Cheshire Ring Dragonfly Narrowboat Hire

108 locks, 122 Miles, 8 hours per day – 10 nights.

A more strenuous voyage than the four counties ring, you start the Cheshire ring by turning left onto the Trent and Mersey Canal at Middlewich after first travelling through the Hurleston locks to Barbridge and then onto the Middlewich branch of the Shropshire Union Canal.

From Middlewich you will enjoy stunning views as you cruise towards the famous Anderton Boat Lift, well worth stopping to visit. Then the canal twists and turns before entering the first of three tunnels, emerging from the last of these at Preston Brook; this is the start of the lock-free Bridgewater Canal taking you out of Cheshire and into Manchester, where you travel through the heart of the city.

The Ashton and Rochdale canals take you out towards the Peak District to join the scenic Macclesfield Canal, - a sharp contrast to industrial Manchester. Macclesfield itself is a large silk manufacturing town, which is positioned on the edge of the Peak District and is well worth stopping to explore. Stop at bridge 86 and take the footpath to Little
Moreton Hall, a moated 16th century black and white timbered manor house, property of the National Trust.

At Hardingswood Junction join the Trent and Mersey Canal and drop down the famous “Heartbreak Hill” to Middlewich. Then join the Shropshire Union Canal for your return to the Llangollen Canal and Swanley.


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