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1 Waterway restoration in the United Kingdom

Due to the construction of the railways and the style of construction of most UK canals, large parts of the UK's canal system were abandoned in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The system managed to avoid being completely abandoned due the rise of the leisure industry in the 1950's. The increasing use of canals for leisure purposes led to some people to consider restoring some of those that had been abandoned. At first, progress was slow due to the lack of funding, with most of the work having to be done by hand by volunteers.

As the leisure industry grew, the economic benefits of having a canal became more apparent and some state funding started to appear. At the same time public interest increased the size of various volunteer groups.

At the present time, canal restoration in the UK is carried out by a mixture of volunteers and professionals working on a large variety of projects.

2 Waterways under restoration

• Chesterfield Canal
• Liskeard and Looe Union Canal
• Thames and Severn Canal
• Grand Western Canal
• Hereford and Gloucester Canal
• Wey and Arun Canal
• Lancaster Canal
• Lichfield and Hatherton Canal
• Montgomery Canal
• Grantham CanalGrantham Canal is a canal that runs 33 miles from Grantham through 18 locks to West Bridgford where it joins the River Trent. It was built primerely to allow for the transportation of coal to Grantham. The first bill was put to Parliament in 1792 and was

3 Waterway restoration groups in the United Kingdom

• River Stour TrustThe River Stour Trust is a waterway restoration group on the River Stour, Suffolk. It was founded in 1968 and has, so far, restored the Gasworks Cut and the 19th century Granary Building which has become the headquarters for the Trust. Public trips are un, Suffolk, England

1 See also

• History of the British canal systemEarly history Evidence suggests that the first British canals were built in Roman times, often as irrigation canals or short connecting spurs between navigable rivers, such as Foss Dyke. See Roman Britain. A few canals were constructed over the following
• Waterways in the United KingdomWaterways in the United Kingdom is a link page for any river, canal, firth or estuary in the United Kingdom. Related topics: Waterway restoration, History of the British canal system, Transportation in the United Kingdom, Conservation in the United Kingdo

2 Related Links

• http://www.wrg.org.uk/ Waterway Recovery Group