Spotlight on the Canals – the Macclesfield Canal

Spectacular Pennine views, ‘snake’ bridges, impressive stone aqueducts, striking rock formations, Victorian mills and country pubs.

One of the last narrow canals to be built, and the first to be awarded Green Flag status, the beautiful tree-lined Macclesfield Canal runs for 28 miles from its junction with the Peak Forest Canal at Marple in Cheshire, to the Trent & Mersey Canal at Kidsgrove in Staffordshire.

Passing mostly through green and rural surroundings, the canal follows the natural contours of the land, passing along the side of the most westerly Pennine hills through High Lane, Higher Poynton, Bollington, Macclesfield and Congleton.

Approved by an Act of Parliament in 1826, the Macclesfield Canal was designed to provide a direct link between Manchester, the Potteries and the Midlands, reducing journey times. It also served cotton mills, quarries and coal mines around Macclesfield, Congleton and the Peak District.

The coming of the railways soon outcompeted the canal, but it was still used for some freight carriage until the 1960s, and as a local cruising club had already been using the waterway for many years, its leisure potential was already established, so it remained navigable.

With its spectacular views over the Cheshire Plain, the Macclesfield Canal provides the most elevated (the top level is 518 feet above sea level, one of the highest navigable levels in the country), and perhaps the most beautiful section of the Cheshire Ring. With just one flight of locks at Bosley, the Macclesfield Canal enjoys miles of lock-free cruising either side.

Narrowboat holiday-makers cruising gently along, soaking up the scenery and admiring the historic structures that line its route, including Victorian mills and warehouses, its original stone milestones and six ‘change’ or ‘snake’ bridges, where the towpath changes sides of the canal, allowing horses to move over without having to be untied from the boat.

Best for beginners

From our base at Bunbury on the Shropshire Union Canal near Tarporley in Cheshire, on a week’s break boaters can travel to Macclesfield and back, cruising for a total of 40 hours and travelling through 94 locks.

After travelling south two miles to Barbridge Junction, with its marina and Olde Barbridge Inn, canal boat holiday-makers should then head up the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal to join the Trent & Mersey at the historic market town of Middlewich.

This quiet waterway, with just four locks along its 10-mile length, travels peacefully through the Cheshire countryside. Along the route, the Badger Inn at Church Minshull, just a short walk from the canal, is a popular place to stop and there are also plenty of pubs and restaurants to enjoy at Middlewich.

From Middlewich, boaters should head south along the Trent & Mersey Canal to the Macclesfield Canal, a 12-mile journey which passes through 28 locks of the 31 which form ‘Heartbreak Hill’, raising the canal 280ft up from the Cheshire Plains.

Along the way, the route passes the Sandbach Flashes SSSI at Ettiley Heath, Wheelock with a choice of pubs, and Hassall Green with its Potters Barn working pottery.

The next village is Rode Heath with its Royal Oak pub and Rode Hall, one of Cheshire’s most exquisite country houses.

Hardings Wood Junction, where the Trent & Mersey meets the Macclesfield Canal, is unusual – an early canal’spaghetti junction’. The Macclesfield leaves the Trent & Mersey on the south side, then crosses it on Poole Aqueduct after the Trent & Mersey has fallen through two locks. The Macclesfield then crosses Red Bull Aqueduct to begin its journey to Marple.

It’s a busy area with Canal & River Trust moorings and plenty of pubs, including The Blue Bell and Red Bull Hotel.

Turning north up the Hall Green Branch of the Macclesfield Canal, after just over a mile, boaters reach Hall Green Stop Lock, not far from The Bleeding Wolf pub at Scholar Green, with a good reputation for home cooked food.

Travelling through glorious open countryside, a mile further along at Bridge No.87 the canal passes the family-run Rising Sun, where walkers can pick up the Gritstone Walking Trail, offering stunning views of the Cheshire Plain from its gritstone ridges.

Just under a mile later, from the towpath at Bridge 86, boaters can moor-up and pick up a footpath to the National Trust’s iconic moated Tudor Manor house, Little Moreton Hall. Or walk cross the canal at Bridge 86 and head to Mow Cop (Mow is pronounced as in cow) to see the striking ‘Old Man of Mow’ rock formation crowning the ridge of hills that run parallel to the canal.

