A canal ring is the name given to a series of

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

s that make a complete loop.

Etymology

There have been canals which formed a ring for more than 200 years, but the term was unknown before the 1960s, when the Inland Waterways Association coined Cheshire Ring as part of its campaign to save the

Ashton Canal The Ashton Canal is a canal in Greater Manchester, England, linking Manchester with Ashton-under-Lyne in Tameside. Route The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie St. Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for through 18 locks, ...

and

Peak Forest Canal The Peak Forest Canal is a narrow ( gauge) locked artificial waterway in northern England. It is long and forms part of the connected English/Welsh inland waterway network. Route and features General description The canal consists of two leve ...

from closure. Working boatmen were concerned with getting from one place to another as fast as possible, or for the lowest toll, rather than in visiting more of the system, and what are now known as rings were simply alternative routes to them, but circular routes allow leisure boaters to see twice as much of the system as is possible with an "out and back" cruise. Hire companies are keen to promote their proximity to popular cruising rings. Since the Cheshire Ring was born, more rings (and variants of them) have been named. The best-known are those that can be completed in one or two weeks, although some three-week rings (such as the Outer Pennine Ring) have been given names, but there are many other unnamed rings.

Notable rings

The Netherlands

* Ringvaart

England

''See also Canals of Great Britain'' * Avon Ring ** River Avon,

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

, Worcester and Birmingham Canal and Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. The ring is long, and includes 131 locks. * Black country ring ** Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, Trent and Mersey Canal,

Coventry Canal The Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England. It starts in Coventry and ends to the north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal. It also has connections with the ...

(Isolated Section),

Birmingham and Fazeley Canal The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and thereby connect Birmingham ...

, BCN Main Line. The ring is long, and includes 71 locks. * Cheshire Ring **

Rochdale Canal The Rochdale Canal is in Northern England, between Manchester and Sowerby Bridge, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. Its name refers to the town of Rochdale through which it passes. The Rochdale is a broad canal be ...

, Macclesfield Canal, Trent and Mersey Canal,

Bridgewater Canal The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, Greater Manchester, Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was ...

. The ring is long, and includes 92 locks. * Droitwich Ring ** Droitwich Barge Canal, Droitwich Junction Canal, Worcester and Birmingham Canal, River Severn. The ring is long, and includes 33 locks. It became a ring in 2011, when the Droitwich canals were reopened after they had been closed for 70 years. * Four Counties Ring ** Trent and Mersey Canal, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, Shropshire Union Canal, Middlewich Branch, ( Wardle Canal). The ring is long, and includes 94 locks. * Leicestershire Ring ** Trent and Mersey Canal,

River Soar The River Soar () is a major tributary of the River Trent in the East Midlands as well as the principal river of Leicestershire, England. The source of the river is midway between Hinckley and Lutterworth. The river then flows north throug ...

, Grand Union Canal,

Oxford Canal The Oxford Canal is a narrowboat canal in southern central England linking the City of Oxford with the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury (just north of Coventry and south of Bedworth) via Banbury and Rugby. Completed in 1790, it connects to th ...

, Coventry Canal, Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, Coventry Canal (isolated section) * South Pennine Ring ** Rochdale Canal, Calder and Hebble Navigation, Huddersfield Broad Canal, Huddersfield Narrow Canal, Ashton Canal. The ring is long, and includes 197 locks. * North Pennine Ring ** Rochdale Canal, Calder and Hebble Navigation, Aire and Calder Navigation,

Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

* Outer Pennine Ring (Combines the North and South Pennine rings, omitting the section of the Rochdale canal that they share) ** Calder and Hebble Navigation, Aire and Calder Navigation, Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Bridgewater Canal, Rochdale Canal, Ashton Canal, Huddersfield Narrow Canal, Huddersfield Broad Canal * Stourport Ring ** River Severn, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, Stourbridge Canal, Dudley Canals, Birmingham Canal Navigations ( Netherton Tunnel Branch Canal and Birmingham New Main Line), Worcester and Birmingham Canal. The ring is long, and includes 116 locks. * The Thames Ring / Great Ring **

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, Oxford Canal, Grand Union Canal. The ring is long, and includes 176 locks. * Warwickshire ring ** Coventry Canal, Oxford Canal, Grand Union Canal, Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. The ring is long, and includes 121 locks. Incompletely navigable: * Wessex Ring **River Thames, Kennet and Avon Canal, Wilts and Berks Canal ''This ring is only possible when the Wilts and Berks Canal is fully restored.'' * North Thames Ring **River Thames, Thames and Severn Canal, North Wilts Canal, Wilts and Berks Canal ''This ring is only possible when the Thames and Severn Canal, North Wilts Canal and Wilts and Berks Canal are fully restored.'' * Cotswolds Ring **Thames and Severn Canal, Stroudwater Navigation, Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, River Severn, River Avon (Warwickshire), Stratford-upon-Avon Canal, Grand Union Canal, Oxford Canal, River Thames ''This ring is only possible when the Thames and Severn Canal and the Stroudwater Navigation are fully restored.'' * Severn Ring ** Montgomery Canal,

Llangollen Canal The Llangollen Canal () is a navigable canals of the United Kingdom, canal crossing the border between England and Wales. The waterway links Llangollen in Denbighshire, north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere, S ...

, Shropshire Union Canal, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, River Severn ''This ring is only possible when the Montgomery Canal and River Severn are fully restored.'' * Yorkshire Ring (Currently incomplete) ** Aire and Calder Navigation, Dearne and Dove Canal, Barnsley Canal, River Don Navigation, New Junction Canal ''This ring is possible only when the Barnsley and Dearne and Dove Canals are fully restored.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canal Ring Canal rings