Michael E Ware became interested in canals in 1963 when he was invited to join a friend on a canal holiday on the Llangollen Canal, with the specific idea of making an amateur film about the trip. From then on he was hooked on the canals and waterways of England and Wales. With a background of professional photography and working in a museum, it iwas almost natural that this enthusiasm should result in him collecting historic canal photographs, building up one of the largest private collections in Britain, which has now been passed on to the Boat Museum at Ellesmere Port. He was curator and later Director of the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, but has now retired and he still retains a very strong interest in canals.

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• Canal mania; The canal and its structures; Operating and maintenance; The boats; The cargoes; The people; Postscript; Further reading; Places to visit

Michael E Ware became interested in canals in 1963 when he was invited to join a friend on a canal holiday on the Llangollen Canal, with the specific idea of making an amateur film about the trip. From then on he was hooked on the canals and waterways of England and Wales. With a background of professional photography and working in a museum, it iwas almost natural that this enthusiasm should result in him collecting historic canal photographs, building up one of the largest private collections in Britain, which has now been passed on to the Boat Museum at Ellesmere Port. He was curator and later Director of the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, but has now retired and he still retains a very strong interest in canals.

Select Guide Rating

• Canal mania; The canal and its structures; Operating and maintenance; The boats; The cargoes; The people; Postscript; Further reading; Places to visit