Homepage

Accessibility links

  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
BBC Account
Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBeebies
  • CBBC
  • Food
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Innovation
  • Culture
  • Travel
  • Earth
  • Video
  • Live
More menu
Search iPlayer
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBeebies
  • CBBC
  • Food
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Innovation
  • Culture
  • Travel
  • Earth
  • Video
  • Live
Close menu

iPlayer Navigation

iPlayer Accessibility Help
  • ;;

    Channels Sub Navigation

    • BBC One
    • BBC Two
    • BBC Three
    • BBC Four
    • BBC Radio 1
    • CBBC
    • CBeebies
    • BBC Scotland
    • BBC News
    • BBC Parliament
    • BBC Alba
    • S4C
  • Categories

    Category Sub Navigation

    • Drama & Soaps
    • Films
    • Comedy
    • Documentaries
    • Sport
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Music
    • Food
    • Lifestyle
    • History
    • Science & Nature
    • Arts
    • From the Archive
    • Audio Described
    • Signed
    • Northern Ireland
    • Scotland
    • Wales
    • CBeebies
    • CBBC
    • Drama & Soaps
    • Films
    • Comedy
    • Documentaries
    • Sport
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Music
    • Food
    • Lifestyle
    • History
    • Science & Nature
    • Arts
    • From the Archive

    Accessible alternative formats

    • Audio Described
    • Signed

    Regions

    • Northern Ireland
    • Scotland
    • Wales

    Children’s

    • CBeebies
    • CBBC
  • A-Z
  • TV Guide
  • Watchlist
  • Home
  • Canals: The Making of a Nation
History

Canals: The Making of a Nation

Liz McIvor looks at who built the nation's canal network, who funded it, those who worked on it and how they were regenerated following WWII.

1. The Boat People (29 mins)

Start watching

Series Navigation

  • Episodes
  • More Like This
  • 6. Capitalism
    Charting the period of activity that helped develop Britain's modern financial economy.
    29 mins
  • 5. Engineering
    The struggles of those tasked with creating a landscape of canals around the Pennines.
    29 mins
  • 4. Geology
    How the process of building Britain's canals resulted in furthering geological knowledge.
    29 mins
  • 3. Heritage
    Liz McIvor explores how the nation's canal network was saved following years of neglect.
    29 mins
  • 2. The Workers
    Liz McIvor recounts the tales of the men who built the canals - the navigators or navvies.
    29 mins
  • 1. The Boat People
    The story of the people who operated the canal boats carrying goods around the country.
    29 mins
::
  • Parental Controls
  • Help & FAQ

Explore the BBC

  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBeebies
  • CBBC
  • Food
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Innovation
  • Culture
  • Travel
  • Earth
  • Video
  • Live
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you
  • Advertise with us
Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.

You might also like:

news | sport | weather | worklife | travel | future | culture | world | business | technology