Your floating hotel on the Canals and Rivers of the UK

Our guide to the waterways of the UK in detail.

Pictures of the Bridgewater Canal,

Waters Meeting to Leigh.

The Bridgewater canal was the first true canal to be built in the UK. It is still unique today it's generous dimensions, wide and deep built for Mersey flats, broad beam working boats. It's straight or gently curving route and, now, a total absence of locks and tunnels. It does however have one of the impassive aqueducts.

From the junction of Waters Meeting. A branch, once the main line takes you off to the Northwest. The canal crosses over the Manchester ship canal by the engineering marvel of the Barton Swing aqueduct, it then travels out of Manchester passing a lighthouse, to reach Worsley, after four miles of urban canal. Here it used to disappear underground. This, at present unavigatable section of miles of underground tunnels, took boats direct to the coal faces to collect the coal for Manchester.

The Bridgewater canal continues on past Worsely for another four miles to join at the small mill town of Leigh the Leigh branch of the Leeds and Liverpool canal providing a route to Liverpool. This section of the canal is since the closure of the collieries and reclamation of their tips a pleasant semi-rural run.

This page contains pictures of this section of the canal.

The Barton Swing aqueduct.
Parrin lane lighthouse.	Worsley.	Leigh.

If you have any questions then do ring us on 07977 229103
or email us at martinreed@reedboats.co.uk