Canals of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

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Canals of the United Kingdom

The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...

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The following list includes some systems that are navigable rivers with sections of canal (e.g. Aire and Calder Navigation) as well as "completely" artificial canals (e.g. Rochdale Canal).

Canals in England

This includes only canals that are currently open or being restored and are at least partly in England. See also Abandoned Canals. Click on the diamond to sort by any column.

Canal	Length	Locks	Max length (ft)	Width (ft)	Where	Year opened	Year abandoned	| Year restored
Aire and Calder Navigation Aire and Calder Navigation The Aire and Calder Navigation is a river and canal system of the River Aire and the River Calder in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. The first improvements to the rivers above Knottingley were completed in 1704 when the Aire was made navigable to Leeds and the Calder to...	34 mi (55 km)	12	200	20	NE	1704
Andover Canal Andover Canal The Andover Canal was a canal built in Hampshire, England. It ran from Andover to Redbridge through Stockbridge and Romsey. The canal had a fall of through 24 locks, and for much of its length paralleled the River Anton and River Test.-History:...	22 mi (35 km)	24	65	8.5	S	1794	1859
Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal The Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal is a long canal in England which connected the mining district around Moira, just outside the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, with the Coventry Canal at Bedworth in Warwickshire. It was opened in 1804, and a number of tramways were constructed at its northern end, to service...	22 mi (35 km)	0	72	7	M	1804	1918, 1966
Ashton Canal Ashton Canal The Ashton Canal is a canal built in Greater Manchester in North West England.-Route:The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie St. Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for through 18 locks, passing through Ancoats, Holt Town, Bradford-with-Beswick, Clayton, Openshaw, Droylsden,...	6 mi (10 km)	18	70	7	NW	1796	1961	1974
Barnsley Canal Barnsley Canal The Barnsley Canal is a canal that ran from Barnby Basin, through Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England to a junction with the Aire and Calder Navigation near Wakefield. It was long and included 15 locks. It was taken over by the Aire and Calder Navigation in 1854, and despite competition from the...	14.5 mi (23 km)	15	84	14	NW	1799	1893, 1946	in process
Basingstoke Canal Basingstoke Canal The Basingstoke Canal is a British Canal, completed in 1794, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation....	32 mi (51 km)	29	68	13	S	1794	1910	1991
Beverley Beck Beverley Beck Beverley Beck is a short canal in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The beck runs from Grovehill Lock on the River Hull at Beverley west for about into the town of Beverley. Until 1802, the beck was tidal, but the Beverley and Barmston drain needed to pass under it, and the lock was...	0.5 mi (0.80467 km)	1	65	17.5	NE	1744
Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal The Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal is a short canal connecting the Digbeth Branch of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal in the centre of Birmingham to the Warwick and Birmingham Canal. It was authorized in 1840 by Act of Parliament to relieve pressure on this connection to the Grand Junction...	2.5 mi (4 km)	6	70	7	M	1844
Birmingham Canal Navigations Birmingham Canal Navigations Birmingham Canal Navigations is a network of navigable canals connecting Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the eastern part of the Black Country...	29.8 mi (48 km)	34	70	7	M	1772-1794
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Birmingham and Fazeley Canal The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and thereby connect Birmingham to London via the Oxford Canal....	20.5 mi (33 km)	44	70	7	M	1789
Blyth Navigation Blyth Navigation The Blyth Navigation was a canal in Suffolk, England, running from Halesworth to the North Sea at Southwold. It opened in 1761, and was insolvent by 1884. Its demise was accelerated by an attempt to reclaim saltings at Blythburgh, which resulted in the estuary silting up...	7 mi (11 km)	6	50	14	EA	1761	1911
Bridgewater Canal Bridgewater Canal The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...	40 mi (64 km)	0	72	14.75	NW	1761
Bridgwater and Taunton Canal Bridgwater and Taunton Canal The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal is a canal in the south-west of England between Bridgwater and Taunton, opened in 1827 and linking the River Tone to the River Parrett. There were a number of abortive schemes to link the Bristol Channel to the English Channel by waterway in the 18th and early 19th... , Somerset	14.5 mi (23 km)	6	50	9.83	SW	1827	1907	1994
Bude Canal Bude Canal The Bude Canal was a canal built to serve the hilly hinterland in the Devon and Cornwall border territory in the United Kingdom, chiefly to bring lime-bearing sand for agricultural fertiliser. The Bude Canal system was one of the most unusual in Britain....	35 mi (56 km)	2	20	5.5	SW	1823	1891
Calder and Hebble Navigation Calder and Hebble Navigation The Calder and Hebble Navigation is a Broad inland waterway in West Yorkshire, England, which has remained navigable since it was opened.-History:...	21.5 mi (35 km)	38	55	14	NE	1794
Caldon Canal Caldon Canal The Caldon Canal , opened in 1779, runs 18 miles from Etruria, in Stoke-on-Trent where it leaves the Trent and Mersey Canal at the summit level, to Froghall, Staffordshire...	18 mi (29 km)	17	72	7	NM	1779
Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation The Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation is the canalisation of the Rivers Chelmer and Blackwater in Essex, in the east of England. The navigation runs for from Springfield Basin in Chelmsford to the sea lock at Heybridge Basin near Maldon. It was opened in 1797, and remained under the control of...	13.8 mi (22 km)	13	60	16	EA	1797
Chesterfield Canal Chesterfield Canal The Chesterfield Canal is in the north of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was opened in 1777 and ran 46 miles from the River Trent at West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield, Derbyshire...	45.5 mi (73 km), now 31.5 mi (51 km)	62	72	7	NE	1777	1907 part
Chichester Canal Chichester Canal The Chichester Canal is a navigable canal in England. It runs from the sea at Birdham Chichester Harbour to Chichester through two locks. The canal was opened in 1822 having taken three years to build. When completed the canal could take ships of up to 100 tons...	4.5 mi (7 km)	3	85	18	S	1822	1906
Coventry Canal Coventry Canal The Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England.It starts in Coventry and ends 38 miles north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal...	32.5 mi (52 km)	13	72	7	M	1769, 1788
Dearne and Dove Canal Dearne and Dove Canal The Dearne and Dove Canal ran for almost ten miles through South Yorkshire, England from Swinton to Barnsley through nineteen locks, rising 127 yards. The canal also had two short branches, the Worsbrough branch and the Elsecar branch, both about two miles long with reservoirs at the head of each....	9.8 mi (16 km)	19	58	14.83	NE	1804	1961
