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On the Waterfront profiles the
rivers and canals in and around Warrington.
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Before leaving the Bridgewater Canal altogether, it is worth mentioning the Cheshire Ring. Cheshire has a number of canals, which were originally used to transport materials (mostly chemicals). Nowadays, they are mainly used for tourist traffic. The Cheshire Ring is formed from The Rochdale, Ashton, Peak Forest, Macclesfield, Trent and Mersey and Bridgewater canals. The route covers a distance of about 97 miles (156 km). Here is a very brief history to the first four in this list; the Bridgewater having been covered already and the Trent & Mersey follows later. The schematic diagram, left, shows how and where they link up. |
The "Rochdale" is a broad canal because its bridges and 92 locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14ft width. Its canal runs for 32 miles (51 kilometres) across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to the Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire.
The canal gained its Act of Parliament at its second attempt in 1794, and was completed in 1804. It closed in 1958, but re-opened again in July 2002, with some restrictions (read here for more).
The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie Street Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for six miles (10 km) and 18 locks, passing through Ancoats, Holt Town, Bradford-with-Beswick, Clayton, Openshaw, Droylsden, Fairfield and Audenshaw, to make a head-on junction with the Huddersfield Narrow Canal (formerly the Huddersfield Canal) at Whitelands Basin in the centre of Ashton-under-Lyne. At Bradford, the canal passes by the venue of the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Apart from the Rochdale and Huddersfield Narrow canals, the Ashton Canal only currently connects with one other canal. Just short of Whitelands, a short arm leaves Portland Basin (also in central Ashton), crosses the River Tame on the Tame Aqueduct, and makes a head-on junction with the Peak Forest Canal.
The canal received its Act of Parliament in 1792 and construction began in 1796. Read here for more.
The Peak Forest Canal runs from a junction with the Ashton Canal at the southern end of the Tame Aqueduct at Dukinfield (grid reference SJ934984), through Newton, Hyde, Woodley, Bredbury, Romiley, Marple, Strines, Disley, New Mills, Furness Vale and Bridgemont to terminate at Bugsworth Basin (grid reference SK 021820 - the village is now called Buxworth) - and there is a short branch at Bridgemont to Whaley Bridge. This canal, which is just over 14.5 miles long, forms part of the British Inland Waterways Network.
It was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1794. The upper level of the canal and tramway opened for trade on the 31 August 1796, and Bugsworth Basin soon became a bustling interchange between the tramway and canal. Construction was completed in 1799. Read here for more.
The Macclesfield Canal runs for 26 miles (42 km) from Marple Junction, where it joins the upper Peak Forest Canal, and runs southwards (through Bollington, Macclesfield and Congleton) to a junction with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Hardings Wood, near Kidsgrove. The canal gained its Act of Parliament in 1826 and was completed in 1831 at a cost of £320,000. Read here for more.
The River Bollin marks the eastern boundary between Warrington in Cheshire and Greater Manchester. It is a major tributary of the River Mersey, and one of the most placid, and is not heavily polluted. The town of Macclesfield used to dispose all its waste and sewage into the Bollin. Given the steep incline that surrounds the town, with the Bollin flowing beneath, this was the natural thing to do. The profusion of human sewage in the Bollin was still around in 1850.
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Here am I having
walked all the way from Moore on the
edge of Warrington to complete the whole distance of the
Bridgewater |
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It rises in Macclesfield at the western end of the Peak District, and can be seen in spring form, from the Buxton to Macclesfield road. The stream then descends the 10 miles through Macclesfield and Wilmslow where it meets the River Dean, near to Styal Prison. For the next 10 miles it defines the south-western portion of the border between Greater Manchester and Cheshire before merging with the Mersey north of Lymm. It flows through the lovely Styal country park and is used in the cotton calico factory there, as a source of power. The Bollin also runs underneath one of the runways of Manchester Airport. (Some information from Wikipedia)
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Bollington Corn Mill:
a five-storey building in the style of the late 18th century. It
had a weir built across it and has been used as |
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In 1804 an 8 mile-long, 60 foot wide canal was opened between Latchford and Runcorn. It was also known as the Runcorn and Latchford Canal (the name given on modern maps) and, in Warrington, the Black Bear Canal due its proximity to the Black Bear pub on Knutsford Road near Victoria Park. < The only section of the Runcorn and Latchford still in water at Eastford Road near Walton (see more images below). |
Once the Manchester Ship Canal was dug however it was shortened to a one-mile section from Stockton Heath to the River Mersey at Manor Lock.
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The Manchester Ship
Canal cut |
At Moore the
route has been converted into pathways for the public to appreciate |
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At Eastford Road near Walton this section of the Old Quay Canal runs alongside the River Mersey, as highlighted in the fourth image. |
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The canal remained in usage for the transportation of hides to tanneries until the 1960s, when it fell into disuse. In 1981, Warrington Borough Council bought the land and converted it into a parkland, Black Bear Park, forming a line from Victoria Park through to Stockton Heath. It also forms part of the Trans Pennine Trail.
