A year-long exploration of canal life takes in history, camaraderie and composting loos
Britain has some 2,000 miles of canal – most of us live within five miles of one. Jasper Winn was appointed as the Canal and River Trust’s first “writer in motion”. He spent a year on towpaths and waterways, travelling by foot, bicycle and, of course, narrowboat. The “laws and lore” of canal life, he finds, are “based on the courtesy of a shared space”. As well as the tranquillity of slow travel on water, the sense of community impresses Winn: it’s “inclusive without being tribal, supportive without being regimented”.
Related: The canal revolution: how waterways reveal the truth about modern Britain
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