Derby Canal Derby Canal The Derby Canal ran from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone to Derby and Little Eaton, and to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre, Derbyshire, England. The canal gained its Act of Parliament in 1793 and was fully completed in 1796...	14 mi (23 km)	17	72	14	NE	1796
Derby and Sandiacre Canal Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust The Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust is a waterway society, a charitable trust no. 1042227, registered November 21, 1994, and a registered company No...	14.5 mi (23 km)	9	72	14	NE	1793	1964
Digbeth Branch Canal Digbeth Branch Canal The Digbeth Branch Canal in Birmingham, England is a short canal which links the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Aston Junction and the Grand Union Canal at Digbeth Junction in Digbeth....	1.25 mi (2 km)	6	72	7	M	1799
Driffield Navigation Driffield Navigation The Driffield Navigation is an waterway, through the heart of the Holderness Plain to the market town of Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The northern section of it is a canal, and the southern section is part of the River Hull. Construction was authorised in 1767, and it was fully... , East Yorkshire	11 mi (18 km)	6	61	14.5	NE	1767	1955 (part)
Droitwich Canal Droitwich Canal The Droitwich Canal is a synthesis of two canals in Worcestershire, England; the Droitwich Barge Canal and the Droitwich Junction Canal. The Barge Canal is a broad canal which opened in 1771 linking Droitwich Spa to the River Severn at Hawford Mill, Claines...	7.3 mi (12 km)	15	71.5	7.08	M	1771,1854	1939
Dudley Canal Dudley Canal The Dudley Canal is a canal passing though Dudley in the West Midlands of England. The canal is part of the English and Welsh connected network of navigable inland waterways, and in particular forms part of the popular Stourport Ring narrowboat cruising route....	10.3 mi (17 km)				M	1770,1792	1948	1973 (part)
Erewash Canal Erewash Canal The Erewash Canal is a broad canal in Derbyshire, England. It runs just under and has 14 locks. The first lock at Langley Bridge is actually part of the Cromford Canal.-Origins:...	11.8 mi (19 km)	14	78	12.5	NE	1779	1962 (part)
Exeter Canal Exeter Canal The Exeter Ship Canal, sometimes just called the Exeter Canal, downstream of Exeter, Devon, England was built in the 1560s which means it pre-dates the "canal mania" period and is one of the oldest artificial waterways in the UK.-History:...	5.2 mi (8 km)	2	122	26.25	SW	1563
Fairbottom Branch Canal Fairbottom Branch Canal The Fairbottom Branch Canal was a canal near Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester, England.-Route:The canal left the Hollinwood Branch Canal at Fairbottom Junction immediately above lock 22. It was just over one mile long and it was lock free...	1 mi (2 km)	0			NW	1792	1932
Foss Dyke Foss Dyke The Foss Dyke, or Fossdyke, connects the River Trent at Torksey to Lincoln, the county town of Lincolnshire, and may be the oldest canal in England that is still in use. It is usually thought to have been built around 120 AD by the Romans, but there is no consensus among authors...	11.3 mi (18 km)	1	74.5	15.17	E	1121
Gloucester and Sharpness Canal Gloucester and Sharpness Canal The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal or Gloucester and Berkeley Canal is a canal in the west of England, between Gloucester and Sharpness; for much of its length it runs close to the tidal River Severn, but cuts off a significant loop in the river, at a once-dangerous bend near Arlingham...	16.5 mi (27 km)	2	240	30	SW	1826
Grand Junction Canal Grand Junction Canal The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-passing the upper reaches of the River Thames near Oxford...	129.4 mi (208 km)	90	72	14, 7	M	1800,1805
Grand Union Canal Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...	286.3 mi (461 km)	236	72	14	M	1927
Grand Union Canal (old) Grand Union Canal (old) The Grand Union Canal was a canal in England from Foxton, Leicestershire on the Leicester and Northampton canal to Buckby on the Grand Junction Canal...	24.3 mi (39 km)	17	72	7	EM	1814
Grand Western Canal Grand Western Canal The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal, bypassing Lands End...	10.5 mi (17 km)	0			SW	1838
Grantham Canal Grantham Canal The Grantham Canal is a canal that runs for 33 miles from Grantham, falling through 18 locks to West Bridgford where it joins the River Trent. It was built primarily to allow for the transportation of coal to Grantham. It opened in 1797, and its profitability steadily increased until 1841...	33 mi (53 km)	18	75	14	NE	1797	1936
Hatherton Canal Hatherton Canal The Hatherton Canal is a derelict branch of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal in south Staffordshire, England. It was constructed in two phases, the first section opening in 1841 and connecting the main line to Churchbridge, from where a tramway connected to the Great Wyrley coal mines...	4 mi (6 km)	8	70	7	NM	1860	1955
Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal is a canal in the west of England, which ran from Hereford, the county town of Herefordshire to Gloucester the county town of Gloucestershire, where it linked to the River Severn...	34 mi (55 km)	22	70	7	W	1798,1845	1881
Hertford Union Canal Hertford Union Canal The Hertford Union Canal or Duckett's Canal is a short stretch of canal in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. It connects the Regent's Canal to the Lee Navigation. It was opened in 1830 but quickly proved to be a commercial failure...	1.3 mi (2 km)	3	78	14.5	SE	1830
Hollinwood Branch Canal Hollinwood Branch Canal The Hollinwood Branch Canal was a canal near Hollinwood, in Oldham, England. It left the main line of the Ashton Canal at Fairfield Junction immediately above lock 18. It was just over long and went through...	4.5 mi (7 km)	4	70	7	NW	1792	1932
Huddersfield Broad Canal Huddersfield Broad Canal The Huddersfield Broad Canal is a wide-locked navigable canal in Yorkshire in northern England.The waterway is 3¾ miles long and has 9 wide locks...	3.8 mi (6 km)	9	57.5	14.17	NE	1780
Huddersfield Narrow Canal Huddersfield Narrow Canal The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under from Lock 1E at the rear of the University of Huddersfield campus, near Aspley Basin at Huddersfield to the junction with the Ashton Canal at Whitelands Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne...	19.9 mi (32 km)	74	70	7	NE	1811
Ipswich and Stowmarket Navigation	15.9 mi (26 km)	15	55	14	EA	1793	1934
Islington Branch Canal Islington Branch Canal The Islington Branch Canal was a short canal branch at Ancoats in north-west England, which joined the main line of the Ashton Canal between locks 1 and 2.-History:...	0.6 mi (0.965604 km)	0			NW	1801	1952
Kennet and Avon Canal Kennet and Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section...	86.5 mi (139 km)	106	70	12.5	SW	1727,1810	(1950)	1990
Lancaster Canal Lancaster Canal The Lancaster Canal is a canal in the north of England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria...	60.9 mi (98 km)	14	72	14.5	NW	1797, 1825	1955	2002 (part)
Leeds and Liverpool Canal Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...	142.6 mi (229 km)	105	62	14	NE,NW	1816
Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal The Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal is a canal in England that is now part of the Grand Union Canal.It was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1793 to connect Leicester to the Nene near Northampton and to join the projected line of the Grand Junction Canal but by 1809 the canal...	48 mi (77 km)	22	72	13	EM	1807