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When the Manchester Ship Canal was built, the Old Quay Canal was cut off at Twenty Steps Lock, seen here from the Stockton Heath side. |
This is the view from the Wilderspool side of the canal. |
The route of the Old
Quay |
The Warrington - Altrincham (later Stockport) Railway travelled over the canal and is still used to transport coal to Fiddler's Ferry Power Station. |
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Black Bear Bridge at
Knutsford Road, close to the only crossing point of the Mersey, |
The ford was
roughly where the building is to the left of the bridge. |
The Black Bear Pub,
after |
Manor Lock at the
end of Black Bear |
Moore Nature Reserve is located alongside the route of the canal, which has now been converted into a pathway at that point. Traces of Twenty Steps Lock, which the later Manchester Ship Canal cut through, can be seen on the north bank below Northwich Road Swing Bridge. (Some information from Wikipedia)
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Manor Lock at
its
junction |
The Old Quay Canal
(Black Bear Park) |
Wildlife is an
important |
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As the 19th century progressed, the increasing need for large freight carriers led to Liverpool's dominance as a port, and Manchester became increasingly reliant on its Merseyside neighbour for its export industry. When the ports and railways had dominance of the trade, it was often cheaper to transport goods from Manchester over to Hull on the east coast, over twice the distance. A solution was to build the Manchester Ship Canal. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, by the expansion of the route of the Irwell and Mersey. Although it came too late to save the cotton industry that had made the region the centre of the Industrial Revolution, it transformed Manchester into England's third largest port, despite being 40 miles inland. |
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The classic
Warrington |
As the canal was built, it became clear that Brindley's famous aqueduct would have to be demolished, as it allowed insufficient headroom for the freighters that the canal would carry. Fortunately, in 1896 the councillors of Eccles paid to have the aqueduct moved to the spot it occupies today, alongside the canal.
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Rixton
& Warburton bridge built c1894. There was a stone bridge over the
old course of the River Mersey here. When the river was diverted to form
part of the Manchester Ship Canal a steel
bridge was built. |
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The Manchester Ship Canal (MSC, and called the Ship Canal locally) is a wide, 36-mile-long river navigation, opened on 21 May 1894.
The "Big Ditch" (as it is said to be known to locals), consists of the River Irwell and River Mersey made navigable to Manchester for seagoing ships, leaving the Mersey Estuary at Eastham Docks on the north side of the Wirral Peninsula, northwest of Ellesmere Port. It turned Manchester from a landlocked city into a major Irish Sea port.
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The canal was built as a way to reverse the economic decline that Manchester suffered during the late 19th century, by ensuring the city had direct access to the sea to export its manufactured goods, and so would not have to rely for sea access on the nearby Port of Liverpool. It was championed by Manchester manufacturer Daniel Adamson. He arranged a meeting at his home (The Towers, in Didsbury), on 27 June 1882, inviting representatives of several Lancashire towns, Manchester businessmen, local politicians and two civil engineers, Hamilton Fulton and Edward Leader Williams. Both engineers were invited to submit proposals, and Williams' plans were selected to form the basis of a Bill submitted to Parliament in November 1882. |
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Cleaning
out the canal |
However, due to intense opposition by Liverpool and railway companies, the Act of Parliament enabling the canal was not passed until 6 August 1885. The promoters then had two years in which to raise £5 million to cover initial construction costs, and to purchase the Bridgewater Canal. Construction of the Ship Canal eventually started on 11 November 1887.
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It
was always fascinating as a child to watch the bridges swing to allow
passage of ships. |
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Further up the canal, Chester Road swing bridge is opened first as the boat approaches from Runcorn. |
While that happens, Northwich Road bridge at Stockton Heath is closed to traffic and pedestrians. In the gold old days before the health and safety people were let loose, they allowed children to stay on the bridge to have a ride - they just don't trust us today! I wasn't even allowed past the barrier - did they think I was going to jump in? Anyway, the boat passes below. |
The boat continues its journey towards Latchford Locks and I ponder about the missed opportunity to get a better shot as it passed right before my eyes... |
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Large
portions of the eventual cost of building were borne by Manchester ratepayers,
via Manchester City Corporation. Loans were arranged during the early 1890s on
condition that the Corporation held 11 of the 21 seats on the Canal Company's
board of directors led by John Aird, an engineering contractor and MP. Following
the death of the previous contractor (Thomas Walker), Aird's firm completed the
Ship Canal.
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The
boat here is Anna D, registered at Runcorn, passing through Moore Lane
bridge. When my dad was a
child the boat passages on the |
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More than 54 million cubic yards (41,000,000 m³) of material were excavated for the canal, including 12 million cubic yards (9,000,000 m³) of sandstone rock. At its peak, the project involved some 17,000 workers. In terms of machinery, the scheme called upon 228 miles (367 km) of temporary rail track, 173 locomotives, 6,300 trucks and wagons, 124 steam-powered cranes and 192 other steam engines (mainly used for pumping purposes). Work was twice delayed by water flooding into sections of the excavation, in November 1890 and December 1891.
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Daresbury
Laboratory near Warrington was founded in 1962 as part of the National
Institute for Research in Nuclear Science (NIRNS). It
was brought under the umbrella of the Council for the Central
Laboratory of the Research Councils (now the STFC - Science and Technology Facilities Council) in 1995. It employs around 500 staff who support the work of over 5,000 scientists, technicians, etc at a site close to the Manchester Ship Canal. All manor of research is undertaken, including research into breast cancer, metals, the aircraft industry and genetics, amongst others. The building can bee seen from miles around due to its high tower. |
Major
engineering landmarks of the scheme included the Barton Swing Aqueduct (carrying
the Bridgewater Canal over the Ship Canal), and a neighbouring swing bridge for
road traffic at Barton.
