IWA reveals Scotland’s 720 miles of waterways
NEW research by the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has identified 720 miles of Scottish inland waterways, of which 660 miles are navigable.
It’s the first time that this level of detailed research has been carried out for Scotland as part of the IWA’s Waterways Directory, a resource that details all the inland waterways ever brought into navigation.
Of the 660 navigable miles, 150 are cared for by Scottish Canals, with the remainder looked after by 16 other different navigation organisations.
While Scotland’s canals are fully open to navigation, the directory states ‘partially open’ for the Lowland Forth & Clyde and Union canals. This is due to discrepancies between the original extents of the canals and the existing lines from when the canals were restored and reopened.
The IWA, RYA Scotland and boaters are campaigning for seven-day-a-week opening of the Crinan which is, at the time of writing, open five days a week (Thursday-Monday) to transiting boats. On both Highland canals, boat traffic is increasing post-lockdown, with traffic currently at around 60-70% of normal levels on the Crinan and 50-60% on the Caledonian.
The IWA Waterways Directory includes information on all navigable and formerly navigable canals and all rivers that were made navigable or used for inland navigation in their natural state, from the derelict Dingwall Canal in the north-east of Scotland to the navigable Truro River in Cornwall.
Waterways are listed alphabetically, and the data can be filtered by different subjects, with information including length, how much is currently open to navigation, details of the navigation or harbour authority or other responsible body, whether a right of navigation exists and any Maritime and Coastguard Agency classification for the waterway.
Details of the content of the directory and the rationale for inclusion of waterways are provided in a comprehensive set of accompanying explanatory notes.
For more information go to waterways.org.uk/directory