![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Finowkanal-treidel.jpg/640px-Finowkanal-treidel.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Towpath
Path allowing a boat to be towed beside a river / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the musical composition for piano by John Ireland, see The Towing Path. For the crime committed in England in 1953, see Towpath murders.
A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport was common where sailing was impractical due to tunnels and bridges, unfavourable winds, or the narrowness of the channel.
![]() | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (July 2015) |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Finowkanal-treidel.jpg/640px-Finowkanal-treidel.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Trekkers_van_vrachtschip_Towing_a_ship.jpg/640px-Trekkers_van_vrachtschip_Towing_a_ship.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/C%26O_Canal_-_4226570680_cropped.jpg/320px-C%26O_Canal_-_4226570680_cropped.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/StaffsWorcester105.jpg/320px-StaffsWorcester105.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Chemin_de_halage_bouzi%C3%A8s.jpg/640px-Chemin_de_halage_bouzi%C3%A8s.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/100_views_edo_033.jpg/640px-100_views_edo_033.jpg)
After the Industrial Revolution, towing became obsolete when engines were fitted on boats and when railway transportation superseded the slow towing method. Since then, many of these towpaths have been converted to multi-use trails. They are still named towpaths — although they are now only occasionally used for the purpose of towing boats.