Paul,I would suggest,as Jeff said, before he went off on a tangent,that you read as much as possible,Improve Your Coarse Fishing a monthly mag,will help.
Talk to people on the banks or on line,like this lot.
You will certainly need a landing net,but,a keepnet,unless you start to fish matches, is an unnecessary expense.
Don't be tempted to go for starter kits,unless they are made up buy good tackle dealers, the kits,you used to be able to buy from Woolworths and probably Argos,will not assist your fishing.
A reasonable rod and reel will probably cost you up to ?80,look at Badger,Okuma ranges.
Build up your experience,before you build up your tackle!
As for canal fishing ,you may already know this,but,there is a channel down the centre of navigable canals,if you water is navigable, fish just off the shelf where the water deepens and in the margins,up against the reed bed.
Baits should be bread or worm and the various forms of maggot,some of which are suggested by Baz(pinkies & squatts)
Wait until your comfortable with the standard baits and then start to experiment with others.
There you go, for what it's worth my twopennies worth.
Now,let us here from you,with more questions or your experiences.