Lichfield Canal Lichfield Canal The Lichfield Canal, as it is now known, was historically a part of the Wyrley and Essington Canal, being the section of that canal from Ogley Junction at Brownhills on the northern Birmingham Canal Navigations to Huddlesford Junction, east of Lichfield, on the Coventry Canal, a length of 7 miles...	7 mi (11 km)	30	70	7	M	1797	1955
Limehouse Cut Limehouse Cut The Limehouse Cut is a straight, broad canal in the East End of London, which linked the lower reaches of the River Lee Navigation to the River Thames...	2 mi (3 km)	0	88	19	SE	1766
Llangollen Canal Llangollen Canal The Llangollen Canal is a navigable canal crossing the border between England and Wales. The waterway links Llangollen in Denbighshire, north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere, Shropshire....	46.3 mi (75 km)	21	70’	6.83	W	1808
Louth Navigation Louth Navigation The Louth Navigation was a canalisation of the River Lud. It ran 11 miles from Louth to Tetney in Lincolnshire, England, through 8 locks.-Construction:...	11.8 mi (19 km)	8	72	15	NE	1770	1924
Lydney Canal	1 mi (2 km)	1	100	24	SW	1821	1977	2005 (part)
Macclesfield Canal Macclesfield Canal The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England, one of the six that make up the Cheshire Ring.-Route:The canal runs from Marple Junction at Marple, where it joins the Upper Peak Forest Canal, , southwards , before arriving at Bosley.Having descended the 12 Bosley Locks over the course...	26.3 mi (42 km)	13	70	7	NW	1831
Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal	12.9 mi (21 km)	17	68	14.17	NW	1797,1808	1941,1961
Manchester Ship Canal Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...	37.4 mi (60 km)	5	600	65	NW	1894
Market Weighton Canal Market Weighton Canal The Market Weighton canal ran from the Humber estuary to its terminus near Market Weighton. It gained its Act of Parliament in 1772 and opened in 1782. The closest to Market Weighton was abandoned in 1900 and the right of navigation through Weighton lock was lost in 1971...	9.5 mi (15 km)	1	70	14.83	NE	1782	1971
Melton Mowbray Navigation Melton Mowbray Navigation The Melton Mowbray Navigation was formed when the River Wreake in Leicestershire, England, was made navigable upstream from its junction with the River Soar and the Leicester Navigation near Syston to Melton Mowbray, opening in 1797...	11 mi (18 km)	12			EM	1797	1877
Middle Level Navigations Middle Level Navigations The Middle Level Navigations are a network of waterways in England, primarily used for land drainage, between the Rivers Nene and Great Ouse, between Peterborough and Cambridge.- History :...	90 mi (145 km)	7	80	11	E	1608-1832
Montgomery Canal Montgomery Canal The Montgomery Canal , known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in Powys, in eastern Wales, and in northwest Shropshire, in western England...	33 mi (53 km)	24	70	6.83	W	1821	1944	1996 (part)
New Junction Canal New Junction Canal The New Junction Canal is a canal in South Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation , although it was jointly funded by the Aire and Calder Navigation, and was opened in 1905. It links the River Don Navigation and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal with the Aire...	5.5 mi (9 km)	1	215	22.5	NE	1905
North Walsham & Dilham Canal North Walsham & Dilham Canal The North Walsham and Dilham Canal is a waterway in the English county of Norfolk. It is accepted officially that this waterway is the only canal in Norfolk although it is the canalization of the upper reaches of the River Ant. This navigation was constructed with locks a little wider than most...	7.3 mi (12 km)	4	50	12.33	EA	1826	1927 (part)
Nottingham Canal Nottingham Canal The Nottingham Canal was a long canal between Langley Mill in Derbyshire and Nottingham, England. It opened in 1796, and most of it was closed in 1937. The southern section is now part of the River Trent Navigation, and the northern section is a nature reserve.-Origins:The idea for the canal first...	14.7 mi (24 km)	18	81	14.5	NE	1796	1937 (part)
Oxford Canal Oxford Canal The Oxford Canal is a narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and Rugby. It connects with the River Thames at Oxford, to the Grand Union Canal at the villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill, and to the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction in Bedworth just...	78 mi (126 km)	43	70	6.83	M	1774, 1790
Peak Forest Canal Peak Forest Canal The Peak Forest Canal, is a narrow locked artificial waterway in northern England. It is long and forms part of the connected English/Welsh inland waterway network.-General description:...	14.8 mi (24 km)	16	70	7	NW	1805	1960	1974
Pocklington Canal Pocklington Canal The Pocklington Canal is a broad canal which runs for through nine locks from the Canal Head near Pocklington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, to the River Derwent which it joins near East Cottingwith...	9.5 mi (15 km)	9	57	14.25	NE	1818	1932
Regent's Canal Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London....	8.6 mi (14 km)	13	72	14.5	SE	1820
Ribble Link Ribble Link The Millennium Ribble Link is a Linear Water Park and new navigation which links the once-isolated Lancaster Canal in Lancashire, England to the River Ribble...	3 mi (5 km)	9	62	10.5	NW	2002
Ripon Canal Ripon Canal The Ripon Canal is located in North Yorkshire, England. It was built by the canal engineer William Jessop to link the city of Ripon with the navigable section of the River Ure at Oxclose lock, from where boats could reach York and Hull. It opened in 1773, and was a moderate success. It was sold to...	2.5 mi (4 km)	3	57	14.25	NE	1773	1906	1996
River Soar Navigation River Soar The River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...	21.9 mi (35 km)	18	72	13	EM	1794
River Lee Navigation River Lee Navigation The Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating the River Lea . Its course runs from Hertford Castle Weir all the way to the River Thames at Bow Creek. The first lock of the navigation is Hertford Lock the last being Bow Locks....	29.1 mi (47 km)	22	85	16	SE	1577, 1769
Rochdale Canal Rochdale Canal The Rochdale Canal is a navigable "broad" canal in northern England, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. The "Rochdale" in its name refers to the town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, through which the canal passes....	32 mi (51 km)	91	74	14.17	NW	1800
Royal Military Canal Royal Military Canal The Royal Military Canal is a canal running for 28 miles between Seabrook near Folkestone and Cliff End near Hastings, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh.-Construction:...	19 mi (31 km)	0			SE	1804
Sankey Canal Sankey Canal The Sankey Canal, which is also known as the Sankey Brook Navigation and the St Helens Canal, is a canal in Cheshire, extending into Merseyside, in the northwest of England, connecting St Helens with the River Mersey...	15.2 mi (24 km)	11	72	13.83	NW	1757	1963
Selby Canal Selby Canal The Selby Canal is a canal with 2 locks which bypasses the lower reaches of the River Aire in Yorkshire, England, from the village of West Haddlesey to the town of Selby where it joins the River Ouse. It opened in 1778, and provided the main outlet for the Aire and Calder Navigation until 1826,...	6 mi (10 km)	2	78.5	16.5	NE	1776
Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation is a system of navigable inland waterways in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England....	28 mi (45 km)	24	61.5	15.25	NE	1802
