The English canal network becomes increasingly popular and widely used each year. The main aim of this book is to explain how everything works - from locks and lifts, to tunnels and towpaths. Stan Yorke, a life-long narrow boat enthusiast, explains in an easy-to-understand manner the story of the canals. In this he is ably assisted by his son Trevor's superb drawings and diagrams. The book is divided into three clear sections. The first describes the history of the canals, the second looks at their structures and features, and the third suggests special sites of interest around the country, which can be visited by foot or by boat.

Twisting and turning its way through great cities and towns is the eternal navigation: a network of canals that fed the industrial growth of our country. Nowadays we might consider our waterways a place to find peace and relaxation, but under that tranquil surface hides a turbulent past. Storyteller and narrowboat dweller Ian Douglas has salvaged a wealth of stories from the depths. Murder and mystery, heroes and love, devils and oatcakes are all wrapped up in this wonderful book – but beware … you will never see the towpath in the same way again!

'A colourful and comprehensive guide to life on the waterways. Practical, pretty and accessible, it's charmingly designed while providing excellent advice.' BBC Countryfile Magazine

Full-time life on a narrowboat is a novelty for so many of us, and is endlessly fascinating. How do people downsize their lives and belongings into what looks like a large, crayon-coloured floating toy-box? Narrowboat Life answers all the questions we've wanted to ask about the ins and outs of liveaboard life on the inland waterways.

The book is filled with beautiful, enthralling photography of the waterways themselves, the narrowboats that occupy them and, most importantly, every nook and cranny of their insides. Should you become seduced, the author gives solid hands-on advice about how to make a narrowboat (or widebeam, cruiser or small Dutch barge) your home.

Accompanying these absorbing images, the playful and always informative text satisfies our curiosity to know, among other things:

· How do you fit all of your stuff into such a restricted space?

· How much does a narrowboat cost?

· How do you hold down a job if you're always on the move?

· Does s/he (the cat, dog, parrot) live on the boat as well?

· Is it cold in the winter?

This revised edition of Narrowboat Life features new and expanded sections on ecological living on the waterways - recycling, upcycling and living green - and the costs of living aboard in cities and countryside versus living on-land, as well as new 'step-aboard' profiles of more beautiful boats.

'WE COULD BORE OURSELVES TO DEATH, DRINK OURSELVES TO DEATH, OR HAVE A BIT OF AN ADVENTURE...' When they retired Terry and Monica Darlington decided to sail their canal narrowboat across the Channel and down to the Mediterranean, together with their whippet Jim. They took advice from experts, who said they would die, together with their whippet Jim. On the Phyllis May you dive through six-foot waves in the Channel, are swept down the terrible Rhone, and fight for your life in a storm among the flamingos of the Camargue. You meet the French nobody meets - poets, captains, historians, drunks, bargees, men with guns, scholars, madmen - they all want to know the people on the painted boat and their narrow dog. You visit the France nobody knows - the backwaters of Flanders, the canals beneath Paris, the heavenly Yonne, the lost Burgundy Canal, the islands of the Saone, and the forbidden ways to the Mediterranean. Aliens, dicks, trolls, vandals, gongoozlers, killer fish and the walking dead all stand between our three innocents and their goal - many-towered Carcassonne.

First published in 1944, and now reissued with new black-and-white illustrations and a foreword by Jo Bell, Canal Laureate, this book has become a classic on its subject, and may be said to have started a revival of interest in the English waterways. It was on a spring day in 1939 that L.T.C. Rolt first stepped aboard Cressy. This engaging book tells the story of how he and his wife adapted and fitted out the boat as a home, and recreates the journey of some 400 miles that they made along the network of waterways in the Midlands. It recalls the boatmen and their craft, and celebrates the then seemingly timeless nature of the English countryside through which they passed. As Sir Compton Mackenzie wrote, 'it is an elegy of classic restraint unmarred by any trace of sentiment' for a way of life and a rural landscape that have now all but disappeared.

