All you need for an inland waterways adventure
The Canal Guide: Britain's 55 Best Canals, by Stuart Fisher
Maritime professionals are often surprisingly enthusiastic about getting out on the water in their free time. For those who fancy the inland waterways for a summer holiday this year, The Canal Guide from nautical imprint Adlard Coles is an attractive guidebook and resource showing off the richness of the UK's heritage.
There are 65,000km of physically navigable waterways in England and Wales alone, but in this updated and expanded edition, author Stuart Fisher cautions readers they may need 'a spirit of adventure' to make full use of the guide. Not all the 55 canals he describes are linked to the rest of the system, and some are physically impassable for many boats or have unusable towpaths.
The guide is, however, intended 'to be engaging for all who travel the canals' – providing a lively background to the history, wildlife, pubs, and nearby attractions of each waterway. Some of them have required more grit than others to navigate throughout the centuries: in 1643, we learn 'Cromwell's soldiers caught a witch sailing down the Kennet on a plank'.
Each chapter features a map, colour photographs and a handy information box covering distance, navigation authority, canal society and places to visit.
The Canal Guide: Britain's 55 Best Canals
By Stuart Fisher
Adlard Coles, £18.99
ISBN: 978 14729 74051
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Radio revelry
Barques, Sparks and Sharks, an Orcadian at Sea by Len WilsonSeafarers are known for their story-telling abilities, and Orkney-born Len Wilson does not disappoint.
Mastering our harbours
Harbours and Their Masters: Sailing into nearly every harbour in Britain and Ireland by Mark Ashley-MillerNovice skipper Mark Ashley-Miller recently spent five years circumnavigating the UK and Ireland on his 34ft ketch Good Dog as a charity challenge – interviewing and photographing the harbour masters he met along the way.
The precarious path from piracy to prosperity
The Resurrected Pirate, by Craig S ChapmanThe Resurrected Pirate is a remarkable story told in an engaging way, illustrating for the modern reader the desperately narrow passage between life and death that a seafarer in this period might have to navigate.
Carving out a career
Ships' Figureheads: Famous Carving FamiliesThe decoration of ships with figureheads was a way to present the might of military and mercantile power for centuries. These days, the skills needed to make these sculptures are kept alive by experts such as Andrew Peters, who has worked on restoration projects such as the Cutty Sark tea clipper.