Google StreetView Takes To The Canals

Following the launch of the Canal & River Trust, the charity who have taken over responsibility of the 2,000 miles of canals and rivers in England and Wales, Google have launched a project with the Trust to bring Google StreetView to the canals, and, in turn, the canals of England and Wales to the world.

Rather than the usual StreetView Car, Google has sent out its Trike (see left) to capture the images as the tow-paths are far too narrow for a car to travel down.

The first sites to be added will be Kennet and Avon Canal, home to the Caen Hill Locks, a flight of 29 locks, and the Shropshire Union's neighbouring canal, the Llangollen Canal. Probably the most notable section of the Llangollen Canal is the World Heritage Site and Grade I Listed Building, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. The aqueduct, built by Thomas Telford and William Jessop and completed in 1805, carries the canal over the River Dee and is the highest and longest aqueduct in Britain.

Robin Evans, chief executive of the Canal & River Trust, comments: "200 years ago, the canal network helped put the great into Great Britain as an industrial nation. Today the waterways are a haven for both people and wildlife. Having these canals on StreetView helps open them up to millions of people right around the globe who might not otherwise be able to come and experience them."

Although not initially on the Shropshire Union Canal, and, therefore, missing out on our delightful Cheshire marina, Google will send its StreetView Trike out to other parts of the waterways under the stewardship of the Canal & River Trust in the near future.