waterwayPROFILE

THE ASHTON & From the centre of to the glorious , James Francis Fox explores this enthralling and hugely varied 21-mile route

History l Cruising l Food & Drink l Attractions Downloaded by David A Calverley from waterwaysworld.com www.waterwaysworld.com July 2016 53 History

The Ashton was proposed by an Act of Parliament in 1792 to connect Manchester to Ashton-under- Lyme. Although the main line was a mere 7 miles, a number of branches were also built, creating a narrow canal network of nearly 20 miles. Principally used to carry coal, the canal initially struggled but by the middle of the 19th century its annual tonnages were in the region of half a million. Bought by the Manchester, She eld & Lincolnshire Railway in 1846, carrying continued – but inevitably The huge clean-up of 1972, called declined. By 1957, the year before it closed, the ‘Ashtac’, close only 17 tons are recorded as having been to Portland Basin. carried. In 1961 vandals set fi re to 11, virtually destroying it, and preventing the use of the canal as a throughroute. By elsewhere, the Society improved over the last decade or so, this point local councillors and anxious was formed in June that year, with the and there’s no need for such measures. parents were demanding its infi lling and aim of restoring both waterways. The Nevertheless, there are still occasional for some time it looked as though the campaign was arduous. Its fi rst landmark reports of antisocial behaviour and Ashton would be consigned to history. was the historic IWA Rally of 1966 at boaters are advised to cover the Ashton In 1794, an Act was passed for the Marple, which made BWB’s refusal to in daylight hours only. Naturally, care building of the Peak Forest Canal from the countenance restoration work untenable. needs to be exercised when mooring Ashton Canal at Dukinfi eld, through Marple Two years later saw volunteers descend en overnight or leaving a craft unattended. and up into the Peak District. Its primary masse for a largescale dig and cleanup The locks on the Ashton are renowned purpose was to transport limestone, which called ‘Operation Ashton’ – an exercise for debris, which can result in blocked was delivered by tramroads from the repeated in 1972 under the ‘Ashtac’ banner. lock gates, but Canal & River Trust high quarries to basins at both By then, BWB had been brought round, workers are soon on site to clear any and . The latter, and the Ashton and Lower Peak Forest reported obstructions. And, as befi ts known as , was particularly canals reopened to navigation in 1974. an urban canal, it is heavily used signifi cant, handling over 600 tons of by walkers, cyclists and anglers. limestone per day by the end of the 19th Today Debris on the Peak Forest Canal can century. With the coming of the railways The Ashton and Peak Forest’s mix of also be a problem – particularly on the the canal began to lose business and in the densely urban and spectacularly rural lower section. Once south of Hyde, the 1920s both the tramways and Bugsworth scenery provides a rich and diverse canal becomes rural and by far the biggest Basin closed. Later, the lower section of route for today’s leisure boaters. challenge is the 16lock fl ight at Marple. the canal and Marple Locks fell into disuse, There was once a time when the As the Ashton and Lower Peak while the harsh winter of 196162 caused Ashton Canal was so feared that craft Forest canals form part of the serious frost damage to Marple Aqueduct. travelled it in convoy, with boaters putting Ring, they can be busy in peak season. In 1964, the Board in 12hour stints at the tiller to pass Similarly, the Upper Peak Forest’s large identifi ed both the Peak Forest and through as quickly as possible and avoid marinas and popular Bugsworth Basin Ashton as candidates for formal closure. unwanted attention. Thankfully, the canal destination can make it a hive of boating With the IWA busy fi ghting battles and its environs have been signifi cantly activity during the summer months.

