Throughout the Summer of 2019 I took photos along the canal networks of England and Wales, after being selected as the Photographer in Residence with the Canal and River Trust. The work is now on display at the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, until August 9th.
My starting point was to explore stretches of canal whose wider areas have undergone a renaissance in recent years. Some example are Hackney Wick, which in the summer resembles a kind of hipster Riviera, and Victoria Quays in Sheffield, which is slowly becoming a cool alternative to the nearby city centre.
Spending long summer days along the canal network evoked in me a sense that I had been transported to a different era, one where the pace of life is slower and somewhat mesmerising - in part because of the historic infrastructure that permeates, which provides a rare glimpse into our industrial heritage.
Along my journey I met numerous houseboat residents, many of whom make up a close-knit community, who look out for one another. I was privileged to be invited into some of their personal spaces, to meet and photograph the occupants.
My nearest canal, the Grand Union in west London, is a stretch where the characterful old warehouses are giving way rapidly to more bland housing developments, leaving me feeling nostalgic for the industrial past.
It’s notable that many people today are enjoying the wellbeing affects associated with spending time next to our waterways, as evidenced by the increasing number of boats, boards, floating restaurants etc. throughout parts of London, in particular. This is something that would have been a highly unusual sight only a decade or two ago, when the canals were seen as a far less attractive, and more polluted destination.
Who knows, maybe even one day people will be swimming in “the cut”.
More pictures can be seen from my project here
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