To those in the UK. Do you ever see narrow boaters? edit. pic of boat

a reply to: TinySickTears
It goes back to the eighteenth-century canal network that preceded the railway system.
Once the canals went out of use for business purposes, people began to think "Why don't we use this for recreation?"

a reply to: TinySickTears

Yeah, they are river/canal barges.

The canals themselves are a piece of history left over from the industrial revolution, basically we had a lot of rivers, a lot of flowing water. So the idea was to modify some rivers and make man-made ones to move raw resources such as coal and/or finished products.

The locks are used to hold back waters from higher land and and to raise/lower barges between lower or higher waterways kind of like an elevator.

The barges themselves can be real works of art, it's a good relaxing way to travel and enjoy our beautiful countryside, nothing is quite as special as viewing the country from a riverbank or waterway.

I live in the black country, one of the first areas changed or created by the industrial revolution amd they are all over, along with ruined and derelict works and hidden basins. They pretty much all fell into disrepair until the 70's when locals restored them.. there is a great programme on bbc iplayer about it, maybe "canals, the making of a nation"

In city centres too they have been restored and made a focal point for shops and bars, like in nearby Birmingham where its helped encourage regeneration.

They are like arteries of nature amongst decaying heavy industry by me and i love them. They are well used and many folk walk/cycle a longer route to work down them.

Very popular for holidays and rightly so and many do live on them, both posh and mega shabby. Known a few unconventional peeps who have lived that life, some for a long time. Canal side pubs are quite the wonder too..

you might like a tv show that is on uk tv with Timothy West and Prunella Scales (Basil Fawlty wife from Fawlty Towers)

www.imdb.com...

a reply to: skalla

Canal side pubs are awesome, one near me (on a river) have photos going back to the late 1800's and a few paintings of even earlier. Many of the waterways are gone now and the river's location where the pub is usually never gets deeper than a foot...

The pictures they have show a very different history, it's almost unbelievable how busy that stretch of river used to be, with the thousands of tonnes of coal moving down it daily. Now it's the most serene place I know of near me, holiday makers are never disappointed when I tell them where it is.

I might take a stroll up there on Sunday, it's a great little pub that just looks magical at sunset, the pub is 10 foot from the river and you could sit out front with a pint (or 4) for hours whilst forgetting the world and being mesmerised by the river's beauty.

The damage and rubbish that canals suffered in the past was disgusting, glad I was born in a time when we began to take care of these waterways, because they truly are beautiful and a major part of our history.

a reply to: Maxatoria

I'm originally from the Pottery's area. The Five Towns has seen quite a decline since its heyday but I know lots of those terraced streets from my youth. Both sets of grandparents worked on the pots at one time or another. One of my granmas worked there all her life. Painting the gold rims on top of cups and stuff.

My Mum used to tell me that when they were kids the barges would be nose to tail like a traffic jam by the loading bays. I walked for miles up and down the towpaths with family for a cheap day out with a pic nic. You see a totally different side to the city than when you drive around. You still know the canals there, though, all those hump backed bridges!

Oh, and the poster above who mentioned turning, there's turning points every so often where the canal widens into a rough semicircle or triangular kind of affair. The barges weren't that fast, either, so reversing was not much different to full speed ahead. There's lots of twinned locks, too, so waiting times were cut down and barges passed through one either side.

Very nostalgic thread this.

a reply to: TinySickTears

The boats 8ft wide or less are known as Narrow Boats, and the wider ones are Dutch Barges. Lot's were converted from industrial transport boats but there are many company's which manufacture them brand new. you can buy either just the boat shell or have it completely fitted out. Much like motor homes they vary from expensive luxury living, to do it yourself out of whatever you can salvage affairs. I'm fairly sure you need to register with British waterways and pay mooring fee's but unfortunately you can't get a mortgage for one.
I live not to far from the 5 locks canal, considered quite feet of engineering back in the day. As long as your in no rush to go anywhere there great I think.

a reply to: surfer_soul

She has one of the narrow ones.
It does seem like an awesome way to get around

All the time - I live in Stratford Upon Avon and the sight of a narrowboat making its way along the canal and negotiating locks or along the river is a daily occurrence.

a reply to: UKTruth

That's awesome.
How many miles of canals are there you think?

a reply to: RAY1990

We have a great pub alongside the river medway. All the barges dock there.

a reply to: TinySickTears

The picture below is of " Gas Street Basin " which is right in the centre of Birmingham ( England's Second City )

As you can see, The Basin is usually crowded with Narrow Boats, both those who live on them and people who are passing through the city and moor up for a period of time whilst on holiday.

a reply to: alldaylong

Do the boats only travel on 1 direction? Some of those canals seem so narrow I would thing 2 boats traveling towards each other would be a problem

a reply to: TinySickTears

In the UK?

About 2200 miles according to Google, some are connected to mild sections of rivers too.

originally posted by: TinySickTears
a reply to: alldaylong

Do the boats only travel on 1 direction? Some of those canals seem so narrow I would thing 2 boats traveling towards each other would be a problem

There are " Codes Of Conduct " and laws for the use of Britain's Canals.

Here is one for the " Grand Western Canal "

new.devon.gov.uk...

And one here for the " Grand Union Canal "

canalrivertrust.org.uk...

originally posted by: TinySickTears
a reply to: alldaylong

Do the boats only travel on 1 direction? Some of those canals seem so narrow I would thing 2 boats traveling towards each other would be a problem

Its a pinch in the odd spot here and there but for the most part there's plenty of room. There's also passing points and turning spots. Its only the locks that are tight fitting

There's some real cool engineering marvels, too. Not far from me is a boat lift that has a giant bath cradled in steel girders hat takes a barge from the canal and deposits it about 50ft downhill to the river Weaver. I've been in it.

As an interesting sidenote , the Speedwell mine has a floded section like a subterranean river where they assembled a barge underground for transporting miners. I'm not 100% certain but I think its a lead mine and I remember going on a trip there as a child. Not sure if you can go down there anymore, maybe someone could chip in if they know the one.

This is bringing back some great memories for me.



Oh, and if you google Anderton Boatlift you can see it in all its steely glory.

a reply to: crazyewok

They tend to be good pubs

I've always struggled to decide between a yacht or barge, maybe one day I'll be able to afford them both lol.

I always struggled at swimming, 4-5 years ago was my first time on water (other than large vessels, it was a canoe) I was honestly scared, it took me all of 5 seconds to realise I was made for this... Like a duck in water.

a reply to: TinySickTears

OK

The 2,000 -+ miles of canals in the UK are home to 'narrowboats' up to 7ft wide. I think two can pass within the width of a canal.

Most canal networks run across country and penetrate into the heart of major industrial cities like Manchester. Canals were used to transport goods in the 18/19 and early 20th century, then cars and trains took over.

Apart from tourism, the major economic use comes from the tow-path alongside the canal, which is rented out to telecoms companies who can run fibre cables city to city in, basically, straight lines.

This doesn't mean canals are dead however - check this link out which tells of a modern day canal boat lift. en.m.wikipedia.org...

I guess because narrow boats are so 'out of time' when you see them today they come shrink wrapped with a sense of calm and peace.

originally posted by: alldaylong
a reply to: TinySickTears

I always shudder when i see pictures like this of Birmingham with it's skyline dominated by all those monsterous minarets.

originally posted by: TinySickTears
a reply to: UKTruth

That's awesome.
How many miles of canals are there you think?

The Stratford Upon Avon canal runs for about 25 miles, but it has access to the Grand Union Canal, which connects cities from South through the midlands and then hooks up to further canals going north.