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At the northern end of the Staffs and Worcester Canal, an unusual pleasure boat conversion heads towards Wolverhampton. The narrow section is a solid aqueduct over the river Trent.

The seafront terraces and hills behind remain much the same today, and boating has grown ever more popular in the Dyfi estuary, which is fringed by wooded banks.

It needed seventy pairs of narrow boats to work the trips carrying coal to Stourport power station.

The rowing boat in the foreground is in fact the ferry to the Dropping Well. On the hill above the town stand the ruins of Knaresborough Castle, which was destroyed by Parliament in 1648.

It was a significant port, too, handling corn, coal, chalk and hay. The boat in the foreground looks distinctly like a pleasure-craft, though, to judge by that slatted seat.

By 1906 these industries were in decline, and leisure boats were taking the place of fishing trawlers.

There was always a flurry of excitement and activity at the Bridge Restaurant and Tea Gardens on Nags Head Island when the pleasure boats arrived, especially during the summer.

It was (and is) also used for leisure pursuits: people hired boats to row on the canal, and fishermen cast from the banks.

This view of the staithe from the old Excise House shows Southgates Boat Hire office, which is now Rivercraft Yachting Services.

Many Cornish boats had pointed sterns so that more could be packed like sardines into the tiny harbours west of the Lizard. The children are on a Sunday School outing.

Off Church Lane it is possible to see Hamble Quay, a small area where boats using the River Hamble could moor after deliveries to the flour mill.

For the energetic there were rowing-boats and small yachts; by this time, those wishing to take to the waters without exerting themselves could have a trip on a motorboat; it can be seen in this picture

From a scattered fishing village based around two sandy bays on the southern coast of the Lleyn Peninsula, Abersoch has developed into a busy resort.

These heavily-laden fishermen use shoulder yokes to carry their shellfish, much as a milkmaid carries her buckets, paddling out of the shallows from their open boats, the 'Nell' and 'Armistice'.

The pilchard fishing boats drawn up are a reminder that this was a working beach too.

There are dangerous currents for swimmers and boats, and there have been many shipwrecks here, which provided bounty for local inhabitants.

It is probably the most dived-on wreck in Britain - on calm summer days there is usually a large fleet of dive boats anchored at the site.

Large boats such as the 'Luctor' (centre right) were once familiar sights here. The railway line extended to the quay so that coal trucks could be loaded directly from the coal ships.

The busy Dover promenade was very popular with visitors; a pier was added to it in 1893 at a cost of £28,000.

Today the Boat Museum in the dock area reminds us of the way of life of those early boatmen and their families.

These heavily-laden fishermen use shoulder yokes to carry their shellfish, much as a milkmaid carries her buckets, paddling out of the shallows from their open boats, the 'Nell' and 'Armistice'

The length of the boat is fairly substantial compared to the head of the jetty, so she requires delicate and careful manoeuvring if she is to be handled

The crew in an approaching sail fishing boat, having raised her sails, stand by to clear the jetty, leaving both harbour and fellow craft moored alongside the Stade.

The two-masted fishing boats in the foreground, as we look west from the River Rother, are reminders that Rye was a working port, not merely the genteel town the tourists now see.