Exeter Ship Canal

The Exeter Ship Canal, also known as the Exeter Canal is a canal leading from (and beside) the River Exe to Exeter Quay in the city of Exeter, Devon, England. It was first constructed in the 1560s, predating the "canal mania" period, and is one of the oldest artificial waterways in the UK. As built, it contained the first pound locks to be built in Britain. The canal was extended southwards in 1677, and when the contractor employed to enlarge the canal in 1698 absconded with the money, men and women from the city volunteered to carry out the work. It was completed in 1701 and was a financial success.

The engineer James Green made a series of improvements to the canal in the 1820s, and extended it southwards to Turf, where a new access lock was built, enabling ships to enter the canal at all states of the tide. The extension opened in 1827. Commercial carrying on the canal came to an end in the 1970s, with the final cargo of timber being unloaded in December 1973. However, the sludge carrier Countess Wear continued to use the canal, transporting sewage sludge from Exeter Sewage Works and dumping it at sea, until changes in legislation resulted in the practice ceasing on 31 December 1998. As commercial traffic ceased, it was replaced by leisure traffic. The canal was used for filming some of the historical drama The Onedin Line in the 1970s.

Since the building of the M5 motorway bridge, headroom has been limited to 30 feet (9.1 m), restricting the use of the canal by tall-masted sailing ships. Leisure use is also restricted by the swing and lift bridges at Countess Wear, which causes congestion to the road network when they are opened, and the cost of opening them is high. As they are nearing the end of their operational life, there is a campaign for them to be replaced with bridges giving more headroom, to enable more boats to reach Exeter.