A trip along the canal.

Trips along the canal are run regularly during the summer months by Mersey Ferries (see msc_links.htm ) and normally take around six hours to traverse the canal.

After leaving Liverpool pier head and the liver building, the boat turns up-river, passing the Cammell Laird shipyards - birthplace of  such famous ships as Mauretania and Ark Royal. In the once bustling docks to the left of the shipyard is the Historic Warships Collection. The collection is home for several warships, including a german U-boat and is well worth a visit -  see http://www.merseyguide.co.uk/att_warships.htm

Leaving the shipyard and Birkenhead docks astern we come to the Tranmere oil terminal on the right hand bank. The oil facilities here were built to accommodate tankers too large to proceed further up the river and are connected directly to the refineries at Stanlow by pipeline.

At Eastham we come to the entrance of the ship canal, passing first along the dredged channel and into one of the three  locks.  If  the tide is correct then both entrance and exit gates will be open and the ship will sail straight through.

The separate lock situated to the right and just before the canal locks is the entrance to the queen_elizabeth_ii_dock.htm .

Once through the sea lock we  soon pass a small dock with a large crane on it. This is the masting_crane.htm which is used to remove the top sections of masts and funnels from ships which are too tall to pass under the  bridges along the canal. All  removed sections are stored on the quayside until the vessel is about to leave the canal, and it may be possible to see some of them here.

We next come to mount_manisty.htm , passed on our left hand side, and pock marked with numerous rabbit holes - it would be unusual not to see any rabbits while we are passing.  Mount Manisty is made up out of the spoil removed whilst constructing this section of the canal and which was dumped on the old Pool Rocks.

Opposite Mount Manisty is Manisty wharf, previously known as Bowaters wharf  after the paper mills nearby. Bowaters used the wharf  for importing woodpulp using their own fleet of ships. All the Bowaters ships were named after a member of the family.

Soon we come to Ellesmere Port with ships  moored to a long wharf on our right hand side. Large cranes used for handling containers are a feature here and this modern port is a busy and important container base with regular services to Italy and Portugal.

The  425 metre wharf is also equipped with Ro-Ro and heavy lift facilities.

We soon come to a small lighthouse situated at the entrance to a small dock. This lighthouse, although now disused, once guided ships in from the Mersey and is now part of the interesting Ellesmere Port Boat Museum. - see http://www.boatmuseum.org.uk

Leaving the docks here we  come to the Stanlow oil berths and then the refineries themselves. The oil berths are  built on the site of  the medieval Stanlow Abbey and in earlier years cattle were forded across the  Mersey at this point  for onward drive into Lancashire. The refinery complex here is the second largest in Europe, handling 12 million tons of petroleum products each year. Opposite the complex is a further oil berth some 600 feet long, this  is situated on the estuary side of the canal and is isolated from the refineries by a "bubble barrier" for safety reasons. The wharf is connected  to the refineries by pipelines buried beneath the canal. Further pipes run under the canal at this point and these carry the river_gowy.htm into the Mersey.

During the construction of the canal a temporary village was built here to provide accommodation and facilities for the navvies working on the canal.

Soon we come to the Ince B power station with the special  berth for the discharge of  high energy oil, most of which is transported here from the River Orinoco. Good views across the three mile wide estuary can be had here, and looking back towards Liverpool the pier head can still be seen in the distance.

The canal narrows once we are past Ince but widens again as we reach the Fodsham marshes. Much of the silt dredged from the canal is deposited here on the site of the old saltport.htm docks.  Much of the spoil from the construction of the canal was also deposited here.

Coming on past the entrance of the River Weaver, the canal turns north, with the weaver_sluices.htm  on the northern bank and the river entrance on south. At this point ships destined for the Weaver Navigation can enter   through Weston Marsh lock.

One mile further on we pass "All Saints", the sailors church,  standing on a small island beside the entrance to Weston Point  docks.  The piles of  containers here indicate that this is an expanding container base but the dock is also equipped with specialist berths used for the import of  liquid sulphur.

The canal now turns sharply 90 degrees to the right and into the narrow channel passing Runcorn docks, and the Georgian Bridgewater House which was used by the Duke during the construction of his canal. The canal curves alongside the Mersey to pass round the ridge of hard sandstone upon which Runcorn is built and  presents a  backdrop to one of most spectacular parts of  the canal. The area is an  engineer's delight.

As we approach Runcorn two flights of locks, both long abandoned, come down the hillside from the Bridgewater canal, the newer flight being marked by an oblique line of cottages, the other dropping down to left of Bridgewater House  lawn. The lock leading into the ship canal is still visible even though it has been filled in. see bridgewater_lock.htm

In narrowest part of the Runcorn channel is a railway bridge which predates the canal, and a  road bridge which  replaced the transporter bridge which previously stood 50 yards upstream.