Over the next two miles, as it approaches Congleton, the canal crosses two impressive stone aqueducts – the first at Watery Lane, close to the Horseshoe Inn, and second at Dog Lane, close to Congleton Wharf and the award-winning Beartown Tap pub.

There are shops close to Bridge 75, including a fish & chips shop, and two beautiful ‘snake bridges’ follow. A mile later at bridge 71, a footpath runs to the top of the Cloud, an impressive local fell.

Three miles later, the route reaches the foot of Bosley Locks, a flight of 12 deep locks which raise the canal level by 118ft to over 500ft above sea level. Once through the locks, the canal soon approaches the village of Gawsworth, home of the striking Gawsworth Hall Tudor Manor House, then Oakgrove in the foothills of the Pennines.

Just over two miles later, having passed the villages of Lyme Green and Sutton Lane Ends with is Church House Inn and Lamb Inn, the canal reaches Macclesfield.

The best place to moor to explore the town, once one of the leading silk producing centres, is south of Bridge 37, close to the Hovis Mill, birthplace of the famous flour. Here visitors will find cobbled streets, a medieval Market Place, the Silk Museum Heritage Centre, Silk Museum & Paradise Mill, and plenty of shops and pubs, including the canalside Puss in Boots and the beer-specialist Macc Bar.

As the canal continues north, reaching Bollington in just over two miles, the Middlewood Way is never far from the canal, following the course of the ‘Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway’.

At Bollington, The Dog & Partridge and The Vale Inn are close to the impressive stone Bollington Aqueduct, and high on a hilltop to the south east of the town is the White Nancy monument, erected by the Gaskell family to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo.

The next stretch runs through beautifully quiet and unspoilt countryside, winding northwards along the summit level, crossing several valleys on embankments with impressive aqueducts.

At Four Lane Ends, the canalside Miners Arms offers excellent food and at Higher Poynton, The Boar’s Head offers traditional home-made food, real ale and fireside dining.

From the Boar’s Head, it’s a two-mile walk to the National Trust’s magnificent Italianate Palace, Lyme Park, famously featured in the BBC’s ‘Pride & Prejudice’ as ‘Pemberley’, home of Mr Darcy. The Anson Engine Museum with a tearoom and shop, is also a short walk from the Boar’s Head.

After travelling over another massive embankment and aqueduct, the last three miles of the Macclesfield Canal passes through High Lane with a choice of pubs, as well as Hawk Green and Goyt Mill, before reaching its junction with the Peak Forest Canal at picturesque Marple.

Best for experienced boaters

On a longer holiday, the 97-mile, 92-lock Cheshire Ring is a popular circuit, taking in a complete range of canal scenery, including the spectacular views of the Pennines from the Macclesfield Canal, gentle rolling Cheshire countryside and the lively city centre of Manchester.

From the top of the Macclesfield Canal at Marple, boaters tackling the Cheshire Ring should continue north up the Peak Forest Canal, travelling eight miles, through 16 locks and two tunnels before reaching the Ashton Canal at Ashton-under-Lyne.

Along the way, boaters will go down the Marple lock flight, which drops the canal down by 214ft, and over the stunning three-arched Marple Aqueduct over the River Goyt, now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. As Ashton is approached, the route becomes less rural, passing through industrial Hyde before reaching Dunkinfield Junction and Portland Basin, nicknamed the ‘weavers rest’, as so many weavers reputedly drowned themselves here during hard times.

The Cheshire Ring route then continues west along the Ashton Canal, passing through the densely built-up areas of Droylsden and then Manchester, before meeting the Rochdale Canal at Fairfield Junction and then on to the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield, a total distance of eight miles, passing through 27 locks.

Along the way, the Beswick flight of four locks stands next to the Sportcity Stadium (home to Manchester City Football Club) and boaters can see Thomas Heathwick’s ‘B of the Bang’ sculpture, which marks the success of the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

From Castlefield, the Bridgewater Canal travels south west to Lymm, covering 13 miles with no locks. Here, the town’s 17^th century Cross is just yards from the canal in the centre of this attractive and hilly little town.

From Lymm to Preston Brook it’s another 10 miles with no locks, passing through Stockton Heath, where the 21-mile Delamere Way parallels the canal for a time as it journeys from Frodsham to Warrington, via Delamere Forest.

