I suddenly realise I didn't know when the canals were first built. For some reason I thought they been around longer. I guess I felt like they'd always been there!
I know the barges used to be pulled by horse, so there's always good headroom to walk next to them under bridges. It also took me about 20 years to find out that the reservoirs near my school were originally reservoirs for canals (no longer in existence) that were used for transporting the coal from the mines. I'd always wondered why they were called reservoirs when they didn't seem to be reserving the water for anything.
Fantastic photos, by the way. They capture the canals so well.