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Locations
Anderton Marina in Cheshire
Uplands Road, Anderton, Cheshire. CW9 6AJ
Things to do from Anderton Marina
From Anderton travel on the 60ft Anderton Boat Lift to the Trent and Mersey Canal, tour the city of Chester with a Roman or shop in the heart of Manchester.
Anderton Boat Lift - Visit the boat lift and visitor centre and marvel at the 60ft high hydraulic lift system which transports narrowboats from the Trent and Mersey canal to the River Weaver.
Chester - Famous for the magnificent cathedral and for the city walls explore the Roman Amphitheatre and take a tour of the city with a real Roman.
Chester Cathedral - A magnificent building with a rich and fascinating heritage it contains the most complete Medieval monastic complex still standing in the UK take a tour and visit the 13th Century Refectory Cafe or browse the Cathedral Shop
Chester Zoo - With over 7000 animals to visit and to learn about a visit to Chester Zoo is an unique experience, hundreds of different types of plants reflect the natural habitats of some of the more exotic species.
Manchester - A dramatic mix of old and new with outstanding shopping, eating, drinking and nightlife the city has something to offer everyone. Visit Old Trafford home to one of the most famous football teams in the world or view one of the many museums or art galleries
Directions
By Road : Anderton is situated in Cheshire, just north of Northwich, and close to the Anderton Boat Lift.
From the M6 junction with the M56, take the M56 (West). Exit the M56 at junction 10. Take the A559 (signed Northwich) for 3 miles. Turn right (signed Comberbach and Anderton Boat Lift).
Continue through Comberbach and past Marbury Country Park, towards Anderton. The marina is on the left, 1/4 mile after the Anderton village sign.
By Rail: From Manchester, take the train to Northwich station. From London and the south, take the train to Crewe, and then change for the service to Hartford station.
From Northwich or Hartford stations,
take a taxi to the marina. If there are no taxis waiting, information on taxi firms can be found at the payphone at the station.
Taxi information is detailed below. For information about train timetables and ticket costs for all mainline rail transport please go to www.thetrainline.com.
By Air : From Manchester Airport, take a taxi to the boatyard. Please contact the taxi companies directly for an estimated fare.
Routes:
River Weaver | Lymm & Return | Chester or Ellesmere Port & Return | Froghall & Return | The Four Counties Ring | Tarleton & Return | Bingley & Return | The South Penine Ring | Wheelock | Cheshire Ring | Beeston or Nantwich & Return
River Weaver Via Anderton Boat Lift
4 nights, 16 hours, 10 locks
With the re-opening of the Anderton boat lift in Spring 2002, a whole new navigation is open for exploration from the Anderton base.
A stunning feat of 19th Century engineering, the lift carries two boats at a time hydraulically, one up and one down.
Centre of the Cheshire salt-making region, the River Weaver has a wealth of history, including the Salt Museum at Northwich 01606 41331 www.saltmuseum.org.uk
Head south to the head of the navigation and the Winsford Flash lakes, one of the many wildlife havens on the river.
3 nights, 20 hours, 2 locks
Cruise above the picturesque River Weaver and its valley, where the only lock has a drop of just six inches!
Preston Brook has a tunnel of nearly a mile and there are also two shorter ones on this route.
Chester or Ellesmere Port & Return
1 week, 32 hours, 44 locks (Chester)
1 week, 40 hours, 52 locks (Ellesmere Port)
On this popular countryside route the locks are well spaced for easy cruising. You can choose to travel to Chester and then retrace your steps back to the marina or continue along the Shropshire Union main line to it’s historic terminal on the River Mersey at Ellesmere Port. Mooring in Chester is within easy reach of the walled city centre with its medieval‘rows’ where there are a variety of shops, galleries and the majestic cathedral.
Chester Tourist Information Centre 01244 402111 www.chestertourism.com
Chester Zoo is just a short walk from the canal. 01244 380280 www.chesterzoo.org
The fascinating Boat Museum 0151 355 5017 www.boatmuseum.org.uk at Ellesmere Port is a few locks beyond Chester, near to the junction with the Manchester Ship Canal. The museum has an extensive collection of preserved inland waterway craft and display areas in many of the former warehouses
1 week, 50 hours, 104 locks
After stopping for the first night at Middlewich, this cruise is through the heart of the Potteries.
