The scenic beauty of the canals’ route through the Golden Valley provided professionals and amateur photographers of the 1870-1930 period with a plethora of subjects. Therefore, the commercial and pleasure aspects of the stretch from Eastington to Cirencester have been well recorded. As much of the two canals, especially the Thames & Severn, has been destroyed, this collection endeavours to show how they appeared and were used before closure. However, this pictorial record is not devoted solely to the two canals themselves. The feeder systems are also shown. Thus, views of Severn ports where cargoes were loaded for shipment along the canals and the links with the Gloucester-Sharpness Canal, together with the Upper Thames reaches around Lechlade, are included.