Chris Tolley's "Photo Gallery

The canals contributed greatly to the increase of industrialisation in Britain. There was an extensive network all covering much of England, although some parts of the network were built with narrower locks, preventing the larger boats from passing. The heyday of canals in Britain was really the second half of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century, after which they lost out to the railways as long distance carriers. Nevertheless, canal transport did continue on a more local basis in some parts of the country until the 1980's, when decline of old industries meant the loss of customers. The canals which have survived are today used almost exclusively for leisure.

The pictures on this page were taken in and around Birmingham's Gas Street Basin in June and October 1996. It is an oft-quoted statistic that Birmingham has more miles of canal than Venice. It would be interesting to know the figures.

This page is a part of Chris Tolley's web-site. Latest update: Sunday, June 25, 2000 22:25
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