The Lymm And Return From Anderton.php Canal Boating Cruising Route
Cruise above the picturesque River Weaver and its valley, where the only lock has a drop of just six inches!
Preston Brook has a tunnel of nearly a mile and there are also two shorter ones on this route.
There are fine views of the distant Pennines to the north before the canal makes a very pleasing passage through the heart of Lymm, where the streets come right down to the waters edge.
3 NIGHTS
LYMM or MANCHESTER & RETURN
FROM Anderton 3 nights
cruising time to Lymm 12.75 hours Locks 2 35 miles
Cruising time inc detour to Runcorn 15.5 hours 44 miles 2 locks
Cruising time to Timperley, Manchester 16.75 hours 48 miles 2 locks
1st night
On the Trent & Mersey canal you pass the town of Barnton on your right, and you will then come to 2 small tunnels, both of which have room for only 1 boat at a time, so make sure they are clear before proceeding.
All around this area are relics of salt workings, some of which still go on today. Going through Barnton Tunnel you emerge onto a hillside overlooking the River Weaver, with a marvellous view straight down the huge Saltersford locks. There is a useful range of shops up the hill from the east end of the tunnel, including a launderette, chemist and butcher.
Now Saltersford Tunnel is entered & beyond it you are in open country again.
At bridge 209 (about an hour from Anderton marina) there are 2 pubs 3/4 mile south of the Bridge (to your left) overlooking the Weaver & Acton swing bridge, so if you were late starting & want to settle for the night, it might be a good idea to moor up here.
It is 1.45 hours cruising from Anderton to here.
There is also a pub ¼ mile north of bridge 209, a listed timber framed building, being one of the oldest farmhouse pubs in the country- the Hollbush.
2nd night
The northernmost stretch of the Trent & Mersey is pleasant & rural, you can see the splendid River Weaver valley 60 feet below, and occasionally the large vessels that ply up and down it.
Entering woodland you soon reach Preston Brook tunnel, although you will have to negotiate your first lock before entering it. The tunnel is about 1239 yards long.
North of Preston brook the canal diverges, the left arm goes to Runcorn, and is a dead end, but if you want to cruise down the 4 miles, it takes 1.5 hours to reach the end of the canal. The old town is to be found down by the docks, where the elegant curved 1092 single span of the steel road bridge with the railway beside it, leaps over the Ship canal and the Mersey.
There are pubs along the route & in the town, to the left by bridge 76, & just past bridge 82 (Grapes Inn), and to the north by bridge 84 and 89 at the end of the canal (Waterloo).
Norton priory Museum can be reached north east of Bridge 75. There is a supermarket & PO south of bridge 74.
It is 4.75 hours from Anderton marina to here, or 3 hours from Bridge 209 if you stopped there for the 1st night.
For those not doing the Runcorn detour, continue up the Bridgwater canal, leaving Runcorn behind you, entering a rural stretch, before you reach Stockton Heath. There is a pub north of bridge 11- the Walton Arms, otherwise there are all services 400 yards north of London Road bridge 15. The Manchester Ship canals runs parallel about ¼ mile away.
There are fine views of the distant Pennines to the north, before the canal makes a very pleasant passage through the heart of Lymm, where the streets come right down to the waters edge. There are convenient 24 hour moorings here, and stores, banks & takeaways & pubs- by Bridge 23.
From Bridge 209 it is 4.75 hours cruising to here
It is 6 hours 20 minutes back to Anderton marina.
If you want to get into Manchester, you can go a bit further on up the canal to Timperley, near Sale, Manchester.
It is 8 hours 20 minutes cruising from Anderton to
Timperley in Sale, Manchester, from where you should be able to get a tram into the city centre.