Some early towpaths were built by the Roman Empire and China. In preparation for his
invasion of Dacia in 101, Roman emperor
Trajan had a towpath cut along the
Iron Gates, a gorge on the river
Danube. During the reign of Chinese emperor
Gaozong of
Tang (649–683), towpaths were carved along a dangerous stretch of the
Yellow River in an attempt to improve upstream grain transport to
Luoyang. There were engineering projects including towpaths at the gorge
Sanmenxia on the Yellow River during the
Han and Tang dynasties. On the upper
Yangtze River, there were early projects in the Tang and Song dynasties, more in the 1300s and 1400s, and even more in the 1700s and 1800s as the population of
Sichuan grew and shipbuilding improved. However, towpaths could be quickly destroyed during high-water season due to erosion from agriculture near the river. Early inland waterway transport used the rivers, and while barges could use sails to assist their passage when winds were favourable or the river was wide enough to allow tacking, in many cases this was not possible, and gangs of men were used to bow-haul the boats. As river banks were often privately owned, such teams worked their way along the river banks as best they could, but this was far from satisfactory. On British rivers such as the
River Severn, the situation was improved by the creation of towing path companies in the late 1700s. The companies built towing paths along the banks of the river, and four such companies improved a section of in this way between
Bewdley and
Coalbrookdale. They were not universally popular, however, as tolls were charged for their use, to recoup the capital cost, and this was resented on rivers where barge traffic had previously been free. With the advent of artificial canals, most of them were constructed with towpaths suitable for horses. Many rivers were improved by artificial cuts, and this often gave an opportunity to construct a towing path at the same time. Even so, the
River Don Navigation was improved from
Tinsley to
Rotherham in 1751, but the horse towing path was not completed on this section until 1822. On the
River Avon between
Stratford-upon-Avon and
Tewkesbury, a towpath was never provided, and bow-hauling continued until the 1860s, when steam tugs were introduced. While towing paths were most convenient when they stayed on one side of a canal, there were occasions where it had to change sides, often because of opposition from landowners. Thus the towpath on the
Chesterfield Canal changes to the south bank while it passes through the Osberton Estate, as the Foljambes, who lived in Osberton Hall, did not want boatmen passing too close to their residence. On canals, one solution to the problem of getting the horse to the other side was the
roving bridge or turnover bridge, where the horse ascended the ramp on one side, crossed the bridge, descended a circular ramp on the other side of the river but the same side of the bridge, and then passed through the bridge hole to continue on its way. This had the benefit that the rope did not have to be detached while the transfer took place. Where the towpath reached a lock, which was spanned by a footbridge at its tail, the southern section of the
Stratford-on-Avon Canal used split bridges so that the horse line did not have to be detached. The rope passed through a small gap at the centre of the bridge between its two halves. One problem with the horse towing path where it passed under a bridge was abrasion of the rope on the bridge arch. This resulted in deep grooves being cut in the fabric of the bridge, and in many cases, the structure was protected by
cast iron plates, attached to the faces of the arch. These too soon developed deep grooves, but could be more easily replaced than the stonework of the bridge. and the advent of steam and diesel powered boats offered a much simpler solution. The '
mules' which assist ships through the locks of the
Panama Canal are a modern example of the concept. ==Modern usage==