RIVERS AND CANALS IN BRITAIN

Arched brick bridge reflected in the tranquil waters of a canal in England.

Water is an integral part of the British landscape and Britain can boast of having almost 1,500 river systems that are a tangled web of more than 200,000kms (124,000 miles) of waterways that meander through farmlands and mutter past cities and villages on their way to unite with larger waterways and ultimately to reach the sea.

Many rivers are used for recreation, for boating, fishing and swimming, but the majority of British rivers are little more than short and shallow streams, and while these less imposing waterways may only be deep enough for a cooling summer paddle, they add to the intrinsic beauty of the British countryside.

The photos in this image gallery offer a glimpse of some of Britain’s idyllic waterways, and by clicking on the buttons below you can discover the rivers and streams within a specific country.

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Heritage listed medieval clapper bridge over the East Dart, a tributary of the River Dart, in Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England.

Waterway slicing across landscape cloaked with gorse near Melvich, Scotland.

arrow boat on a canal lined with the flowers of wild garlic in England.

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