What are your favorite rail trails, towpaths, former logging roads, etc.?
Some of the best trails run along abandoned transportation routes for extractive, exploitative, polluting industries. It's like swords into ploughshares, only for recreation. lastwordonnothing.com/2026/09/11/3...
Rail Trails, Towpaths, and Other Great Trails Along Failed Transportation Routes - The Last Word On Nothing
Some of the best hiking and biking trails run along abandoned railroads, logging roads, and canals. It's like beating swords into ploughshares, only for recreation.
lastwordonnothing.com
September 11, 2026 at 3:40 PM
What are your favorite rail trails, towpaths, former logging roads, etc.?
Thousands of miles of disused railways, canal towpaths, and green spaces lie blocked off or forgotten across the UK.
@TimFarron.bsky.social explains the Lib Dem plan to reopen them, creating a national network of green routes for all.
@TimFarron.bsky.social explains the Lib Dem plan to reopen them, creating a national network of green routes for all.
October 12, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Thousands of miles of disused railways, canal towpaths, and green spaces lie blocked off or forgotten across the UK.
@TimFarron.bsky.social explains the Lib Dem plan to reopen them, creating a national network of green routes for all.
@TimFarron.bsky.social explains the Lib Dem plan to reopen them, creating a national network of green routes for all.
Let's hear it for @uyhoang.bsky.social who is walking and photographing the towpaths of #UKCanals to ensure the routes are on Google Street View.
Amazing 👏
Amazing 👏
Was lovely to speak with Dr Uy Hoang - who has uploaded over 300,000 photos of the UK's canals and rivers to Google Street View and is ninth in the world by number of uploads - for this piece. www.londonworld.com/news/people/...
I’m mapping Britain for Google on foot - I’ve taken 300,000 snaps over 10 years
Watch as Dr Uy Hoang from London discusses how he’s mapping Britain's waterways, having covered at least 75% of the nation's canal network so far.
www.londonworld.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:20 AM
Let's hear it for @uyhoang.bsky.social who is walking and photographing the towpaths of #UKCanals to ensure the routes are on Google Street View.
Amazing 👏
Amazing 👏
I went to Birmingham and all I got was this photo that makes me look like I'm about to present a BBC4 programme called "Walking Britain's Towpaths"
February 10, 2025 at 11:05 AM
I went to Birmingham and all I got was this photo that makes me look like I'm about to present a BBC4 programme called "Walking Britain's Towpaths"
Light dusting of snow
Get ready for muddy towpaths 🙈🙈
Jax cant figure it out yet
❤️💙🐕🐕☃️☃️
#boatsthattweet
#UKCanals
Get ready for muddy towpaths 🙈🙈
Jax cant figure it out yet
❤️💙🐕🐕☃️☃️
#boatsthattweet
#UKCanals
November 19, 2024 at 7:13 AM
Light dusting of snow
Get ready for muddy towpaths 🙈🙈
Jax cant figure it out yet
❤️💙🐕🐕☃️☃️
#boatsthattweet
#UKCanals
Get ready for muddy towpaths 🙈🙈
Jax cant figure it out yet
❤️💙🐕🐕☃️☃️
#boatsthattweet
#UKCanals
Making the most of this balmy Spring we're having, taking an evening hike out to White Nancy via the wisteria-adorned houses, leafy towpaths and rolling green fields. In the immortal words of Bernard Mathews: "bootiful".
May 15, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Making the most of this balmy Spring we're having, taking an evening hike out to White Nancy via the wisteria-adorned houses, leafy towpaths and rolling green fields. In the immortal words of Bernard Mathews: "bootiful".
Towpaths aren't suitable for cycle routes, there are towpaths I won't cycle after dark and I'm a fairly hefty man. There's bits of towpaths in Birmingham I try to avoid during daylight. Yet everyone is expected to use them for commuting? Not realistic.
December 22, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Towpaths aren't suitable for cycle routes, there are towpaths I won't cycle after dark and I'm a fairly hefty man. There's bits of towpaths in Birmingham I try to avoid during daylight. Yet everyone is expected to use them for commuting? Not realistic.
