One thing about Manchester is we love a canal. The city is practically built on the waterways, and although some would say it’s no Venice, we’ll agree to disagree. Though they were used mostly for transportation of goods during the Industrial Revolution, the Manchester canals still serve a purpose today – albeit less practical – and make the city what it is.
From housing shops and cafes, to providing serene walking and cycling routes away from roads, and even actual transport via boat, the canals of Manchester are inherent to its identity, so we’ve rounded them all up, with a bit about their history and how you can enjoy them in this day and age.
1. The Bridgewater Canal
History & route
One of the most pleasant-sounding canals in Manchester, the Bridgewater Canal is a 39-mile canal stretching from Runcorn to Leigh in Greater Manchester. Constructed over 250 years ago by the Duke of Bridgewater, it is considered to be the first true canal in England. Built at one level, its route follows the contours of the land to avoid the use of locks.
The canal was constructed to transport the Duke of Bridgewater’s coal from his mine at Worsley in Greater Manchester efficiently and cheaply to the rapidly expanding towns and cities nearby. At its peak, over three million tonnes of traffic used the Bridgewater Canal. Nowadays, it is a leisure waterway popular with many cruising boaters.
The canal is also a strategic link between the North and South canal network and features one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways, the well-known ‘Barton Swing Aqueduct‘ which passes over the Manchester Ship Canal, close to the nearby Trafford Centre.
Sights to see
There’s plenty to see along the Bridgewater Canal, from city centre sights like the Castlefield Basin and Pomona Strand, to the iconic Old Trafford, lovely Tudor surroundings of Worsley and Sale Water Park.
How to get around
Of course, a narrowboat is a great option, and with plenty of passenger vessels setting sail regularly, there should be one to suit your needs. Whether it’s the party boat for a special occasion, water taxi for convenience, or just hiring one for yourself and some mates, the Bridgewater Canal is a dream to be on.
If you’re a United fan, you’re in luck, because you can get the Drybarge to and from Old Trafford home games, beating the traffic and having a laugh whilst you’re at it. Otherwise, you can actually take up a spot of paddleboarding during the summer months, which is great for the whole family.
2. Rochdale Canal
History & route
The Rochdale Canal crosses the rugged heights of the Pennines from Manchester to Sowerby Bridge. In 1804, the Rochdale became the first of three trans-Pennine canals to be fully opened – perhaps due to the choice of route over the top of the Pennines, avoiding the problems with tunnel construction that had bedevilled the other two waterways.
Principal cargoes included coal, agricultural produce and materials for the textiles industry. The large number of locks on a relatively short length of canal, rising to a height of over 600 feet (180m), meant that water supply was always a problem. Seven reservoirs were built especially to service the line.
The canal proved a success until the combined effects of roads and the decline in traditional industries took their inevitable toll. The last regular through-traffic ended just before World War II, and by the 1950s commercial carrying had virtually stopped altogether. Unusually, the canal had not been nationalised in 1948, and remained in private ownership.
The Yorkshire side from Littleborough eastwards was reconnected to the waterway network in 1996 by the glorious new lock at Tuel Lane near Sowerby Bridge, which combines two earlier locks so that the canal can tunnel under a road built on its original level. At almost 20 feet (6m) deep, it vies with Bath Deep Lock for the title of the deepest lock in Britain – what a claim to fame for one of the main canals to flow through Manchester!
Sights to see
The Rochdale Canal also feeds into Castlefield Basin, flowing through the city centre to New Islington Marina where you can see the Cast No Shadow reflection in the water, with plenty of bars, restaurants and cafes. Of course, the canal goes out into the Pennines, so there are plenty of gorgeous green spots to see, and on the Yorkshire side you’ll find quaint villages and towns like Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and of course, Sowerby Bridge, so there’s no shortage of places to see and stop off.
How to get around
For boaters, this canal is a peaceful place to escape the crowds along the Two Roses Ring. The towpath is probably the easiest walking route through the Pennines, taking you into the heart of the hills at a relatively gentle gradient. However, there is also plenty of access to more challenging routes for serious hiking.
The Rochdale Canal re-opened to boats in 2002 after an ambitious volunteer restoration project that brought an end to more than 50 years without through navigation. Obstacles had included two motorways, countless road blockages and a scheme to fill the channel with concrete.
Wide beam boats wishing to pass through bridge 65B between lock 52 and lock 53 on the Rochdale canal under the M62 are required to make a booking to remove the floating towpath. Of course, you can also grab a paddleboard on a nice day, and you can find out more on the Canal and River Trust website.
3. The Ashton Canal
History & route
The Ashton Canal was originally built in 1792 to serve the coal industry around Oldham, Ashton and Hyde and in particular to compete with the Worsley mines. It worked closely with the Peak Forest Canal and they continued working together after being taken over by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1848. The canal’s importance was as a link in the cross Pennine trade between the North West’s industrial heartland of Manchester and the quarries in the High Peak District until the 1950s.
Originally the Ashton Canal had a network of wharves and more than 11 miles of branches; sadly, they are all now closed, although it is possible to walk along some of them.
By the 1950s, commercial traffic had deserted the canal, which fell derelict in the ensuing decade. Some local people campaigned for its closure on safety grounds, while its owners wanted to be rid of the expense of maintenance. It was threatened with abandonment and infilling in 1961, when a pioneering pleasure cruiser made a passage with great difficulty.
