The Canals of Britain

Author: Stuart Fisher
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1472903072
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 1046

Book Description
Canals of Britain is a comprehensive and absorbing survey of the entire canal network of the British Isles - the first of its kind. It provides a fascinating insight into the linked up waterways as well as the isolated cuts and quiet waters which may not be fully navigable by larger craft. Infinitely varied, it passes picturesque open countryside, wild moorland, coastal harbours, historic industrial buildings, modern city centres, canalside public houses and abundant wildlife. Stuart Fisher looks at every aspect of the canals - their construction, rich history, stunning scenery, heritage, incredible engineering, impressive architecture and even their associated folklore, wildlife and art. Enticing photographs give a flavour of each place and places of interest close to the canals are included. For those who are keen to explore that little bit further, taking smaller boats to points beyond which others usually turn back, there is information on little-known parts of the system, offering a new insight into this country's unique, surprising and beautiful canal network. Attractive, inspiring and foremost a practical guide, this has proved popular with canal enthusiasts and boaters wanting to get the most out of Britain's canals. This second edition features new canals and more colour photographs.

Water Ways

Author: Jasper Winn
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 178283334X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 437

Book Description
For a hundred and fifty years, between the plod of packhorse trains and the arrival of the railways, canals were the high-tech water machine driving the industrial revolution. Amazing feats of engineering, they carried the rural into the city and the urban into the countryside, and changed the lives of everyone. And then, just when their purpose was extinguished by modern transport, they were saved from extinction and repurposed as a 'slow highways' network, a peaceful and countrywide haven from our too-busy age. Today, there are more boats on the canals than in their Victorian heyday. Writer and slow adventurer Jasper Winn spent a year exploring Britain's waterways on foot and by bike, in a kayak and on narrowboats. Along a thousand miles of 'wet roads and water streets' he discovered a world of wildlife corridors, underground adventures, the hardware of heritage and history, new boating communities, endurance kayak races and remote towpaths. He shared journeys with some of the last working boat people and met the anglers, walkers, boaters, activists, volunteers and eccentrics who have made the waterways their home. In Britain most of us live within five miles of a canal, and reading this book we will see them in an entirely new light.

Our Great Canal Journeys

Author: Timothy West
Publisher: Charnwood
ISBN: 9781444840940
Category : Actors and actresses
Languages : en
Pages : 198

Book Description
For more than half a century, a shared love of canals and narrowboats has been inseparable from the marriage of Timothy West and Prunella Scales. The two iconic actors have spent many of the happiest days of their life together enjoying the calming pleasures of watching land and nature unfold before them at four miles an hour. In 2014, Tim and Pru took to the canals of Britain and beyond with a television crew and a brief to record their best-loved trips along the most beautiful waterways they could find. Not only does OUR GREAT CANAL JOURNEYS recount their careers and travels, but it also explores the trials - and the joys - of ageing, and how Prunella's struggle with dementia has both changed, and yet failed to change, their lives together.

Britain's Canals

Author: Anthony Burton
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472971957
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
"Discover the amazing architecture and engineering wonders that make Britain's canals so special, so loved and enjoyed by so many, whether it's by boat, foot or bike"--Back cover

The Canals of Britain

Author: Stuart Fisher
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472940024
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Book Description
Canals of Britain is a comprehensive and absorbing survey of the entire canal network of the British Isles - the first of its kind. It provides a fascinating insight into the linked up waterways as well as the isolated cuts and quiet waters which may not be fully navigable by larger craft. Infinitely varied, it passes picturesque open countryside, wild moorland, coastal harbours, historic industrial buildings, modern city centres, canalside public houses and abundant wildlife. Stuart Fisher looks at every aspect of the canals - their construction, rich history, stunning scenery, heritage, incredible engineering, impressive architecture and even their associated folklore, wildlife and art. Enticing photographs give a flavour of each place and places of interest close to the canals are included. For those who are keen to explore that little bit further, taking smaller boats to points beyond which others usually turn back, there is information on little-known parts of the system, offering a new insight into this country's unique, surprising and beautiful canal network. Attractive, inspiring and foremost a practical guide, this has proved very popular with canal enthusiasts and boaters wanting to get the most out of Britain's canals. This third edition has been revised to reflect the ever-changing landscape of Britain's canals, and includes many new colour photographs to help bring it to life.

