Reed Hotel Boats



		Your floating hotel on the Canals and Rivers of the UK

Our guide to the waterways of the UK in detail.

Pictures of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

Wigan to Liverpool.

Wigan itself is a sprawling town with the canal passing for just over two miles along one side with four broad locks, all the locks from Wigan to Liverpool are seventy foot long to accommodate boats off the midlands canal system. In the centre of Wigan is the celebrated Wigan Pier it was just a coal loading pier part of a complex of warehouses and the other canal facilities of a busy canal town. The area however now houses a historical experience!

After Wigan the canal has twenty miles of very pleasant rural scenery interspersed with villages. There are three locks in the Eastern two miles. It is all then level. There are however ten swing bridges well spread out through this section. We pass Rufford junction where a branch leads down to the river Ribble and ultimately the Lancaster canal. Alas this too has only sixty foot locks.

The last twelve miles take the canal right into the heart of Liverpool. At first suburban, passing alongside the Aintree race course, home of the Grand National at one point. The last four miles are inner city canal. In 2007 a BW escort team was provided to ensure safety as well as to operate the swing bridges for you for the whole twelve miles. However also in 2007 substantial funding was announced to improve the environment and safety of the last few miles to encourage boaters to use them. In 2007 without these improvements, but with the BW escort we found no problem in cruising this area.

In 2007 the terminus was at Eldon village, which made a peasant and safe mooring although a couple of miles out of the city centre.. However work was well underway on creating a link through the docks to enable boats in future to continue right into the centre of Liverpool mooring in the historic docks. We hope to be able to use this in 2009.


Wigan.

Halsall cutting	Appeley lock	Restored former working boat.

New lane swing bridge	Rufford junction	Parbold

Liverpool, pleasant suburban cruising.	Liverpool the last four miles are inner city.	Liverpool safe moorings at Eldon village.