Problems with early water transport

Coastal shipping

Bad weather was a risk of coastal shipping

• Coastal shipping offered a more stable route, but ships could be affected by tides, winds and pirates.
• Most British ports had road access to industrial towns and cities.
• Heavy goods such as coal and iron could only be transported by coastal shipping and not by roads.

Navigable rivers

Some rivers had to be widened and deepened for large ships

• Rivers that were large enough and deep enough to link towns and cities in Britain were called navigable rivers.
• The main navigable rivers in Britain were the Thames, Severn, Humber, Trent and Mersey.
• Many navigable rivers were widened and deepened by local communities to make them more useable.