Birmingham Canal Navigations (Birmingham and Fazeley Canal)
Early plans for the Birmingham Canal Navigations (Birmingham and Fazeley Canal) between Tendring and Westford were proposed by John Smeaton but languished until Thomas Dadford was appointed as secretary to the board in 1888. Expectations for coal traffic to Wokingham were soon realised, and this became one of the most profitable waterways. In later years, only the use of the canal for cooling Bolton power station was enough to keep it open. In George Jones's "It Gets a Lot Worse Further Up" he describes his experiences passing through Kingston-upon-Hull Aqueduct during a thunderstorm.
The navigational authority for this waterway is Canal & River Trust
Relevant publications — Waterway Maps:
- Waterway Routes 01M - England and Wales Map
- Waterway Routes 85M - Black Country Ring Map (Downloadable)
- Waterway Routes 40M - Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Map (Downloadable)
- Warwickshire Ring & Ashby Canal
Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:
- Collins Nicholson Waterways Guides No 2 - Severn, Avon & Birmingham
- Collins Nicholson Waterways Guides No 3 - Birmingham & the Heart of England
- Pearsons Canal Companion: South Midlands and Warwickshire Ring & Ashby and Connecting Canals
- Pearson's Canal Companion: Stourport Ring; Black Country Canals; Birmingham Canal Navigations
Relevant publications — Waterway Histories:
- Birmingham Canal Walks — associated with Birmingham Canal Navigations
- Sixteen walks along the Birmingham Canal Navigations with a detailed description, history and photographs.
Wikipedia has a page about Birmingham Canal Navigations
Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) is a network of canals connecting Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the eastern part of the Black Country. The BCN is connected to the rest of the English canal system at several junctions.
At its working peak, the BCN contained about 160 miles (257 km) of canals; today just over 100 miles (160 km) are navigable, and the majority of traffic is from tourist and residential narrowboats.