history-and-heritage features

Backwaters and bygones

We are all familiar with Britain's network of rivers and canals. However, in our haste to explore old favourites such as the Llangollen or the Grand Union, we often forget all about the sights and sounds of lesser-known waterways.

Going horseboating

For hundreds of years, horses were the backbone of British industry.

They pulled carts and charabancs, ploughed fields and transported everything from coal to soap flakes over the length and breadth of the country.

Waterway heritage

Think British Waterways, think canals, boats and moorings. But, perhaps surprisingly, British Waterways has recently been confirmed by English Heritage as the third largest owner of Listed Structures in the country.

Aqueducts

The idea of a 'canal in the sky' was ridiculed initially both by engineering sceptics and the canal builders themselves.

Bridges: masonry and brick

Bridges come in all shapes and sizes – usually dependent upon the wealth of the landowner whose fields the canal cut across.

Bridges: timber and cast iron

Wooden bridges were common during the hey day of the canals because they were cheap to build, especially compared with brick or masonry bridges.

Canal cottages

In the hey day of the canals, when commercial cargo was a common sight up and down the waterway network, a considerable number of workers were required to keep our trunk routes operating efficiently.

Industrial buildings

The canals were created to meet the transportation needs of a newly industrialized country, and it follows that this industry continued to develop alongside the new canals.

Tunnels

The construction of tunnels was one of the most difficult tasks facing canal engineers – hence many early canals followed Brindley’s contour method and wound their way around hills.

Pubs

It will come as no surprise to learn that the long distance boatmen of old relied heavily on waterside pubs for their relaxation and recreation.

Lock flights

Feared and revered in equal measure since the early days of canal boating, our most well known lock flights have now become leisure destinations in their own right – and a valued part of British canal heritage.

Mile posts

Britain’s canals were the life blood of the industrial revolution and a largely commercial machine.

The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

The towering Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, one of the most enduring wonders of the waterways, has inspired and amazed boaters, walkers and visitors for 200 years.

Restoring the inland waterways

Britain is criss-crossed by a myriad of scenic rivers and canals, some deservedly popular with holiday boaters, others well-kept waterway secrets.

The history of Hatton Locks

Hatton’s flight of 21 locks provides an excellent example of how our canal heritage has been adapted to meet the needs of a changing society.

The first canals

Although canals played a large part in the history of the UK, we were not the first country to build them.

The rise of the railway and fall of the canals

The latter half of the eighteenth century was the great age of the canals, when transporting goods by waterway took off and investors made great profits from canals running through areas of heavy industry.

Roses and Castles: a history

Roses and Castles is the colourful folk art that was used to decorate working narrowboats in the 19th century.

The River Stort Sculpture Trail

Four freestanding sculptures and a metal and glass walkway form the three-and-a-half mile waterside trail along the River Stort linking Parndon Mill to the Gibberd Garden in Harlow.

40 years of memories

Life continues at 40: How messing about on boats saved Britain’s waterways.