South Wales Canals

The northern reaches of the Monmouth & Brecon are navigable and popular with holiday cruisers. Of the rest there are few traces, either of the canals themselves or of the industries they served. No doubt the roads that mostly cover their courses are much more useful. Nevertheless restoration groups are working on some sections to try to provide local amenities. The exception maybe the Neath & Tennants Canal, parts of which remain intact and may yet be restored.

Canals covered:

  • Swansea Canal

  • Smiths Canal

  • Neath & Tennants Canal

  • Glamorganshire Canal

  • Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal (southern sections)

Want to download the map to help you explore?

Here are two Google Maps that you can download for your personal use. (You will need to zoom in a lot to see the detail).

The map titled RSL shows canal as single lines, that titled RPL shows them as polygons that can be clicked to show more detail. Clicking the square brackets at the top right corner of the map will open it in your ‘Google My Maps’. See the ‘Explanatory Notes’ page for more detail.