Ashton Canal Piccadilly attempts to retain Ducie Street Junction engineering breakthrough a sense of the to Portland Basin for canal engineer Benjamin canal’s past.  18 locks, 6 miles Outram when it was built  Cruising time: 4½ hours in 1798. Like other such structures it’s most impressive The Ashton Canal starts at when viewed from below. Ducie Street Junction in central Immediately beyond Manchester, a stone’s throw the aqueduct is Piccadilly from Manchester Piccadilly Village – a fairly new housing Station. Amid the highrise development that attempts apartment blocks, its meeting to retain a sense of the canal’s point with the historical character through the Canal is rather understated installation of replica cranes, – marked only by a modest elegant footbridges and canal bridge. While the latter heritagestyle lighting. Thomas canal heads west down the Telford Basin, on the south the towpath side is sharply will need a Canal & River Trust famously arduous ‘Rochdale side of the canal here, o ers contrasted by the former cotton Tkey for the antivandal locks, Nine’, the Ashton runs in the safest local moorings. mill and original canal cottage and some degree of patience the opposite direction, its At Lock 1 – the ahead. The latter marks the for the hydraulic paddle gear. fi rst halfmile dominated by fi rst of 18 that raise the canal point where the Islington Arm Above Lock 2, a liftbridge fl ats and modern housing. 167ft to its summit at Fairfi eld heads north under a brick on the towpath side opens to After a sharp 90˚ turn, look Junction – the marriage of towpath bridge. The Ancoats a brand new canal arm leading out for Shore Street Aqueduct. modern and historic continues. Locks are fairly deep with an to the ‘’ urban Its 45˚ skew represented an The glassfronted tower on average rise of 8ft each. You village. As well as colourful Downloaded by David A Calverley from waterwaysworld.com 54 July 2016 www.waterwaysworld.com Profi le Ashton & Peak Forest canals

Heading up Ancoats Locks.

The original canal cottage beside the Islington Arm.

Scandinavianstyle houses, this is also home to a marina and Walking a handful of visitor moorings. The Upper Peak Forest is As far as modern architecture one of the most appealing goes, the standout structure afternoon walks on the is the Chips building beside Lock 3. In an e ort to meet canal system: a manageable the developers’ requirements length, with excellent views, for “something di erent”, a pub at each end and architect Will Alsop devised return train transport. View of the Etihad this colourful, eightstorey In certain quarters, the Stadium from the canal, stack, which has river names , including which forms part of the emblazoned across it. the Lower Peak Forest SportsCity complex. A sense of the old Ashton and Ashton, is promoted is glimpsed above the three as a longdistance walk. locks, where derelict mills, Clayton Flight – nine locks more salubrious surroundings Meanwhile, the Tame Valley horizonhogging gasometers which remain much as they’ve at Clayton, the two Fairfi eld Way and o er and ubiquitous gra ti create always been. Some will hurry Locks lift the Ashton to its a valleyfl oor viewpoint to a postindustrial scene that through, but anyone with a summit. The last time WW complement the higher looks like something straight nose for industrial heritage visited, we noted the potential vistas of the towpath. out of a 1980s Ken Loach fi lm. will fi nd this an interesting of Fairfi eld Junction to be a From Bugsworth and However, it is not long before cruise. A good number of the third regeneration hotspot for Whaley Bridge, there are the 21st century makes its mark canalside factories are still in the Ashton. It’s now partway the infi nite possibilities on the canalside again, in the use, and there is even a touch there, with new apartment provided by the Peak shape of SportsCity. The venue of greenery amid the somewhat blocks overlooking the canal District, and you’ll fi nd for the 2002 Commonwealth rundown surroundings. and the fi rst 100 yards or so of OS Landranger map 110 Games, it represents the largest After Lock 10, the deepest the Hollinwood Branch restored. the perfect resource. concentration of sports venues narrow locks in Britain, look Yet it still has a quiet, almost in Europe, and is home to out for the redundant towpath Britain’s worldbeating cycling bridge to the south. This was team and Manchester City FC. the entrance to the 5mile, For physical exertion of a lockfree Arm. It di erent kind, this is also the was closed in the 1960s, but is location of the four Ashton now proposed for restoration. Locks, raising the canal by 38ft At Lock 16, the top of the and providing a good view back fl ight, it’s wise for a crew over Manchester city centre. The member to stay on the bank. top lock, past the road bridge, Not only are there two manually retains its 1865 lock cottage operated swingbridges along – incongruous but reassuring here, the pound is susceptible in such a modern area. to low water levels: you may For now, SportsCity is the need to run up to the next A moored boat on limit of regeneration. Lock lock to let a little water down. the Clayton fl ight. 8 marks the start of the After heading through slightly

