Britain is full of canals. It was once the main source for transporting goods because most of the roads were too rough. However with the invention of the railways, the canals fell behind and many fell into disuse and disrepair. Today, however many have been reopened and there are 2,200 miles of navigable canals and rivers across the UK. A narrowboat can use this entire network of canals to move around the country; these are boats up to 7 feet wide and less than 56 feet long. Usually they move at about 4 miles per hour.
While summer is the most popular time for these canal boats and when they are most used for leisure, there are people living on them all year round. While I was staying at Normanton I took the opportunity to walk along a section of the canal.