From Preston Brook Junction, where the Bridgewater meets the Trent & Mersey Canal, it’s a further seven miles to Anderton, with one lock and three tunnels, including the 1,239 yard Preston Brook Tunnel.

The Anderton Boat Lift, nicknamed ‘The Cathedral of the Canals’, perches up on the hill like some giant metal spider. This magnificent Victorian edifice, which reopened in 2002 after a massive £7million restoration project, lifts or lowers narrowboats 50ft between the River Weaver and the Trent & Mersey Canal in two huge water tanks.

There are 10 miles and four locks between Anderton and Middlewich Junction, where the route passes close to Marbury Country Park, then the Lion Salt Works at Marston before travelling through the historic town of Northwich, where the Rivers Weaver and Dane meet.

Once back at Middlewich the Cheshire Ring is complete and it’s another 12 miles and four locks, travelling down the Middlewich Branch and a short section of the Shropshire Union Canal, back to our narrowboat hire base at Bunbury. In total, travelling the Cheshire Ring from our Bunbury base takes 60 hours, passing through 102 locks, and from our Trevor base it takes 102 hours, passing through 140 locks.

To book a holiday or break on any of Anglo Welsh’s fleet, call our friendly booking team on 0117 304 1122.

It has been a glorious Summer on the canals and Autumn 2017 promises even more narrowboat highlights

Summer Narrowboat Holidays Highlights at Anglo Welsh

It is hard to beat languid summer days drifting along canals on a narrowboat, but as autumn leaves start to flutter to the ground along the nation’s towpaths, the Anglo Welsh team are busy preparing for an equally enjoyable Indian summer on the water.

An early highlight of 2017 were the annual Open Days held at six Anglo Welsh bases as part of Drifters’ National Open Day in April. The Canal & River Trust supported event gave narrowboat newcomers at Tardebigge, Wootton Wawen, Bunbury, Trevor and Great Haywood a unique opportunity to try canal boating for free.

Among the summer’s busiest events on the water were the Bristol Harbour Festival, the Crick Boat Show, and the River Festival at Stratford-upon-Avon. In Shakespeare’s hometown, delighted visitors were invited on board Anglo Welsh’s high spec ‘Summer’, rated among the finest narrowboat hires available anywhere on the UK’s waterways.

Anglo Welsh also launched several exciting additions to our top-of-the-range Constellation class this summer, beginning with the 67 ft 6-berth ‘Pegasus’ based at our Great Haywood base and the 65 ft 4-berth ‘Hydra’ in Tardebigge. Next up came the spectacular 69 ft 12-berth ‘Lynx’ and the 67 ft 6-berth ‘Perseus’, both now available to hire from Anglo Welsh’s base at Stockton on the Grand Union Canal in Warwickshire.

The latter county was in the news when Phil Seedhouse, an IT manager from Solihull, decided to raise much-needed funds for Cardiomyopathy UK. The Warwickshire Towpath Challenge normally involves walking a 100 mile stretch of the West Midlands Canal Ring in 5-7 days, but Phil decided to test his endurance by tackling the route in just 4 days. Anglo Welsh’s support for his charitable walk helped him raise over £2,000.

Somewhat less strenuous was Stan Cullimore’s family cruise along the River Thames from our base in Oxfordshire. As befits a man who enjoyed chart success with ‘80s pop band The Housemartins on songs like ‘Sheep’ and ‘Meet the Farmer’, Stan was captivated by the sights and sounds of rural England as seen from the water. “It’s a wonderful way to slow down, unwind and watch the world go by,” he wrote in his Bristol Post review.

Anglo Welsh has yet to ask people to capture their narrowboat adventures in a song, but 2017 did see hundreds of canal devotees record the visual charms of the waterways as part of our ‘Canal Adventures 2017’ Instagram Photo Challenge. Kick-started by an ‘Instameet’ organized by Igers Wiltshire in Lechlade-on-Thames, the nation’s snappers captured handsome narrowboats and panoramic landscapes in all their glory, not to mention smiling children and happy pets!

