Weekly Route Suggestions:
Between Sowerby Bridge and Ashton-under-Lyne via the Huddersfield Canals - 33 miles, 97 locks, 40 hours total (description below is from Sowerby Bridge to Ashton, but alternating trips will go in the opposite direction).
Cross the Pennines through the longest and highest tunnel on the English canals.
Sail down the Calder & Hebble Navigation past Brighouse, with a short river section to Cooper Bridge, where you take the right turn into the bottom lock of the Huddersfield Broad. This leads you up through the outskirts of Huddersfield right into the City centre. Go through the University, a weird but satisfying juxtaposition of sixties high-rise and nineties mill conversion. Soon, a steel-truss railway viaduct frames the start of your journey up the Colne valley into the hills. At Slaithwaite the canal has been put back on its original track. You will enjoy exploring the village. Then go on towards the summit, past Marsden, whose Mechanics Institute is the home of Mikron Theatre (though they will be away touring). So at last you come to the summit, 644’ 9” above sea level, where a very short pool makes the entrance into Standedge Tunnel all the more dramatic by its understatement. The Standedge Visitor Centre gives an unforgettable insight into the lives of the tunnellers who blasted their way under the Pennines, the packhorse teams who preceded them over the top, and the leggers who took the boats through 3 ¼ miles of pitch dark. Your trip through the tunnel, guided by Canal & River Trust, allows you to see the work of the original miners and of their modern successors. After the tunnel, the canal descends quickly through the Diggle flight, then into the Saddleworth villages, with weavers’ cottages, and genuine charm as well as craft shops. The centre of Stalybridge has been transformed by the construction of the new canal. You enter Ashton by passing under an ASDA, to be compared with the Sainsbury’s you passed at Huddersfield several days (and 74 locks) ago. Our base is at Bridge 24 on the Ashton, a little past the Industrial Museum at Portland Basin.
Navigation note: you may experience delays on the Huddersfield Narrow dues to water shortage, which CRT teams speedily resolve.
Between Sowerby Bridge and Ashton-under-Lyne via the Rochdale Canal - 38 miles, 100 locks, 40 hours total (description below is from Sowerby Bridge to Ashton, but alternating trips will go in the opposite direction)
The broad Pennine crossing with romantic views and friendly towns
There are real contrasts between the urban Manchester end, and the Pennine crossing, which has some of the most striking scenery on the system. Leaving our historic canal basin, your journey begins with the excitement of a new tunnel and the deepest lock in the country. The canal gradually climbs through woods, fields and small stone towns to Hebden Bridge. This old mill town nestles in a fork in the hills, houses piled tier upon tier. Hebden has excellent shops and is full of surprises – everything from horsey clothing to hand-made pottery. Untie, and go on up the valley, its sides closing in with crags and trees and views of the moors high above. A stream runs alongside, and the locks are set among woods or stone cottages. The Pennine Way crosses at Callis. So to Todmorden, completely untouristy yet with much to enjoy – fine Victorian buildings, especially the Town Hall, a lively market and many places to eat and drink, all dominated by a curving railway viaduct. From here the going gets serious – more Alpine than Pennine. Another 18 locks in just three miles bring you breathless but exhilarated to the summit, at 600' the second highest you can scale in England. You will have earned a drink at the Summit Inn. From here, you drop down into Littleborough. Pass Clegg Hall, a Grade 2* listed building dating from 1618, which was long a ruin but has now been restored. Soon you come to Rochdale itself, then go under the M62 by a short but ingenious deviation of the canal. Then descend through town and country, transformed by the restoration of the canal, right to the centre of Manchester. Pubs and restaurants welcome boaters, and the city is full of life and things to do. Finally, follow the Ashton to base.
Navigation note: The Manchester end of the Rochdale can be hard work, and you may be able to book assistance from CRT volunteers.
Fortnight route suggestions:
Intermediate route: Between Sowerby Bridge and Ashton-under-Lyne via Huddersfield - 33 miles, 97 locks, 40 hours total (description below is from Sowerby Bridge to Barnoldswick, but you may equally start in the opposite direction)
Make the one way route a more relaxed affair, and add side trips.
Base your holiday round the one way route above, but taking much more time to stop and explore places along the way. Or, take the opportunity to branch off at Dukinfield and take the Peak Forest Canal to Marple (outstanding aqueduct and flight of locks) and Whaley Bridge and Buxworth Basin (amazing joint termini). Or, from Cooper Bridge discover the Calder & Hebble Navigation, with a visit to the Hepworth Wakefield.
Intermediate route: Between Sowerby Bridge and Ashton-under-Lyne via Rochdale - 38 miles, 100 locks, 40 hours total (description below is from Sowerby Bridge to Barnoldswick, but you may equally start in the opposite direction)
Make the other one way route a more relaxed affair, and add side trips.
Base your holiday round the one way route above, but taking much more time to stop and explore places along the way. Or, take the opportunity to branch off at Castlefield and explore the Bridgewater Canal, including the staggering Barton Swing Aqueduct over the Manchester Ship Canal. Or, explore Salford Quays and sail past the BBC (booking needed and fee payable). Or, go to Dukinfield Junction and take the Peak Forest Canal to Marple (outstanding aqueduct and flight of locks) and Whaley Bridge and Buxworth Basin (amazing joint termini). Or, from Cooper Bridge discover the Calder & Hebble Navigation, with a visit to the Hepworth Wakefield.