This entertaining andinformative book will be of practical benefit to all who discover the historicUnion Canal and the Forth & Clyde Canal, whether walking, cycling, boatingor visiting the Falkirk Wheel or the Kelpies in Scotland. CanalsAcross Scotland provides detailed towpath information, suggests what tosee and do along the way and in the towns passed. The book is full offascinating historical background, knowledgeable descriptions, practicalinformation, good stories and is beautifully illustrated. Side trips to theAntonine Wall, which stretches from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde, countryparks or to towns like Linlithgow, Falkirk, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch, often bycircular walks, are also described. The canals are forleisurely, timeless exploring during any season and this updated guide will bean essential companion. Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE

In the early years of the Industrial Revolution, canals formed the arteries of Britain. Most waterways were local concerns, carrying cargoes over short distances and fitted into regional groups with their own boat types linked to the major river estuaries. This new history of Britain's canals starts with the first Roman waterways, moving on to their golden age in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and ends with the present day, describing the rise and fall of canal building and use in the UK. It tells the story of the narrow boats and barges borne by the canals, and the boatmen who navigated them as well as the wider tale of waterway development through the progress of civil engineering. Replete with beautiful photographs, this a complete guide to some of the most accessible and beautiful pieces of Britain's heritage.

Competition from rail and later road forced many canals into closure, and a large section of the old system seemed doomed to crumble away into terminal decay. Then came a new industry: the canal leisure industry, and with it the birth of the restoration movement. This final volume in the Anatomy of Canals series looks at what has been achieved and how the new compares with the old. Cities such as Brimingham have now been won over and have made the old canals part of a lively rejuvenation programme, while a new generation of engineers has produced such marvels as the Falkirk Wheel.

The traditional cargo-carrying narrowboat - recently voted one of the 100 icons of England - emerged with the construction of the narrow canal network and lasted in until 1970 when the last regular long-distance contract was lost. Up until then, working boat families lived aboard according to their own culture and work ethic. Narrow Boats explores this, explains why their way of life persisted for so long, and looks at why and how it has changed. The vessels evolved as the horse gave way to steam and diesel power and boatyards developed the skills to build beautiful boats, decorated with roses, castles, scrolls and geometric designs that brought colour and vibrancy to the waterways. Since their demise, a new generation of craft has emerged purely for leisure and residential use. This book, by technical consultant Tom Chaplin, reflects on the origin and purpose of the traditions that many of these attempt to replicate. This book is part of the Britain's Heritage Series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with the narrow boat in all its variety.

Beginning in the late 18th century, the author conveys the original character of the waterways of England and traces their development. The new engineering techniques of the time are also considered. Coupled with the photography of Derek Pratt, this is a fascinating record of canals as they were and as they are today.

The Ouse reaches into the heart of Yorkshire from the Humber Estuary. Until the 1980s, loaded barges made the challenging journey from Hull to Selby, bearing bulk cargoes for the mills of the town. The bargees had to be tough and resourceful; physically strong enough to handle their craft, wise enough to combat the rivers shifting currents and savvy enough to deal with those supplying short measure. Laurie Dews of Selby worked the Ouse from 1937 to 1987, and is now the only ,man remaining with first-hand experience of a lost way of life. In this book, "River Ouse Bargeman", Lauries words of wit and wisdom give a skippers eye view of a barge loaded to the gunwales fighting upstream, unloading at the mill and drifting back with the tide. Laurie spins many a yarn about a bargemans social life, too. His first-hand account includes the mysterious river crafts of singling out and penning up, the tricks and tell tales to show where the ever-shifting river channel lay and the camaraderie of life in the close-knit watery world. In this book, alongside Lauries account, there is a factual commentary, illustrated by many images from Lauries collection dating back over a century, and extracts from official documents and maps.