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Norton
water tower at Runcorn. This landmark can be seen for miles around on
the Ship Canal. It
dates from 1892. It is made from Red sandstone and has a cylindrical,
rock faced base of convex outline terminating in pulvinated band. Above
this there is a plain ashlar cylinder with bases for 10 pilasters. The
pilasters rise to a frieze. The large openings are closed midway by
ashlar screens with two narrow arched openings. The frieze has a Latin
inscription and the dentil cornice is surmounted by an iron tank with
triglyphs between pilasters. There are decorative shell upstands to the
rim of the tank. Access to the tower is via a double door with six
raised and fielded panels in an opening framed in stone with an
elaborate stone pediment. (from Wikipedia)
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North-west of Ellesmere Port, on a narrow stretch of land between the Canal and the River Mersey, Mount Manisty is a huge mound of earth created from extracted soil from the construction of the Canal. Its name - and that of the adjacent Manisty Cutting - came from the contractor's agent on the Eastham section, Mr Manisty, who was well liked by the navvies due to the entertainments he and his wife provided.
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Old Quay Bridge with Jubilee Bridge in the background on the Ship Canal at Runcorn. The Old Quay Bridge is operated from the south bank by means of a hydraulic system which involves the use of a group of three slate roofed red brick buildings, the engine house, the accumulator tower and the control building. (from Wikipedia) Image
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There are five sets of locks over its 36 mile length, which raises the canal over 60 feet along the route. From the Merseyside end there are tidal locks at Eastham, which connect the canal with the Mersey Estuary. Latchford Locks at Warrington are the next set, then Irlam and Barton locks and finally Mode Wheel locks just outside of the terminal docks at Salford Quays.
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HMS
Shetland is an Island |
Three
views of Latchford Locks. All four photos Copyright © P Spilsbury. |
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From
Eastham, the canal runs parallel to, and along the south side of, the
River Mersey, past Ellesmere Port and, having intercepted flows from the
River Weaver, then passes around Runcorn. Between Warrington and Flixton
the canal borrows the route of the Mersey, and between there and Salford
follows the course of the River Irwell.
Through east Warrington it passes underneath the Thelwall viaduct, constructed in 1963 to carry the M6 motorway north to south through the countryside of Cheshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester. The viaduct was widened in the 21st century to cope with traffic flows. In Greater Manchester, the Barton high level bridge carries the circular M60 over the canal near the Trafford Centre, a major shopping and leisure complex at Dumplington. The canal terminates just past Pomona Docks in Manchester. |
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Royal Iris travels along the Ship Canal at Runcorn, seen from Jubilee Bridge, giving a good view of the Mersey and Fiddler's Ferry Power Station on 8 July 1990. Photo and caption Copyright © P Spilsbury. |
A
view of the Ship Canal and Mersey, again from Jubilee Bridge at Runcorn. In the distance is Old Quay Bridge. Photo taken 18 Feb 2007 Copyright © GI Gandy. |
Today,
a fixed road bridge separates Pomona Docks from Salford Quays, meaning only some
boats can make the full trip to Pomona Docks. Most vessels have to terminate at
Salford Quays.
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Thelwall Ferry still operates on the Ship Canal |
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The
Royal Iris passes by |
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Near Stanlow, the Ship Canal meets the River Gowy. As both were still in use, a method had to be devised to allow both to continue to flow. The solution was to have two huge 400ft-long cast iron siphons placed underneath the canal to allow the river to flow freely. The MSC is the eighth-longest ship canal in the world, being only slightly shorter than the Panama Canal in Central America. Upon completion, the MSC ensured that Manchester became Britain's third busiest port, despite being 40 miles (60 km) inland.
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Warrington Dock entrance is an area linking the Ship Canal with the Mersey via Walton Lock, which is now disused and dried up. When the bucket dredgers left the river, Sandgrab No. 2, left, took over the job of keeping the River Mersey navigable between Atherton's Quay and Walton Lock, where it is seen working here on 5 September 1985. In the image, right, we see MB 36, a motor barge, unloading at Naylor's Wharf. (based on notes by P. Spilsbury.) All other photos in this section taken 28 April 2007. |
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The
scene from Chester |
The remains of Warrington Dock. |
Chester
Road travels over the old waterway route between the Mersey |
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Sorry
chap, but the boat |
The remains of Walton Lock. They could have filled it in but I'm glad they didn't. The Trans Pennine Trail now passes by alongside to remind people of the good old days. |
Chester Road swing bridge. |
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To service the large amount of freight being landed at the canal's docks, the MSC Railway was created to carry goods and connect to the various railway companies near the canal. The MSC Railway, unlike other railway companies in the UK, was not nationalised and became the largest private railway in the UK during the British Railways era. The MSC Railway operated a large fleet of steam locomotives, many of which were 0-6-0 tank engines.
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The
Barton Swing Aqueduct (Grid ref: SJ 767976) is a feat of late
Victorian civil engineering. Located at Barton upon Irwell, it carries
the Bridgewater Canal over the Manchester Ship Canal. However, when large vessels need to pass along the Ship Canal, the massive iron trough (234ft long and weighing 800 tonnes) can be swung through ninety degrees via a pivot mounted on a small purpose-built island in the Ship Canal to allow passage. Gates at either end of the trough retain around 800 tonnes of water within the trough; further gates on either bank retain water in their adjacent stretches of canal. The aqueduct originally had a suspended towpath along its length. This has been removed in recent years on safety grounds. |
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narrowboat on the Bridgewater Canal at Moore Photo taken 12 Jan 2007 |
The
Royal Iris sails past |
The swing aqueduct was designed by Sir Edward Leader Williams, engineer to the Manchester Ship Canal Company, and built by Andrew Handyside of Derby. It became operational in 1893. Williams was also involved with the design of the region's other major 'moving canal' feat: the Anderton Boat Lift in Cheshire, discussed later.
