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The charity making life better by water

Canal heritage & architecture

With almost 3,000 designated examples of industrial heritage and engineering feats nationwide, we want even more people to visit their local waterways and discover our fascinating canal architecture.

Photo of Bingley Five Rise Locks

Our canals are home to over 2,700 listed structures, 46 scheduled ancient monuments and four UNESCO World Heritage sites. Just by walking along a 20 minute stretch of towpath, you're likely to pass numerous heritage structures ranging from smaller iconic items such as milestones to working structures such as lock gates and swing bridges.

Our canals and rivers are also lined with truly magnificent structures such as the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Anderton Boat Lift. If it's size that matters to you, the canals are a great place to view historic engineering projects on a grand scale.

Last Edited: 13 March 2024

photo of a location on the canals
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