Paul Vine's definitive history of the Basingstoke Canal was written when the canal was still in private ownership and the newly formed Canal Society was battling to stop it sliding gently into oblivion. This book played its part by raising public awareness of the canal and its complicated past. The revised edition continues the story through the restoration and re-opening to the point where Basingstoke Council was looking at the possibility of re-establishing the line into the town (though this has never happened).
This very scholarly book is a 'must' for anyone interested in the canal.
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