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MSC
Viceroy on |
Signs
of the times. Road signs have changed a lot over the years. The two on
the left are one and the |
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Stockton
Heath old mill was located in an area now remembered by Mill Lane. |
Latchford Locks at dusk. |
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While the canal was built for ocean-going ships, ship sizes have long outgrown the canal.
In
2005, the maximum length of ship accepted into the canal was 170.68 m with a beam
of 21.94 m. However, beams of around 23 m are acceptable with a smaller length.
Maximum draught is 8.78 m.
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Manchester
Concorde |
Two
ships pass the Cantilever Bridge. Marie Altum on |
Royal
Iris, this time at |
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The
QEII Dock at the entrance to the canal can accept vessels up to 208.79 m long
with a 28 m beam, maximum draught 10 m.
Unlike most British canals, the MSC and the Bridgewater Canal were never nationalised, and remain in the ownership of the Manchester Ship Canal Company, a subsidiary of Peel Holdings.
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Chester
Road swing bridge used to be known |
Anna
D is seen
here |
Warrington
Town Football |
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Today, due largely to the decline in the manufacturing industry, and the fact that many ocean-going ships are too large to fit in the MSC, the amount of freight carried on the MSC has declined, although around eight million tonnes are still transported on the canal each year, consisting of oil, chemical and grain mainly destined for Stanlow, Ellesmere Port and Runcorn.
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Along
the banks of the Ship Canal at Moore showing the remains of one of the
landing stages and the |
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It was reported in the Warrington Guardian in March 2007 that the Canal's owners, Peel Holdings, are planning to expand its business with a major set of docks at Salford, which would require more movements of the swing bridges, including those at Warrington. This was a concern raised by Warrington Borough Transport who said that when buses get delayed by the swinging of the bridges it is very difficult, if not impossible to catch up on the timetables. The plan went to Salford council in 2007. (Some information from Wikipedia)
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Sigas
Commander on |
HMS
Middleton leaves |
Manchester's sewage was treated at Barton and shipped out to the Mersey Bar by a number of vessels over the years until a new treatment plant was constructed at Waterloo Dock, Liverpool by North West Water (later United Utilities). Photo and caption Copyright © P Spilsbury. |
The
replica Golden Hind passes through Latchford on a visit to Salford
Quays on 25 October 1991. The original was the ship in which (Sir)
Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe in 1577-80. Originally called
the Pelican, it was renamed by Drake in mid-voyage in 1577, as he
prepared to enter the straits of Magellan. It was renamed in honour of
his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton (1540-91), whose armorial crest was
a golden hind (the heraldic term for a female deer). |
The Trent and Mersey Canal is 93.5 miles (140 km) long, flowing from the east and west Midlands to northwest England. It is mostly a "narrow canal" (locks and bridges big enough for a narrowboat 72 feet long x 7 feet wide) but east of Burton-on-Trent, it is a wide canal (locks and bridges can accommodate boats 14ft wide).
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As its
name implies, the Trent & Mersey canal was built to
link the River Trent at Derwent Mouth (in Derbyshire) to the River
Mersey. It opened in 1777. The second connection is made via the Bridgewater Canal, which
it joins at Preston Brook in Cheshire, just south of Warrington. Note
that although mileposts measure the distance to Preston Brook and
Shardlow, Derwent mouth is a mile or so beyond Shardlow. The idea of a canal
connection from the Mersey to the Trent ("The Grand Trunk")
came from canal engineer James Brindley. It was authorised by an Act
of Parliament in 1766, and the first sod was cut by Josiah Wedgwood in
July that year at Middleport. Less than eleven years later, the whole
canal, including more than 70 locks and five tunnels, was open, with
the company headquarters in Stone. |
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One of the tunnels on
the |
A
Trent & Mersey mile |
One special feature on the Cheshire stretch of the canal is the Anderton Boat Lift, the world's first boat-lift. Until the construction of the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland, it was the only boat-lift in the United Kingdom.
Due to space, I am only describing its route in part of Cheshire.
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The connection
with the Bridgewater Canal gives access to Runcorn (but no longer to the
Mersey or Ship Canal) in one direction and Manchester (with its many canal
links) in the other. |
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From the
junction with the Bridgewater Canal, the T&M travels south through
Preston Brook Tunnel (one-way operation, alternating each half hour) and two
smaller tunnels to the "junction" with the River Weaver at
Anderton Boat lift near Northwich. |
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After
Anderton, the next major destination is Middlewich, with a link to the Shropshire Union Canal,
giving access to Chester,
Llangollen and (south on the "Shroppie") a parallel route to
Birmingham/Wolverhampton. |
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South of
Middlewich, the T&M climbs out of the Cheshire Plain via the infamous
"Heartbreak Hill" locks (more traditionally just called the
"Cheshire Locks"), to the summit-level and the junction with the
Macclesfield Canal at Red Bull (Kidsgrove). The boater can use the "Macc"
to head for Marple, and the junction with the Peak Forest Canal (and hence,
via the Ashton, Rochdale and Bridgewater canal) to complete the
"Cheshire Ring". (Some
information from Wikipedia) |
The
River Weaver, navigable in its lower reaches, runs in a curving route
anti-clockwise across west Cheshire. One of its most notable feature
is the Anderton Boat lift, built 1875, near Northwich, which links the
Weaver with the Trent and Mersey Canal some 50ft above.
