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Artificial WaterwaysThe canals are a major feature of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use as means of irrigation and transport, especially during the Industrial Revolution, to today’s role as venues for recreational boating. Despite having been left in a state of abandonment for a long period, the canal system in the United Kingdom today is again increasing in use, with abandoned and derelict canals being reopened, and new routes being constructed.They were first used for irrigation and the Romans used them to improve inland transport. They grew massively during the Industrial Revolution when the demand for transport increased and the roads were not suitable for transporting large volumes of traffic. The development of the railway, however, which was cheaper, faster and able to carry much larger cargoes, resulted in a decline in the use of canals. In spite of this, new canals were still built and the last one was built in 1905. Carriage of bulky, non-perishable goods continued to be transported by water until the winter of 1962-63 when a long hard frost kept the goods icebound on canals for three months. Some of the canal system’s few remaining customers turned to road and rail haulage to ensure reliability of supply and never returned, though both rail and road had been severely disrupted by the frost and snow too. Other narrow boat traffic gradually ceased with the change from coal to oil, the closure of canal-side factories, and the general decline of British heavy industry. In the latter half of the 20th century, while the use of canals for transporting goods was dying out, there was growing interest in their history and potential use for leisure purposes. A key development was the foundation of the Inland Waterways Association, and the establishment of weekly boat-hire companies. The authority responsible for the canals, the British Waterways Board, encouraged this process from the late 1950s on by operating a fleet of holiday hire boats, initially converted from cut down working boats.Holidaymakers began renting ‘narrow boats’, roaming the canal network and visiting the towns and villages they passed. Other people bought boats to use for weekend breaks and the occasional longer trip. Canal-based holidays became popular due to their relaxing nature, their relatively low cost because self-catering, and the variety of scenery available from inner London to the Scottish Highlands. This growth in interest came just in time to give local canal societies the ammunition they needed to combat government proposals in the 1960s to close commercially-unviable canals, and to resist pressure from local authorities and newspapers to “Fill In This Eyesore” or even “Close the Killer Canal” (when someone fell in one). It was not long before enthusiastic volunteers were repairing unnavigable but officially-open canals and moving on to restore officially-closed ones and demonstrating their renewed viability to the authorities.Local authorities began to see how a cleaned-up and well-used waterway was bringing visitors to other towns and waterside pubs (not just boaters, but people who just like being near water and watching boats). They began to clean up their own watersides, and to campaign for “their” canal to be restored. As a result of this growing revival of interest, there are now even some new routes under consideration, and one under construction for the first time in a century, linking navigable rivers and existing canals.

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1 Read the text and tick (✓) the following sentences true (T) or false (F).

1 Canals go back to Roman times. T F

2 A lot of new canals were built during the Industrial Revolution. T F

3 Railway transport completely supplanted canal transport. T F

4 Commercial canal transport ended in the 1960s. T F

5 The second part of the 20th century saw a revival of canal traffic. T F

6 Traffic on canals still relies on commercial transport. T F

7 Canal-based holidays have become very popular. T F

8 There were government plans to close all canals in the 1960s. T F

9 Public opinion opposed the government policy on canals. T F

10 Local authorities refuse to clean waterways. T F

11 There are plans to build new canals. T F

2 Match the sentences in list A with their endings in list B.

AA lot of canals were built during the Industrial Revolution…

The use of canals went into decline because…

The decline of British heavy industry was one of the causes…

Canal traffic revived…

Canals were first restored by…

Local authorities began to clean up their own watersides…

1 a

2 b

3 c

4 d

5 e

6 f

Bof the end of commercial canal traffic.

because they attract tourists.

the railway was cheaper.

when a fleet of hire boats was set up.

to transport goods.

volunteers.

3 Match the following words to their translations.

inland waterways 1 a riduzionecargoes 2 b noleggio barchebulky 3 c corsi d’acqua internihaulage 4 d tempo liberodecline 5 e carichileisure 6 f trasportoboat-hire 7 g voluminosi

4 What do the following phrases mean in the context of the text?

1 “Fill In This Eyesore” means that canals must be filled because

a they cause disease to the eye.

b they are unpleasant to look at.2 “Close the Killer Canal” means that canals must be closed because

a a lot of people drown in them.

b people might drown in them.

5 Summarise the main stages in the development, decline and revival of UK canals.