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Passing through New apartments at Fairfi eld Lock 18. Fairfi eld Junction.

forgotten feel. This must be in stark tunnelling under an Asda supermarket contrast to the working days of the to Whitelands Basin, where the canal, when the locks here were paired Huddersfi eld Narrow takes over. to cope with the high volumes of tra c. However, most boaters will make the Thankfully, now on the level, crew turn under the handsome roving bridge and helmsmen can (fi ngers crossed) to explore the Peak Forest Canal. enjoy uninterrupted progress along the 2½mile stretch to Portland Basin. Lower Peak Forest Keep your wits about you though on the approach to Lumb Lane Bridge 21, Portland Basin to Marple one of the lowest on the system at 6ft 4in. Between bridges 23 and 24, the  16 locks, 8 miles ½ o side o the canal is entirely taken up  Cruising time: 5 hours by the boats and premises of Ashton Running high above the River Tame, Packet Boat Company – the turnaround and enclosed by leafy greenery, point for oneway trips across the the Peak Forest instantly lives up for Shire Cruisers hireboats. to its name, providing a marked At Guide Bridge the canal passes contrast to the mills, railway yards through a tangle of railway lines. The and suburbia of the Ashton. village was once an important outpost With no locks until Marple, it would of the Great Central, especially after the be easy to speed through the fi rst Manchester to She eld (via Woodhead) 7 miles of the Lower Peak Forest, line was electrifi ed in the 1950s. Twenty but it’s far more rewarding to take it fi ve years later the line closed. The slowly, and moor up now and then sidings are now quiet, and the railway for an o towpath exploration. station uncared for. Light industry In fact, the start of the canal at returns to the canal hereabouts, bringing Dukinfi eld Junction is a good place to with it an atmospheric smoky smell. do this. The Portland Basin Museum, The de facto end of the Ashton housed in a former warehouse, is Canal is Portland Basin and Dukinfi eld home to part of the Wooden Canal Junction, where the Peak Forest Boat Society’s fl eet, and you can Canal begins. O cially, the Ashton moor here overnight (see page 63). continues for another halfmile, Or, for a modest fee, you can take

Portland Basin Museum.

Heading onto the 5½-mile Market Harborough Arm.

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Marple Locks.

advantage of the facilities two hefty aqueducts: at Portland Basin Marina. The view from Hatherlow and Chadkirk. Marple Aqueduct. Continuing along the Hyde Bank Tunnel is another canal, where you’ll doubtless short bore – just 310 yards. fi nd many other places to Despite appearances, it’s tie up, the rural feel of this less than 14ft wide: so if you waterway is compromised see another boat coming, a little – fi rst by a sewage wait! Rose Hill ‘Tunnel’, treatment works, then which follows, is now just Hyde’s motorway bridge and a deep cutting with high modern industrial shacks. walls, the original structure Nevertheless, the town’s having been opened out. proximity does have its Quite suddenly, 7 miles advantages: beside Bridge 6 of treelined greenery drop is a large Aldi supermarket away and, as you head onto for those in need of supplies. the Marple Aqueduct, you feel very exposed. Carrying Beyond Hyde, the Peak the canal almost 100ft above Forest enters its fi rst fully the , alongside an rural stage, running through even loftier railway viaduct, a mixture of dense woodland it opened in 1800. Without and rolling farmland – Central question the Peak Forest’s Manchester suddenly seems standout feature, it was heavily a million miles away. featured in the fi rst episode of Determined to stay on the John Sergeant’s second series level, the canal utilises a variety of Barging Round Britain. of crossings: Aperthorne Under the railway, it’s Aqueduct is little more than a straight into Marple Locks hole in the embankment and – the only ones on the Peak is followed by overbridges in Forest. With 16 locks in a mile, both slim metal and sturdy each one rising around 13ft, local stone. There is a tunnel it’s one of the steepest fl ights too, although, at just 165 yards, on the system. As part of the bore at Woodley feels the Cheshire Ring, it can be like an extended bridge. busy with both boaters and Clinging to the hillsides, the gongoozlers on summer days. canal sails elegantly through the On our recent visit several suburb of CRT sta were doing a fi ne , barely acknowledging job of keeping things moving. Marple Locks. its existence, before crossing Samuel Oldknow’s warehouse stands below Lock 10, with its indoor boatdock, Passing a sunken while the centre of Marple is boat south of Hyde. just a few steps from Lock 12. Towards the top of the fl ight, the surroundings become more residential and the locks closer together. After a fi nal push at Marple Top Lock, you arrive at Marple Junction where the Macclesfi eld Canal turns to the right under a fi ne Junction Bridge. It’s now A pleasant mooring time to explore the distinctly near Marple. di erent Upper Peak Forest. Downloaded by David A Calverley from waterwaysworld.com www.waterwaysworld.com July 2016 57 The picturesque Marple fl ight.

