A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of bulk goods. Originally barges were towed by draft horses on an adjacent towpath. Barges have changed throughout time. From 1967 to 1983 barges were considered a flat bottom boat that was nineteen feet in length or larger. Today, barges may be self-propelled, usually with a slow-revving diesel engine and a large-diameter fixed-pitch propeller. Otherwise, "dumb barges" must be towed by tugs, or pushed by pusher boats. Compared to a towed barge, a pusher system has improved handling and is more efficient, as the pushing tug becomes "part of the unit" and it contributes to the momentum of the whole.
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Its main line starts in London and ends in Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles (220 km) with 166 locks. The main line has a number of short arms (branches) to places including Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover, and Northampton. A lengthy branch of the canal diverges to Leicester; the Leicester Line has two short arms of its own, to Market Harborough and Welford.
British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotland and Wales.
A narrowboat is a particular type of canal boat, built to fit the narrow locks of the United Kingdom. The UK's canal system provided a nationwide transport network during the Industrial Revolution, but with the advent of the railways, commercial canal traffic gradually diminished and the last regular long-distance transportation of goods had virtually disappeared by 1970. However, some commercial traffic continued. From the 1970s onward narrowboats were gradually being converted into permanent residences or as holiday lettings. Currently, about 8580 narrowboats are registered as 'permanent homes' on Britain's waterway system and represent a growing alternative community living on semi-permanent moorings or continuously cruising.
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a 93+1⁄2-mile (150 km) canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middlewich, it is a wide canal.
The canal network of the United Kingdom played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution. The UK was the first country to develop a nationwide canal network which, at its peak, expanded to nearly 4,000 miles in length. The canals allowed raw materials to be transported to a place of manufacture, and finished goods to be transported to consumers, more quickly and cheaply than by a land based route. The canal network was extensive and included feats of civil engineering such as the Anderton Boat Lift, the Manchester Ship Canal, the Worsley Navigable Levels and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
The Shropshire Union Canal, nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. The Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union (SU) system and lie partially in Wales.
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied 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 increasing in use, with abandoned and derelict canals being reopened, and the construction of some new routes. Canals in England and Wales are maintained by navigation authorities. The biggest navigation authorities are the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency, but other canals are managed by companies, local authorities or charitable trusts.
The Crick Boat Show & Waterways Festival is an event that has been held annually at Crick Marina in Northamptonshire, England, since its inception in 2000.
The Chester Canal Heritage Trust was started in 1997, to promote the canal in Chester, Cheshire, and educate about it. The canal was originally the Chester Canal, before becoming part of the Shropshire Union Canal network.
The Horseboating Society is a national society, with the primary aim being the preservation and promotion of Horseboating on the canals of Great Britain. The Society was founded on 19 January 2001 at the Ellesmere Port Boat Museum, and it is the only organisation in the UK solely dedicated to horseboating.
The Accessible Boating Association is a waterway society and a registered charity number 295034 in Hampshire, England.
The Peter Le Marchant Trust is a waterway society, a charitable trust and a registered charity number 273207, based in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, UK.
Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to the London Gazette and many are formally conferred by the monarch some time after the date of the announcement, particularly for those service people on active duty.
Hadar is a replica of a small Northwich narrowboat of the Star Class originally built for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company (GUCCCo.) by W.J. Yarwoods of Northwich. She was built by Roger Fuller Boatbuilders Ltd of Stone, Staffordshire, and completed in 2007, and painted by Tina Paramore.
The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as Glandŵr Cymru in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the Trust took over the responsibilities of the state-owned British Waterways.
President is a historic, steam-powered narrowboat, built in 1909 by Fellows Morton & Clayton (FMC) at their dock at Saltley, Birmingham, England. It is now owned by the Black Country Living Museum, where it is based. President is registered by National Historic Ships as part of the National Historic Fleet.
Whitchurch Waterways Country park is an open space to the west of the Shropshire town of Whitchurch. Opened in its current form in 2002, it is a recreation area and Green corridor that takes in a town park, Greenfields Nature Reserve, Staggs Brook and the Whitchurch Arm of the Llangollen Canal. The area is maintained by Whitchurch Town Council and owned by Whitchurch Waterway Trust. There are plans to extend the canal within the country park and create a basin for Narrowboat moorings.
A widebeam is a canal boat built in the style of a British narrowboat but with a beam of 2.16 metres or greater.
