The Leeds & Liverpool is the longest single canal in Britain and arguably one of the most successful. From its completion in 1774 to the last commercial delivery, it served for nearly two hundred years as a main artery of trade across northern England, meeting the industrial and commercial needs of Lancashire and Yorkshire much as the M62 motorway does today. It offered healthy competition with the railways until well into the twentieth century and today provides a wonderful corridor of tranquility to the rambler, cyclist and pleasure boater alike. In The Leeds & Liverpool Canal in Yorkshire Dr Gary Firth has collected over two hundred photographs of the canal's eastern section from Leeds to Barnoldswick, as well as contemporary documents and reports. Accompanied by evocative commentary, these show the changing face of the Leeds & Liverpool - its vanished industries, its forgotten branch canals and a Yorkshire boating culture that has passed into the mists of time.

The Wilts & Berks Canal was opened in 1810 but promoted from 1793, connecting the Kennet & Avon Canal at Semington to the River Thames at Abingdon. In 1819 the North Wilts Canal was opened from Swindon to Latton on the Thames Severn Canal, providing an alternative route for boats bypassing the difficult Upper Thames Navigation. Abandoned in 1914, urban development took its toll on the canal and in some of the country areas it was returned to agricultural use. But the rural nature of this navigation was in many ways its salvation, meaning much of it lay undisturbed. Since 1977 the canal has been under active restoration and is now the biggest project of its type in the country. With ambitious plans in place to make the canal a centre for leisure and tourism as well as a haven for walkers, cyclists and fishermen, there has never been a more opportune time to reflect on its long journey. With over 180 photographs and informative captions, canal expert Doug Small revisits this much-loved waterway.

Leaving the river Thames at Brentford and travelling through the Home Counties to Birmingham and Leicester, the Grand Union Canal wends its way through sylvan countryside and market towns on its route from London to the Midlands. Looking at the group of canals that came together to form the Grand Union, Ian J. Wilson tells the story of this picturesque waterway and looks at the impact it has had in changing the landscape it has travelled through. Using antique postcards and photographs to illustrate the story, he takes us on a trip along the main line to Braunston and along the various cuts at the southern end of the canal including the Paddington, Slough, Wendover, Aylesbury and Old Stratford & Buckingham Arms.

Written in an engaging, conversational style, Rivers Revealed combines the author s lifelong love of America s waterways with practical and historic information gathered from his three decades as a professional riverlorian for the Delta Queen Steamboat Company in New Orleans. A modern-day Huck Finn, Jerry Hay spins yarns laced with personal anecdotes on such topics as navigating 500 miles of the Wabash River, the trials and tribulations of building a sternwheeler, "reading" the river, how to plan your own river adventure, a hair-raising but humorous river rescue, an unforgettable goose named Gilligan, the language of the rivers and riverboats, early to present-day river navigation, and much, much more. A book for all who love Mark Twain, these river adventures will entertain the landlubber and engage the boating enthusiast."

In this evocative story of his unusual upbringing on the May Flower, Nick Ardley gives us a colourful account of life on the water. He tells tales of places visited, techniques learned and characters met that combine to give a real sense of what sailing can teach us. The skills learned on the water have proved to be highly beneficial for many people in their later careers, while the self-reliance and resourcefulness that often characterises sailors are much-valued attributes anywhere. Weaving his wealth of barging knowledge into the story of his family's life aboard the May Flower and their great resilience in keeping their barge on the water, Nick Ardley has given us a book that will appeal both to barging enthusiasts and those interested in childhood development.

One clear morning in May, Nick Thorpe left his Edinburgh flat, ducked off the commuter route and hitched a ride aboard a little white canal boat, heading west towards the sea. It was the first mutinous step in a delightful boat-hopping odyssey that would take him 2500 miles through Scotland's canals, lochs and coastal waters, from the industrial Clyde to the scattered islands of Viking Shetland. Writing with characteristic humour and candour, the award-winning author of EIGHT MEN AND A DUCK plots a curiously existential voyage, inspired by those who have left the warm hearth for the promise of a stretched horizon. Whether rowing a coracle with a chapter of monks, scanning for the elusive Nessie, hitting the rocks with Captain Calamity or clinging to the rigging of a tall ship, Thorpe weaves a narrative that is by turns funny and poignant - a nautical pilgrimage for any who have ever been tempted to try a new path just to see where it might take them. Part travelogue, part memoir, ADRIFT IN CALEDONIA is a unique and affectionate portrait of a sea-fringed nation - and of the drifter's quest to belong.