In another half mile canal the cuts through the  area known as Old Quay docks, this was the terminus of the Mersey and Irwell Navigation. On right are the offices of  the Manchester Ship Canal  engineers and from here all repair work and maintenance of the canal is controlled.  Several old lock gates are visible on the quayside  so their 70 foot height can be easily judged. Small slipways and a drydock testify to the earlier presence of a  repair and launching facility.

We now come to the old_quay.htm swing bridgewhich was constructed to give access to a portion of land adjacent to the river which would have been cut-off when the canal was built.

After a further mile canal the approaches estuary again with randles sluices linking the two, the vyrnwy.htm. siphon passes beneath the canal here.

Some way beyond Randles we come across an area on the left hand side of the canal under which a World War 1 and World War 2 poison gas munitions dump is buried - possibly not the place to go digging !

We now come to moore_lane_swing_bridge.htm , shortly followed by acton_grange_viaduct.htm , the first of the high level deviation railway bridges.

South of Warrington  four road bridges appear in quick succession, three of them being swing bridges and the other a high level cantilever bridge. The first is chester_road_swing_bridge.htm and on left hand bank just beyond it is a short arm of the canal leading up to walton_lock.htm where the canal used to have a link which dropped down to the Mersey.

Soon we come to northwich_road_swing_bridge.htm and just visible on left is the site of  a now filled in 20 step lock leading up to the old Runcorn and Latchford canal.

The canal now passes under the attractive high level bridge and the Knutsford Road swing bridge before approaching the next railway bridge at  Latchford Viaduct and   the Latchford locks..

One mile beyond the locks is Thelwall ferry, one of the few remaining on the canal, and from here the canal takes a straight course and passes under the twin motorway bridges. On the right, just beyond here,  is the entrance of small tributary with three concrete   barges being visible. These barges were built by the Concrete |Development Corporation and were intended for use during the Normandy invasion, but like most of those built were never used.

One mile beyond the motorway bridges is Rixton Junction, here the Mersey finally leaves the canal on our left hand side to make own way to the estuary, and the River Bollin joins on right adding much silt and debris.The Mersey  remained navigable to here long after the canal opened.

Warburton high level bridge now appears beyond the curve and a further arm of the old Mersey can be seen.

On the right hand bank, just before site of  Bob's Lane ferry,  some masonry and brickwork can be seen in a hollow,  this appears to be the remains of Owlets nest lock on the old Navigation.

Beyond Cadishead viaduct  we come to the Partington basin, once a busy  area with coaling facilities for the steamships, and wharves on the left  hand side supplying iron ore  to the steel works at Irlam. Now we find a recently refurbished wharf to the north, and three berths on the southern side which have been designed for the unloading of high and low flashpoint cargos for the petrochemical plants at Carrington.

We now continue to the point where mersey enters canal via weir on the  right hand side, situated immediately before the irlam viaduct .

The canal widens once under the viaduct and we come straight away to irlam locks.   Just beyond the locks we can see, on both sides of the canal, traces of the old ferry which used to run between Irlam and Flixton. The ferry now no longer runs but the right of way is preserved by a new swing footbridge at the locks.

The canal now bends to the right towards the north east with another ferry soon becoming visible with a  rowing boat being moored on right hand bank. This ferry can be reached from roads to the rear of the Fox and Hounds pub at Flixton.

In the fields to  the right  traces of the old  Stickins lock on the Irwell Navigation can still be found.

We now come to Davyhulme sewage works with it's sludge loading berth still in existance, the dock here can be viewed from the Millenium Park behind the Fox and Hounds.   To left Barton airfield may just be glimpsed.

Barton locks is now approached with the high level bridge carrying the M60 motorway just beyond.

Barton swing bridge and the aqueduct, one of the masterpieces of Victorian engineering, appear next. The aqueduct was built to replace the original three arched stone one constructed by James Brindley in 1761. Before the canal was constructed a weir and the  Barton lock of the old Navigation stood just beyond the current aqueduct, with the area being described as a scene of beauty and tranquility ! Traces of the old stone aqueduct can still be seen on the left.

Beyond the aqueduct the industrial complex of Trafford park runs for 3 miles along the canal with wharves on either side, of  which only the weaste_wharf.htm   and the privately owned Cerestar Wharf are now still in use.

Just beyond the Cerestar wharf, located on the  right,  is the centenary br and then, just beyond the right hand turn in the canal is mode wheel locks and the entrance to the terminal docks, now known as Salford Quays.