Canal basin

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The canal basin at Brecon along the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal Brecon Canal Basin.JPG
The canal basin at Brecon along the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal

A canal basin is (particularly in the United Kingdom) an expanse of waterway alongside or at the end of a canal, and wider than the canal, constructed to allow boats to moor or unload cargo without impeding the progress of other traffic, and to allow room for turning, thus serving as a winding hole. For inland waterways, a basin may be thought of as a land-locked harbour. [1]

United Kingdom Country in Europe

The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but more commonly known as the UK or Britain, is a sovereign country lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state‍—‌the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

Waterway Any navigable body of water

A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary between maritime shipping routes and waterways used by inland water craft. Maritime shipping routes cross oceans and seas, and some lakes, where navigability is assumed, and no engineering is required, except to provide the draft for deep-sea shipping to approach seaports (channels), or to provide a short cut across an isthmus; this is the function of ship canals. Dredged channels in the sea are not usually described as waterways. There is an exception to this initial distinction, essentially for legal purposes, see under international waters.

Canal man-made channel for water

Canals, or navigations, are human-made channels, or artificial waterways, for water conveyance, or to service water transport vehicles.

Contents

A basin was often associated with wharves around its perimeter, to support commercial users. In modern times, canal basins are more usually used to moor residential and recreational narrowboats.

Wharf A structure on the shore of a harbor or on the bank of a river or canal where ships dock

A wharf, quay, staith or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbor or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths, and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships. Wharfs are often considered to be a series of docks in which boats are stationed.

Narrowboat type of English boat, designed to fit in narrow canals

A narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of the United Kingdom.

See also

A turning basin or swinging basin is a wider body of water, either located at the end of a ship canal or in a port to allow cargo ships to turn and reverse their direction of travel, or to enable long narrow barges in a canal to turn a sharp corner.

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Barge flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river, canal transport of heavy goods, usually pushed by tugboats

A barge is a flat-bottomed ship, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and must be towed or pushed by towboats, canal barges or towed by draft animals on an adjacent towpath. Barges contended with the railway in the early Industrial Revolution, but were outcompeted in the carriage of high-value items due to the higher speed, falling costs and route flexibility of railways.

Grand Union Canal part of the British canal system

The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line starts in London and ends in Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles (220 km) with 166 locks. It has arms to places including Leicester, Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover and Northampton.

History of the British canal system

The British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of packhorses were the only means of "mass" transit by road of raw materials and finished products. The UK was the first country to develop a nationwide canal network.

Worcester and Birmingham Canal

The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is 29 miles (47 km) long. There are 58 locks in total on the canal, including the 30 Tardebigge Locks, one of the largest lock flights in Europe. The canal climbs 428 feet (130 m) from Worcester to Birmingham.

Canals of the United Kingdom

The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role of recreational boating. Despite a period of abandonment, today the canal system in the United Kingdom is again in increasing use, with abandoned and derelict canals being reopened, and the construction of some new routes. Most canals in England and Wales are maintained by the Canal & River Trust, previously British Waterways, but a minority of canals are privately owned.

Pleasure craft boat used for personal, family, and sometimes sportsmanlike recreation

A pleasure craft is a boat used for personal, family, and sometimes sportsmanlike recreation. Such watercraft are divided into two main categories: motorboats and sailboats. There are also rowboats and canoes. They are used for holidays, for example on a river, lake, canal, waterway, in an archipelago or coastal area. Pleasure craft are normally kept at a marina. They may include accommodation for use while moored to the bank.

Pontymoile Basin

Pontymoile Basin is a mooring point and canal junction on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal.

Gas Street Basin

Gas Street Basin is a canal basin in the centre of Birmingham, England, where the Worcester and Birmingham Canal meets the BCN Main Line. It is located on Gas Street, off Broad Street, and between the Mailbox and Brindleyplace canal-side developments.

Manchester and Salford Junction Canal

The Manchester and Salford Junction Canal was a canal in the city of Manchester. It was originally built to provide a direct waterway between the Mersey and Irwell Navigation and the Rochdale Canal. The canal opened in 1839 and was abandoned in 1922.

Toll point

In the United Kingdom a toll point or toll island is a place on a canal where a fee was collected as boats carrying cargo passed. These were sited at strategic points such as the stop lock at the transition from one canal company to another where water transfer was a concern, or at busy locks where water usage and pumping costs were an issue.

Ripon Canal

The Ripon Canal is located in North Yorkshire, England. It was built by the canal engineer William Jessop to link the city of Ripon with the navigable section of the River Ure at Oxclose Lock, from where boats could reach York and Hull. It opened in 1773, and was a moderate success. It was sold to the Leeds and Thirsk Railway in 1847, and was effectively closed by 1906, due to neglect. It was not nationalised with most canals and railways in 1948, and was abandoned in 1956.

Winding hole widened area of a canal, used for turning

A winding hole is a widened area of a canal, used for turning a canal boat such as a narrowboat.

Whitchurch Waterway Trust

Whitchurch Waterway Trust is a registered charity that exists to promote the management and restoration of the Whitchurch Arm of the Llangollen Canal. It was formed in 1988, in response to plans by Whitchurch Town Council to bring the canal back into the town, as a way of promoting tourism.

City Road Basin

The City Road Basin is an English canal basin and part of the Regent's Canal in London, owned by the Canal & River Trust. It opened in 1820, and made a large contribution to the prosperity of the Regent's Canal. By the 1950s, its surroundings were largely derelict, but a programme of regeneration began in 2004, involving several large-scale residential developments, and public access to the basin was provided for the first time in 2009. The basin is used for canoeing by the Islington Boat Club.

The Wooden Canal Boat Society (WCBS) is a waterway society and a registered charity in England, UK, based at Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester. The Society started as the Wooden Canal Craft Trust in 1987, and by 1995 the Trust owned six boats; it was wound up in 1997, and its assets were handed over to the WCBS.

References

  1. Shorter Oxford Dictionary - Vol 1 - "basin"