Largely as a result of substantial investment by the 3rd Earl of Egremont, a keen patron of the arts and perhaps the richest man in Britain at the time, the Wey & Arun Junction Canal opened in 1816. To contemporary commentators, it seemed set for success as part of a new navigable route from London to Portsmouth and the Sussex coast. Sadly, though the countryside remained 'beautiful and picturesque', the canal, after fifty-five years of modest trading, fell victim to competition from railways and problems with its own water supply. The order for closure came in 1871, and for the best part of a century the Wey & Arun lay abandoned. The derelict state of the canal as it lingered forgotten and crumbling, as well as the attempts being made since 1970 to reinstate it, are vividly evoked here by illustrations from the author's collection and those of the Wey & Arun Canal Trust.

Compiles interviews with boat people and the people who worked the inland waterways during the final decades of commercial canal carrying. This book spans the 1930s-'60s, a time when transport technology saw changes, and looks issues such as the operating of ice boats and the use of horse power as well as the experiences of the people themselves.

Wending its way from Braunston to Salford, under Spaghetti Junction, this illustrated guide covers the northern part of the Grand Union Canal, accompanying the guide to the southern half published in 2005.

The Nottingham Canal ran from Trent Bridge to join the Cromford and Erewash canals at Langley Mill. The canal itself was abandoned in the 1930s and much has been built on it since then but this detailed book provides a lasting record of its journey from past to present. Carefully researched and illustrated with a mix of archive and modern photographs, this is the ideal companion for those interested in the history of Nottingham as well as for anyone who might be unaware just how much things have changed alongside this sometimes overlooked waterway.

The Basingstoke Canal was built towards the end of the 'great canal mania' in the eighteenth century. It was intended to provide a transport route to and from London via the Wey and the Thames, but the expectations of its promoters were never realized; no dividends were ever paid to the shareholders and in 1866 the Canal Company declared itself bankrupt. After this the canal had numerous unsuccessful owners, including the New Basingstoke Canal Company, formed in 1947, which ran the canal for twenty years. However, by the late 1960s, the company was proposing to close the uneconomical navigation and sell off parts for building land. The Surrey & Hampshire Canal Society was formed to campaign for its restoration and persuaded the county councils to buy it. A partnership with the Canal Society and other voluntary bodies succeeded in reopening the canal in 1991. The Basingstoke Canal has always enjoyed the affection of the local population and still provides a green corridor for the crowded towns of south-east England through which it now passes, as well as being a haven for wildlife.

Coal mining and iron working prospered in the West Midlands in the nineteenth century, after the development of local industry, in particular metalworking and the use of coal, iron and limestone. Metalworking also stimulated the growth of a local chemical industry where acids and alkali was produced, which in turn led to the making of pure chemicals, assisting the local paint and varnish industry. Industries sprang up at the canal side. Other needs led to building of brickyards, flourmills, glassworks and timber yards beside the water's edge. This illustrated volume examines the canalside industries of Birmingham and the Black Country, looking at iron, coal, gas, electricity, bricks and firebricks, and railway interchange, plus some of the more modern trades. This is Ray Shill's second book with Tempus Publishing; his first was Birmingham Canal Navigations. He has written two other books with Sutton Publishing

The Rochdale Canal, the first to open and most successful of the three trans-Pennine canals, was built two hundred years ago. Trade boomed on the canal until the beginning of the twentieth century when the development of motor transport had a dramatic effect on the canal's importance as a trade route. By the Second World War, the canal was scarcely used. It was formally abandoned in 1952, and parts were filled in as bridges were lowered and major roads built across the canal. In 1974, the Rochdale Canal Society was formed to promote restoration of the canal. Local authority support was gained and the flow process of restoration began, culminating, after a long search for funding, with the canal being completely reopened from Manchester to Sowerby Bridge in 2002. "Pennine Pioneer - the Story of the Rochdale Canal" follows the life of the canal from its inception in the eighteenth century to its abandonment, and tells of the more recent battle for its restoration. Keith Gibson is the president of the Northern Canals Association, where waterway restoration societies north of Birmingham meet to discuss progress. This, his second book in the Pennine canals, relates the tale of the Rochdale Canal's past while also looking to its future.

