Canals and Waterways

Welcome to Canals & Waterways, the website dedicated to the history and routes of Britain's Inland Waterways. Almost every British canal, whether navigable, derelict or under restoration is described here. Many river navigation's (including all of the Norfolk Broads waterways) are also included.

WHAT YOU WILL FIND HERE:

Canals History:

Each page contains a chronological history of the waterway in question, tracing its roots from its initial promotion through to c2000. Also the Canals and Waterways History page dispalys a complete Chronology of worldwide canals and waterways created by man.

Canal Routes:

Each waterway also has a detailed description of its route. Where possible, we have included up to date instructions on where to find interesting features along the waterway. Brief descriptions on how to reach these features are often included.

The route descriptions are of most use to walkers, cyclists and people who generally enjoy scrambling along muddy footpaths for entertainment!

Most canals have towpaths but a lot of rivers have no path at all or have paths which are severed in places. whenever possible, walking details will be also detailed.

WHERE DOES THE INFORMATION COME FROM?

The content of this website's content copyright belongs to Peter Hardcastle. All the information is the result of a great research and work for more than 10 years.

See here more about Peter Hardcastle and Canal Routes website history.

The main reference books used for researching the historical information are: Charles Hadfield's Canals of Great Britain and Ronald Russell's Lost Canals of Great Britain though many other sources of information are also used. More recent information comes from various books, leaflets and the canal press.

Route descriptions of completely lost canals come from Ronald Russell's Lost Canals of Great Britain.