Book of Canals

Author: Nigel Crowe
Publisher: B. T. Batsford Limited
ISBN:
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 140

Book Description
The birth of the inland waterways network over 200 years ago changed the face of the countryside forever. Canals were the heavy goods routes of pre-railway Britain. In this book Nigel Crowe recaptures the atmosphere of this momentous transport revolution, which can be seen today in the surviving 2000 miles of canals (now managed by British Waterways).

Walking Britain's Rivers and Canals

Author: P. Attenbury
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780002187534
Category : Canals
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Written by a team of experts, this illustrated book will inspire both the armchair explorer and serious walker to sample the joys of the British countryside. Covers 30 different walks.

Water Gypsies

Author: Julian Dutton
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750997583
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 222

Book Description
For centuries, living afloat on Britain's waterways has been a rich part of the fabric of our social history, from the fisherfolk of ancient Britain to the bohemian houseboat dwellers of the 1950s and beyond. Whether they have chosen to leave the land behind and take to the water or been driven there by necessity, the history of the houseboat is a unique and fascinating seam of British history. In Water Gypsies, Julian Dutton – who was born and grew up on a houseboat – traces the evolution of boat-dwelling, from an industrial phenomenon in the heyday of the canals to the rise of life afloat as an alternative lifestyle in postwar Britain. Drawing on personal accounts and with a beautiful collection of illustrations, Water Gypsies is both a vivid narrative of a unique way of life and a valuable addition to social history.

The Canal Builders

Author: Anthony Burton
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1473870356
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 231

Book Description
Canal Builders is a classic history book for anyone interested in the development of Britain's canal system. The book, which was first published in the 1970s, is now republished here in a new fifth edition. It takes the reader from the middle of the eighteenth century, to the start of the railway age in the early nineteenth century. Anthony Burton has revised and improved the original text, using new material that he has found in archives since it was first published, and has added many extra illustrations. This is the remarkable story of the many groups of people who were responsible for building Britain's canal system. There were industrialists such as Josiah Wedgwood, who promoted canals to help his own industry, and speculators, financed the projects in the hope of a good return. The work was planned by engineers, some of whom, such as James Brindley and Thomas Telford, have become famous, while others have remained virtually unknown but still did magnificent work. This is also the story of the great, anonymous army of men who actually did the work the navvies. This was the first book ever to study the lives of these labourers in detail. Altogether it is an epic story of how the transport route that made the industrial revolution possible was built.'Well planned and well written There is no better introduction to the early canal age.' The EconomistLinks End Links Author End Author

Britain's Best Canal Journeys

Author: John Sergeant
Publisher: Michael Joseph
ISBN: 9780718180638
Category : Boats and boating
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Today there are more craft on our canals than even during their industrial heyday. Thanks to the pleasures of boating, our canals are vibrant and thriving once again. Yet this would have astounded the people who built them and lived hard lives to keep the boats and their cargo moving. In Barging Round BritainJohn Sergeant sets out both to explore eight of the best trips among our more than three thousand miles of canals and to tell the fascinating story of their origins and workings. Opening up a too-often neglected world right on our doorstep, he seeks out pleasures and sights while stopping to examine the part the canals and their extraordinary builders played in our industrial heritage - from Josiah Wedgwood's need to safely transport his fragile bone china, to engineer James Brindley's visionary solutions to complications of geology and landscape. Exploring the history of British inland navigation through eight of the most celebrated waterways - including the Caledonia, Grand Union and the Trent and Mersey Canals - travelled by John Sergeant in the ITV series Barging Round Britain, this book will delight seasoned boaters and encourage those dreaming of their first canal holiday to dip their toes in the water. It is the book for anyone with a passion for Britain and its waterways. 'There is something very British in the way we cherish the canals. It takes us back to a time when the pace of life was slower. . .'