Travelling on very wet "roads" - UK's canal system: Two Aussie's travel the world.
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When most people travel in England they travel by road, rail or air however there's another mode of transport that offers an amazing view of the countryside; A relaxing, peaceful and serene mode of transport using a unique "roadway", or should I say boat-way. I refer, of course, to the canal system. These are navigated by purpose-built canal-boats on which people travel, holiday and in fact also live on. The canal systems were also used for the transportation of goods and resources like coal also. The canal system covers vast areas of England and into Wales and Scotland also with the earliest being built in the mid 1700's.
To overcome the problem of varying levels of terrain a system of locks is employed. A lock is essentially two gates in the canal with the water level on one side of the set of gates being higher, or lower, than the level at the other set of gates. If a boat wanted to continue up a canal that was at a higher water-level the boat would approach and enter a lock after opening the first gate. Once inside the gate would be closed behind them and the lock flooded from the canal above to raise the water level to that on the other side of the second gate. Once it is was at the right level the second gate is opened and the boat floats through to the higher level canal. It's simple but has worked for some 270 years or so. Below you can see a canal and some boats as well.
One of the cool things is that they also had to navigate over other rivers (like the Avon in Bath), through mountains and across valleys too. This sounds like a problem but thanks to the Roman invention of aqueducts the builders had it covered. They simple built aqueducts across the valley to join the canal on each side together. An Aqueduct is simply a bridge that carries water. If you look at the image below you will see one. In the background you'll see some boats on the far side waiting to cross over.
This bridge below is actually an aqueduct, the Dundas Aqueduct to be precise. It was completed in the year 1800 and is still in use today as you can see. My wife, Faith, is standing on it and down below is the Avon river and a railway line. The second image was taken from the bridge with a train heading to Bath and the Avon to the left.
If you take a look at the first image in this post you'll note the canals evan have road signs pointing to the next village or mooring point. They truly are "water-roads."
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These canals have been a vital lifeline to some rural communities and of course have been pivotal in helping to grow and expand the country as a whole. Unfortunately with the invention of railway the dependence on the canals declined and then halted and many feel into disrepair in favour of the faster method of transport. Fortunately they have been saved through the effort and hard work of many volunteers and a great deal of cash and they are now in great repair and well used by locals and tourists alike.
In England and Wales there is about 1569 locks, around 53 tunnels, 3112 bridges, 370 aqueducts and some 74 reservoirs. Impressive numbers huh? The Grand Canal is 137 miles long, the longest of them all. The longest tunnel is Standedge at 3 miles long and at 1000 feet long the Pontcycyllte aqueduct is the longest! (That's 914 metres long!)
I guess to get a true understanding of the canal system and it's engineering genius you'd have to be here to see for yourself but I hope my photo's give you a bit of an idea. When you see these things in real life and recall that they were built a few hundred years ago it really puts things into perspective. I hope to do a canal boat holiday someday but for now I'll have to marvel at this amazing mode of transport from dry land.
Thanks for reading.
Faith & Galen x
I didn't realize the canal system was so extensive. I've seen it reference on various shows(fictional and non-fictional) but never researched the enormity of it.
This would definitely be the way to go for me. I am definitely a water person and I'm know you get to see things you just wouldn't be able to from the other travel methods.
The roads can be hectic here. The canals would be so bloody relaxing. Hoping to do a few days in a canal boat next time we’re here.
Excellent future post in the making right there!
I never seem to have trouble finding something to post about but since coming to the UK it seems I’ve got an endless list of things to write about. :)
Had an awesome meal just now man. A steak and beer gravy pie with mashed potatoes. So bloody good! Three beers (I’m normally a 1 beer guy) and the company of my lovely wife, who was in tears of laughter at my three beer antics...Such a good night.
a man after my own heart! You are killing me with the food posts. Is that bacon on the potatoes? We had a steak lunch toady, but I bet yours was better! Hope your brother doesn't see you posting food pics again!!! lol
Yeah, there was some bacon on the cabbage/greens. It all just worked nicely together. We had this here at the B&B/Hotel we are staying in at Bath, Somerset. It's super nice. https://www.boathouse-bath.co.uk/
That place looks amazing. The views of the canal are incredible.
Yep, a nice place for sure. Great rooms and staff is friendly too. It’s away from the hustle and bustle of Bath and so is quiet at night. We selected all our accommodation online and booked through booking.com and have not had an issue so far. :)
You’re so much cooler than your brother :)
Haha...Shh, don’t tell him... :)
Hi Galen. We did the canal thing a few years ago. A few days is fine but any longer and you will go nuts. The beauty is they have so many stopping points and each one has a pub or a restaurant. Definitely relaxing and I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't experienced this before.
We’ll do it someday, probably our next vacation here. Looks like a nic e relaxing way to spend a few days.
A beautiful place to spend a good holiday thanks for sharing
Sure is, thanks for reading.
Wow, I wish I'd known about this when I was traveling the UK a few years so. I definitely remember seeing canals in London and Edinburgh, but I had no idea you could get around that much on them.
Hey @universeofdust, yes, they are mostly linked. Obviously the Scotland and Welsh one's not so much but in England one can pretty much get all over the canal network. It's pretty cool.
upvote for me please? https://steemit.com/news/@bible.com/6h36cq
I remember being amazed at the old locks in the UK when I saw one in Camden - there are some pretty cheap day trips available I think
Yes, there are some options available. We’re taking a little boat ride tomorrow actually. :)
Oh cool! Well enjoy 😊
I reckon we will :)
My wife says if I’m a good boy she’ll get me an ice cream too! :)
Haha! Ice cream bribery isn’t just for kids!
No, it works on 48 year olds too seemingly.
Ps. Vanilla is my weakness :)
Damn those are some extensive waterways! Thanks for explaining how the canal systems operate too. Love how you're not just sharing cool destinations but also explaining the finer points as you travel. All the best you two look forward to the next post.
It’s really an amazing network. I’m going to research them some more when I get back.
How flippen awesome man. See you're keeping the Faith, lol. I love traveling on water, just something so relaxing about it and with these canal's it is also slower which gives you a better view of of the countryside, I love it and again the photos are fantastic.
When are you guys in Finland?
We’re heading to Finland on the 12th July. A few more adventures to be had in England first!
Go team Auss. Bet you guys are super excited. I was to see my sister after many years and the meeting was very emotional.
I suddenly realise I didn't know when the canals were first built. For some reason I thought they been around longer. I guess I felt like they'd always been there!
I know the barges used to be pulled by horse, so there's always good headroom to walk next to them under bridges. It also took me about 20 years to find out that the reservoirs near my school were originally reservoirs for canals (no longer in existence) that were used for transporting the coal from the mines. I'd always wondered why they were called reservoirs when they didn't seem to be reserving the water for anything.
Fantastic photos, by the way. They capture the canals so well.