent
- Dearne and Dove Canal, South Yorkshire
- Derby Canal
- Dorset and Somerset Canal
- Droitwich Canal
- Ellesmere Canal (much of which is now known as the Llangollen Canal)
- Erewash Canal, Derbyshire
- Exeter Canal
- Foss Dyke
- Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, Gloucestershire
- Grand Union Canal
- Grand Western Canal
- Grantham Canal
- Hatherton Canal
- Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal
- Hertford Union Canal, London
- Huddersfield Broad Canal
- Huddersfield Narrow Canal
- Ipswich and Stowmarket Navigation, Suffolk
- Kennet and Avon Canal
- Lancaster Canal
- Lea Navigation, London
- Leeds and Liverpool Canal
- Leven Canal
- Lichfield Canal
- Limehouse Cut, London
- Liskeard and Looe Union Canal
- Llangollen Canal
- Louth Navigation
- Macclesfield Canal
- Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal
- Manchester Ship Canal
- Market Weighton Canal
- Melton Mowbray Navigation
- Middle Level Navigations
- Newcastle-under-Lyme Canal
- North Walsham & Dilham Canal, Norfolk
- North Wilts Canal
- Nottingham Canal
- Oakham Canal
- Oxford Canal, Oxfordshire
- Peak Forest Canal
- Pocklington Canal
- Portsmouth and Arundel Canal
- Regent's Canal, London
- Ribble Link
- Ripon Canal
- Rochdale Canal
- Rolle Canal
- Rother Link
- Royal Military Canal
- Salisbury and Southampton Canal
- Sankey Canal
- Selby Canal
- Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation
- Shrewsbury Canal
- Shropshire Union Canal
- Sir Nigel Gresley's Canal , Birmingham
- Somersetshire Coal Canal
- St. Columb Canal
- Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
- Stainforth and Keadby Canal
- Stort Navigation
- Stourbridge Canal
- Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
- Stroudwater Canal
- Tame Valley Canal
- Tavistock Canal
- Thames and Medway Canal
- Thames and Severn Canal
- Trent and Mersey Canal
- Uttoxeter Canal
- Weaver Navigation, Cheshire
- Wednesbury Old Canal , Birmingham
- Wey and Arun Junction Canal
- Wey and Godalming Navigations
- Wilts and Berks Canal
- Worcester and Birmingham Canal
- Wyrley and Essington Canal
Canals in Scotland
Canals in Wales
Abandoned canals
Proposed new canal routes
Grand Union Canal (Slough Branch)
Extending Slough arm of the Grand Union south to join the River Thames.
York stream (Maidenhead)
Making the York stream fully navigatable for boats and linking to other nearby canals and navigatable rivers.
Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway
Connection from Grand Union at Milton Keynes to the River Great Ouse at Bedford.
Warwick
Connection from River Avon to Grand Union via Warwick.
Portsmouth-London
Ambitious plan to link Portsmouth with London. Proposed route would run from Portsmouth to River Wey at Godalming. Length of canal route and cost of crossing South Downs are prohibitive.
Canal features
Canal boats
- Bastard boats or Statters (12 foot / 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 A&C)
- Keels (on A&C)
- Long boats (narrow boats used on Severn)
- Narrowboats or Narrow Boats (approx. 7 feet / 213 cm 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 A&C)
- Trench boats (for 6-foot / 1.83 m locks on the Trench Arm of the Shrewsbury Canal)
- White boats (on Aire & Calder canal; with white side decks for working at night)
- Wide-beam narrowboats (more than 4.3 m beam)
See also
External links
