...... More Canal and Narrowboat Recommended Reading

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To buy any of these books simply click on the image - or the title, where no image is provided - and you will be taken to the relevant page at Amazon.co.uk

The Canal Boat Manual

Whether you are buying your first boat, tackling a self build sailaway or specifying your dream narrowboat, the Canal Boat Manual is an indispensable guide. It is your complete guide to buying and running a canal boat.

Canals of Britain

Canals of Britain is a comprehensive and absorbing survey of the entire canal network of the British Isles - the first of its kind. It provides a fascinating insight into the linked up waterways as well as the isolated cuts and quiet waters which may not be fully navigable by larger craft. Infinitely varied, it passes picturesque open countryside, wild moorland, coastal harbours, historic industrial buildings, modern city centres, canalside public houses and abundant wildlife. Stuart Fisher looks at every aspect of the canals - their construction, rich history, stunning scenery, heritage, incredible engineering, impressive architecture and even their associated folklore, wildlife and art. Enticing photographs give a flavour of each place and places of interest close to the canals are included. For those who are keen to explore that little bit further, taking smaller boats to points beyond which others usually turn back, there is information on little-known parts of the system, offering a new insight into this country's unique, surprising and beautiful canal network. Attractive, inspiring and foremost a practical guide, this will be popular with all canal enthusiasts and boaters wanting to get the most out of Britain's canals.

A Canal People

During a few brief years in the late 1940s and early 1950s Robert Longden took a remarkable set of photographs of the narrow boat community at Hawkesbury Stop - the main meeting point for those who worked the Midlands canals. The images are of a close community and represent its members in a very intimate way, at work, at play, in their domestic affairs, and as they lived on the paired and single colourful narrow boats. They illustrate the close relationship between all ages and types within the community, and the dramatic boat shapes and infrascape of this rural and industrial area. Sonia Rolt, who herself worked the canals during the period and knew the photographer, provides an introduction, which details how Robert Longden came to this passionate involvement. It also sets the photographs in the context of their time, the last period when the narrow boats could be said to play a serious part in transporting goods in quantity. Informative captions identify the scenes before use. Providing a rare insight into the community who worked the waterways when it was still a way of life for many, this book will appeal not only to canal enthusiasts, but to anyone interested in Britain's social and industrial heritage.

James Brindley - The First Canal Builder

James Brindley invented the canal in Britain, creating the spark for the industrial revolution and canal mania. This is the first twentieth-century Brindley biography.

About the Author:
Nick Corble is a freelance author from High Wycombe and is a canal enthusiast. This is his second book.