Waterway restoration is the activity of restoring a canal or river, including special features such as warehouse buildings, locks, boat lifts, and boats. This work is often carried out by volunteers.

Waterway restoration in the United Kingdom

Due to the construction of the railways and the style of construction of most UK canals, large parts of the UK's canal system were abandoned in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The system managed to avoid being completely abandoned due the rise of the leisure industry in the 1950's. The increasing use of canals for leisure purposes led to some people to consider restoring some of those that had been abandoned. At first, progress was slow due to the lack of funding, with most of the work having to be done by hand by volunteers.

As the leisure industry grew, the economic benefits of having a canal became more apparent and some state funding started to appear. At the same time public interest increased the size of various volunteer groups.

At the present time, canal restoration in the UK is carried out by a mixture of volunteers and professionals working on a large variety of projects.

Waterways under restoration

• Chesterfield Canal
• Liskeard and Looe Union Canal
• Thames and Severn Canal
• Grand Western Canal
• Hereford and Gloucester Canal
• Wey and Arun Canal
• Lancaster Canal
• Lichfield and Hatherton Canal
• Montgomery Canal
• Grantham Canal

Waterway restoration groups in the United Kingdom

• River Stour Trust, Suffolk, England

See also

• History of the British canal system
• Waterways in the United Kingdom

Related Links

• http://www.wrg.org.uk/ Waterway Recovery Group