A safe route from London to Bristol was long a dream of traders and ship owners. With a hazardous route via the English Channel an inland alternative was first proposed in 1788. After a couple of false starts construction began in 1794. Fourteen years later the Kennet & Avon Canal was opened, with the last section to open being the spectacular series of locks at Devizes. Attempts to close the canal in the 1940s were unsuccessful and the 1950s saw the formation of what was to become the Ken...

The Birmingham canals truly got underway following an advertisement in Birmingham's Aris's Gazette of 26 January 1767. The plan was to take a waterway from Wolverhampton to Birmingham with a branch to Lord Dudley's coal mines near Wednesbury, and this canal network continued to grow extensively until the 1860s. With the decline in the demand for coal after the Second World War, the BCN lost sixty of its miles, but it has nevertheless largely survived to the present day. R. H. Davies, autho...

The River Medway travels through the highly populated areas of Gillingham, Chatham, Maidstone and Tonbridge, among a number of other smaller towns and villages. Married to the Thames, the Medway has a rich and varied history. Ancient sites are plentiful along the River Medway; Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman evidence can all be found. Two military battles have also been named after the river: the Battle of the Medway during the Roman invasion of Britain; and the Raid on the Medway, which to...

The vital interconnections that rivers share with the land, the sky, and usRivers are essential to civilization and even life itself, yet how many of us truly understand how they work? Why do rivers run where they do? Where do their waters actually come from? How can the same river flood one year and then dry up the next? Where the River Flows takes you on a majestic journey along the planet's waterways, providing a scientist's reflections on the vital int...

500,000 Years in the Life of a River. The longest river in England, the Thames, has witnessed the entire history of a country and its capital. The Story of the Thames looks at history from the river’s perspective, investigating how the life of the nation has affected the river and, in turn, how the river has been viewed by those who live along its length. In doing so it spans 500,000 years (longer than human history) and extends from source to mouth. The Thames is often taken for granted. ...

The Manchester Ship Canal was a huge engineering achievement. It included seven swing bridges and the aqueduct at Barton, and helped turn the cotton-producing capital of Great Britain into an inland seaport. This was a feat many at the time believed could not be achieved. One of the wonders of the modern industrial world, the Manchester Ship Canal, with its huge locks and ocean-going vessels, was a magnetic draw for enthusiastic Victorians who marvelled at its construction. This book looks...

The 50-mile stretch of the River Tamar forms a unique county boundary between the counties of Devon and Cornwall. The Tamar's source is East Youlstone near Bude less than 4 miles from the north Cornish coast. But instead of flowing northward into the Atlantic Ocean it flows slowly south. through reed-fringed mudscapes passing the towns of Launceston, Gunnislake, and Saltash before widening out and eventually meeting the English Channel at Plymouth Sound. In the sound the river merges with ...

From a water-laden bog in the Cambrian Mountains of Wales to the mighty Bristol Channel, the River Severn carves its way through some of the most picturesque and varied landscapes in the country. River Severn: From Source to Sea follows the entire course of the river, describing its relationship with the surrounding countryside and how it has shaped local inhabitants’ lives for centuries. A rivulet surfacing on the slopes of Plynlimon marks the beginning of the Severn, known here by its We...

London's hidden - or lost - rivers are a source of fascination. This book concentrates on seven North London rivers - the Fleet, the Walbrook, the Tyburn, the Westbourne, Counter's Creek, Stamford Brook and the Black Ditch. The author, a professional water engineer, describes their sources and traces their individual histories, setting out their influence on the development of London and their use and abuse by society, eventually leading to their disappearance. The original watercourses of...

Did you know that the city of Oxford is built on a series of islands? This unique book is an opportunity to explore an intricate network of waterways that are often overlooked by visitors to the city. Discover gushing mill streams and picturesque flood meadows walk along an industrial canal and a working river; watch leisure boating and competitive rowing. Look for evidence in the names of neighbourhoods, streets, bridges and pubs giving clues to the watery history of this city. Discover w...

The third of John Neale's books looking at Cornish rivers takes us down the Fowey, from its source on Bodmin Moor to its estuary at Fowey itself. Beginning near Brown Willy, the river soon flows near the famous Jamaica Inn and on to Golitha Falls, passing age-old slate caverns before turning abruptly to make its way toward Lanhydrock House, Boconnoc House and Restormel Castle and on to Lostwithiel with its ancient church, historic buildings and fourteenth-century bridge. Soon the Fowey wid...

The sport of angling has a rich tradition in the North East of England. From the fabled salmon fishing of the Tweed and the Tyne, to the fine spate river and reservoir trout angling found throughout the area's valleys and hills, taking in the beaches, rocks and piers of the Northumbrian coastline - and not forgetting North Yorkshire and some of the finest coarse angling the UK has to offer - this region is unsurpassed. The Lambton Worm is both angling guide and handbook, while at the same ...