Take a trip on the Trent & Mersey
THE 93-mile-long Trent & Mersey Canal begins close to the River Mersey near Runcorn and finishes at its junction with the River Trent in Derbyshire.
It has 73 locks and several feats of canal engineering, including the magnificent Anderton Boat Lift, which raises or lowers boats 15 metres between the River Weaver and the Trent & Mersey Canal, and the 2647m Harecastle Tunnel.
The Trent & Mersey Canal evolved as a direct result of the development of the pottery industry in North Staffordshire. In 1765 Josiah Wedgwood, the top producer of pottery, put forward the idea of building a canal to link the Potteries with the River Mersey. His vision was made possible by the genius of canal engineer James Brindley.
Opening in 1777, it was the country’s first long distance canal and its effect was instant and phenomenal; transport costs were quartered and the whole area expanded. As well as pottery, other industries prospered from it including the brewing industry at Burton upon Trent, salt at Middlewich, Northwich and Sandbach, and coal mining in North Staffordshire.
Today the canal takes narrowboat holidaymakers through some of the best countryside and scenery that our waterways have to offer.
Drifters Waterway Holidays (www.drifters.co.uk) offers 550 narrowboats for hire from 45 bases, including four on the Trent & Mersey Canal. Its top five destinations on or via the canal for 2020 are:
• Fradley Junction, where the Coventry Canal meets the Trent & Mersey. Boaters can moor up to visit the Canalside Cafe or The Swan Inn, and take a wander around the Fradley Pool Nature Reserve.
• The Four Counties Ring which passes through Cheshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire and the West Midlands. Highlights include the flight of 15 locks at Audlem, World of Wedgwood at Stoke-on-Trent, the National Trust’s Shugborough Hall and the Elizabethan Churche’s Mansion.
• The historic market town of Congleton on the Macclesfield Canal. There are plenty of pubs and restaurants to choose from, including the Lion & Swan 16th century coaching inn. From Bridge 86 it’s a short walk to Little Moreton Hall.
• Stone, renowned as the food and drink capital of Staffordshire, with regular markets, a good choice of restaurants and the annual Food & Drink Festival in October. Pubs along the way include The Woolpack at Weston and The Holly Bush Inn at Salt.
• The 97-mile Cheshire Ring travels through the centre of Manchester and the Peak District via the Ashton, Macclesfield, Peak Forest, Rochdale, Trent & Mersey and Bridgewater canals.