World of the waterways

Examines the proliferation of Britain Canal Network - man made waterways which cross the country, linking towns, cities, and villages with the river system. After summarising the history of construction, ad noting how the canals were the pre-eminent mode of commercial transport from the 1750s to the rise of rail in the 1850s, the film moves on to look at the waterways today. The canals are predominantly used for leisure cruising, fishing etc but they still have commercial uses, both for bulk transport at a low price and for transporting water from the river system to top up reservoirs for domestic use.