RouteFrom its source in the hills of west Cheshire near Peckforton Castle, it initially flows in a south-easterly direction towards the border with Shropshire, fed by tributaries some of which rise in north Shropshire. |
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The
River Weaver and |
Just south of the Cheshire village of Audlem, the river then starts to flow approximately northwards across the Cheshire Plain, and today empties into the Manchester Ship Canal at Weston Point Docks, Runcorn (it previously flowed into the River Mersey).
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From the Peckforton Hills, the Weaver flows through the village of Wrenbury. The first significant town on the river is the small market town of Nantwich. Further north, it passes through Winsford. The 21-mile-long stretch north from Winsford Bridge is navigable. Acts of Parliament dating back to 1721 were introduced to allow the river to be 'canalised' to carry freight, including salt and chemicals. This Weaver Navigation stretch includes the town of Northwich. From Northwich, the Weaver flows north-west across north Cheshire, passing between Frodsham and Sutton Weaver before reaching the Manchester Ship Canal. At one time, the Weaver navigation rejoined the Weaver at Frodsham lock, via Frodsham Cut. Between 1807 and 1810, a short section of canal, the Weston Canal, was built to bypass the lower Weaver entirely and connect directly to Weston Point Docks, and the Frodsham cut and lock became derelict. |
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Barges
Charles William, |
There is not currently an obvious attractive "destination point" for recreational boaters heading down the Weaver Navigation, although Weston Marsh Lock and the Weston Point Docks are of interest to those who like industrial heritage. However, there are now plans to reopen the Frodsham cut, and to redevelop the Frodsham wharves on the Weaver.
Rowing
is popular on the River Weaver, with competitive clubs in Runcorn, Northwich,
and Acton Bridge (The Grange School). Fishing is also popular along the river
especially at Weaver Parkway where it runs adjacent to the West Coast Main Line.
(Some
information from Wikipedia)
Although the Anderton Boat Lift is 12 miles outside the district of Warrington, and the only one in England, it is close enough for me to including some notes on it for your reading pleasure, especially due to its historical background. I fully recommend a visit. Check out their official website for further details and opening times, etc.
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The
Anderton Boat Lift is located near the village of Anderton, Cheshire,
three miles from Northwich town centre. It provides a 50 foot vertical
link between two navigable waterways: the River Weaver and the Trent
and Mersey Canal.
Built in 1875, the boat lift was in use for over 100 years until it was closed due to corrosion in 1983. Restoration started in 2001 and the boat lift was re-opened in 2002. The lift and associated visitor centre and exhibition are operated by British Waterways. It is one of only two working boat lifts in the United Kingdom; the other is Falkirk Wheel in Scotland, discussed later. |
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The Anderton Boat
Lift |
Salt has been extracted from the rock salt beds underneath the Cheshire Plain since Roman times. Our word 'salary' comes from the same Latin root word, 'salarium' where we get salt, and denotes a Roman soldier's allowance to buy salt in those ancient times. By the end of the 17th century a major salt mining industry had developed around the Cheshire "salt towns" of Northwich, Middlewich, Nantwich and Winsford. The completion of the River Weaver Navigation in 1734 (see photos here) provided a navigable route for transportation of the salt from Winsford, through Northwich, to Frodsham, where the Weaver joins the River Mersey.
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opening of the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1777 provided a second
transport route, which ran close to the Weaver Navigation for part of
its length, but extended further south to the coal mining and pottery
industries around Stoke-on-Trent. Rather than competing with one
another, the owners of the two waterways decided that it would be more
profitable to work together. In 1793 a basin was excavated on the
north bank of the Weaver, at Anderton, which took the river to the
foot of the escarpment (slope) of the canal, 50 ft (15 m) above. Facilities
were built for the trans-shipment of goods between the two waterways,
including two cranes, two salt chutes and an inclined plane, possibly
inspired by the much larger Hay Inclined Plane at Coalport. These
facilities were extended with a second quay built in 1801 and the
construction of a second entrance to the basin in 1831. |
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The
Trent & Mersey Canal |
By 1870 the Anderton Basin was a major interchange for the trans-shipment of goods in both directions, with extensive warehousing, three separate double inclined planes and four salt chutes. However, trans-shipment was time-consuming and expensive, and the Trustees of the Weaver Navigation decided that a link between the two waterways was needed to allow boats to pass directly from one to the other. A flight of canal locks was considered but discarded, mainly because of the lack of a suitable site and the loss of water from the canal that would have resulted from operating locks. In 1870 the Trustees formally proposed a boat lift between the waterways. The Anderton Basin was the obvious site for such a boat lift.
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The
Trustees approached the North Staffordshire Railway Company, then owners
of the Trent and Mersey Canal, to ask if they would contribute towards
the cost of the boat lift. However, this approach was unsuccessful, so
the Trustees agreed to fund the boat lift themselves. The Trustees asked their chief Engineer, Edward Leader Williams, chief engineer and designer of the Manchester Ship Canal, to draw up plans for a boat lift. Leader Williams considered various ideas and finally settled on a design involving a pair of water-filled chambers, or caissons, which would counter-balance one another, and so require relatively little power to lift boats up and down. |
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| A
view of the Anderton Boat Lift from the past taken in 1965. Photo Copyright © P Spilsbury. |
Another
view: this one taken on 1 January 1993 during restoration. Photo Copyright © P Spilsbury. |
A
similar boat lift on the Grand Western Canal, completed in 1835, used chains to
connect the caissons via an overhead balance wheel. However, this design require
a very solid masonry superstructure to support the weight of the loaded
caissons. Leader Williams realised that if he used water-filled hydraulic rams
to support the caissons instead, then the weight of the caissons would be borne
by the rams and their cylinders, buried underground, and a much lighter
superstructure could be used. He may also have been inspired by inspecting a
hydraulic ship lift and graving dock at the Royal Victoria Dock in London,
designed by experienced hydraulic engineer, Edwin Clark.
