Extras: for the Extras album this week, a recent trip on the Oxford Canal.
The canal system we know today in the UK dates from the mid-17th century, when a form of mass transport was needed to enable the development of the Industrial Revolution. Whilst quickly eclipsed by railways (often built by the same companies) the commercial canal network survived, in various stages and forms, until the mid-20th century, by which time the canal system itself was in serious decline. Over the 1940s, 50s and 60s, a serious revival took place headed by pioneers of the Inland Waterways Association. Now the canals are a vibrant part of the culture and history of the UK, in the most part for the leisure and tourism industry.