TOP 10

Food & drink stops Heading towards Alabama’s All American Marple Junction. Eatery, Manchester There has been a real buzz about this breakfast A former working and brunch space since it boat on the Upper opened in Manchester’s Peak Forest. Northern Quarter a few months ago, on account of its genuinely surprising menu, o ering far more than your standard burger/ fries fare. Food portions are typically American, however! Lily’s Vegetarian Indian Restaurant, AshtonunderLyme Considered one of the best restaurants in Greater cakes, or even a hearty Upper Peak Forest Manchester, this is the breakfast? This cosy little place to go if you’re a fan of café is a mustvisit. Follow authentic Indian food. Even the signs from the canal. Marple Junction from it. The appeal of this beautiful, scenic canal was carnivores love it – Lily’s W. Potts & Son, to Whaley Bridge/ doubled by the reopening confi rms that vegetarian It’s not often we include Buxworth of Bugsworth Basin around food can be truly delicious. bakeries in our food and ½  6 miles, 0 locks a decade ago – one of Spread Eagle, Romiley drink list, but the cakes and ½  Cruising time: 3 hours its twin termini, the other If you’re looking for a sandwiches in this New Mills With the Cheshire Ring being Whaley Bridge. cheap fi ll, then this chain store are second to none. A turning south at Marple, you Before arriving here, pub just down from the local gem providing a cheap, might expect the culdesac though, there are 6 miles of canal is conveniently quick and delicious lunch. Upper Peak Forest to be lockfree cruising to enjoy located. The carvery is Pride of the Peaks, New Mills a haven of tranquility. Far along the side of the Goyt highly recommended. Pleasant modern décor, a Ring O’ Bells, Marple relaxed atmosphere, good Canalside on the Macclesfi eld, grub and a wide selection Lift-bridge 24 just a short stroll from Marple of drinks await visitors to near . Junction, this traditional this town centre pub. pub o ers cask ales and Cock Pub & Kitchen, highquality pub grub. Whaley Bridge The Sportsman, Fine food and a friendly A free house providing welcome are guaranteed an everchanging range at this gastropub, just a of real ales, fi lling meals short stroll from the basin and superb rural views at Whaley Bridge. from its rear garden. Navigation, Buxworth Lyme Perk Co ee A superbly sited stone House, Disley built pub, o ering a wide Peckish for fresh co ee range of real ales and hearty and delicious homemade homecooked food.

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New Mills Marina.

Approaching Bridge 19. Cruising near Disley.

