Portal:UK Waterways
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The United Kingdom is home to a vast network of waterways. These are navigable bodies of water in various forms such as canals, rivers and lakes. Natural rivers and lakes were the first waterways to be used for the transportation of people and goods. These were then improved to make navigation more reliable, by the construction of artificial channels and flash locks. The introduction of the pound lock enabled more ambitious waterways to be built. The Industrial Revolution required the transport of large quantities of raw materials and finished goods, and this led to a period of 'canal mania' which saw the construction of a large network of canals in the United Kingdom. Competition, first from railways and later from road transport, started the decline of many canal and river navigations, leading in some cases to their abandonment. The latter half of the twentieth century saw the development of recreational boating and the restoration of many disused waterways. Template:/box-footer Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal opened between the River Severn and Ledbury in 1798, but the remaining section to Hereford was not built until 1845. The canal closed in 1881, when a railway was built over much of the original section. The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust have been active since 1983, and hope to fully restore the 34 miles (54 km) of canal for navigation. The most recent acquisition has been the purchase from British Waterways of Llanthony lock, together with surrounding land and a small section of the River Severn. The lock, which was offered for sale in 2007, connects the canal to the navigable part of the river.Main Article: Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.  
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