Cool canals Guides & Waterways Directory

The 7 Wonders of the Waterways

Engineering marvels are a highlight of the canals.
It all boils down to how still waters were able to take boats where they were never meant to go. 18th-century canal builders at the height of Britain's Industrial Revolution were defiant against the wild contours of Britain. If the Pennines got in the way, tunnel through them, and if a river tried to stop the canal in its tracks, just fly over it. Then there were ridiculously steep hills to clamber up and down, and strange junctions to swing round.

Since then, the engine has been invented, we have landed on the moon, the internet has taken over our lives, yet the jaws of ordinary people still drop in awe at these great feats of canal engineering. Boat lifts, swing bridges, lock flights and staircases, tunnels and aqueducts - all operate today as they did two centuries ago, with no need for improvement.

Such ingenuity could scarcely be surpassed, even with the aid of 21st century technology. How canals travel formidably across any landscape has to be seen to be believed.

Robert Aickman, founder of the Inland Waterways' Association, drew up a list over fifty years ago of 'The Seven Wonders of the Waterways':

	Pontcysyllte Aqueduct See narrowboats flying through the sky on the UK's highest aqueduct Pontcysyllte >>		Anderton Boat Lift The 'cathedral' of the canals makes miracles happen... Anderton Lift >>
	Burnley Embankment The 'straight mile' carries the canal over the rooftops of Burnley Burnley Embankment >>		Bingley 5 Rise Unique 5-lock staircase to heaven (The Yorkshire Dales) Bingley 5 Rise >>
	Standedge Tunnel Three-mile tunnel through the Pennines, as if they weren't in the way at all! Standedge Tunnel >>		Caen Hill Flight A boater's nightmare - a long scramble uphill Caen Hill >>
	Barton Swing Aqueduct   A wow moment - when a canal full of water just swings out of the way Barton Swing >>		7 plus ...and there are more than just 7 wonders to see on the canals Falkirk Wheel >>

back to top