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Summary of Britain’s Canals

Wide Canals:
(with locks more than 7 feet wide).  

The Aire & Calder Navigation – With 17 locks and running for some 40 miles from Goole to Wakefield this is one of the very few canals still used commercially as well as for pleasure. It connects the Leeds & Liverpool Canal to the rest of the network.

The Basingstoke Canal – Restored and re-opened in 1991 its 30 miles from the River Wey to Greywell near Basingstoke include 29 locks.

The Bridgewater Canal – Runs for 28 miles lock-free through a fairly industrialised area from Manchester to Runcorn, but it has important links to several other waterways including the Rochdale Canal, the Manchester Ship Canal, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the Trent & Mersey Canal.

The Bridgwater & Taunton Canal – Still being restored, this 15 mile long canal, with 6 locks, is isolated from the rest of the network. It runs through the attractive Somerset countryside from  Bridgewater to Taunton

The Calder & Hebble Canal – Has more than 30  locks in just 21 miles running into the Yorkshire Pennines from Sowerby Bridge to join the Aire & Calder Navigation near Wakefield.

The Chesterfield Canal – Joins the tidal River Trent, at West Stockwith, before running for 26 miles with 16 locks through pleasant countryside to Retford and Worksop.

The Exeter Ship Canal – Arguably Britain’s first proper canal it runs for just 5 miles, with 2 locks, from the Exe estuary north of Exmouth to the City of Exeter.

The Fossdyke & Witham Navigation – The Fossdyke Canal joins the River Trent at Torksey to the River Witham at Lincoln (see chapter 3 for further details)

The Gloucester & Sharpness Canal -  A charming lock-free 16 miles connecting Gloucester to Sharpness, originally designed as a ship canal, and still in use commercially,  avoiding the River Severn and its infamous Severn Bore.

The Grand Union Canal – The Grand Union is Britain’s premier, and best-known canal, extending for some 150 miles from London to Birmingham, with (narrow) extensions to both Leicester and Nottingham, and with a total of over 250 locks on the system.

As its name suggests, the Grand Union is a combination of several canals, including the Regents Canal through north London, linking to the River Lee. It joins the River Thames at Brentford facilitating a through passage from the sea to Birmingham.

The most interesting and spectacular section is through the Chiltern Hills, while the village of Stoke Bruerne, Blisworth Tunnel and the flight of locks at Hatton are particular features worth seeing.

Beyond the 3km long Blisworth Tunnel the Northampton Arm connects to the River Nene (see chapter3) while the Grand Union continues to Norton Junction where the very attractive, albeit narrow,  65 mile Leicester  section leads to the junction with the River Trent via the well-known Foxton Locks staircase.

The Huddersfield Canal – involves two sections, one 4 mile long broad section with 9 locks from Coopers Bridge and the Calder & Hebble Navigation to Huddersfield and the much longer narrow section running from Huddersfield to Dukinfield Junction.

The Kennet & Avon Navigation – This is an important and hugely attractive waterway some 90 miles long with around 100 locks between Reading and London, which provides a waterway link between London and Bristol via the Thames, the River Kennet and the Avon.

Arguably the most beautiful of Britain’s inland waterways, it features numerous attractions throughout its length, including the 29 lock Caen Hill flight near Devizes, Bradford-on-Avon, the Dundas Aqueduct and the glorious approach leading into the beautiful Georgian City of Bath.

The Lancaster Canal – Recently linked to the rest of the network via the Ribble, it runs for some 40 miles lock-free from Preston to Tewitfield via the spectacular Lune Aqueduct, with an attractive 6 mile long branch canal leading via 6 locks to Glasson Basin.

The Leeds & Liverpool Canal – Running for 127 miles with over 90 locks across the Pennines from Leeds to Liverpool, with the 7 mile Leigh Branch from Wigan to Leigh providing a connection to the Bridgewater Canal, and the 7 mile long Rufford Branch connects to the Lancaster Canal via the Ribble Link, and to the River Douglas and thence to the Irish Sea. The eastern section of the Leeds and Liverpool is very attractive, but the western section through the industrial heart of Lancashire is less so until you reach the Douglas Valley.

The Manchester Ship Canal – As its name suggests this 26 mile mainly commercial canal, with only 4 locks, was built to connect Manchester to the River Mersey and the sea, and there is a link to the Shropshire Union Canal at Ellesmere Port, and to the Bridgewater Canal at Pomona Lock.

The Middle Level Navigations -  are fully described in chapter 3.

The Monmouth & Brecon Canal -  An extremely  attractive 35 mile long canal with only six locks, running through the Brecon Beacons National Park in mid-Wales between Brecon and Cwmbran. Despite being isolated from the rest of the network it’s deservedly very popular, and there are now plans to extend the canal down to Newport.

