CANALS

Aire & Calder Navigation Canal

This watercourse is part river, part canal - referred to as a 'navigation'. The Aire & Calder Navigation can take vessels from the North Sea far inland and carries millions of tons of freight each year. It is an essential link between the Yorkshire waterways and the canals of the Pennines and attracts more and more pleasure boats every year.

The waterway starts at Goole and splits into two at Castleford. From there, branches run to Leeds and Wakefield. It has been regularly improved and upgraded throughout history: by some of the most famous names in engineering, including Smeaton, Jessop, Rennie and Telford. It is still a busy freight artery after 300 years, despite competition from road and rail and the constant demands to carry more in bigger boats

For hundreds of years, Yorkshire entrepreneurs have sought to improve navigation on the natural rivers Aire and Calder. Straight channels were cut to bypass particularly narrow or tortuous stretches, including the entire Ferrybridge to Goole length.

More information can be found at
http://www.britishwaterways.gov.uk