British Waterways cares for Britain's historic canals and rivers

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A workman by a canal lock

Managing vegetation

Our waterways and the towpaths that run alongside them contain areas where a large amount of vegetation can thrive. The management of our grass verges is key for our boating customers as well as our towpath visitors and environmentalists. Our local teams have regular cutting programmes in place, however as with heritage, we need to strike a balance between the needs of a fully functioning waterway and creating attractive, environmentally rich verges and hedgerows.

Mowing the grass at Adderley Locks on the Shropshire Union Canal