Category: Hollinwood Canal 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,...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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....

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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,...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< 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...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Fairfield Junction Waterhouses Junction > Waterhouses Top Lock 22 has an ornamental gate and it leads to Waterhouses Junction, sometimes known as Fairbottom Junction, with the Fairbottom Branch.  The...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > Above Waterhouses Junction the canal looks just ready for boats as it passes under the footbridge. Note: This footbridge was...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > The Hollinwood Canal runs right to left across the foreground, with Crime Lake extending beyond.  It is said that Crime...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > Crime Bridge, on Cutler Hill Road, is the limit of the water.  The route is dry beyond here and walkers...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > Looking back across Crime Lake the distant views show mills once important to the trade along the canal. Waterway and...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > Once again the route of the Hollinwood Canal is crossed by the M60 Motorway where there is inadequate clearance to...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > Looking downhill where it seems possible possible to construct a new aqueduct with adequate clearance above the M60 Motorway. Waterway...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > It takes careful checking of the map to identify this is where the Hollinwood Canal once came towards us. Waterway...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > The route of the Hollinwood Canal can still be found if we check our map carefully. Waterway and Kilometerage HOLL...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > Modern housing means we can no longer follow the canal which passes through the fence, but an alternative alignment which...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > The Hollinwood Canal once came straight towards us through the houses. Waterway and Kilometerage HOLL 06.175.05 OS Grid Reference SD...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > The Hollinwood Canal once ran through parallel to Albert Street through the buildings to the left.  Fortunately there appears to be an...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > The route of the Hollinwood Canal  is blocked again by the M60 Motorway and by modern housing and it seems...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > The canal once headed straight ahead into the photo at roughly the level of the camera and originally ended at a...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > Just beyond the motorway, Cardigan Road is now built along the line of the Hollinwood Canal.  Lock 24, the second of the...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > It’s still possible to follow much of the route of the Hollinwood Canal if you look for the footpaths. Waterway...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > This wall looks a rather earlier construction than the adjacent modern housing, but it’s not quite on the line of...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > The Hollinwood Canal would have passed through the left hand side of this building before crossing Manchester Road. Waterway and...

< Next Hollinwood Canal Next > < Waterhouses Junction Jn with Werneth Branch Canal > Leading off Drury lane is another footpath which turns at the corner to rejoin the line of the canal which...