The romantic dream of downsizing, giving up the rat race, and living life at 4mph on the inland waterways is proving more and more attractive. But for tens of thousands of people it is not just a romantic dream but an actual lifestyle.

Tony Jones is one of those people. He has lived aboard his 50ft narrowboat for over 14 years and in this very practical book he documents what the liveaboard lifestyle is really like, focusing on the practical issues of day to day living for those who want to know what living on a boat actually entails, to see how to manage it for themselves.

Topics covered include:

· the pros, cons and costs of a residential mooring
· power usage and energy consumption (and how it differs from a house)
· how to stay warm - the choice of coal, electric, gas or wood heating
· boat loos - the pros and cons, and troubleshooting typical problems
· entertainment - TV, radio, internet, DVDs
· logistical problems - no postal address, GP access, vehicle access or use

This second edition has been comprehensively revised to include updated or new information on costs (moorings, license, insurances etc), license fees for different types of craft, composting toilets and ecological living in general, living aboard in London and other cities (suddenly very popular), postal services, boat stretching, butty boats, and so on, as well as more anecdotes and profile stories about liveaboard life.

The aim of this book is to feed people's dreams by showing that every possible problem that could arise when living on a boat has a tried and tested solution. The dream is perfectly possible, and this book is the complete practical guide to achieving it.

Opened on 17 July 1761, the canal has a special place in history as the first to be built in Britain without following an existing watercourse, and so became a model for those that followed. Affectionately known as the 'Duke's Cut', the Bridgewater Canal revolutionised transport in this country and marked the beginning of the golden canal age, which lasted from 1760 to 1830. However, as the rail network surpassed the canals as a method of transporting goods, the canal fell into disuse and in 1963, just before the great canal revival, the impressive Runcorn locks were filled in. We may still see them again as there are new plans to restore the locks, but the canal remains popular with walkers and pleasure boaters. In this new book, authors Jean and John Bradburn take the reader on a fascinating journey, and show just how the Bridgewater Canal has changed and developed through time.

My Life On A Narrowboat explores real life aboard a canal boat on the UK waterways.It captures the experience of living aboard by using emotion and humour in equal amounts to suit the individual topic.Designed to de-mystify the culture from working boats to holiday craft, this book will capture the feelings of anyone who has ever watched a lock being worked or a boater escaping from the world.An unmissable and enlightening experience throughout.

The Cromford Canal was a bold undertaking, linking the Derwent and Upper Erewash valleys to the main canal system of England. Collieries, ironworks, mills, limestone and gritstone quarries all flourished alongside it. Although penetrating the southern part of the Peak District, William Jessop's engineering genius ensured that the canal passed thirteen miles through this hilly terrain without a single lock. As a result there is some spectacular scenery in the upper reaches as it contours along the steep side of the Derwent valley. Today, the historical importance of the Cromford Canal has been recognised by the inclusion of its top section in the UNESCO Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site - the only canal in the UK to gain such an accolade.

Details the beginnings, life and trading decline of the Stour Navigation from the seventeenth century. This book looks at the circumstances surrounding the construction of the first lock gates and general engineering works that converted the river into an inland navigation and the changing fortunes in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Nowadays most of us think of the Manchester Ship Canal as that bit of water under the Thelwell Viaduct as we sit in one of England's traffic jam black spots but in the days before the M6, the Manchester Ship Canal was an important route from the docks at Salford and industrial Manchester to the world. From banana boats to cattle carriers, from tramp steamers to pleasure steamers, all sorts of ships used this busy thoroughfare. It wasn't always like this - at one time the docks at Birkenhead and Liverpool received the goods that Manchester needed and everything travelled by railway, canal or road to the North's industrial metropolis. In the 1880s, construction on Britain's largest man-made inland waterway and soon sizable ships sailed to Salford. A stunning engineering project in its own right, the 'Big Ditch' also spawned smaller marvels such as the Barton Aqueduct and it remained busy for almost a century. Now little used, it still remains a marvel of Victorian engineering.

