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Here are a few useful quotes and statistics. All taken,
with spectacular (but very useful) irony, from
http://www.defra.gov.uk/Environment/water/iw/tomorrow/chp6.htm published in
2000
"There are about 100,000 licensed boats on the waterways and
the system supports a holiday hire-boat industry of about 3,000 craft. Rowing,
canoeing and sailing are widespread. Angling is very popular - some 300,000
people fish British Waterways' canals, 100,000 of them regularly."
"Much larger numbers of people use the waterways for
informal recreation activities such as walking, cycling, bird watching and
exploring the waterway heritage. It is estimated that 165 million leisure
visits are made each year to British Waterways' canals and rivers alone."
"The recreational use of the towpaths and other waterside
paths has grown dramatically in the last 20 years. They provide access to open
countryside from towns and villages and many people use them as pleasant
traffic-free routes to walk or go by bike to and from work or school."
"Across the country, the holiday boat business alone is
estimated to attract more than 250,000 customers per year (10% from overseas),
creating and sustaining jobs, and contributing more than £40 million to
local economies."
Collected for us by Nick
Atty,
author of On-line canal route
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