Wet days of muddy towpaths tend to fade away from memory with a view like this.
#narrowboat #canal #ukcanals #uk #LoveTwoTravel
#photography
#narrowboat #canal #ukcanals #uk #LoveTwoTravel
#photography
February 24, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Wet days of muddy towpaths tend to fade away from memory with a view like this.
#narrowboat #canal #ukcanals #uk #LoveTwoTravel
#photography
#narrowboat #canal #ukcanals #uk #LoveTwoTravel
#photography
This is why canal towpaths cannot be considered #ActiveTravel infrastructure (though they have some value as leisure routes)
As dusk falls, the towpath gets deserted and a bit scary.
January 10, 2026 at 9:15 AM
This is why canal towpaths cannot be considered #ActiveTravel infrastructure (though they have some value as leisure routes)
I love canal cycling, but towpaths aren't cycling infrastructure. Instead, on most (not all) towpaths, cyclists are tolerated. On some we're not allowed at all.
On shared paths (incl towpaths) pedestrians have priority, and anyone expecting a pedestrian to wear hivis is being ridiculous.
On shared paths (incl towpaths) pedestrians have priority, and anyone expecting a pedestrian to wear hivis is being ridiculous.
March 31, 2026 at 9:11 AM
I love canal cycling, but towpaths aren't cycling infrastructure. Instead, on most (not all) towpaths, cyclists are tolerated. On some we're not allowed at all.
On shared paths (incl towpaths) pedestrians have priority, and anyone expecting a pedestrian to wear hivis is being ridiculous.
On shared paths (incl towpaths) pedestrians have priority, and anyone expecting a pedestrian to wear hivis is being ridiculous.
Canal-side flowers.
An irregular series celebrating old friends and new that I meet along the banks and towpaths.
Cowslips - early splashes of sunshine. They love to see an open sky above them and unshadowed spots.
#ukcanals #wildflowers @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
An irregular series celebrating old friends and new that I meet along the banks and towpaths.
Cowslips - early splashes of sunshine. They love to see an open sky above them and unshadowed spots.
#ukcanals #wildflowers @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
April 27, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Canal-side flowers.
An irregular series celebrating old friends and new that I meet along the banks and towpaths.
Cowslips - early splashes of sunshine. They love to see an open sky above them and unshadowed spots.
#ukcanals #wildflowers @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
An irregular series celebrating old friends and new that I meet along the banks and towpaths.
Cowslips - early splashes of sunshine. They love to see an open sky above them and unshadowed spots.
#ukcanals #wildflowers @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
Canal towpaths meet the secret local authority agenda of claiming to provide for cycling without, in the most microscopic way, upsetting a single motorist
February 10, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Canal towpaths meet the secret local authority agenda of claiming to provide for cycling without, in the most microscopic way, upsetting a single motorist
Near Towpaths, Sludge Covered
August 15, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Near Towpaths, Sludge Covered
Bella the Beithir snoozing by the canal earlier this week.
May 9, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Bella the Beithir snoozing by the canal earlier this week.
It’s depressingly common for councils to suggest canal towpaths as cycling routes. The canals around here have narrow towpaths (obviously with water on one side) narrow (often low) bridges, steep climbs up locks and are very popular with people walking. Can’t see anything possibly going wrong.
September 10, 2025 at 5:45 PM
It’s depressingly common for councils to suggest canal towpaths as cycling routes. The canals around here have narrow towpaths (obviously with water on one side) narrow (often low) bridges, steep climbs up locks and are very popular with people walking. Can’t see anything possibly going wrong.
towpaths & bluegrass >>>
July 29, 2025 at 12:45 PM
towpaths & bluegrass >>>
Lock and Load.
Informed of racist graffiti on Sheffield's canal network, SCARF activists were swiftly on the scene to cover up the hate.
From the streets to the towpaths, Sheffield will be far right free!
Informed of racist graffiti on Sheffield's canal network, SCARF activists were swiftly on the scene to cover up the hate.