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Having
decided on a hydraulic ram design, Leader Williams appointed Edwin
Clark as principal designer. The Anderton Basin, at that time,
consisted of a cut on the north bank of the Weaver surrounding a small
central island. It was decided to construct the boat lift itself on
this island. The two wrought iron caissons were each 75 ft (23 m) long
by 15 ft 6 inches (4.7m) wide by 9 ft 6 inches (2.9 m) deep, and could
each accommodate two 72 ft (22 m) narrowboats or a single barge with a
beam of up to 13 ft (4 m).
Each caisson had a weight of 90 tons when empty and 252 tons when full of water (because of displacement, the weight is the same with or without boats). Each caisson was supported by a single hydraulic ram consisting of a hollow 50 ft (15 m) long cast iron vertical piston with a diameter of 3 ft (90 cm), travelling within a buried 50 ft (15 m) long cast iron vertical cylinder with a diameter of 5 ft 6 inches (1.7 m). At river level the
caissons sat in a water-filled sandstone lined chamber. The above-ground superstructure consisted of seven hollow cast iron columns,
which provided guide rails for the caissons and supported an upper
working platform, walkways and access staircase. At the upper level
the boat lift was connected to the Trent and Mersey canal via a 165 ft
(50 m) long wrought iron aqueduct, with vertical wrought iron gates at
either end. |
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The boat lift at
canal height |
In normal operation the cylinders of the two hydraulic rams were connected by a 5 inch (13 cm) diameter pipe, which allowed water to pass between them, thus lowering the heavier caisson and raising the lighter one. To make adjustments at the start and end of a lift either cylinder could be operated independently, powered by an accumulator or pressure vessel at the top of the lift structure, which was in turn kept primed by a 10 horse power steam engine. If necessary, the steam engine and accumulator could operate either hydraulic ram on its own, thus raising the caissons independently, although this would take about 30 minutes to raise a caisson from river level to canal level, as opposed to 3 minutes in normal operation.
In October 1871 the Trustees of the Weaver Navigation held a Special General Meeting, which resolved
to
consider the desirability of constructing a lift with basins and all other
requisite works for the interchange of traffic between the River Weaver and the
North Staffordshire Canal at Anderton and of applying to Parliament for an Act
to authorise the construction of such works ....
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In July 1872 Royal
Assent was granted for the Weaver Navigation 1872 Act, which
authorised the construction of the boat lift. The contract for
construction of the lift was awarded to Emmerson Murgatroyd & Co.
Ltd. of Stockport and Liverpool. Work started before the end of 1872,
and took 30 months. The Anderton boat lift was formally opened to
traffic on 26 July 1875. The total cost of the work was £48,428. < A canal boat leaves the lift for the Trent & Mersey Canal. |
The lift originally worked using hydraulic power, but was converted to electric operation between 1906 and 29 July 1908, when it was reopened. The boat lift was successfully operated for 75 years. Regular maintenance was still necessary. In particular, the wire ropes supporting the caissons suffered from fatigue as a result of repeated bending and straightening as they ran over the overhead pulleys, and had to be replaced quite frequently.
| However,
the maintenance was simpler than before because the mechanism of the
electrical lift was all above ground. It was also less expensive
because the caissons were now designed to be run independently, so
most maintenance operations could be carried out while one caisson
remained operational, thus avoiding the need to close the lift
entirely for any extended period.
Another regular maintenance job was repainting. The new superstructure of the converted lift was found to be susceptible to corrosion. To reduce this corrosion the entire lift was painted with a protective solution of tar and rubber, which had to be renewed every eight years or so. During
1941 and 1942 the hydraulic rams of the original lift, which had been
left in place in their shaft beneath the dry dock constructed during
conversion, were finally removed in order to salvage the iron. |
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Close
by is Anderton |
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During
repainting work in 1983 extensive corrosion was found in the lift's
superstructure, and it was declared structurally unsound and closed. A
modified version of the original hydraulic system was reinstated,
however, after restoration work in 2002.
More than 2,000 individuals contributed to the Anderton Boat Lift Appeal and raised over £430,000. Most of the restoration work was carried out off site. On 26 March 2002, a special trip boat Edwin Clark travelled down the river with VIPs from the British Waterways depot at Northwich to the site. They travelled up in the lift to perform the opening ceremony. The 1906-1908 external frame and pulleys have been retained in a non-operational role. It is now one of the most popular visitor attractions in north Cheshire. A booklet, 'A Guide to the Anderton Boat Lift' by David Garden & Neil Parkhouse, and published by Black Dwarf Publications in 2002, is available from stockists. ISBN 1 903599 05 9 (Some information from Wikipedia) |
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The restored lift in
2003, |
Pleasure cruises |
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While
we're looking at boat lifts, we might as well look in on The Falkirk
Wheel, named after the nearby town of Falkirk in central Scotland.
This is a rotating boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with
the Union Canal. The difference in the levels of the two canals at the
wheel is 24 metres, roughly equivalent to the height of an eight
storey building.
