There go the boats

The film sketches the development and usage of inland waterways in Britain. Before the coming of railways natural waterways were the chief means of transport, while in the middle of the eighteenth century the cutting of artificial waterways developed rapidly. The advent of railways brought about the decay and abandonment of many canals, and today only a limited number are used for transport; others supply water for power stations and for main canals, or are used as reservoirs by farmers.