Backwaters and bygones

These tranquil backwaters, ancient transport arteries and half-forgotten canals can be found the length and breadth of the country. Entirely derelict, partly in filled or earmarked for restoration, each quiet waterway is an important link with the past and a vital part of local identity. If you really want to get away from it all, leave the madding crowds on the Llangollen Canal and explore these ghosts of waterways past.

Aberdeenshire Canal
The Aberdeenshire Canal was one of Britain's most northerly waterways. Almost 20 miles long, the canal ran from the sea at Aberdeen to Inverurie, and was once busy with freight and passenger boats - in the summer, at least.
Faced with the threat of railway competition, the canny owners decided to make the most of their investment and sold the canal bed to the Great North of Scotland Railway. The canal was therefore closed in 1854 and a railway laid on much of its course.

Little survives today, save for some of the loops which the railway line cut off. The best place to look for remnants of the old canal is at Port Elphinstone - the canal basin in Inverurie. The terminus can clearly be seen beside the River Don, which separates the settlements of Port Elphinstone and Inverurie itself.

Coombe Hill Canal
This short three-mile barge canal was built for the traders of Cheltenham. Though it never reached the town, it made the journey to the River Severn significantly easier. The canal closed in 1876 after 80 years of operation, and is now a nature reserve.
(Coombe Hill Canal Nature Reserve - west of Coombe Hill on A38, six miles northeast of Gloucester)

Dorset & Somerset Canal
The Dorset & Somerset was intended to be a coast-to-coast canal from Poole to Bath, but never got further than eight miles around Frome. Its existence has been comprehensively documented by a local study group, who have unearthed details of a curious boat lift called a 'Balance Lock' which was built as a trial on the canal. An elegant aqueduct survives to this day.
(The Murty Aqueduct at Hapsford near Frome)

Leominster Canal
Work started in the 1790s on a 46-mile cross-country route that would link the Severn at Stourport, the quiet Herefordshire town of Leominster, and Kington in Shropshire. It would be hard to imagine a more rural waterway, or one less likely to succeed commercially.

Sure enough, the canal-builders ran out of money after just five years. Constructing the numerous tunnels required in this hilly country had proved above their abilities: Putnal Field Tunnel, though just 300 yards long, was built through difficult ground, while the 1200-yard Southnet Tunnel collapsed soon after construction had finished. An 18-mile, 16-lock section was complete, but with no connection to the inland system, its only trade was coal traffic from the mines at Mamble to Leominster. This struggled on for almost 60 years before a railway was built on part of the canal's course.

Today, you can discover two marvellous aqueducts along the route, one of which was partially blown up during World War II for explosives practice. The single-arched River Rea aqueduct is situated northeast of Newham and the (originally) 3-arched Teme Aqueduct still stands north of Gosford.

Rolle or Torrington Canal
This six-mile rural canal, from Torrington in Devon to the River Torridge near Bideford, has been closed since 1871 but is still notable for its attractive aqueduct which survives intact. The aqueduct was a popular local attraction in its day and inspired several etchings.
(Rolle Canal Aqueduct, near Torrington, Devon)

Royal Military Canal
One of the most spectacular follies of the waterway age, the Royal Military Canal stretches for 28 miles across the remote Romney Marsh.

Unlike most canals, this one wasn't built for navigation - it was built to obstruct Napoleon. The Government of the day was convinced this primitive moat would defeat the armies of invasion massing across the Channel.
But Napoleon never came, and the canal was belatedly turned into a commercial waterway. Today, it is a quiet channel running through the Kentish countryside, a secret known to only a few walkers and anglers.

The canal runs from Hythe to Iden Lock, near Rye. It then shares the course of the rivers Rother and Brede for a while, before resuming its own course for the final journey from Winchelsea to Cliff End. Between Appledore and Iden Lock, the Royal Military Canal has several low bridges and obstructions. A dam 800 metres south west of Appledore Bridge obstructs the canal, and Iden Lock itself is also closed.

Consequently, through navigation is not possible, and there is no access from the River Rother (East). However, if you are prepared to lift your canoe out of the water past the obstructions, canoeing is permitted all the way from Iden Lock to West Hythe. An Environment Agency licence is required. You can hire rowing boats at Hythe.

Other bygone waterways of interest, some of which are being considered for restoration, are:
Derby & Sandiacre Canal
Louth Navigation
Lydney Canal
Melton Mowbray Navigation
Pocklington Canal
Ulverston Canal