The
structure is located near the rough Castle Fort and the closest
village is Tamfourhill. The
Falkirk Wheel cost £17.5 million, and the restoration project as a
whole cost £84.5 million (of which £32 million came from National
Lottery funds). On 24 May 2002, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Falkirk Wheel as part of her Golden Jubilee celebrations. The opening had been delayed by a month due to flooding caused by vandals who forced open the wheel's gates. |
| Falkirk
Wheel Side 2004 Author Sean Mack. This file licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License. |
Architectural services were supplied by Scotland-based RMJM, from initial designs by Nicoll Russell Studios and engineers Binnie Black and Veatch. The wheel, which has an overall diameter of 35 metres, consists of two opposing arms which extend 15 metres beyond the central axle, and which take the shape of a Celtic-inspired, double-headed axe. Two sets of these axe-shaped arms are attached about 25 metres apart to a 3.5 metre diameter axle. Two diametrically opposed water-filled caissons, each with a capacity of 80,000 gallons (302 tons), are fitted between the ends of the arms.
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caissons always weigh the same whether or not they are carrying their
combined capacity of 600 tonnes of floating canal barges as, according
to Archimedes' principle, floating objects displace their own weight
in water, so when the boat enters, the amount of water leaving the
caisson weighs exactly the same as the boat. This keeps the wheel
balanced and so, despite its enormous mass, it rotates through 180°
in less than four minutes while using very little power. It takes just
22.5 kilowatts (kW) to power the electric motors, which consume just
1.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy in four minutes, roughly the same
as boiling eight kettles of water. The wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and is regarded as an engineering landmark for Scotland. The United Kingdom has one other boat lift: the Anderton Boat Lift in Cheshire. |
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The
Falkirk Wheel is an improvement on the Anderton Boat Lift, and makes use of the
same original principle: two balanced tanks, one going up and the other going
down.
The wheel was constructed by Butterfly Engineering at Ripley in Derbyshire under Millennium Plans to reconnect the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal, mainly for recreational use. The two canals were previously connected by a series of 11 locks, but by the 1930s these had fallen into disuse, were filled in and the land built upon.
The Millennium Commission decided to regenerate the canals of central Scotland to connect Glasgow with Edinburgh once more. Designs were submitted for a lock to link the canals, with the Falkirk Wheel design winning. As with many Millennium Commission projects the site includes a visitors' centre containing a shop, café and exhibition centre.
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Three
views of the Falkirk Wheel in action. Images 
SeanMack/Gallery
Wikimedia
Commons |
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The docking-pit is a drydock-like port, which is isolated from the lower canal basin by means of watertight gates and kept dry by means of water pumps. When the wheel rotates and stops with its arms in the vertical position, it is possible for boats to enter and exit the lower caisson when the gates are open, without flooding the docking-pit. The space below the caisson is empty.
If it were not for inclusion of the docking-pit the caissons and extremities of the arms of the wheel would be immersed in water at the lower canal basin each time the wheel rotates. This would result in a number of undesirable situations developing, such as providing buoyancy in the bottom caisson and the viscosity of the water causing an increase in the required power.
A similar design of boat-lift has been suggested for a proposed new canal which would run along Marston Vale in Bedfordshire, as part of a large-scale project creating an area of leisure and tourism facilities linked to the future expansion of Bedford and Milton Keynes. The canal would link the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes with the River Great Ouse at Bedford. (Some information from Wikipedia)
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On the Bridgewater Canal, there is no need for locks as the waterway runs at the same level for its whole length. In other places, it was necessary to devise a way to transport boats between separate sections which were at different levels. For instance, there may be a town at the bottom of a valley, whilst the next town or link might be on top of a hill. So the engineers built locks to link the sections. Put simply, a lock is a particular type of device for raising or lowering boats between stretches of water at different levels. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber whose water level can be varied; unlike a boat lift where the chamber itself moves. |
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A plan and side view of a generic, empty canal lock. A lock chamber separated from the rest of the canal by an upper pair and a lower pair of mitre gates. The gates in each pair close against each other at an 18° angle to approximate an arch against the water pressure on the "upstream" side of the gates when the water level on the "downstream" side is lower. All locks have three elements:
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A
lock gate schematic. |
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A gate
(often a pair of "pointing" half-gates) at either end of the
chamber. A gate is opened to allow a boat to enter or leave the chamber;
when closed, the gate is watertight. |
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A set of lock gear to empty or fill the chamber as required. This is usually a simple valve (traditionally, a flat panel lifted by manually winding a rack and pinion mechanism) which allows water to drain into or out of the chamber; larger locks may use pumps. |
The principle of
operating a lock is simple. For instance, if a boat travelling downstream finds
the lock already full of water:
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| A
lift bridge on the Llangollen Canal near Whitchurch on 28 May 1990. They are a feature of this canal. Photo and caption Copyright © P Spilsbury. |
Bunbury
Locks near Tarporley on the Shropshire Union Canal 8 August 2003. The lockkeepers cottage is at the top left and the horses stable on the right. Photo and caption Copyright © P Spilsbury. |
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Boaters approaching a lock are usually pleased to meet another boat coming towards them, because this boat will have just exited the lock on their level and therefore set the lock in their favour — saving some work and some 5-10 minutes. (This is not true for staircase locks, where it is quicker for boats to go through in convoy.) (information from Wikipedia) |
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Image
Matt
Crypto |
The RMS Tayleur was a fully-rigged iron clipper chartered by the White Star Line, and her fate would be a black mark on that company for years to come.
