Former industrial workhorses, canals now have a new lease of life

Thomas Telford is one of my great heroes - a Scottish shepherd’s son born in 1757 who was one of the first, and possibly the greatest, of a new breed of men who changed the face of Britain by criss-crossing it with canals, roads, railways, bridges, viaducts and aqueducts.

- John Craven

All were built to serve the demands of the new industrial revolution and more than 200 years later many are still going strong. But Telford, a visionary who turned his engineering dreams into reality, could never have imagined that the canals he and his fellow pioneers built to transport goods and raw materials would today be busier than ever and serving a totally different purpose.

Last year, around 450,000 holidaymakers went narrow-boating along the remaining 1,568 miles of canals that amble through stunning, peaceful rural landscapes and right into the heart of great cities.

According to a survey, they had a great time on board and a whopping 93% said they would recommend it to others. Nearly a fifth came from outside the UK and all the boaters gave a boost to local economies by using shops, pubs and cafés along the way.