Click on the trip name below for full details:
The Cheshire Ring
Chester or Ellesmere Port & return
Four Counties Ring
Bingley & return
South Pennine Ring
Short Breaks
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The Cheshire Ring
Guides: P5, N5, L5
• From Anderton, 7 nights,
8 hours per day, 92 locks
• From Wrenbury 10/11 nights,
6.5 hours per day,
114 locks
• From Whitchurch 14 nights,
6 hours per day, 137 locks
A fascinating trip that takes
you through the heart of
Manchester and the Peak
District with its distinctive
stone architecture.
Moor at Castlefields to
explore the city of Manchester, including Old Trafford, home
of Manchester United F.C. 0870 4421994
www.manutd.co.uk
The huge
Arndale shopping centre and the Science & Industry Museum 0161 832 2244
www.msim.org.uk
The trip will let you enjoy glorious scenery as the Pennine Range
overlooks the canal and, if time allows, detour along the Peak Forest
canal to its terminus.
Enjoy the stunning views from Marple and at Anderton pause to visit the
fabulously restored boat lift which now operates throughout the cruising season
to link the canal with the River Weaver.
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Chester or Ellesmere Port & return
Guides: P3, N4, L8
• From Anderton to Chester, 7 nights, 5.5 hours per day, 44 locks
• From Wrenbury to Chester, 7 nights, 4 hours per day, 46 locks
• From Whitchurch to Chester, 7 nights, 5 hours per day, 66 locks
For Ellesmere Port add 1.5 hours per day and 8 locks
• From Gailey 10 nights, 6.5 hours, 44 locks
On this popular countryside route the locks
are well spaced for easy cruising.
You can choose to travel to Chester and then retrace your steps back to the marina
or continue along the Shropshire Union main line to it’s historic terminal on the River
Mersey at Ellesmere Port.
Mooring in Chester is within easy reach of the walled city centre with its medieval‘rows’ where there are a variety of shops, galleries and the majestic cathedral.
Chester Tourist Information Centre 01244 402111
www.chestertourism.com
Chester Zoo is just a short walk from the canal. 01244 380280
www.chesterzoo.org
The fascinating Boat Museum 0151 355 5017 at
Ellesmere Port is a few locks beyond Chester, near to the junction with the Manchester
Ship Canal. The museum has an extensive collection of preserved inland waterway craft
and display areas in many of the former warehouses.
. www.boatmuseum.org.uk
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Four Counties Ring
Guides: P4, N4, L10
• From Anderton 10/11 nights, 6.5 hours per day, 102 locks
• From Wrenbury 10/11 nights, 6.5 hours per day, 112 locks
• From Whitchurch 10/11 nights, 7 hours per day, 132 locks
• From Gailey 7 nights, 8.5 hours per day, 110 locks
A fascinating voyage of discovery and well worth the extra bit of effort!
The journey takes you along the wonderfully rural Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal to Great Haywood Junction where, passing under a distinctive roving bridge, you join the Trent and Mersey
Canal heading north towards the Potteries and Peak District.
The rolling Staffordshire countryside leads you to Stoke-on-Trent, the Wedgewood Visitors Centre and the impressive 2926-yard long Harecastle Tunnel.
Beyond Harecastle the 13 miles to the salt town of Middlewich
sees the canal descend 31 locks to the Cheshire Plains.
The short Middlewich arm
links the Trent and Mersey Canal to the Shropshire Union Canal again through more
glorious countryside.
The scenery on the climb up ‘Heartbreak Hill’ to the summit at Kidsgrove is fantastic.
As well as sights of the potteries such as the Bottle Kilns at Etruria,
The Wedgwood
Pottery Centre at Barlaston is not to be missed. 01782 204218
www.thewedgwoodstory.com
The National Trust’s Shugborough Hall is a short walk from moorings at Great Haywood. 01889 881388
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
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Bingley & return
Guides: P5, N5, L5
• From Anderton, 14/21 nights, 8+ hours per day, 134 locks
(Max 60ft boats)
For the more energetic this can be a 14 night trip, but if
you are wanting to take your time and see the sights
then take a more leisurely 3 week break.
Heading north of the Cheshire Ring the scenery
is varied, frequently rural and often spectacular.
You will experience areas of easy, lock-free
cruising through the beautiful wide-open
moorland of rural Pendle. If just two people are
cruising, it is best to share the large double locks with
another boat if possible.
A comfortable turning point for a fortnight
cruise is the appealing market town of Skipton.
This is a short walking distance from the canal
and a lovely market town to explore. It has a good
selection of shops, a castle, museum and local bicycle hire.
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The South Pennine Ring
Guides: P5, N5, L5
• From Anderton 21 nights, 6.5 hours per day, 227 locks (Max 58ft boats)
The recently restored Huddersfield Narrow Canal crosses the Pennines to complete the
fantastic south Pennine Ring. At 5698 yards, the Standedge Tunnel is the longest and highest in Britain– the passage requires pre booking with Standedge Visitor Centre. (01484 844298)
East of Huddersfield the canal is wider and the locks are shorter, so the maximum length of boat able to complete the circuit is 58ft.
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