History of the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal

The Bridgwater & Taunton Canal skirts its way in splendid isolation around the base of the Quantock Hills for a little over 14 miles. Its tranquil seclusion belies the fact that it is one of very few sections to be built in a grandiose, but ultimately doomed, plan to link the Bristol and English Channels.

Nevertheless, the canal slotted neatly into Somerset's evolving, self-contained network of canals and river navigations: the rivers Parrett and Tone, the Chard Canal (now abandoned), and the Grand Western Canal, with its intriguing boat-lifts and inclined plane - mostly also abandoned.

Opened in 1827, the B&T met the River Parrett at Huntworth. A decade later, it finally reached the centre of Bridgwater. Its principal cargoes were coal and iron from across the channel in South Wales, with agricultural goods filling the boats on their return journeys.

By the turn of the 20th Century, commercial carrying on this rural waterway had all but ceased and the canal found a new role as a water supply. Access to the fiercely tidal Parrett was curtailed and during World War II swing bridges were secured in position for security purposes - so although the line contained water, it was not navigable by anything more than a canoe or dinghy.

The combined efforts of British Waterways, local enthusiasts, district councils and Somerset County Council achieved restoration of the Bridgwater & Taunton which reopened in 1994. Flora and fauna abound and the docks at Bridgwater have been enhanced. However, although the connection to the Parrett had been restored, it is currently closed in order to keep silt out of the canal at high tides.