The Birmingham Canal Navigations lie at the heart of the British canal network and have a rich heritage that spans over two centuries. The BCN network developed over a period of one hundred years and served the busiest and most concentrated industrial region of the country - earning Birmingham the nickname of 'Little Venice'. Industrial trade was an important influence on the BCN; its winding route and many branches were shaped by the needs of the pre-dominant iron and coal industries, as well as the gas, chemical and glass works. Ray Shill examines the industrial archaeology of the network in The Birmingham Canal Navigations, looking at the structures, trade, work and craft on the waterway, as well as providing detailed maps of the network's various sections. He also considers the BCN's cottage numbering system, an often overlooked but vlaued part of the network's heritage. Once a busy industrial waterway, the BCN is now a place of leisure, with a hundred miles of navigation remaining, and continues to thrive as the centre of Britain's canal system.

The Kennet and Avon navigation was built to link Bristol and Bath with London, via Reading and the river Thames. The canal section took some 16 years to construct and was finally completed in 1810, although piecemeal trading was already taking place on completed parts long before that date. It was considered a major feat of Georgian engineering, incorporating many attractive stone and iron bridges, a 500-yard brick-lined tunnel, purpose built pumping stations incorporating both steam- and water-powered pumps, and two magnificent aqueducts that carried the canal over the Avon valley. But the most spectacular structure on the navigation was the 16-lock flight that climbs straight up the side of Caen Hill, and makes a striking visual impression. This chronological and thematic narrative assesses the financial, technical and political difficulties that had to be overcome before the two river navigations were linked. This important waterway enabled extensive trade activity across southern England. Later chapters show and an overview is given of what it was like to live and work on the navigation; why the Kennet and Avon eventually declined as a trading concern; how it was saved from total closure and eventually restored. It has become the biggest success story of canal restoration in recent times. Inland waterways and their associated heritage are fashionable subjects, and this well-written, widely researched, and fully illustrated history for general readers and enthusiasts alike is to be welcomed.

A compelling new look at the principal features of the Midlands and border canals and the people who built them.This fascinating book delves into the forgotten history of the Midland and border canal infrastructure, including the Grand Union, Staffordshire & Worcestershire, Stourbridge, Stratford, Trent & Mersey, Worcester & Birmingham canals amongst others. Detailing the physical triumph of construction of canal structures such as aqueducts, bridges, embankments, locks and tunnels - the many structures that entail a lost heritage - this illustrated history also recognises the skill of the engineers who designed and built them and had such an influence on the waterways in this region despite the hardships of working conditions and poor finance that existed at the time. A must for all local and canal historians.

A hilarious, true story of life-change, no going back, 40th birthdays and mid-life crisis. Follow the adventures of a husband and wife (plus two small children) as they take a barge through the French canals towards the Bourgogne and Canal du Midi - with The Mediterranean and Spain beckoning. Damian Horner is scared that fifteen years in advertising have turned him into a bastard. As he approaches his fortieth birthday, he wants to see if he can be a good husband and a good father before it's too late. Siobhan, his wife, would like to find out too but has other worries. Do marriage and kids mean she's now trapped in a world of suburban domesticity? It takes a miserable day and a bottle of wine to change everything. Suddenly Damian and Siobhan decide to throw their lives in the air and escape to the French canals, taking with them their son Noah who is two years old and can barely talk, and their daughter India who is one and cannot walk. Told in two voices, we hear both sides of their story and get the whole truth as Damian and Siobhan describe coming to terms with themselves and their life on board an old fishing boat in France with no space, no fridge, no charts, no deadlines and no flushing toilet.