The Rochdale Canal -   Since 2002 this attractive canal now extends to 33 miles, with some 90 locks, running from Sowerby Bridge along the Calder Valley, up through the Pennines,  and thence to Manchester. It connects to the Ashton Canal at Manchester and to the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield.

Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation – Runs for 42 miles through 26 locks from Sheffield to the River Trent, passing through mainly industrial landscapes, and forms part of the link between the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the River Trent.

Narrow canals:
(with locks 7 feet wide or less).
 
The Ashby Canal – runs through pretty tranquil countryside for 22 miles past Bosworth Field from Marston Junction with the Coventry Canal to Snarestone, with just one lock.

The Ashton Canal – Just over 6 miles, from Ashton-under-Lyme to Manchester, but with 18 locks, this short canal connects to the Huddersfield Canal, the Peak Forest Canal and to the Rochdale Canal, and forms part of the “Cheshire Ring”.

The Birmingham Canal Navigation – Essentially a 100+ mile network, including nearly 200 locks through the centre of, and around,  Birmingham and the West Midlands, The Birmingham Navigation has links to the Worcester & Birmingham Canal and to the Staffordshire & Worcester Canal, and forms part of the through passage from the south to the north-west.  

The Birmingham & Fazeley Canal – This 15 mile canal with 38 locks provides a connection between the Birmingham Canal Navigation and the Coventry Canal, and passes through some attractive Warwickshire countryside.

The Caldon Canal – 17 miles long, with 17 locks this is a surprisingly pretty canal running from the Potteries where it connects to the Trent & Mersey Canal,  through moorland scenery and the Churnet Valley to Froghall Wharf.

 The Coventry Canal -  Running for 38 miles from Coventry to Fradley Junction, with 13 locks, this canal forms a part of the “Midlands Ring” and connects the Trent & Mersey to the Oxford Canal, and with the Ashby Canal.

The Grand Western Canal – Only about 10 lock-free miles from Tiverton to Loudwells of this once ambitious project to connect the Bristol Channel to the English Channel remain, but it’s worthwhile exploring as the Devon scenery is superb.

The Llangollen Canal – probably Britain’s most popular canal, 45 miles in length with 21 locks it runs from Hurleston Junction (where it is connected to the Shropshire union Canal) to Llangollen through spectacular and outstanding scenery from the Cheshire plains to the mountains of North Wales, and has some of the best examples of canal engineering to be found anywhere. 

The Macclesfield Canal – The 26 miles of this canal, running through the wonderful Peak District  Pennine scenery has 13 locks,  and forms a part of the “Cheshire Ring”  connecting the Trent & Mersey Canal to the Peak Forest Canal.

The Oxford Canal – Justifiably popular, running through mainly attractive  countryside, and pretty villages, for some 77 miles from the Thames at Oxford to Coventry thus providing an important link between the South and the heart of the Midlands and to the “Midlands Ring”  via the Coventry Canal.

The Peak Forest Canal – With superb scenery and some great views, the restored Peak Forest Canal runs for 15 miles, with a similar number of locks, from Whaley Bridge to Dukinfield Junctionm where it connects to the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.

The Shropshire Union Canal – this very pretty canal  extends to 66 miles, with 46 locks, connecting Ellesmere Port to Wolverhampton via Chester and forms an important part of the “Shropshire or Four Counties Ring”  At Barbridge it also provides a link to the Trent & Mersey Canal.

The Staffs & Worcester Canal – This popular 46 mile canal, with around 40 locks,  connects the River Severn at Stourport to the Trent & Mersey Canal as well as providing links to the Shropshire Union Canal and to the Birmingham Canal Navigation.

The Stourbridge Canal – featuring no less than 20 locks within its 5 mile length this is an interesting and useful canal that links the Staffs & Worcester Canal to the Birmingham Canal Navigation.

The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal – runs for 25 miles from Kings Norton to Stratford, with 55 locks en-route,  this interesting restored canal is justly popular and paases through some exceptionally attractive countryside in addition to providing  connections to the River Avon at Stratford and to the Worcester & Birmingham Canal and the Grand Union Canal.

The Trent & Mersey Canal – Connecting the River Trent to the Bridgewater Canal over a distance of 93 miles with 75 locks,  although mostly rural and quite attractive this was a commercially very important cross-country link between the Potteries, Liverpool and Nottingham, with connections to the Coventry Canal and the River Weaver.

The Worcester & Birmingham Canal – running for 30 mainly rural miles, with 58 locks, from Birmingham via Alvechurch to the River Severn near the cathedral City of Worcester, with a connection at Norton Junction to the Stratford Canal.

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