Tales of the Towpath Recorded by The Albion Band We have tales of the towpath to tell you Of a mighty big ditch, an adventure or two Some power driven boats and enormous containers The tall masted ships with their ancient retainers They all pulled together both navvies and bankers And soon made a path for small tugs and big tankers The channel was fashioned with muscle and pick And opened in style by good old Queen Vic They could plunge with suitors who bathe in their suits Or fish with the fishers who wade in their boots You can swing on swing bridges or dock at the docks The gateway to pleasure is pick the locks This was written (possibly by Ashley Hutchings) for a BBC radio documentary called 'Tales from the Towpath' about Daniel Adamson's vision and the building of the Manchester Ship Canal. Full details and a recording of the programme can be found here.