Explanatory Notes

Accuracy

Modern technology has raised expectations of mapping accuracy. While the ‘1900’ 6” map was a very considerable achievement and suitable for the uses of the time it can, in some places, look disturbingly inaccurate overlaid on Google Maps or Google Earth.

Interestingly Google Maps, being primarily a road map, does not match precisely with Google Earth for non-road features like canals.

The maps on this site are adjusted to Google Earth as much as possible. You can’t really argue with aerial photography and satellite imagery. This adjustment is fairly straightforward for canals where traces still exist, less so where the canal has been removed from the landscape. In urban areas it is possible to fit with ‘hard’ features that remain, such as bridges; and tree lines and property boundaries can be helpful, however it cannot be perfect. In rural areas where there has been no urban development but perhaps agricultural changes there is a modern piece of magic called LIDAR (LIght Direction And Range), beloved by archaeologists, which can reveal the past, and I have made much use of it. I have chosen to invent the line as little as possible, but inaccuracies are inevitable. Where there is no trace on the ‘1900’ map or no clear LIDAR trace I have labelled the line as 'possible' and shown it as a dashed line on the main maps. All ‘possible’ traces are recorded as single lines only. See the Why & How section for further explanation.

Phone/tablet navigation

The site is mobile friendly, so if you access it from your phone or tablet and open a Google map from one of the region pages you will have a copy of that map on your device. You will be able to keep that map for future reference.

Alternatively you can download a copy onto your device directly. KMZ and / or KML files can be downloaded for your own purposes. The KMZ files are best for Google Earth , however for phone/tablet navigation while out and about the base KML files are preferable as they provide a less cluttered view, although they are a little larger. Each region page includes two Google Maps, one (coded RSL) with the canals shown a single lines (which remain visible at all levels of zoom), the other (coded RPL) with canals as detailed polygons (which can disappear when zoomed out). They can be opened in your Google My Maps on a PC by clicking in the quad bracket at the top right of the Google Map. From there the burger menu will allow you to export to KML or KMZ. (Note that the KMZ download is unhelpfully not listed in the burger menu - you will find it within the KML download option). The easiest way to forward a file to your phone, for example, is to email it.

If you open a Google Map from the site you will find the options available to restyle it are limited. However if you download a KMZ from the Google Map and then import it into Google Earth Pro you have much more latitude to make it appear as you wish. (See ‘How to use the Maps’, below).

Editing the map for your own purposes

If you access the maps from the links on this site you will find that you can't edit them (of course). However if you download KML files you can edit them as you wish in Google My Maps, adding other material. This might be useful for restoration societies, for example, as a way of displaying your photographic or video collections within a geographic context rather than a linear web page. I would appreciate a credit to this site if you do so.

What’s shown

The map covers the extent of the canal shown on the ‘1900’ map. Other features (pits, ironworks etc) are also from the ‘1900’ map. Only features associated with the canal are shown to avoid overwhelming the viewer.

All canals, apart from the Google single line (RSL) maps and 'possible' lines, are shown as polygons, not single lines. Some features are clickable to reveal more detail where available, such as years of opening and closing (please ignore the days and months). Stretches of canal are separated at the bottom of locks, junctions and other salient points such as tunnels. The BCN maps also include height levels for each pound.

Many canals were connected to local industry by tramways and two of the maps show examples of these. Note that these are only examples, they are not a comprehensive view since tramways were less permanent fixtures than canals and in many cases were superseded by full railways. Examples can be seen in the South Wales and Birmingham regions.

Further Development

If you would like this to show more context, or find any glaring errors that make you cringe, please let me know at paulscanals@gmail.com and I’ll see what I can do. All constructive comments gratefully received

How to use the maps

You can browse around the maps on this site as you wish, however you may wish to do more, such as....

  • Load onto your mobile device (phone or tablet) to find the waterways (or their details) when you are out and about

  • Load into Google Earth Pro so you can explore the canals from your own PC

  • Add to them as you wish: photos, video, whatever

Google Earth Pro provides the full experience. This is what you should do:

  • Ensure you have Google Earth Pro installed on your machine. (It's free)

  • Download the KMZ files that you are interested in.

  • Open a KMZ file (double click or whatever)

  • The map will appear and be zoomed to in Google Earth.

  • If you wish to keep the map drag it up from 'temp places' to 'my maps' on the list of layers on the left of the screen.

  • You can now play with how the map appears. Right click on the layer you want to adjust and select 'Properties'. CAUTION - select only the layer you wish to adjust. If you select the whole section you will suffer an attack of the yellow pins and have to start over again.

  • SAVE 'my places'

  • You can now have fun with the Google tools at your disposal: fly-throughs, 3D buildings where available, or more with Google Studio.

Adding to your own website.

You can use the Google maps as a resource for your own site if you wish, subject to the copyright conditions set out below.

References and credits

My intention with this project is to make the lost canals more visible to a wide audience: not to reinvent the wheel. Accordingly I have used many sources. Those listed below were my main sources.

The network map was derived from the ‘1900’ OS 6” map of the British Isles provided by the National Library of Scotland hosted by Maptiler, and they hold the copyright. Other information was sourced from the IWA ‘Blue Book’, Charles Hadfield’s ‘The Canals of the West Midlands’ and ‘British Canals’, Richard Chester-Browne’s ‘The Other Sixty Miles’ and Richard Dean’s splendid ‘Canals of Birmingham’ map. The background to the interactive regional maps is from Open Street Map. The open waterways shown are from Canal & River Trust, and the Environment Agency. The LIDAR data is also published by the Environment Agency.

Other historic data, particularly dates and helpful background material was taken from the WikiProject 'Waterways of the UK', (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterways_in_the_United_Kingdom) which is compendious, and the many restoration society websites, which are listed below the maps in each regional section.

Copyright

As mentioned above the maps I have produced were derived from the OS 6" '1900' map for which copyright is held by National Library of Scotland (this link will get you started https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16.8&lat=52.47718&lon=-1.90884&layers=6&right=osm) and Maptiler (https://www.maptiler.com/). I have paid for access to these maps for NON-COMMERCIAL purposes. See the Legal page for links to the copyright holders.