Category Archives: Virtual Cruises (VC)

< JUMP TO Hollinwood Canal Next > < End of Navigation Waterhouses Junction > Fairfield Top Lock, which used to be paired, with Fairfield Junction immediately beyond.  The main line turns sharp right above the lock, while the Hollinwood Canal continues ahead,    Continue reading Fairfield Junction→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Looking back to Fairfield Junction from the Hollinwood Canal.  Fairfield Top Lock is a little right of centre with the Ashton Canal continuing through eighteen locks to Ducie Street Junction    Continue reading Fairfield Junction, from the Hollinwood Canal→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > A short length of the Hollinwood Canal has been restored, as far as a small basin beyond the houses Waterway and Kilometerage HOLL 00.050.10 OS Grid Reference SJ 90186 97951    Continue reading Entrance to the Hollinwood Canal→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > The short restored length of the Hollinwood Canal ends in a basin used as a marina.  The canal once continued straight on, just to the left of the dark building    Continue reading Hollinwood Canal Basin→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Manchester Road Bridge is still standing, ready for restoration of the Hollinwood Canal, where it passes to the left of the dark building mentioned in the next photo. Waterway and    Continue reading Manchester Road Bridge→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Beyond Manchester Road the route is still available for restoration, but rather overgrown.  Walkers must follow the roads for around 800m (½ mile). Waterway and Kilometerage HOLL 00.240.10 OS Grid Reference    Continue reading Beyond Manchester Road→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Th hump in the road marks the bridge where the Hollinwood Canal passes under Greenside Lane.  Walkers can peer over the bridge but must continue along the road for a    Continue reading Harrison’s Bridge→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > The original route of the Hollinwood Canal comes towards us through the bungalow then crosses Medlock Street towards the camera.  Behind the camera the route is walkable without walking around    Continue reading Routed through the Bungalow→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > The footpath is clearly identifiable as it follows the line of the Hollinwood Canal out of Droylsden in into open countryside. Waterway and Kilometerage HOLL 01.350.05 OS Grid Reference SJ    Continue reading Walking the Hollinwood Canal→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > The aqueduct over the railway has been removed and replaced by a footbridge.  There doesn’t appear to be any reason why the aqueduct can’t be re-instated when the canal is    Continue reading Footbridge over Railway→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Somebody has been busy hedge laying, just to the north of the railway. Waterway and Kilometerage HOLL 01.760.10 OS Grid Reference SJ 90993 99265 Date and Time 160215 100135 Copyright    Continue reading Hedge Laying→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > We’re now moving into open countryside and the channel of the Hollinwood Canal is still present, together wiht the firm edge to the towpath.  There’s probably a little water in    Continue reading Hollinwood Canal awaiting Restoration→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > The original Cinderland Bridge still stands across the Hollinwood Canal and it doesn’t take too much effort to imagine canal boats cruising along here and under the bridge. Waterway and    Continue reading Cinderland Bridge→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Although fixed today, this was once a swing bridge.  Reinstating a swing bridge when the Hollinwood Canal is restored doesn’t look too difficult. Waterway and Kilometerage HOLL 03.000.05 OS Grid    Continue reading Swing Bridge→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > A footbridge, raised higher than the original towpath level, allows walkers to continue their journey along the Hollinwood Canal.  The fence on the far side, just above the vehicle, is    Continue reading Crossing the M60 Motorway→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > The M60 motorway slopes downhill to the north of the previous crossing point and it looks as if there will be enough headroom to install a new aqueduct on a    Continue reading M60 Motorway Crossing Point→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Beyond the motorway the route of the canal is still easy to identify, and restoration doesn’t look too difficult. Waterway and Kilometerage HOLL 03.400.05 OS Grid Reference SD 91898 00438    Continue reading Identifiable Route of the Hollinwood Canal→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > The path along the Hollinwood Canal passes behind the Daisy Nook Country Park Visitor Centre, which brings lots of visitors to see the canal, especially the “tunnel”, and locks beyond.    Continue reading Daisy Nook Country Park Visitor Centre→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Daisy Nook Country Park brings many visitors to the Hollinwood Canal and the adjacent locks. Waterway and Kilometerage HOLL 03.655.05 OS Grid Reference SD 92064 00592 Date and Time 160215    Continue reading Daisy Nook Country Park→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > A short section of canal is in water next to the Daisy Nook Visitor Centre.  Straight ahead is the “tunnel”. Waterway and Kilometerage HOLL 03.660.05 OS Grid Reference SD 92064    Continue reading Water in the Hollinwood Canal→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Opened out into a cutting in the 1920s after several roof collapses, this is the line of the tunnel, know as Dark Tunnel, or sometimes Whitehouses Tunnel. Waterway and Kilometerage HOLL    Continue reading Dark Tunnel→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Looking back at Dark Tunnel (or Whitehouses Tunnel) which was opened into a cutting in the 1920s after several roof falls. Waterway and Kilometerage HOLL 03.845.05 OS Grid Reference SD    Continue reading Dark Tunnel→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Immediately after the “tunnel” the canal passes over Waterhouses Aqueduct, then climbs through four locks. HOLL 03.900.10 OS Grid Reference SD 92104 00826 Date and Time 160215 104540 Copyright ©    Continue reading Waterhouses Aqueduct and Locks→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Waterhouses Aqueduct carries the Hollinwood Canal over the infant River Medlock which later flows into the Bridgewater Canal at the end of Castlefield Basin near the centre of Manchester. Waterway and    Continue reading Waterhouses Aqueduct→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > There are four locks in the flight at Waterhouses, numbered 19 to 22 which continue the numbering sequence from the main line of the Ashton Canal which starts at Ducie    Continue reading Waterhouses Lock 19→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Looking down from Waterhouses Lock 19 we can see the narrows of Waterhouses Aqueduct below and, beyond that, the opened out Dark Tunnel. Waterway and Kilometerage HOLL 03.990.05 OS Grid    Continue reading Waterhouses Lock 19→

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > The middle two of the four locks in the Waterhouses Flight, numbers 20 and 21, form a staircase.  Like the others in the flight they are filled in but the    Continue reading Waterhouses Staircase Locks 20/21→