Page updated 9 May 2006 

Britain's Waterways - A unique insight (2nd Edition)

Author:	Brian Roberts
Publisher:	GEOprojects (UK) Ltd, 8 Southern Court, South Street, READING, RG1 4QS
Guide Web Site:	http://www.britains-waterways.com
Format:	A 252x210mm (i.e. as wide as A4 but slightly shorter) glossy cover book, illustrated with many photographs and a profusion of maps - all in colour.

General Comments:

When I updated my review of the first edition of this book I quoted Brian:

Introduced a year ago at IWA Festival at Worcester, it has sold steadily since.  It attempts to be a comprehensive guide to the whole system and is aimed at those who know their own waterway but may not appreciate the rest that are out there...

and said "If that was the aim, then I feel it has been achieved.  I do have grumbles about the book, but they are all to do with production issues and nothing to do with content."

Well, the new edition is out and gone is the one piece cover wrapping around its spiral binding about which I grumbled. Now there is a conventional perfect bound book with bookmark flaps like its stablemate, "Cruising Rings and Other Things" that I found far more durable.

Open up the book and, at first glance, it looks much the same. However, Brian pointed out to me that there are four additional waterway maps in the body of the book: Droitwich Canals, Grantham Canal, Lichfield Canal, Manchester and Bolton & Bury Canal. All the original 53 remain from the first edition.

There are five new "What to see around" pages, now called "Short stroll around", covering: Brentford Locks (Grand Union Canal), Clifford Tower, York (River Ouse Navigation), Cromwell’s House, Ely (River Great Ouse), Falkirk Wheel (Forth & Clyde Canal) and Waltham Abbey (Lee & Stort Navigation).

When Brian told me of the second edition he quoted my original review where I said:

While I know a little of Jessop, Brindley and Telford, many of the other engineers listed by each canal are completely new to me. I've asked Brian to add a couple of pages of potted biographies with references for more detailed sources in the next edition!

commenting, "NOW INCLUDED - four pages!!". He's managed to squeeze 21 potted biographies of the early engineers into those four extra pages.

Brian also pointed out that there are enhanced pages for the Middle Level Navigations, Anderton Lift, Huddersfield Narrow Canal, Bugsworth Basin and Restoration. However, those are just the highlights. I went through the book page by page and struggled to find any exactly the same as before. In some cases, to squeeze in a little more detail, the maps have been cropped a little differently, or they have swapped from the left to right hand page. All in all, this really is a second edition and not just a "reprint with updates".

If you're not familiar with the first edition, then you need a more general description of the book. There are only four pages of general introduction the main directory listing starts on page 6.  This is arranged alphabetically, starting with "Aberdare Canal (Abercynon to Aberdare)" and runs through to "Yare, River (see 'The Broads')".  Each entry has a reference to the main set of maps towards the back of the book, so it's not difficult to locate a canal name you don't immediately recognise.

Navigable rivers and canals have distance and number of locks recorded, specifying narrow or wide where appropriate and the navigation authority contact details.  The major waterways have still more detail.  These start with a listing of the engineers involved in the construction, dates when the various sections were opened together with further historical notes.  Particular points of interest have details about how to approach them by car or public transport.  There are also details of trip boat services, any local Canal Societies, relevant web sites, suggested guide books and contacts for local tourist information offices.  Finally, each of these major navigations have maps and colour photographs to accompany the notes.

A number of places, some 26 of them, (such as Worsley Delph on the Bridgewater Canal in the pages illustrated above) are also given the "stroll" treatment.  This means a larger scale map and a suggested route on foot around a number of local features.  Finally, the book includes a number of additional "articles" scattered through it on topics such as historical figures or forthcoming developments on the waterways.

When I reviewed the first edition I said, "This book, with it's strolls and instructions abut how to reach key features by road or rail, and just enough detail of the history of each feature makes it the perfect bedside companion for planning a visit to a remote part of the network." There's no reason to change that comment.

Now that there are 136 pages, rather than the original 128, my complaint about the lack of information on the early engineers has been answered and the awkward spiral binding gone, there's really nothing left to complain about! If you are looking for a bright, light, colourful, introduction to Britain's waterways, you'll find this book difficult to beat.

Reviewed by: Greg Chapman