Shrewsbury Canal Shrewsbury Canal The Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 1835, when the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal built the Newport Branch from...	25 mi (40 km)	34	81	7	W	1797	1944
Shropshire Union Canal Shropshire Union Canal The Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England; the Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union system and lie partially in Wales....	76.5 mi (123 km)	51	72	7	NM	1835
Sleaford Navigation Sleaford Navigation The Sleaford Navigation was a canalisation of the River Slea in Lincolnshire, England, which opened in 1794. It ran from a junction with the River Witham, near Chapel Hill to the town of Sleaford through seven locks, most of which were adjacent to mills. Lack of finance meant that it stopped short...	12.5 mi (20 km)	7	70	15	NE	1794	1940
Somerset Coal Canal Somerset Coal Canal The Somerset Coal Canal was a narrow canal in England, built around 1800 from basins at Paulton and Timsbury via Camerton, an aqueduct at Dunkerton, Combe Hay, Midford and Monkton Combe to Limpley Stoke where it joined the Kennet and Avon Canal...	18 mi (29 km)				SW	1802	1898	1986 (part)
Southwick Ship Canal Southwick Ship Canal The Southwick Ship Canal or Southwick Canal is a canal in Southwick England that branches off from the estuary of the River Adur near Hove. The canal is 1.75 miles in length, running east-weat and parallel with the shoreline, providing facilities to the port of Shoreham...	1.75 mi (2.8 km)	1	240	40	SE	1855
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a narrow navigable canal in the English Midlands, passing through the counties of Staffordshire and Worcestershire....	46.1 mi (74 km)	43	70	7	NM	1772
Stainforth and Keadby Canal Stainforth and Keadby Canal The Stainforth and Keadby Canal is a navigable canal in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England. It connects the River Don Navigation at Bramwith to the River Trent at Keadby, by way of Stainforth, Thorne and Ealand, near Crowle.-History:...	14.9 mi (24 km)	3	61.67	17	NE	1802
Stockport Branch Canal Stockport Branch Canal The Stockport Branch Canal was a 5 mile branch of the Ashton Canal from Clayton to Stockport-Route:The canal left the main line of the Ashton Canal at Stockport Junction , between locks 10 and 11 at Clayton, and it terminated at Stockport Basin just beyond the top of Lancashire Hill...	4.9 mi (8 km)	0			NW	1797	1962
Stort Navigation Stort Navigation The Stort Navigation is the canalised section of the River Stort running from the town of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire downstream to its confluence with the River Lee Navigation at Feildes Weir near Rye House, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.-History:...	13.8 mi (22 km)	15	86	13.25	SE	1769
Stourbridge Canal Stourbridge Canal The Stourbridge Canal is a canal in the West Midlands of England. It links the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal with the Dudley Canal, and hence, via the Birmingham Canal Navigations, to Birmingham and the Black Country.-History:The Stourbridge and Dudley canals were originally proposed as a...	7.8 mi (13 km)	21	70	7	M	1779
Stratford-upon-Avon Canal Stratford-upon-Avon Canal The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is a canal in the south Midlands of England.The canal, which was built between 1793 and 1816, runs for in total, and consists of two sections. The dividing line is at Kingswood Junction, which gives access to the Grand Union Canal...	25.5 mi (41 km)	56	70	7	M	1802, 1816
Stroudwater Canal	8 mi (13 km)	13	70	15.5	SW	1779
Tame Valley Canal Tame Valley Canal The Tame Valley Canal is a relatively late canal in the West Midlands of England. It forms part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. It takes its name from the roughly-parallel River Tame.-Geography:...	8.5 mi (14 km)	13	72	7	M	1844
Thames and Medway Canal Thames and Medway Canal The Thames and Medway Canal is a disused canal in Kent, south east England, also known as the Gravesend and Rochester Canal. It was originally some long and cut across the neck of the Hoo peninsula, linking the River Thames at Gravesend with the River Medway at Strood...	6.5 mi (10 km)	1	24.5	6.5	SE	1824	1935
Thames and Severn Canal Thames and Severn Canal The Thames and Severn Canal is a canal in Gloucestershire in the south of England, which was completed in 1789. It was conceived as part of a canal route from Bristol to London. At its eastern end, it connects to the River Thames at Inglesham Lock near Lechlade, while at its western end, it...	28.8 mi (46 km)	44	74	12.75	SW	1789	1933
Trent and Mersey Canal Trent and Mersey Canal The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....	93.4 mi (150 km)	76	72	7	NE	1777
Uttoxeter Canal Uttoxeter Canal The Uttoxeter Canal was a thirteen-mile extension of the Caldon Canal running from Froghall as far as Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, England. It was authorised in 1797, but did not open until 1811. With the exception of the first lock and basin at Froghall, it closed in 1849, in order that the...	13 mi (21 km)	19			NM	1811	1849	2005 (part)
Walsall Canal Walsall Canal The Walsall Canal is a narrow canal, seven miles long, forming part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, and passing around the western side of Walsall, West Midlands, England.-Route:...	9.6 mi (15 km)	16	72	7	M	1785-1841
Wardle Canal Wardle Canal The Wardle canal is the shortest canal in the UK at .-Description:The canal lies in Middlewich, Cheshire, UK, and connects the Trent and Mersey Canal to the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal, terminating with a single lock known as Wardle Lock...	0.1 mi (0.160934 km)	1			NM	1829
Warwick and Napton Canal	14.2 mi (23 km)	25	72	7	M	1794
Warwick and Birmingham Canal	24.3 mi (39 km)	28	70	7	M	1794
Wednesbury Old Canal Wednesbury Old Canal Wednesbury Old Canal is part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in West Midlands , England.Wednesbury Old Canal leaves the main line Birmingham level at Pudding Green Junction and passes through a completely industrial landscape. At Ryders Green Junction the Walsall Canal begins its descent down...	4.4 mi (7 km)	3	70	7	M	1769	1955 (part)
Wey and Arun Junction Canal	23 mi (37 km)	26	68	11.5	S	1816	1871
Wey and Godalming Navigations Wey and Godalming Navigations The Wey and Godalming Navigations is the name given to the navigable parts of the River Wey, in Surrey, UK. The navigation runs for around between the River Thames below Shepperton Lock near Weybridge, to the south-west of London, and the centre of Godalming, in Surrey; it runs through Guildford...	19.5 mi (31 km)	16	72	13.83	S	1651, 1760
Wilts and Berks Canal Wilts and Berks Canal The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington, near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a branch to the Thames and Severn Canal at Latton near...	52.5 mi (84 km)	42	72	7	SW	1810	1914	1995 (part)
Worcester and Birmingham Canal Worcester and Birmingham Canal The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long....	30 mi (48 km)	58	71.5	7	M	1815
Wyrley and Essington Canal Wyrley and Essington Canal The Wyrley and Essington Canal, known locally as "the Curly Wyrley", is a canal in the English Midlands. As built it ran from Wolverhampton to Huddlesford Junction near Lichfield, with a number of branches: some parts are currently derelict...	23.5 mi (38 km)	39	70	7	M	1797	1900 (part)

