Before the Industrial Revolution, people could only travel over land by using their own two feet, or by using animals such as horses or donkeys.

Alternatively, they had access to basic wheeled vehicles, such as carts and wagons.

This meant that journeys could take a very long time and were often quite difficult.

In addition, it was only possible to transport small amounts of goods at any one time.

However, most roads were no better than simple dirt tracks. When it rained, traveling was significantly slowed, and it limited the number of goods people and horse-drawn carts could carry without getting stuck.

Due to the slow speed of these means of transport, most people never traveled more than a few miles from their homes.

This meant that people in different parts of the country were very isolated from one another and that it was difficult for goods to be transported long distances.

The Industrial Revolution saw the development of canals as a means of transporting goods around the country.

Canals are man-made waterways that are wide enough for boats to travel down.

They were first developed in France in the early 1700s, and soon spread to other parts of Europe.

Many businessmen saw canals as a way of boosting trade and expanding their businesses.

As a result, many canals were built during this time, including the famous Bridgewater Canal, which was completed in 1761.

Canals could carry much more cargo than traditional methods, and they could do so much more quickly.

The growth of canals during this period was fueled by Canal Mania, a term which refers to the enthusiasm for canal building.

In Britain, canal building exploded during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

A period of intense building, known as 'canal mania', occurred in the UK, peaking in the 1790s.

This was when a large number of canals were built, often by private companies who hoped to make a profit from them.

Many of these canals were not very successful, and some ended up going bankrupt.

However, some canals became very popular and played an important role in transporting goods around the country.

As well as canals, the Industrial Revolution also saw the development of new roads.

Roads were built in order to transport goods from factories to ports, and to connect different parts of the country.

Toll roads, or turnpikes, existed in Britain from at least the 17th century.

The first major new toll road in Britain was opened in 1727 on a road between London and Bath, which charged people money for using it.

Roads became increasingly important during this time, as they allowed businessmen to transport their goods more quickly and easily than ever before.

One of the most important changes in road building was the creation of 'turnpike trusts'.

A 'turnpike trust' was a group of businessmen who were responsible for building and maintaining roads.

They raised money by charging people to use the roads and used this money to pay for the construction and upkeep of the roads.

The first turnpike trusts were established in Britain in the seventeenth century, and their number grew rapidly.

George Stephenson developed the first modern steam train in the 1820s and by 1830, his new locomotive, called the 'Rocket', was operating between Liverpool and Manchester Railway. 

Several inventors contributed to the development of the steam locomotive before Stephenson, including Richard Trevithick who built the first full-scale working railway steam locomotive in 1804.

The first commercial railways were built in Britain in the 1820s. These early railways were called plateways because they consisted of iron plates that ran along the ground.

They were used to transport goods from place to place and proved to be very successful.

The first public railway was opened in the northeast of England in 1825. It was built to carry coal from the mines near Darlington to the city of Stockton.

The Stockton and Darlington Railway was not solely dedicated to carrying coal; it was also used to transport passengers, making it the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives.

Then, the first dedicated passenger railway line was opened in 1830, and it quickly became popular with passengers traveling between London and Manchester.

The height of railway expansion in Britain took place in the 1840s and 1850s. This was a time when many new railways were built, including the London to Birmingham railway line.

By 1860, there were more than 9000 miles of railway track in Britain, and this number continued to grow rapidly in the years that followed.