An Epic Journey
The IWA Cheshire Ring Canal Cruise, June 1997 by Clive Smith

Ten boats took part in the event which was organised by the Manchester branch of the I.W.A. John and Margaret Fletcher led in their boat "The Weaver" with the Lord Mayor on board as passenger. My boat "The Wizard" was crewed by SCARS' Members: myself, Geoff Paddock, and Ronnie Hewitt. The Lord Mayor of Manchester made a speech before the start; unfortunately due to a packet boat starting up and trains passing over the bridges at Castlefields, his speech was not heard.

The cruise started from Castlefields Basin which is Britain's first Urban Heritage Park, and a massive development area under the process of restoration. The first Sunday's section was along the remaining navigable two miles of the Rochdale Canal from Castlefields to Ducie Street Junction through the very heart of Manchester. Despite the numerous buildings and roads, the canal is a quiet haven and a wonderful way to pass through the city centre. The Rochdale canal was the first through route across the Pennines linking Lancashire and Cheshire. Fly boats used to travel from Manchester to Rochdale including the ascent of 41 locks in less than 7 hours. Although the canal was abandoned in 1952, the two mile section from Castlefields to Ducie Street Junction has been maintained, enabling the Cheshire Ring to be navigable.

The flight of locks on the Rochdale Canal was free of charge. Our convoy of boats diverted into the Bridgewater Arm to view Bridgewater Hall. The 70 foot boats had to be pulled in and out by hand due to the entrance to the Bridgewater Arm having been narrowed by a layer of unsightly concrete which had been laid on top of the original sandstone blocks. Otherwise the actual voyage was uneventful. Ruth Symonds on the boat "Windwhistle 2" soon adopted our crew. Our resistance was negligible - we were soon calling her "mother".

Next day, Monday, we sailed from Ducie Street Junction to Stalybridge, a distance of 6.25 miles along the Ashton Canal followed by a short incursion into the Huddersfield Narrow Boat Canal. The Ashton canal has 18 locks and was opened in 1799, mainly to serve the mills in the Ashton area. Together with the construction of the Macclesfield Canal in 1831, a through route was established from Manchester to the Potteries. For this reason, the Ashton Canal survived longer than most, but was unnavigable by 1962. However, in 1974, it was re-opened to form an integral part of the Cheshire Ring.

After a good start, we met trouble at lock number 4. Twenty yards from the gate, "Wizard" grounded. We had to open the paddles on the lock gates to flood the pound. The crew had to get off "Wizard" and bow haul her into the lock. After this, a gap of one pound was left between us and the following boats. At lock number 7, the same problem occurred. We were not impressed by comments from Ian James of British Waterways in the boat following behind us. He tried to make out that the problem was nothing to do with him. At the end of the Ashton canal, at Portland basin, we went a short distance into the Huddersfield Narrow Boat Canal to Stalybridge; where we arrived exhausted at 6.30 p.m. "Gemini" and "George", the two old work boats on the cruise, did not arrive until 9 p.m. Mother Ruth provided us with a lovely evening meal.

On Tuesday, we sailed back down the Huddersfield Narrow Boat Canal to Portland Basin to re-join the Cheshire Ring and the Peak Forest Canal. "Gemini" and "George" decided that they would go first on this day; "Wizard" followed in third place. The Huddersfield Canal lock paddles decided to act up, delaying "Wizard's" arrival at the Portland Basin and the start of the Peak Forest Canal until 11 o'clock.

The Peak Forest Canal is 14.5 miles long from Portland Basin, Dukinfield to Whaley Bridge. It was opened in 1800, with the exception of the 16 Marple locks which took four more years to construct. During this time, a temporary tramway linked the canal together. The main use of the canal was the transportation of limestone from the Buxton/Doveholes area. The Bugsworth Basin was constructed, complete with a tramway from the quarry. Stone was either tipped directly into a boat on the canal or into a lime kiln. The Basin was very busy with some boats bringing coal for the kilns, others taking away limestone. The whole Bugsworth site is currently being restored and is particularly interesting. The Peak Forest Canal runs through idyllic scenery from the fringe of Manchester to the Peak District Hills. It has many interesting features, including the Marple aqueduct over the river Goyt, 100 feet below; the 308 foot long Hyde Bank tunnel and 176 yard long Woodley tunnel, as well as the Marple locks. By the middle of the 19th century, the canal was losing its trade to the railways and traffic dwindled. Even so Bugsworth was still being used until 1922; but the canal became derelict after the 1930s. In 1974, the Cheshire Ring was completed by the re-opening of the Lower Peak Forest canal from Marple Locks to Portland Basin, a distance of 14.5 miles.

Setting out along the Peak Forest Canal, our arrival at Woodley was not appreciated by the workmen who were busy repairing a landslip on the hill beside the canal. However, we were grudgingly allowed through. We arrived at Marple at 6.15 p.m. and managed to do 8 locks in less than 10 minutes each. John and Margaret Fletcher, our intrepid leaders, were in one of the last three boats in the convoy. On reaching one of the locks, he found the gate jammed. British Waterways had to be sent for again! A rope attaching a Land Rover to the balance beam did not achieve anything. So John's boat was sent back one pound. The B.W. men drained the lock and pound to find bricks jammed behind the gate. John arrived at Marple at 9.30 p.m.

Wednesday's journey was from Marple to Whalley Bridge. Although diverting from the Cheshire Ring, this allowed us a very interesting tour of Bugsworth Basin. We were amazed at the size of the complex. The boat trip was very uneventful, thank goodness, and a slap-up lunch was provided by the I.W.A.