Canals in Northern Ireland

Canal	Length (miles)	Locks	Year opened	Year abandoned	| Year restored
Broharris Canal Broharris Canal The Broharris Canal is a canal situated in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It was constructed in the 1820s when a cut, some 3.2 km long on the south shore of Lough Foyle near Ballykelly was made in the direction of Limavady...	2		1820
Coalisland Canal Coalisland Canal Coalisland Canal is a canal in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland and is about long. Construction of the canal began in 1733, but progress was slow and it was not officially opened until 1787. The canal was built to reduce the cost of transporting coal from the Tyrone coalfields to Dublin...	7.2	7	1787	1954
Dukart's Canal Dukart's Canal Dukart's Canal was built to provide transport for coal from the Drumglass Colleries to the Coalisland Canal, in Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It opened in 1777, and used three inclined planes, rather than locks, to cope with changes in level...		3	1777	1787
Lagan Canal	27	27	1802	1958
Newry Canal Newry Canal The Newry Canal, located in Northern Ireland, was built to link the Tyrone coalfields to the Irish Sea at Carlingford Lough near Newry.-History:...	21	12	1742	1938
Shannon-Erne Waterway Shannon-Erne Waterway The Shannon-Erne Waterway is a canal linking the River Shannon in the Republic of Ireland with the River Erne in Northern Ireland. Managed by Waterways Ireland, the canal is in length, has sixteen locks and runs from Leitrim village in County Leitrim to Upper Lough Erne in County Fermanagh...	39	16	1780	1948	1994
Strabane Canal Strabane Canal Strabane Canal is a canal in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. In 1791 an Act was passed authorising the construction of a 6.4 km canal from the tidal waters of Lough Foyle at Leck, some 16 km upstream from Derry, to Strabane. It only had two locks, called 'Crampsies' and 'Devines'...	4	2	1792	1962
Ulster Canal Ulster Canal The Ulster Canal is a disused canal running through part of County Armagh, County Tyrone and County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland...	46	26	1842	1931

Canals in Scotland

Canal	Length (miles)	Locks	Max length (ft)	Width (ft)	Year opened	Year abandoned	| Year restored
Aberdeenshire Canal Aberdeenshire Canal The Aberdeenshire Canal was a waterway in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, designed by John Rennie, which ran from the port of Aberdeen to Port Elphinstone, Inverurie...	18	18			1805	1854
Buchan Canal
Caledonian Canal Caledonian Canal The Caledonian Canal is a canal in Scotland that connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William. It was constructed in the early nineteenth century by engineer Thomas Telford, and is a sister canal of the Göta Canal in Sweden, also constructed by...	62	29	150	35	1822
Crinan Canal Crinan Canal The Crinan canal is a canal in the west of Scotland. It takes its name from the village of Crinan at its westerly end. Nine miles long, it connects the village of Ardrishaig on Loch Gilp with the Sound of Jura, providing a navigable route between the Clyde and the Inner Hebrides, without the need...	9	15	86.75	19.65	1817
Dingwall Canal Dingwall Canal The Dingwall Canal was a short tidal canal running from the town of Dingwall to the Cromarty Firth in the county of Ross and Cromarty, Scotland...	1.1	0			1816	1840
Forth and Clyde Canal Forth and Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal crosses Scotland, providing a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. The canal is 35 miles long and its eastern end is connected to the River Forth by a short stretch of the River...	35	38	68.58	19.75	1790	1963	2002
Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone Canal Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone Canal The Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal was a canal in the west of Scotland, running between Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone which later became a railway. Despite the name, the canal was never completed down to Ardrossan, the termini being Port Eglinton in Glasgow and Thorn Brae in Johnstone...	11	0			1811	1881
Monkland Canal Monkland Canal The Monkland Canal was a 12.25-mile canal which connected the coal mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. It was opened in 1794, and included a steam-powered inclined plane at Blackhill. It was abandoned for navigation in 1942, but its culverted remains still supply water to the Forth...	12.25	18	71	14	1794	1942
Union Canal Union Canal (Scotland) The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal.-Location and features:...	31.5	3	63	12.5	1822	1930	2000

Canals in Wales

Canal	Length (miles)	Locks	Max length (ft)	Width (ft)	Year opened	Year abandoned	| Year restored
Aberdare Canal Aberdare Canal The Aberdare Canal was a canal in Glamorganshire, Wales which ran from Aberdare to a junction with the Glamorganshire Canal at Abercynon. It opened in 1812, and served the iron and coal industries for nearly 65 years...	6.75	2			1812	1900
Glamorganshire Canal Glamorganshire Canal The Glamorganshire Canal was a canal in south Wales, UK, running from Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff. Construction started in 1790, and the 25 miles of canal was fully opened by 1794. Its primary purpose was to enable the Merthyr iron industries to transport their goods, and it later served the coal...	25	52			1798	1898, 1942
Kidwelly and Llanelly Canal	18	8			1768, 1837	1865
Llangollen Canal Llangollen Canal The Llangollen Canal is a navigable canal crossing the border between England and Wales. The waterway links Llangollen in Denbighshire, north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere, Shropshire....	46.3	21	70	6.83	1808
Monmouthshire, Brecon and Abergavenny Canal	35	48	63	9.17	1796	1962	1970
Montgomery Canal Montgomery Canal The Montgomery Canal , known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in Powys, in eastern Wales, and in northwest Shropshire, in western England...	33	24	70	6.83	1821	1944	1996 (part)
Neath and Tennant Canal Neath and Tennant Canal The Neath and Tennant Canals are two independent but linked canals in South Wales that are usually regarded as a single canal. The Neath Canal was opened from Glynneath to Melincryddan, to the south of Neath, in 1795 and extended to Giants Grave in 1799, in order to provide better shipping...	21.5	21	60	9	1795, 1824	1934	1990 (part)
Swansea Canal Swansea Canal The Swansea Canal was a canal constructed by the Swansea Canal Navigation Company between 1794 and 1798, running for some from Swansea to Hen Neuadd, Abercraf in South Wales. It was steeply graded, and 36 locks were needed to enable it to rise over its length...	16.5	36	65	7.5	1798	1931

