Before the development of canals, railways or metalled roads, the quickest and most effective means of transporting goods from one point to another in Britain was by the use of coastal shipping, shallow-draft boats travelling between the ports of the British Isles. With the development and improvement of the canals, railways and especially the road network, however, coastal shipping in the UK has decreased dramatically. In this book, maritime author Ian Collard takes a look at the history of coastal shipping in the UK, examining in turn the ports of the English Channel, the North East, Scotland and the Irish Sea and the ships used to transport so much cargo and so many passengers.