The Seven Wonders of the Waterways was compiled by Robert Aickman, co-founder of the Inland Waterways Association, and published in his book Know Your Waterways over 70 years ago.
Drifters Waterway Holidays provides the chance for boating enthusiasts to experience them today.
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, North Wales
Found on the Llangollen Canal 38 metres (126ft) high above the River Dee, the World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is the highest and longest aqueduct in Britain.
Built between 1795 and 1805, it has 18 stone piers, supporting a 307-metre (1007ft) long trough for the canal to run through.
There's not a hand-rail on the south side of the aqueduct to obscure the views of the Dee Valley below.
www.pontcysyllte-aqueduct.co.uk
The Anderton Boat Lift, Cheshire
Known as The Cathedral of the Canals, this structure raises boats 15 metres (50ft) from the River Weaver to the Trent & Mersey Canal.
Designed by Edwin Clark and opened in 1875, it consists of two caissons, each large enough to take a barge or pair of narrowboats.
In 1983 problems with the mechanism caused the lift to close but after a Heritage Lottery Funded restoration, it reopened in 2002.
The Caen Hill Flight, Wiltshire
With 16 of its 29 locks falling in a straight line, the Caen Hill flight of locks on the Kennet & Avon Canal at Devizes in Wiltshire is visually the most impressive.
The locks were the final link in the Kennet & Avon Canal's construction, opening in 1810.
By 1950 they had become derelict but after a major restoration effort, they were reopened HM The Queen in 1990.
www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/places-to-visit/caen-hill-locks
The Bingley Five-Rise Locks
Completed in 1774, this spectacular staircase of locks on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal 17 miles from Leeds, raises (or lowers) boats 18 metres (60ft) in five cavernous chambers.
The locks open directly from one to another, with the top gate of one forming the bottom gate of the next. Our nearest canal boat hire base is on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Silsden, a distance of six miles away.
With five locks to pass through along the way, the journey to Bingley from Silsden takes around four-and-a-half hours.
www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/places-to-visit/bingley
Barton Swing Aqueduct, Pennines
First built in 1761 by James Brindley to take the Bridgewater Canal across the River Irwell, the Barton Aqueduct was considered a marvel at the time of its opening.
But when the Manchester Ship Canal company decided to use the course of the Irwell at Barton as part of its navigation channel, Brindley's Aqueduct was replaced by the Barton Swing Aqueduct in 1893.
The 1,450 tonne, 100-metre long aqueduct swings open, full of water, to allow the passage of ships along the Manchester Ship Canal.
www.penninewaterways.co.uk/bridgewater/bartonaqueduct.htm
The Standedge Tunnel, Pennines
Tunnelling for over three miles beneath the Pennines, this feat of 18 and 19th century engineering is the longest, highest and deepest tunnel on the canal system.
Cutting through solid rock, it took 16 years to build, opening in 1811.
In the 20th century, the Huddersfield Canal fell into disrepair, becoming un-navigable by 1948, but after a long restoration programme, both the canal and tunnel were reopened in 2001.
Today you need to book your passage though the tunnel with the Canal & River Trust, and there is also a trip boat operating from the Marsden end.
The Burnley Embankment, Lancashire
Also known as The Straight Mile, the mile-long Burnley Embankment carries the Leeds & Liverpool Canal over 18 metres (60ft) high across part of the town, offering boaters breath-taking panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.
Though costly and difficult to build, the Burnley Embankment, which spans the Calder Valley, avoided the need for a series of locks which would have slowed cargo-carrying boats down.
It was built between 1796 and 1801 and involved transporting (by horse and cart) around half a million tons of earth from the nearby canal cutting at Whittlefield and tunnel at Gannow.
In addition to the above :
The Falkirk Wheel, Scotland
The Falkirk Wheel was built to restore the canals linking Scotland's east and west coasts.
It is the world's first and only rotating boat lift, standing at a height of 35 metres, and moves boats between the Union Canal and Forth & Clyde Canal, replacing a flight of 11 locks dismantled in 1933.
It can carry up to 600 tonnes (eight or more boats) and uses just 1.5KWh of energy to turn, the same amount it takes to boil eight kettles.
www.scottishcanals.co.uk/visit/canals/visit-the-forth-clyde-canal/attractions/the-falkirk-wheel
Drifters Waterway Holidays
Drifters Waterway Holidays brings together nine hire boat companies that, between them, have over 550 boats for hire from 45 bases across England, Scotland and Wales.