British Waterways

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British Waterways is the informal name of the British Waterways Board, a public corporation^[1] sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Scottish Government in the United Kingdom. It is the navigation authority for the vast majority of the inland waterways in the UK.

The British Waterways Board was created by the Transport Act 1962 and in 1963 assumed control of the inland waterways assets of the British Transport Commission, itself set up on nationalisation of the railways in 1947.

Half of the United Kingdom population lives within five miles of one of British Waterways' canals or rivers.^[2][3] British Waterways manages and cares for 2,200 miles (3,541 km)^[4] of canals, rivers, docks, buildings, structures and landscapes. This includes 2555 listed structures,^[5] more than 69 Scheduled Ancient Monuments,^[5] more than 800 designated areas, as well as more than 100 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). It maintains a museum of its history within the National Waterways Museum at Gloucester.

[edit] See also

• Canals of Great Britain
• Rivers of Great Britain
• History of the British canal system
• World Canals Conference
• Falkirk Helix
• Crick Boat Show
• Continuous cruiser
• Narrowboat

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• British Waterways website - corporate information, document downloads, licencing, Waterfront magazine
• Waterscape.com - British Waterways leisure website - wildlife, cycling, walking, boating, maps
• Association of Inland Navigation Authorities (AINA)
• Tales of the River Severn