From the streets to the towpaths, Sheffield will be far right free!
September 17, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Lock and Load.
Informed of racist graffiti on Sheffield's canal network, SCARF activists were swiftly on the scene to cover up the hate.
From the streets to the towpaths, Sheffield will be far right free!
Informed of racist graffiti on Sheffield's canal network, SCARF activists were swiftly on the scene to cover up the hate.
From the streets to the towpaths, Sheffield will be far right free!
Perfect, cool temperature for a canal commute into work this morning, from muddy, quiet canal towpaths to very busy paths through Birmingham City Centre #cycling #gravelbikes
September 24, 2026 at 8:29 AM
Perfect, cool temperature for a canal commute into work this morning, from muddy, quiet canal towpaths to very busy paths through Birmingham City Centre #cycling #gravelbikes
You got lucky and it could have ended badly.
This is a design flaw for so many rail trails, and canal towpaths: there's limited options for escape. That's why a year or 2 ago there was a spate of robberies of cyclists on towpaths in Brum.
This is a design flaw for so many rail trails, and canal towpaths: there's limited options for escape. That's why a year or 2 ago there was a spate of robberies of cyclists on towpaths in Brum.
May 27, 2025 at 4:18 PM
You got lucky and it could have ended badly.
This is a design flaw for so many rail trails, and canal towpaths: there's limited options for escape. That's why a year or 2 ago there was a spate of robberies of cyclists on towpaths in Brum.
This is a design flaw for so many rail trails, and canal towpaths: there's limited options for escape. That's why a year or 2 ago there was a spate of robberies of cyclists on towpaths in Brum.
Genuinely this. There's often been an abdication of responsibility by local authorities where especially canal towpaths exist, despite them being often narrow and badly maintained
FWIW: I think this just demonstrates the need for proper cycle paths rather than shared spaces. The latter is an ad hoc measure which sort of denies that a bike is transport. The shared space thing is for leisure cycling. Once you say “this is a vehicle” everything gets a bit more obvious.
August 6, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Genuinely this. There's often been an abdication of responsibility by local authorities where especially canal towpaths exist, despite them being often narrow and badly maintained
Visited in February. Was one of those delightful surprises when something exceeds your expectations and was worth the effort to see.
Look forward to exploring the canal towpaths on the bike next time.
Look forward to exploring the canal towpaths on the bike next time.
October 2, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Visited in February. Was one of those delightful surprises when something exceeds your expectations and was worth the effort to see.
Look forward to exploring the canal towpaths on the bike next time.
Look forward to exploring the canal towpaths on the bike next time.
They're here all winter pooing over the towpaths
December 3, 2024 at 1:04 PM
They're here all winter pooing over the towpaths
I got called a ‘fair weather boater’ the other day.
I dunno, Sharon. If I’m in a position to swap muddy towpaths and damp for this (for a few months), why wouldn’t I?
I dunno, Sharon. If I’m in a position to swap muddy towpaths and damp for this (for a few months), why wouldn’t I?
January 23, 2025 at 8:56 AM
I got called a ‘fair weather boater’ the other day.
I dunno, Sharon. If I’m in a position to swap muddy towpaths and damp for this (for a few months), why wouldn’t I?
I dunno, Sharon. If I’m in a position to swap muddy towpaths and damp for this (for a few months), why wouldn’t I?
Every person should have fair access to Britain’s green spaces, coastlines, and waterways.
Read our plan to unlock them:
Read our plan to unlock them:
This Land is Your Land - Restoring Public Paths Through Nature
In the UK, access to public paths is shrinking. Thousands of miles of disused railway lines, canal towpaths and green spaces sit unused or blocked off. Our new policy will transform these forgotten…
www.libdems.org.uk
October 12, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Every person should have fair access to Britain’s green spaces, coastlines, and waterways.
Read our plan to unlock them:
Read our plan to unlock them:
Canal towpaths are much loved by some Local Authorities as an "easy win" for active travel.
April 21, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Canal towpaths are much loved by some Local Authorities as an "easy win" for active travel.