On Thursday, we retraced 7 miles of the Peak Forest Canal to Marple junction where we were joined by two ladies from the IWA; Audrey Smith the chairwoman and Viscountess Knollys from the Amenities Action Committee. There was a slight upset when "Wizard" and "George" became jammed together in a bridge hole due to a B.W. boat crew coming clumsily in the opposite direction.

On Friday, we had a somewhat boring trip for three miles down the Macclesfield Canal to High Lane. The journey took 1.5 hours from Marple junction; but we were rewarded by a good feed courtesy of Ruth... now being called Mother by all the boaters. On Saturday, we attended the North Cheshire Cruising Club Rally and helped Ruth to set up her I.W.A. stall. 90 boats attended, however the Rally site proved to be too small for the event. We took mother's dogs for a walk while she was working. The free entertainment laid-on in the Club on Saturday night by Garry and Vera Aspey was brilliant.

On Sunday, we left the North Cheshire Cruising Club Rally at 2.30 p.m. and continued on our own along the Macclesfield Canal. The Macclesfield Canal is 27.75 miles long, with 13 locks. The line of the canal was originally surveyed by Thomas Telford. It is one of the most attractive of canals passing beneath the final hills of the Pennine Chain, where the Cheshire Plain begins. It was one of the last canals to be built, however it was extensively used in the 19th Century despite competition from the railways. By the 1960's, it had declined and was little used. A decade later, with the restoration of the Peak Forest and Ashton Canals, the canal has been transformed into one of the most interesting waterways. It has its own canal boat cruise club, The North Cheshire Cruising Club, founded in 1943. The canal passes the Adelphi Mill, crosses impressive aqueducts at Bollington and passes the slopes of Kerridge Hill. Elsewhere the canal runs through peaceful countryside. Bollington had numerous mills which were driven by coal carried on the canal. The last cotton mill ceased operating in 1960.

We had no problems passing through Bosley Locks, however the weather changed at this point. The suntan oil was put away and waterproofs put on.

On Monday, we had no problems with Heartbreak Hill, passing beneath the Cloud and over the Dane Viaduct. At this point, we had the mis-fortune to spring a leak as the weed hatch seal burst. We managed to keep our heads above water, while repairs were carried out. After crossing the Red Bull Viaduct, we joined the Trent and Mersey at Hardings Wood. This is the most southerly point in the Cheshire Ring; the view here is dominated by Mow Cop. We had to don wetsuits again at 5 p.m.; ultimately stopping for the night at Sandbach.

On Tuesday, we journeyed from Sandbach to Stockton Heath along the Trent and Mersey and Bridgewater Canals. We left at 9 o'clock, but, Whoops!, we had more trouble with the weed hatch; and finally arrived at Stockton Heath at 10.45 p.m. Crew men, Geoff and Ronnie, were pleased at the lack of locks on the Bridgewater canal. They have James Brindley to thank for this, as he liked to design his canals to follow the land contours. James Brindley was the greatest canal engineer of his time. Although uneducated and hardly able to read or write, he had a natural talent for designing mechanical works using water. On one occasion, he worked on a mill on one of the Duke of Bridgewater's estates. Word of his skill soon reached the ears of the Duke, and so began one of the major partnerships in transportation history. Their first canal, the Bridgewater from Worsley to Manchester was opened in 1761 and had the effect of reducing the price of coal in Manchester to from 17 to 3.5 pennies per hundredweight. Brindley later extended the Bridgewater canal down to Preston Brook and went on to link Liverpool, Hull and Bristol by the Grand Trunk system of canals. Incredibly, Brindley never wrote anything down, he kept everything in his head.

The Trent and Mersey canal was first known as the Grand Trunk, running from the Trent to Preston Brook on the Bridgewater canal. It had 76 locks and was 93.45 miles long. One of the principal motivators of the project was Josiah Wedgewood, who saw a need for a canal linking Merseyside with the Potteries and Midlands areas. The canal was used considerably for the transport of clay and flint for the Pottery works around Stoke-on-Trent. However, transport rapidly declined towards the end of the last century.

From Sandbach to Stockton Heath is a quite outstanding section of the Cheshire Ring, with very attractive scenery, and three tunnels, Preston Brook, Saltersford and Barnton. It has one of the most impressive canal features anywhere in the world, the Anderton Lift to the river Weaver. Plans are afoot to bring this masterpiece back into working order. At Northwich, the canal is very much industrial, including the Lion Salt works at Marsdon. Salt has been mined in this area since Roman times. The Northwich town coat of arms is inscribed "Sal Est Vita" meaning "Salt Is Life".

On Wednesday, we went from Stockton Heath to Castlefields along the Bridgewater canal. Leaving Stockton Heath at the southern edge of Warrington, we passed through Lymm, within a mile of the Manchester Ship Canal. After Dunham Park and Bollington Village we entered the surburbia of Sale and Timperley. We crossed the Mersey aqueduct, went below the M63 motorway and into the suburbia of Stretford and its boating club. The next feature of interest was Waters Meeting which is the junction. of the two arms of the Bridgewater Canal. The world famous Old Trafford football ground, home of Manchester United followed ; to our left were the now little used Pomona and Manchester docks of the Ship Canal. The last leg of our journey was through the industrial heart of Manchester to Castlefields Basin.

The trip had given us much pleasure; we hoped that by taking part, we had contributed in a small way to the waterway restoration cause.

Clive Smith

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