TRAVEL plans
WHAT TO DO WHEN LOCKDOWN ENDS
TIME TO STICK YOUR OAR IN
GOT a passion for paddling?
Although Britain’s canals are currently off-limits, those with a love of the waterways can start planning their next wet and wild adventure along England’s first Coast to Coast Canoe Trail.
Stretching across northern England, from Liverpool in the west to Goole on the Humber Estuary, the grand 162-mile route offers new challenges to kayakers, paddleboarders and canoeists.
Not for the faint-hearted, it involves carrying canoes around 91 locks, including the 21-lock
Wigan Flight and Bingley’s famous Five Rise Staircase. You’ll also have to paddle under the summit of the Pennine hills through a mile-long tunnel at Foulridge.
Two new detailed trail leaflets have been produced in partnership with British Canoeing, giving top tips on how to negotiate the route, which follows Britain’s longest single canal, the 127-mile Leeds & Liverpool, and 35 miles of the Aire & Calder Navigation through Yorkshire.
The first covers the western side – Liverpool’s Eldonian Village to Reedley Marina near Burnley. The second maps out the eastern side from Burnley to Goole, dividing the route into a series of day trips.
A five-year youth engagement project has also been completed, funded by a £1.3million grant from the Desmond Foundation and run by the Canal & River Trust, which cares for 2,000 miles of waterways in England and Wales.
Richard Parry, Canal & River Trust CEO, said: “The amazing legacy from this brilliant project is that the Coast to Coast Canoe Trail is every bit as engaging and challenging as Alfred Wainwright’s famous Coast to Coast Walking Trail.
“Paddlers can do as much or as little as they wish, but we are certain this new route will capture the imagination.”
■ Visit canalrivertrust.org.uk