In the film, Dan takes to the water aboard a 70-foot historical working narrowboat, Dane, travelling across England and Wales to explore the extraordinary story of our canals.
On his epic journey, Dan delves into the 250-year history of our waterways, from their earliest incarnation in the 1760s and 70s to their cultural zenith at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Along the way, he stops off at some truly iconic sites, taking viewers behind the scenes of some of our charity’s biggest engineering and conservation projects.
At the flight of locks at Stoke Bruerne, on the Grand Union Canal, Dan joins one of our engineers for a tour of an empty lock, which has been drained for winter repairs, giving him (and us) a rare glimpse into how these remarkable structures were built, all those years ago.
And Dan’s not afraid to roll up his sleeves, helping the team replace one of the lock’s sill bumpers – a large wooden beam that protects the masonry from passing boats. It’s one of many highlights, providing a window into our industrial past and demonstrating the time, effort, and skill it takes to maintain our ageing network.
As Dan tells us: “It's been fascinating to see firsthand, the work that goes into keeping the history of the canals alive and their heritage thriving, ensuring these national treasures continue to be around for generations to come.”
In the film, Dan explores the lives and legacies of visionaries like industrialist Josiah Wedgwood, who was among the very first to spot the enormous potential of canals, and engineers like James Brindley and Thomas Telford, who helped to shape the canal system we see today.
“Thank goodness the industrial pioneers of 250 years ago built canals,” says Dan. “Although their intention as transport motorways was largely short-lived, it's hard to imagine our nation without them, such has been their transformation into places of wellbeing and refuge and nature havens.”
Dan also takes a closer look at the ordinary folk who were so instrumental in those early days of canal mania – the humble navvies who helped hew canals out of the landscape with little more than picks and shovels, the potters, weavers, and spinners who worked their fingers to the bone in the burgeoning factories, and the men, women, and children who lived aboard, carrying cargo the length and breadth of the country.
“I don’t think you’ll find anything like this anywhere else in the world,” says Dan, “a huge national infrastructure that’s more than 200 years old and still being used for its original purpose. There’s so much talk of living history, but what could be more alive than these still operational, ancient canals?”
Join Dan Snow in 'Canal Mania', as he travels from the inky depths of the Harecastle Tunnel to the dizzying heights of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, exclusively on the streaming service and podcast network, History Hit. Use the discount code 'CANALS' to enjoy your first month free when you sign up for a monthly subscription.
