It traces the history of waterway construction, from the earliest days of river improvement to the boom in canal cutting two centuries ago, all the way up to the present. The natural combination of water, wood, and stone in inland navigations creates engineering features like locks, bridges, tunnels, towpaths, and aqueducts that seem to have grown right out of the landscape. The book’s drawings and text will help readers appreciate these features and understand how they were planned, built, and maintained. Edward Paget-Tomlinson, a canal history and boating expert, founded the National Waterways Museum and authored several books on the subject, including Colours of the Cut, The Illustrated History of Canal and River Navigations, and Britain’s Canal and River Craft.