The Ashton Canal was saved from dereliction by hardworking volunteers in the 1970s. Today, this Manchester canal is a green link from the city centre to Ashton-under-Lyne, bordered by an interesting mix of modern and industrial architecture.
Sights to see
Joining the flow of the Rochdale Canal into New Islington Marina, the Ashton Canal travels past landmarks icluding the Co-op Live Arena and Etihad Stadium, Piccadilly Village crossing the River Medlock and out east where it flows through several lovely parks and green spaces to see. Ashton Canal also lends its name to the iconic Canal Street in Manchester’s Gay Village, where you can see plenty of sights, especially of a weekend night…
You can also explore the free Portland Basin Museum in Dukinfield to get an insight into the heritage of the canal, with a reconstruction of a 1920s street, and information about the hat-making, textiles and coal industries in the area.
Some may also remember the iconic Coronation Street scene from 2003 in which the evil Richard Hillman drove a car with Gail and her children into the Ashton Canal, attempting to drown them all. Hillman was the only one who ended up dying, and the scene lives rent free in the minds of many.
How to get around
Improvements to the towpath have made it into a pleasant route, accessible to walkers, cyclists and wheelchair users. The Ashton Canal is also part of the South Pennine ring, so all you narrowboaters can live life to the max, exploring other canals in and out of Greater Manchester – find out more here.
4. Manchester Ship Canal
History & route
One of the most well-known Manchester canals throughout the country, the Manchester Ship Canal links the all-important ports of Liverpool and Manchester. After a tumultuous and drawn-out planning process, the Ship Canal was finally flooded in November 1893, and opened for traffic from 1st January 1894. After six years in the making, with an average workforce of 12,000 navvies and almost 200 steam trains hauling 6,000 wagons, the final cost of the project totalled more than £15 million, equivalent today to approximately £1½ billion – Queen Victoria officially opened the canal on 21st May 1894.
The Manchester Ship Canal was one of the most important civil engineering projects of the late Victorian period – when it opened in 1894 it was the largest river navigation canal in the world. Despite being some 40 miles from the sea, the Manchester Ship Canal allowed the newly-founded Port of Manchester to establish itself as the third busiest port in Britain. At its peak in 1958, the amount of freight carried by the canal was almost 20,000,000 tons.
Sights to see
The Manchester Ship Canal boasts a rich legacy of Victorian architecture and engineering masterpieces like the Grade II listed Runcorn Rail Bridge, incredible views of the newly built Mersey Gateway Bridge and Grade II listed Silver Jubilee Bridge. With plenty of large towns on the route, plus pubs, restaurants and so much more, hop on and off the canal as you please.
How to get around
Given the substantial width of the Manchester Ship Canal, it’s not really one of the narrowboat kind of canals, but you can hop aboard a canal cruise to see the sights. Cruise along the inland waterway and River Mersey surrounded by beautiful countryside, historic buildings, and industrial landscapes.
5. Leeds & Liverpool Canal
History & route
The Leeds & Liverpool Canal was the earliest of the trans-Pennine canals to be proposed, and despite its name, it does in fact enter Greater Manchester. It offered a gentler, less direct route than the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and the Rochdale Canal, but it still passed through important limestone and coal mining areas. Construction took a long time, two canals, one in Yorkshire and one in Lancashire, were gradually brought together and it was only completed in 1816, some 46 years after work began.
Together with the Aire & Calder Navigation, which it meets at Leeds, it offered a coast to coast route between the Irish Sea and the North Sea, though not a proper connection until the Stanley Dock branch in Liverpool opened in 1846.
Locks on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal were, for the most part, built to a size of 62 feet by 14 feet. These broad locks turned out to play a key part in the long-term success of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. The local cargo craft were known as ‘short boats‘, broad-gauge vessels capable of carrying around 45 tons. The larger payload of the short boats – around twice that of a standard narrowboat – enabled the line to prosper for many years.
Following the £22 million creation of the Liverpool Canal Link, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal now extends right into the heart of Liverpool and its historic Royal Albert Dock. Leaving Liverpool, the canal passes through East Lancashire and then crosses Pennine countryside and picturesque villages on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales before reaching Leeds.
Sights to see
The Leeds & Liverpool Canal offers 127 miles of walking, boating, wildlife-watching and all-round relaxation. Walkers love the canal, and thousands of visitors come every year to marvel at the impressive Bingley Five Rise Locks and the historic salt town of Saltaire. The canal also comes into Greater Manchester around Leigh, flowing through Pennington Flash Country Park, and branching off in several directions where you can join one of the many other canals into Manchester.
How to get around
Of course, you can get around on a narrowboat, but the canal is hugely popular with walkers and cyclists. You can paddleboard along part of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, and as it flows from Goole to Liverpool you can take part in a unique canoeing or kayaking challenge. It involves carrying canoes around 91 locks, including the 21 lock Wigan flight and Bingley’s famous Five Rise staircase, and paddling under the summit of the Pennine hills through a mile long canal tunnel at Foulridge.
A map of the canals in Manchester
You can find an interactive canal map on the Canal & River Trust website here.