Abandoned or unnavigable canals in England

Canal	County	Length (miles)	Locks	Opened	Closed
Andover Canal Andover Canal The Andover Canal was a canal built in Hampshire, England. It ran from Andover to Redbridge through Stockbridge and Romsey. The canal had a fall of through 24 locks, and for much of its length paralleled the River Anton and River Test.-History:...	Hampshire	22	24	1794	1859
Arbury Canals Arbury Canals The Arbury Canals were a system of private canals, in the Arbury Estate, between Nuneaton and Bedworth in Warwickshire, England. They connected with the Coventry Canal. They were built by Sir Roger Newdigate between 1764 and 1795, and ceased to be used soon after his death in 1806...	Warwickshire	6	13	1786	1819, 1973
Baybridge Canal Baybridge Canal The Baybridge Canal was a short canal built entirely within the parish of West Grinstead in the English county of Sussex. It opened in 1826, and closed in 1875.-History:...	Sussex	3.5	2	1826	1875
Beaumont Cut Beaumont Cut Beaumont Cut was a long canal linking Beaumont Quay, in the parish of Beaumont-cum-Moze, Tendring, Essex, England, with Hamford Water and the North Sea...	Essex	0.6	0	1832	1932
Bentley Canal Bentley Canal The Bentley Canal is an abandoned canal that was part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. A very short section still exists where it joins the Wyrley and Essington Canal in Wolverhampton...	Warwickshire	3.4	10	1845	1953
Bradford Canal Bradford Canal The Bradford Canal was a English canal which ran from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Shipley into the centre of Bradford. It opened in 1774, and was closed in 1866, when it was declared to be a public health hazard. Four years later it reopened with a better water supply, and closed for the...	West Yorkshire	3.5	10	1774	1922
Black Bear Canal	Cheshire	8		1804	1965
Caistor Canal Caistor Canal The Caistor Canal was a 4-mile canal in Lincolnshire, England, constructed between 1793 and 1798. It fell into disuse sometime after 1850 and was legally abandoned in 1936. It ran from the River Ancholme, near South Kelsey toward Caistor through six locks, terminating at Moortown, 3.5 miles away...	Lincolnshire	4	5	1800	1936
Cann Quarry Canal Cann Quarry Canal The Cann Quarry canal was a canal in Devon, England which ran for just under from Cann Quarry to the River Plym at Marsh Mills . The canal was first proposed in 1778 but then largely remained in stasis until 1825. The canal was opened as a tub-boat canal on 20 November 1829...	Devon	2		1825	1839
Car Dyke Car Dyke The Car Dyke was, and to large extent still is, an eighty-five mile long ditch which runs along the western edge of the Fens in eastern England. It is generally accepted as being of Roman age and, for many centuries, to have been taken as marking the western edge of the Fens...	Lincolnshire	85	0	120 (appr)	1200 (appr)
Chard Canal Chard Canal The Chard Canal was a tub boat canal in Somerset, England, that ran from the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal at Creech St. Michael, over four aqueducts, through three tunnels and four inclined planes to Chard. It was completed in 1842, was never commercially viable, and closed in 1868...	Somerset	13.5	4	1842	1868
Cinderford Canal Cinderford Canal The Cinderford Canal was a private canal, opened in about 1797, in Gloucestershire, England, which was used to provide coke and water to Cinderford Ironworks.-History:The canal ran 1¼ miles from the dam pool at Broadmoor to Cinderford Ironworks...	Gloucestershire	1.25	0	1797	1810 ?
City Canal City Canal The City Canal was a short, and short-lived, canal excavated across the Isle of Dogs in east London, linking two reaches of the River Thames. Today, it has been almost completely reconstructed to form the South Dock of the West India Docks.-History:...	London	1	2	1805	1829
Coombe Hill Canal Coombe Hill Canal The Coombe Hill Canal was a canal in Gloucestershire, south west England, that ran from Coombe Hill Basin to the River Severn near Wainlode Hill. It opened in 1796 and closed 80 years later in 1876, after the only lock was damaged by flooding...	Gloucestershire	2.75	1	1796	1876
Charnwood Forest Canal Charnwood Forest Canal The Charnwood Forest Canal, sometimes known as the "Forest Line of the Leicester Navigation", was opened between Thringstone and Nanpantan, with a further connection to Barrow Hill, near Worthington, in 1794...	Leicestershire	6		1794	1808
Cromford Canal Cromford Canal The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks....	Derbyshire	14.5	14	1794	1900
Croydon Canal Croydon Canal The Croydon Canal ran from Croydon, via Forest Hill, to the Grand Surrey Canal at New Cross in south London, England. It opened in 1809, and closed in 1836, making it the first canal to be formally abandoned by an Act of Parliament.-History:...	London	9.25	28	1809	1836
Donnington Wood Canal Donnington Wood Canal The Donnington Wood Canal was a private canal in East Shropshire, England, which ran from coal pits owned by Earl Gower at Donnington Wood to Pave Lane on the Wolverhampton to Newport Turnpike Road. It was completed in about 1767 and abandoned in 1904...	Shropshire	5.5		1767	1904
Eardington Forge Canal Eardington Eardington is a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is near the A442 road and is two kilometres south of the town of Bridgnorth, along the B4555 road...	Shropshire	0.5	1	1782	1889
Fletcher's Canal Fletcher's Canal Fletcher's Canal was a long canal in Greater Manchester, which connected the Wet Earth Colliery to the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal at Clifton Aqueduct. The canal is now derelict and no longer used....	Gtr Manchester	1.5	2	1800	1952
Galton's Canal Galton's Canal Galton's Canal was a 1 mile 3 furlong canal with one lock, crossing Westhay Moor in Somerset, England, and connecting the River Brue to the North Drain...	Somerset	1.4	1	1822	1897
Glastonbury Canal Glastonbury Canal The Glastonbury Canal ran for just over through two locks from Glastonbury to Highbridge in Somerset, England, where it entered the River Parrett and from there the Bristol Channel. The canal was authorised by Parliament in 1827 and opened in 1834. It was operated by The Glastonbury Navigation &...	Somerset	14	2	1834	1854
Grand Surrey Canal Grand Surrey Canal The Grand Surrey Canal was a canal constructed in south London, England during the early 19th century. It opened to the Old Kent Road in 1807, to Camberwell in 1810, and to Peckham in 1826. Its main cargo was timber. It closed progressively from the 1940s, with all but the Greenland Dock closing in...	London	4	1	1810	1940
Grosvenor Canal Grosvenor Canal Grosvenor Canal was a canal in the Pimlico area of London, opened in 1825. Almost nothing of it remains today.The canal started as the ponds of the Chelsea Waterworks Company, constructed in 1723 to supply west London with drinking water...	London	0.8	1	1825	1858, 1925
Hackney Canal Hackney Canal The Hackney Canal was a 5/8 mile long canal that ran from the River Teign to the Newton Abbot – Kingsteignton road. Its construction was undertaken by Lord Clifford in order to carry ball clay from the pits in the Bovey Basin. The canal opened on 17 March 1843...	Devon	0.6	1	1843	1928
Horncastle Canal Horncastle Canal The Horncastle Canal was a broad canal which ran 11 miles from the River Witham to Horncastle in Lincolnshire, England, through twelve locks largely following the course of River Bain...	Lincolnshire	11	12	1802	1889
Itchen Navigation Itchen Navigation The Itchen Navigation is an approximately 10 mile long disused canal system in Hampshire, England, that provided an important trading route from Winchester to the sea at Southampton for about 150 years. The canal was opened in 1710 but had fallen into disuse by 1869...	Hampshire	10	17	1710	1869