The nights may be drawing in, but there are still plenty of exciting events on the canals in 2017. On September 20th, Bend on the Bends is a free Yoga session taking place on the banks of the Llangollen Canal next to Anglo Welsh’s base at Trevor, in the shadows of the awesome World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, 126 ft (38 metres) above the River Dee. The session is being run by Be Balanced Yoga and is funded by the Canal & River Trust. Not recommended for wobbly-legged punters who suffer from vertigo!

Talking of funny walks, Standedge Tunnel on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal is the venue for the Monty Python & The Holy Grail film and medieval style feast on September 22nd. Visitors feeling sluggish after the medieval feast, could do worse than moor close by and then visit nearby Sheffield, where the following day marks the start of the Sheffield Waterfront Festival, two fun-packed days of family activities and heritage boat trips. The busy weekend of September 23rd/24th also stages the Hayes Canal Festival on the Grand Union Canal, Walsall Canal Open Day, and the Birmingham Floating Market for canal traders.

Looking ahead to October, the Stourbridge Navigation Trust Open Weekend takes place on the 21st and 22^nd of that month, a family friendly event now in its thirty-second year. Activities include canal boat trips, rides on classic vehicles and traction engines and fairground amusements – and it’s all free.

Last but not least, the Anderton Firework Spectacular on October 28th in Northwich, Cheshire promises to be one of the autumn’s unmissable events. A fully choreographed firework display will illuminate the sky over the Anderton Boat Lift, the so-called ‘Cathedral of the Canals’. And yes, the world-famous lift does what it says on the tin – lifting narrowboats straight up the 50 ft from the River Weaver to the Trent & Mersey Canal.

To book one of Anglo Welsh’s superbly equipped canal boats, please contact our Booking Team on 0117 304 1122. You can also register your details online or call the above number to receive our full colour 2018 Holiday Brochure with some exciting news for the year ahead.

Anglo Welsh recommends – Bristol Harbour Festival

The ever-friendly staff at Anglo Welsh’s head office in Bristol are always keen to sing the praises of their vibrant home city, not least when summer comes around and it’s time for the annual Bristol Harbour Festival, often described by the locals as the mother of all maritime festivals.

This year’s event takes place from Friday July 21st to Sunday July 23rd and will once again celebrate Bristol’s proud maritime heritage as the city’s harbour and waterside fill with two miles of boats, food markets, circus acts, live music and performers.

Launching the Bristol Harbour Festival weekend, the 20-piece Outlook Orchestra will perform a 100-minute live mix celebrating some of the most popular dance tracks from all around the world, coupled with a live set by chart-topping UK artist Roots Manuva.

The weekend’s land-based events are free to all festival visitors while tickets are available granting exclusive access to the spectacular array of boats displayed on the pontoons. Also part of this year’s three-day event is the Western Boat Show, an exciting new consumer show that will feature canal boats, sailing boats, power boats, yachts, dinghies and even fishing boats, not to mention a wide range of marine products and services.

An idyllic starting point for narrowboats heading in the direction of Bristol Harbour* for the July festival is provided by Anglo Welsh’s base at Sydney Wharf in the Word Heritage City of Bath, though we should add that the journey itself is not for the faint-hearted!

Bristol is 7 hours cruising away from our base in the heart of Bath, but the route is only recommended for experienced narrowboat hirers due to the rise and fall in the tide on the River Avon – the highest in the world, falling and rising as much as 14 metres per day.

If you do decide to head along the River Avon from Bath towards Bristol, once there you could also take in Brunel’s masterpiece the SS Great Britain, explore Bristol Zoo, or visit the new Blue Reef Aquarium at the harbour side.

If like the Anglo Welsh team you are a fan of boats, arts, circus, music, nautical capers, and good food and drink by the waterside, make sure you pencil the Bristol Harbour Festival into your diary as an unmissable event this summer.

To book a canal holiday from Anglo Welsh’s base at Sydney Wharf in Bath or from any of our 11 prime waterway locations, please call our friendly booking team on 0117 304 1122.

*Access to Bristol is restricted and must be granted by the lock keeper. There is a £35 per night mooring fee for boaters wishing to moor in the Harbour. During the festival, only boats that have pre-booked will be granted access into the Harbour. Boaters can cruise towards Bristol from Bath and moor up approximately 2 hours away, before accessing the festival via road.