The Bridgewater Canal is distinguished as England's first canal and its development marked the beginning of a transport revolution that provided a crucial foundation for industrial and commercial development in England. Since its completion in 1765, the canal has been regularly used by commercial and passenger traffic; it was one if the major routes of the North West that helped Manchester to develop as a centre of trade and industry in the 19th century. In "The Duke's Cut: The Bridgewater Canal," Cyril J. Wood recounts the fascinating history of the Bridgewater canal from its conception and construction to its subsequent successes including its use as a leisure waterway today. His detailed commentary is complemented by his descriptive guide to cruising the canal and valuable navigational information. Illustrated with more than 150 images, this comprehensive history and guide will appeal to local historians and canal enthusiasts alike.

It can be said of few men that without them the course of their nation's history would have been very different, yet through the force of his ideas and sheer bloody-mindedness, James Brindley, the first great canal builder, provided the spark that ignited the Industrial Revolution, united the nation and set Britain on course to become the world's first superpower. Born into poverty and barely literate, Brindley had a vision for the country that defied both established society and the natural order, dividing mid-eighteenth-century scientific and political opinion. Crowds flocked to marvel at this new canals and the engineering feats that accompanied them, with Brindley's inventiveness earning him the nickname 'The Schemer'.

The Stroud Navigation opened in 1779 from the Severn at Framilode to Stroud, Gloucestershire, a distance of eight miles. It brought increased prosperity to the Stroud Valleys, a centre for early industrialisation. Ten years later the Thames & Severn Canal, linked with it. The Stroudwater is unique for being in the hands of the original company for over 200 years, and most of the primary source material for this book derives from the company archive. Personal reminisces, legal documents, census returns and illustrations, including paintings, photographs, maps, plans and poetry, are also used to record the role played by the canal in the social history of the region.

Stratford upon Avon owes its existence to the necessity of transport. Its very name derives from the place where a minor Roman road crossed the River Avon by way of a ford. The Avon later became a navigable waterway and the Stratford Canal was built to link it to the industrial Black Country. The canal may seem today to be a fairly modest rural canal, typical of many in the Midlands, but underneath its placid waters there flows a turbulent history. The canal formed part of the inspiration for the railway network and, later, when the railways and roads appeared to threaten the annihilation of the entire canal system it was the Stratford Canal that pioneered the movement to rescue this vital part of our industrial heritage. The canal itself was very much a local venture; its genesis was inspired by Stratfordians keen to better their town, and the money came from people living along its route. As the newly opened canal joined the national network, new ideas and people came to the town, expanding and enhancing it. The tramway and later the railway system continued the process, but left the canal in a kind of limbo, frozen in its Victorian architecture and working practices. This timeless state lasted right up to the Second World War, leaving the Stratford Canal as a small fragment of the early industrial world plodding quietly on despite momentous changes in the nation.

The River Calder rises in the Pennines north of Todmorden and flows to Sowerby Bridge and Salterhebble, where it receives the Hebble Brook. The river then flows through Elland, Brighouse, Mirfield and Dewsbury before reaching the Aire Calder Navigation at Wakefield. The river was made navigable in the 1770s and soon after, with the construction of the Rochdale, Huddersfield and Huddersfield Narrow canals, became part of the Mersey-Humber trade routes. Trade was brisk for many years but by the 1940s the canal was in decline; the Halifax branch was closed and surrounding canals abandoned. However, commecial traffic on the navigation soldiered on till 1981, when shipments to Thornhill Power Station ceased. Illustrated within the pages of the Calder Hebble Navigation are over 200 images of canal boats (both horse-drawn and motor-powered), items of canal furniture and activity on the navigation's many wharfs.

This is a photographic album showing the navigable section of the River Chelmer from Maldon to Chelmsford. After almost 200 years of commercial traffic, today the waterway is used by pleasure craft, and its recent restoration is mirrored in the images along with archive photographs. The author's text conjures up a world that is now just a memory, making for a fascinating read.

This is a photographic history of the Yorkshire Ouse navigation, with a wide-ranging collection of images from the early days to today showing the changes over the years.