Kensington Canal Kensington Canal The Kensington Canal was a canal, 1.75 miles long, opened in 1828 in London from the River Thames at Chelsea, along the line of Counter's Creek, to a basin near Warwick Road in Kensington...	London	1.75	1	1828	1859, 1967
Ketley Canal Ketley Canal The Ketley Canal was a tub boat canal that ran about 1.5 miles from Oakengates to Ketley works in Shropshire, England. The canal was built about 1788 and featured the first inclined plane in Britain. The main cargo of the canal was coal and ironstone .-History:The canal was constructed in 1788 by...	East Shropshire	1.5	1	1788	1880
Leominster Canal Leominster Canal The Leominster Canal was an English canal which ran for just over 18 miles from Mamble to Leominster through 16 locks and a number of tunnels, some of which suffered engineering problems even before the canal opened...	Herefordshire	18	16	1794	1858
Leven Canal Leven Canal The Leven Canal canal runs for from the River Hull to the village of Leven, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was built for Mrs Charlotta Bethell in 1805, and remained in use until 1935. It is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest.-Location:...	Yorkshire	3.25	1	1805	1935
Liskeard and Looe Union Canal Liskeard and Looe Union Canal The Liskeard and Looe Union Canal is a derelict broad canal between Liskeard and Looe in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The canal is almost 6 miles long and had 24 locks. The Engineer was Robert Coad...	Cornwall	6	25	1828	1910
Newcastle-under-Lyme Canal Newcastle-under-Lyme Canal The Newcastle-under-Lyme Canal was a 3 mile 6 furlongs level canal from the Trent & Mersey Canal at Stoke-on-Trent to Newcastle-under-Lyme...	Staffordshire	3.75	0	1800	1935
Newport Pagnell Canal Newport Pagnell Canal The Newport Pagnell Canal was a 1.25 mile canal that ran from the Grand Junction Canal at Great Linford to Newport Pagnell through seven locks. Construction was authorised by an Act of Parliament in June 1814 and it probably opened in 1817...	Buckinghamshire	1.25	7	1817	1864
Nutbrook Canal Nutbrook Canal The Nutbrook Canal was a canal in England which ran between Shipley, Derbyshire and the Erewash Canal, joining it near Trowell. It was built to serve the collieries at Shipley and West Hallam, and was completed in 1796. It was initially profitable, but from 1846 faced competition from the railways,...	Derbyshire	4.5	13	1796	1895
Oakham Canal Oakham Canal The Oakham Canal ran from Oakham, Rutland to Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It opened in 1802, but it was never a financial success, and it suffered from the lack of an adequate water supply. It closed after 45 years, when it was bought by the Midland Railway to...	Leicestershire	15.5	18	1802	1847
Ouse Navigation	Sussex	22	19	1812	1950
Par Canal	Cornwall	2.25	3	1847	1873
Parnall's Canal Parnall's Canal Parnall's Canal was a half mile long canal that was built in Cornwall in about 1720 near St Austell. It was closed due to a rock slide in about 1732. It was one of only five canals to be built in Cornwall, the others being the St. Columb Canal from Mawgan Porth to St. Columb, the Liskeard & Looe...	Cornwall	0.5	0	1720	1732
Petworth Canal Petworth Canal The Petworth Canal was one of Britain's shorter lasting canals, opened in 1795 and dismantled in 1826. On completion of the Rother Navigation the Earl of Egremont used his estate workforce to build the 1¼ mile long canal from just upstream of the Shopham Cut to Haslingbourne, with two locks, each...	Sussex	1.25	2	1795	1826
Pidcock's Canal Pidcock's Canal Pidcock's Canal was a canal in Gloucestershire, England, which connected ironworks at Upper Forge and Lower Forge, and also ran to an inlet from the River Severn called Lydney Pill. It was constructed from 1778 onwards,...	Gloucestershire	1.5	3	1789	1845
Portsmouth and Arundel Canal Portsmouth and Arundel Canal The Portsmouth and Arundel Canal was a canal in the south of England that ran between Portsmouth and Arundel, it was built in 1823 but was never a financial success and was abandoned in 1855, the company was wound up in 1888...	Hampshire, Sussex	28	6	1823	1926
Rolle Canal Rolle Canal The Rolle Canal in North Devon, England runs 6 miles from Landcross, where it joins the River Torridge, to the limekilns at Rosemoor...	Devon	6	2	1827	1871
Salisbury and Southampton Canal Salisbury and Southampton Canal The Salisbury and Southampton Canal was intended to be a 13 mile long canal in southern England from Redbridge, now a western suburb of Southampton at the head of Southampton Water, to Salisbury connecting with the Andover Canal at a junction near Mottisfont...	Hampshire	13	16	1802	1808
Shropshire Canal Shropshire Canal The Shropshire Canal was a tub boat canal built to supply coal, ore and limestone to the industrial region of east Shropshire, England, that adjoined the River Severn at Coalbrookdale...	Shropshire	10.5	3	1791	1912
Sir John Glynne's Canal Sir John Glynne's Canal Sir John Glynne's Canal was a canal in England built by Sir John Glynne. It ran from Saltney, just outside Chester to Bretton, a distance of about one mile. It was built about 1768, and was in use until 1779. It was used for the transportation of coal from mines in Flintshire into Chester....	Flintshire	1		1768	1779
Sir Nigel Gresley's Canal Sir Nigel Gresley's Canal Sir Nigel Gresley's Canal was a private canal between Apedale and Newcastle-under-Lyme both in Staffordshire, England. It was used to transport coal from Sir Nigel Gresley's mines. It opened in 1776 after being approved by Act of Parliament in 1775. The act placed controls on the price at which...	Staffordshire	3	0	1776	1857
Stamford Canal Stamford Canal -New plans:The river Welland is not currently navigable above Crowland but plans for the Fens Waterways Link include a new link upstream of here to above the Dog in a doublet sluice on the River Nene. There are currently no plans to restore navigation to Stamford....	Lincolnshire	6.5	10	1670	1863
Stover Canal Stover Canal The Stover Canal is a canal located in Devon, England. It was opened in 1792 and served the ball clay industry until it closed in the early 1940s. Today it is derelict, but the Stover Canal Society is aiming to restore it and reopen it to navigation.-History:...	Devon	1.7	5	1792	1943
Tavistock Canal Tavistock Canal The Tavistock Canal is a canal in the county of Devon in England. It was constructed early in the 19th century to link the town of Tavistock to Morwellham Quay on the River Tamar, where cargo could be loaded into ships...	Devon	4	2	1803	1873
Tremadoc Canal	Merionethshire	1.5	0	1815	1840
Ulverston Canal Ulverston Canal The Ulverston Canal is a canal in the town of Ulverston, Cumbria, England. It is claimed to be the deepest, widest and straightest canal in the UK. It is entirely straight and on a single level...	Cumbria	1.5	1	1796	1944
Westport Canal Westport Canal The Westport Canal was built in the late 1830s to link Westport and Langport in Somerset, England. It was part of a larger scheme involving improvements to the River Parrett above Burrow Bridge. Langport is the point at which the River Yeo joins the River Parrett and the intention was to enable...	Somerset	3.3	1	1840	1875
Wombridge Canal Wombridge Canal The Wombridge Canal was a tub-boat canal in Shropshire, England, built to carry coal and iron ore from mines in the area to the furnaces where the iron was extracted.- History :...	East Shropshire	1.75	1	1788	1921

