One of the most underappreciated lengths of the Canal & River Trust's estate is in deepest Somerset. You won't find the Bridgwater & Taunton on many cruising itineraries, and at just 14 miles, and unconnected to the outside world, it's likely to be of more interest to trailboaters than conventional narrowboaters. Nevertheless, it deserves some attention. The waterway owes its origins to an ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful plan to build a ship canal between Bristol and the English Channel. Ultimately, the grand scheme was never completed but trade between the two towns developed fitfully enough via the River Parrett and its tributary, the River Tone, to justify a more direct route.
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