Twenty years have passed since the Rochdale Canal reopened following a restoration scheme that faced almost impossible hurdles. One of three commercial waterways across the Pennines, the canal links the industrial North West and North East, flowing through mill towns, beneath dramatic bridges and traverses spectacular hilly scenery. Its ninety-one locks present a strenuous challenge for boaters, while it has become popular with walkers, cyclists, houseboat residents and casual sailors. The revival of the canal has helped to bring new life to the towns and villages along its route. This book tracks its 32-mile length, telling its story in colour through historians, canals users, lock keepers and all those who today utilise the canal in ways its originators never conceived.

The Erie Canal was dying. Adirondack sawmills were falling silent. And in the final years of the nineteenth century, the upstate New York town of Forestport was struggling just to survive. Then the canal levees started breaking, and the boom times returned. The Forestport saloons flourished, the town's gamblers rollicked, and the politically connected canal contractors were flush once more. It was all very convenient until Governor Theodore Roosevelt's administration grew suspicious and the Pinkerton National Detective Agency began investigating. They found what a lawman called one of the most gigantic conspiracies ever hatched in New York. In The Forestport Breaks, Michael Doyle illuminates a fresh and fascinating chapter in the colorful history of the Erie Canal. This is the canal's shadowy side, a world of political rot and plotting men, and it extended well beyond one rough and tumble town. The Forestport breaks marked the only time New York officials charged men with conspiring to destroy canal property, but they were also illustrative of the widespread rascality surrounding the canal. For Doyle, there is a story with a personal dimension behind the drama of the canal's historical events. As he uncovered the rise and fall of Forestport, he was also discovering that the trail of culpability led to members in his own family tree.

'Haywood imprints his inimitable humour on his descriptions of the people and places he meets along the way.' BBC Countryfile magazine 'He conjures up a picture of a different world, filled with interesting and eccentric people. A cross-section of the best of middle England, in fact.' The Oxford Times Steve Haywood has been cruising the inland waterways for fifty years, and has amassed a following of readers keen to hear about his travelling tales on Britain's beautiful canals and rivers. His previously published books - Narrowboat Dreams, One Man and a Narrowboat, Too Narrow to Swing a Cat and Narrowboat Nomads - have all been hugely enjoyed by those with a desire for a narrowboat narrative told in Steve's witty, charming style. Tales from the Tillerman is Steve's tribute to Britain's canals, rivers and countryside and a celebration of Britishness in all its eccentric glory. Unlike Steve's previous titles, which have each focussed on one particular journey that Steve has taken, Tales from the Tillerman is casting the net wider and drawing from his full fifty years of experience, recounting the many hair-raising escapades he's had up and down the country and reflecting on how the country and the cruising landscape has changed in those fifty years. Anecdotes and light-hearted rants aplenty, mixed with some tall tales and a smattering of the nostalgic, in Tales from the Tillerman you'll be thoroughly entertained as a middle-aged man (oh, go on then, an old one) reflects on his long love affair with boats and waterways, contemplating their importance to his life and how they've changed it.

Barging Round Britain by David Bartley is a beautifully-illustrated guide to a unique and fascinating part of our history: the canal network. Explore the people and places that have forged this national treasure, from the birth of the Industrial Revolution to the leisure explosion on our waterways today. Fully-illustrated with maps and photographs, the book will trace canal routes across the UK, from the Georgian grandeur of Bath to the dramatic splendour of the Scottish Highlands. David Bartley's Barging Round Britain includes a foreword and chapter introductions by the presenter of the TV series, John Sergeant.

Looks at canal schemes, canal companies, boatmen and their work, the struggle to keep the canal navigable, canal versus railway, and post-war and restoration. This book also documents the River Tone, which provided the essential lifeline to Taunton for boatmen and their barges for over 200 years, before the canal and, later, the railways arrived.