Entertain the family for the day at Alton Towers 08705 204060 www.altontowers.com, just 8 miles from the end of the Leek canal arm - ask for details of taxis.
From Anderton 10/11 nights, 6.5 hours per day, 102 locks
A fascinating voyage of discovery and well worth the extra bit of effort!
The journey takes you along the wonderfully rural Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal to Great Haywood Junction where, passing under a distinctive roving bridge, you join the Trent and Mersey Canal heading north towards the Potteries and Peak District.
The rolling Staffordshire countryside leads you to Stoke-on-Trent, the Wedgewood Visitors Centre and the impressive 2926-yard long Harecastle Tunnel.
Beyond Harecastle the 13 miles to the salt town of Middlewich sees the canal descend 31 locks to the Cheshire Plains.
The short Middlewich arm links the Trent and Mersey Canal to the Shropshire Union Canal again through more glorious countryside.
The scenery on the climb up ‘Heartbreak Hill’ to the summit at Kidsgrove is fantastic. As well as sights of the potteries such as the Bottle Kilns at Etruria, the Wedgwood Pottery Centre at Barlaston is not to be missed. 01782 204218 www.thewedgwoodstory.com
The National Trust’s Shugborough Hall is a short walk from moorings at Great Haywood. 01889 881388 www.nationaltrust.org.uk
1 week, 50 hours, 34 locks (Max 60ft boats)
Heading North of the Cheshire Ring the scenery is varied, frequently rural and often spectacular.
Cross the Manchester Ship Canal at the impressive Barton Swing Aqueduct.
The cottages and dry dock of Burscough Junction now form a sleepy gateway to the Rufford Arm.
14/21 nights, 8+ hours per day, 134 locks (Max 60ft boats)
For the more energetic this can be a 14 night trip, but if you are wanting to take your time and see the sights then take a more leisurely 3 week break.
Heading north of the Cheshire Ring the scenery is varied, frequently rural and often spectacular.
You will experience areas of easy, lock-free cruising through the beautiful wide-open moorland of rural Pendle.
If just two people are cruising, it is best to share the large double locks with another boat if possible.
A comfortable turning point for a fortnight cruise is the appealing market town of Skipton. This is a short walking distance from the canal and a lovely market town to explore. It has a good selection of shops, a castle, museum and local bicycle hire.
3 weeks, 124 hours, 227 locks (Max 58ft boats)
The newly restored Huddersfield Narrow Canal crosses the Pennines to complete the fantastic South Pennine Ring.
At 5698 yards, the Standedge Tunnel is the longest in Britain - the passage requires pre-booking (01484 844298).
East of Huddersfield the canal is wider and the locks are shorter, so the maximum length of boat to complete this new circuit is 58ft.
Wheelock / Heartbreak Hill & Return
3-4 nights, 14 hours, 18 locks (Wheelock)
This route winds through the delightful valley of the River Dane.
Explore the start of Heartbreak Hill and see the variety of wildfowl and wading birds that this peaceful and unspoilt stretch attracts.
With a few turning points on the way up the hill, this gives you the chance to choose how far you explore, depending on time available and enthusiasm for locks.
7 nights, 8 hours per day, 92 locks
A fascinating trip that takes you through the heart of Manchester and the Peak District with its distinctive stone architecture.
Moor at Castlefields to explore the city of Manchester, including Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C. 0870 4421994 www.manutd.co.uk, the huge Arndale shopping centre and the Science & Industry Museum. 0161 832 2244
The trip will let you enjoy glorious scenery as the Pennine Range overlooks the canal and, if time allows, detour along the Peak Forest canal to its terminus.
Enjoy the stunning views from Marple and at Anderton pause to visit the fabulously restored boat lift which now operates throughout the cruising season to link the canal with the River Weaver.
3 nights, 18 hours, 16 locks (Nantwich)
3 nights, 21 hours, 16 locks (Beeston)
Easy cruising south from Anderton with splendid scenery and good pubs.
The lovely medieval town of Nantwich, with its distinctive black and white architecture, is a brisk 1/4 hour walk from the canal.
More Information
Customer Testimonial
We've just returned from Ellesmere where we picked up our canal boat for our holidays last week. We really enjoyed our holiday and we were very impressed with the standard of the boat 'Great Western 84'. We found the boat yard staff very friendly and helpful and with a bit of guidance from them we soon became masters of the waterways. A great holiday and we hope to do it again soon. Cyril & Margaret Steer & Friends