The Anderton Boat lift is a fine example of Victorian engineering. It was built in 1875 to provide a direct link between the River Weaver, which had been navigable by canal barge since 1734, and the Trent and Mersey canal.
The two canals differ in height by around 50ft and the first attempt to link them together was through an inclined plane, where barges could be pulled uphill through a system of ropes and pulleys, however by 1870 the traffic flowing through Anderton meant this became a bottleneck. The lift was the first of its kind in the world and speeded up the transfer of goods from the canal to the river significantly.
We'd considered visiting the boat lift for some time, but until now other things had always got in the way. This time, the weather was set fair (a rare event throughout our holidays!), so there was nothing to stop us. Jean and Kevan came along with us and we made the boat lift an excuse to take in a walk through the surrounding countryside.
Near to the boat lift is the Marbury Country Park, and the walk from there, past a large lake known as Budworth Mere, through woodland and then alongside both the river and then the canal, was well worthwhile. (When I get round to it I'll update my walking blog.)
After stopping for our packed lunch we visted the boat lift, which was declared structurally unsafe and closed in 1983 before restored in 2002. It isn't possible to get near to the lift itself without paying an admission charge, but it is worth it to see the lift close up. The Visitor Centre has a cafe, a well stocked shop and an interesting exhibition, so much so that we spent far longer there than we'd expected. We had planned to visit Cheshire's famous observatory, Jodrell Bank, in the afternoon, but this will have to wait for another day.
The Anderton Boat lift is a fine example of Victorian engineering. It was built in 1875 to provide a direct link between the River Weaver, which had been navigable by canal barge since 1734, and the Trent and Mersey canal.
The two canals differ in height by around 50ft and the first attempt to link them together was through an inclined plane, where barges could be pulled uphill through a system of ropes and pulleys, however by 1870 the traffic flowing through Anderton meant this became a bottleneck. The lift was the first of its kind in the world and speeded up the transfer of goods from the canal to the river significantly.
We'd considered visiting the boat lift for some time, but until now other things had always got in the way. This time, the weather was set fair (a rare event throughout our holidays!), so there was nothing to stop us. Jean and Kevan came along with us and we made the boat lift an excuse to take in a walk through the surrounding countryside.
Near to the boat lift is the Marbury Country Park, and the walk from there, past a large lake known as Budworth Mere, through woodland and then alongside both the river and then the canal, was well worthwhile. (When I get round to it I'll update my walking blog.)
After stopping for our packed lunch we visted the boat lift, which was declared structurally unsafe and closed in 1983 before restored in 2002. It isn't possible to get near to the lift itself without paying an admission charge, but it is worth it to see the lift close up. The Visitor Centre has a cafe, a well stocked shop and an interesting exhibition, so much so that we spent far longer there than we'd expected. We had planned to visit Cheshire's famous observatory, Jodrell Bank, in the afternoon, but this will have to wait for another day.
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