Active proposals

• Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway: Connection from Grand Union Canal
  Grand Union Canal
  The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
  
   at Milton Keynes
  Milton Keynes
  Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
  
   to the River Great Ouse
  River Great Ouse
  The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
  
   near Bedford
  Bedford
  Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
  
  . This link will finally enable broad-beam boats to travel from the north to the south of the inland waterway network.
• Fens Waterways Link
  Fens Waterways Link
  The Fens Waterways Link is a project to improve recreational boating opportunities in the counties of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, England. By a combination of improvements to existing waterways and the construction of new links a circular route between Lincoln, Peterborough, Ely and Boston is...
  
  : The Fens Waterways Link comprises several new waterways and improvements to current routes. It will create new circular routes and in conjunction with the Milton Keynes and Bedford Waterway, it will be connected to the rest of the country's waterways via the Great Ouse.
• Grand Union Canal (Slough Branch): Extending Slough Arm
  Slough Arm
  The Slough Arm is a short canal branch from the Grand Union Main Line to Slough in Berkshire , England. It was originally opened to serve the brick-making industry...
  
   of the Grand Union Canal
  Grand Union Canal
  The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
  
   south to join the River Thames
  River Thames
  The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
  
  .
• Maidenhead Waterways: Making the York Stream and other parts of the Maidenhead Waterways fully navigable for boats and linking to other nearby canals and navigable rivers.
• Rother Link
  Rother Link
  The Rother Link is a planned English canal that would connect the Chesterfield Canal at Killamarsh, via the River Rother through to the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation, thus creating a new cruising ring and encouraging boats to visit the Chesterfield Canal.-Proposals:The Rother Link was...
  
  : Planned canal which would connect the Chesterfield Canal
  Chesterfield Canal
  The Chesterfield Canal is in the north of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was opened in 1777 and ran 46 miles from the River Trent at West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield, Derbyshire...
  
   at Killamarsh
  Killamarsh
  Killamarsh is a town in North East Derbyshire. It borders South Yorkshire to its north and west. It lies between Halfway and Mosborough to the west, Renishaw to the south, Beighton and Sothall to the northwest, Wales to the northeast, Harthill to its east and the Rother Valley Country Park to its...
  
  , via the River Rother
  River Rother, South Yorkshire
  The River Rother is a river in the northern midlands of England, after which the town of Rotherham and the Rother Valley parliamentary constituency are named. It rises near Clay Cross in Derbyshire, and flows through the centre of Chesterfield, where it feeds the Chesterfield Canal...
  
   through to the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation
  Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation
  The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation is a system of navigable inland waterways in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England....
  
  , thus creating a new cruising ring and encouraging boats to visit the Chesterfield Canal.
• Upper Avon Extension (Warwick): This proposed connection from River Avon
  River Avon, Warwickshire
  The River Avon or Avon is a river in or adjoining the counties of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire in the Midlands of England...
  
   to Grand Union Canal
  Grand Union Canal
  The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
  
   via Warwick
  Warwick
  Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...
  
   is subject to much local opposition.

Former proposals

• Grand Contour Canal
  Grand Contour Canal
  The Grand Contour Canal in England was intended to form part of the British canal system, but was never built. This canal was proposed in 1943, and again ten years later. It was so named for its height above sea level,...
  
  : First proposed in 1943, was intended to connect the major industrial centres of London, Bristol, Southampton, Coventry, Birmingham, Nottingham, Derby, Chester, Manchester, Blackburn, Bradford, Hartlepool and Newcastle.
• London to Portsmouth canal
  London to Portsmouth canal
  The London to Portsmouth canal was a proposal for the construction of a secure inland canal route from the capital London to the headquarters of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth. It would have allowed craft to move between the two without having to venture into the English Channel and possibly...
  
  : Proposed on several occasions, this route would utilise existing canals and rivers, with new links constructed, to provide an overland route between the cities of London and Portsmouth, removing the need to enter the English Channel.