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The Tayleur was designed by William Rennie of Liverpool and built for owners Charles Moore & Company. When she was launched at Warrington Dock on 4 October 1853, having taken just six months to build, Tayleur was the largest merchant ship on the seas. She was 230 feet in length with a 40 foot beam and displaced 1,750 tons, while 4,000 tons of cargo could be carried in holds 28 feet deep below three decks. She was named after Charles Tayleur, founder of the Vulcan Engineering Works. |
Warrington Dock evolved to allow unloading of goods for road transport to the east. A small Warrington Dock was also provided on the Manchester Ship Canal with a lock through to the river Mersey. The dock and lock are now derelict. The area is still marked on the modern map opposite Ellesmere Road at Stockton Heath.
The new ship was chartered by the White Star Line to serve the booming Australian trade routes, as transport to and from the colony was in high demand due to the discovery of gold there.
Tayleur left Liverpool on 19 January 1854, on her maiden voyage, for Melbourne, Australia, with 652 passengers and crew. Her crew of 71 had only 37 trained seamen amongst them, and of these ten could not speak English (a number of the crew were accused in newspaper accounts of the time to be merely seeking free passage to Australia). However most of the crew survived.
Her compass did not work properly because of the iron hull. The crew believed that they were sailing south through the Irish Sea, but were actually travelling west towards Ireland. On 21 January 1854, within 48 hours of sailing, Tayleur encountered fog and a storm and were heading straight for land. The rudder was undersized for her tonnage, and when land was sighted through the mists, she was unable to tack around Lambay Island. The rigging was also faulty, and the ropes had not been properly stretched. They became slack, making it nearly impossible to control the sails. Despite dropping both anchors as soon as rocks were sighted, she ran aground on the east coast of Lambay Island, about five miles from Dublin Bay.
Initially, attempts were made to lower the ship's lifeboats, but when the first one was smashed on the rocks, launching further boats was deemed unsafe. Tayleur was so close to land that the crew was able to collapse a mast onto the shore, and some people aboard were able to jump onto land by clambering along the collapsed mast. Some that reached shore had carried ropes from the ship, allowing others to pull themselves to safety on the ropes. Captain Noble waited onboard Tayleur until the last minute, then jumped towards shore, being rescued by one of the passengers.
With the storm and high seas continuing, the ship was then washed into deeper water. She sank to the bottom with only the tops of her masts showing. One survivor, William Vivers, climbed to the tops of the rigging, spending 14 hours there until he was rescued. Out of the 652 people onboard, 380 lives - many of them immigrants - were lost. Out of over 100 women onboard, only three survived, possibly because of the difficulty with the clothing of that era. The survivors were then faced with having to get up an almost sheer 80 foot (24m) cliff to get to shelter. When word of the disaster reached the Irish mainland, the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company sent the steamer Prince to look for survivors.
Although newspaper accounts at the time blamed the crew for negligence, the official Coroner's Inquest absolved Captain Noble and placed the blame on the ship's owners, accusing them of neglect for allowing the ship to depart without its compasses being properly adjusted. The Board of Trade, however, did fault the Captain for not taking soundings, a standard practice when sailing in low visibility.
The wreck currently lies in 18 metres of water. The Tayleur has been compared with RMS Titanic. Both were White Star Liners and RMS ships, i.e. Royal Mail Steamers or Ships, authorised to carry the British Royal Mail. The RMS designation began in 1840, the year the penny black stamp was first issued. Technically innovative like the Titanic, both had a serious claim to being the largest ship of their time. Additionally, both vessels went down on their maiden voyages, and inadequate or faulty equipment contributed to both disasters (Faulty compasses and rigging for the Tayleur, and an inadequate flooding control system and lifeboats for Titanic). (Some information from Wikipedia)
An announcement in August 2006 regarding budget cuts for British Waterways has worried some, who believe that development of new waterways, and even maintenance of existing canals, might suffer. Alternatively, fees for licences paid by boaters and marinas may rise sharply. One legal problem is that some currently-open waterways still officially only have "remainder" status, so a cash-strapped BW would have no legal obligation to maintain them.
Another issue affecting the future of the canal system is that it now seems very unlikely that there will be an extension of the "derogation" from the EU rule on fuel tax on private pleasure boats. Canal boats will thus have to pay the same tax on diesel fuel as motorists. It is feared that that this might affect the popularity of canal holidays. Although the cost of fuel would not be a large fraction of the cost of hiring a boat, there could be an adverse reaction if British hire companies felt that they could no longer afford to subsidise high-speed and high-mileage boaters by "including free fuel". To start charging for fuel used (as is common outside Britain) rather than providing a "free" tankful could be unpopular with potential hirers.
For many years there has been a call for a new river crossing over the Mersey to ease congestion on the roads at Liverpool, Runcorn, Warrington and Manchester. This is set to become a reality in the coming years with a Government-approved project called The Mersey Gateway. A new toll bridge is planned between Runcorn and Widnes, east of the current Jubilee Bridge, for which the government has already promised a cash injection of £209m. However, it has not gone done well with some members of the community. Some say that because tolls will be charged, many drivers may choose to travel via Warrington to avoid paying, resulting in more traffic problems in the town. For the latest, see the official Halton Council website.
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Did you know Warrington has TWO rivers flowing through the town? That's right! As well as the famous Mersey, the second is the river Atherton which flows through Bewsey, Dallam and Orford. It is now called Dallam Brook and known locally as the "Stinker" or "Stinking Brook" for obvious reasons. Having said that, it has had a bit of a clean up over recent years. < The river Atherton runs along the border of the Bewsey and Dallam estates in north west Warrington. |
Click here for Part 1
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