Dearne & Dove Canal
Once a busy, deep canal carrying coal from the South Yorkshire coalfield, the Dearne & Dove is now derelict but can still be easily traced.
Named after the river valleys it ran through, the Dearne & Dove Canal connected the River Don and the Sheffield waterways to Barnsley and the Yorkshire coalfield.
As well as the main line, there were branches to Worsborough and Elsecar. The canal closed in the early 1960s, and much has been lost since. However, the end of the Elsecar Branch has been restored, and the Barnsley Dearne & Dove Canals Trust is campaigning for more restoration.
At Swinton, where the canal joined the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation, the first half-mile of the canal has been colonised by Waddingtons Boatyard - one of the last redoubts of commercial carrying. Though not pretty, the location is worth a visit for anyone with an interest in canal freight.
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