Transport history geographers will be very familiar with Britain's 'Railway Mania' of the 1840s but there was an earlier 'Canal Mania' in the 1790s which is far less well known. Like its later counterpart, the C M has its share of route blocking, companies putting their private inetersts above the wider economy, the unforeseen effects of exogenous events sich as the Napoleonic Wars, etc etc.

And there were some pretty crazy canal plans out there. Their routes have survived less well than the old railways, so you may even find one near you, or a proposed plan for one, you didn't know about.

See appendix Two (with maps of GB and ireland canals) at
http://fooddeserts.org/images/000CanalSea.htm