Google Earth Community: South Pennine Waterways Ring

With recent GE updates you can now travel the South Pennine Ring in comfort and, with the kind permission of Martin Clark of www.penninewaterways.co.uk, see the Ring in its regenerated role and enjoy the splendour of the Pennine scenery through which it passes.

The placemark codes are:
A - Aqueduct, B - Bridge, F - Feature, L - Lock, T - Tunnel, V - Viaduct, W - Wharf

Camera icons have Martin's fine photos inside.

There are five main folders in the placemark, one for each of the waterways that comprise the Ring. I recommend you take your virtual trip around the Ring by choosing one of the waterways as your starting point and opening its "Acknowledgement" placemark. Enjoy!

BACKGROUND

By the end of WWII the four canals in the South Pennine Ring were derelict (the Calder & Hebble Navigation never closed). They had served their purpose in providing transport for raw materials and finished goods in the early years of the Industrial Revolution, but with the coming of the railways in the mid 1800s their role was usurped. They soldiered on for another 100 years but their death was inevitable.

That is until the early 1970s. Then, men and women of vision saw what an incredible leisure resource lay mouldering in the countryside. After many years of dogged fund raising, political intrigue and sheer hard work, the job is done.

You can now navigate the 200-odd locks of the South Pennine Ring, enjoy the beauty of the Pennine Hills, and wonder at the legacy those long-dead canal engineers left us.

You need to allocate 3-4 weeks to (actually!) navigate the whole Ring, but you will not be disappointed!

Here are three fascinating pages describing a horse-drawn trip around the Ring.

NOTE TO MODERATOR

I have already posted two of the five waterways in this placemark, here and here. If you decide to allow this post I ask you to ensure that duplicates are avoided. Thank you.