Macclesfield Canal

The Macclesfield Canal is situated south-west of Manchester, it has a length of 44 km and there are 98 numbered bridges. At Kidsgrove it goes over an aqueduct before it connects to the Trent and Mersey Canal. It is devided by a group of 12 locks (Bosley Locks) into the Lower Pond to the south and the Upper Pond to the north. At Marple it connects to the Peak Forest Canal. From the canal you have some beautiful views on the hills and the plains.

History

The Macclesfield Canal was among the last ones to be built. It was opened in 1831 and commercially used until the 1960's. It was made to transport the goods from the cotton and silk mills along the routes as well as the the mines and quarries. To compete with the railroads 6 snake-bridges were made. The special structure made it possible to move the horse that towed the boat to the towpath on the other side of the canal without having to untie it from the boat. The canal is rather shallow at the sides. The canal was designed for boats to moor only at the wharves. Thanks to the effords by a local cruising club the canal remained navigatable after commercial use had stopped. To-day the Macclesfield canal is a beautiful part of the popular Cheshire Ring. It is among the highest navigatable levels in Great Britain with some beautiful views over the Cheshire plains. It is also popular by walkers. The tow-path can be used by cyclists if you're willing to drive slowly, because the path is rather narrow, bumpy and muddy at some places after rainfall. For cyclists the dismantled railroad between Bollington and Marple, the Middlewoon Way, runs parallel to the canal and forms an interesting alternative route. 

The whole canal is suitable for kayaks. Every part has its own charm. Just avoid the 2 km stretch at Bosley locks.

Some suitable starting points:

Marple Junction. Parking in Church Street (lat. 53.3924, lon. -2.0611). Parking at the Ring O'Bell is for customers only. The owner ojects parking by people who want to bring their kayak to the canal and stay away for a long time.

Higher Poynton along the Middlewood Way at bridge 15 (lat. 53.3460, lon. -2.0842). Parking place along Lyme Road just at the canal.

Bullocks Lane at bridge 44 just south of Macclesfield (lat. 53.2406, lon. -2.1161). Only a few cars can park here.

Just south of Bosley Locks (bridge 61) at Peover Lane. This is a side street of Buxton Rd. (A54) along the canal. (lat. 53.1828, lon -2.1662)

View near Congleton (bridge 72).

Bosley Locks: 12 locks in a row.  For narrowboats it takes 2 hours to pass them all.

Snake bridge (29)

Clarence Mill at Bollington.

Middlewood Way, a dismanteld railroad that runned between Bollington and Marple. Higher Poynton Station.

Common Barn Farm at Rainow, near Macclesfield. Recommended bed-and breakfast accomodation. Also camping and self catering cottages.

In the UK you have to have permission by the owner of the waterway before you can take your kayak into the water. British Waterways owns about 2000 miles of canals and other waterways in the UK. For access to the waterways owned by BW you need a licence and a third party liability insurance. To obtain permission to access the canals you best become a member of the British Canoe Union. Membership costs £32,75 a year (2009) for adult recreational paddlers and includes permission to the waterways of British Waterways, the neccessary insurance and the bi-monthly magazine Canoefocus. For cycling on the towpaths you need a permit. You can obtain this for free at http://www.waterscape.com/things-to-do/cycling.

Recommended literature: Nicholson "Guide to the Waterways" (part 5): North West & the Pennines