Valley. The Upper Peak Forest presents a very di erent aspect The Millennium to the Lower. Below Marple, the Walkway at New Mills. valley remains hidden by trees. Above Marple, the scenery is far more open, o ering spectacular views across the valley to the Pennines. There may be no locks, but there are two liftbridges, followed by two swing bridges; you will need a Tkey for the former and CRT key for the latter. The Peak Forest might not have the industry of the Ashton, but New Mills has perhaps the most memorable canalside factory of all: SwizzelsMatlow. They are the makers of such traditional and muchloved sweets as Drumsticks, Parma Violets, Refreshers and Love Hearts, and you’ll smell the DON’T MISS factory before you see it. Museum of Science & New Mills itself, the largest Industry, Manchester industries that have shaped settlement on the Upper, is Among the best museums over the past 200 worth a visit, with its traditional of its kind in the country, years. Particular highlights butchers and bakers. New Mills MOSI not only celebrates include a recreated 1920s Marina, just after the Matlow Manchester’s hugely street, working transport factory, and important role in the displays and, of course, the Marina, a mile further along, Industrial Revolution, but collection of historic boats. both have o ine moorings o ers an insight into the rather than separate basins. history and development Millennium Walkway, Before Bugsworth Basin of everything from railways New Mills reopened, the canal from here and aircraft, to photography No visit to New Mills is to Whaley Bridge was often and computers. complete without taking in full with visiting boats. Much this awardwinning walkway of the stretch is now taken up Portland Basin Museum, suspended on the side of by longterm moorers, though Ashton-under-Lyme the Torrs Gorge, above the you can still fi nd space to It’s such a prominent feature fastfl owing River Goyt. your boat. And, in spite of Dukinfi eld Junction, it Follow it in either direction of the competing attractions would be rude not to visit. and you’ll discover mill ruins, of Bugsworth, it is certainly Newly refurbished and free to weirs, cobbled tracks and worth a visit. Whaley Bridge’s enter, the facility celebrates archways of bridges towering own , complete with the people, events and dramatically overhead. warehouse, was the starting Downloaded by David A Calverley from waterwaysworld.com www.waterwaysworld.com July 2016 59 Profile Ashton & Peak Forest canals

A magnificent view from the Upper Peak Forest. point for the & Today this historic site – High Peak Railway. Opened once the largest and busiest The basin at Whaley Bridge. in 1831, this early horse-drawn inland port on the narrow line traversed the high hills to canal system – is in near Derbyshire’s . original condition. Mooring is It’s likely that the majority of restricted to 48 hours: not all boaters will want to conclude the banks that look suitable their outbound journey at for tying up actually are, so Bugsworth Basin. Built in at busy times be prepared the 1790s as a transhipment to shift up to leave space point for limestone carried for other boats. With its down from the by secluded air, rich historical tramway, it was the subject of a interest and beautiful High painstaking 30-year restoration Peak location, it’s diicult to by the Inland Waterways think of a more itting end to Preservation Society, your explorations of the Peak inally opening in 2005. Forest and Ashton canals. NAVIGATION NOTES DIMENSIONS Ashton Canal: Length 72ft, beam 7ft, draught 3ft, headroom 6ft 4in Peak Forest Canal: Length 72ft, beam 7ft, draught 3ft, headroom 7ft NAVIGATION AUTHORITY Canal & River Trust 0303 040 4040, canalrivertrust.org.uk WATERWAY SOCIETIES IWA: Manchester Branch, www.waterways.org.uk/manchester Bugsworth Basin Heritage Trust: bugsworthbasin.org

OTHER MAPS AND GUIDES Nicholson’s Guide to the Waterways 5: North West & Pennines Pearson’s Canal Companion: Cheshire Ring & . Ordnance Survey Landranger Maps: 109 (Manchester) and 110 (Sheield & Huddersield) BOATYARDS Ashton Packet Boat Co* 0161 320 8338 Portland Basin Marina 0161 330 31833 Furness Vale Marina 01663 747475 *One-way hire available from Shire Cruisers: 01422 832712 KEY: Bugsworth Basin. Hire Repairs Pump-out Diesel Chandlery

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