Before railways were built, the canals carried the bulk raw materials and finished products from our industrial heartlands to the consumers and traders all over the country. Many are now in revival as a holiday and leisure pursuit.

The Gloucester and Sharpness canal was a a busy shipway right up to the 1960's because it retained its industrial roots and provided valuable access to Gloucester from the Severn Estuary for medium sized ships and barges.

Hugh Conway-Jones has studied the canal and traced its development from a failed venture to a thriving canal, a venue for leisure and pleasure and now a significant source of drinking water.