Text and photographs copyright of Jim Shead.

Ashton Canal

Description: Runs from the junction with the Rochdale Canal at Manchester to the Junction with the Peak Forest Canal at Ashton-Under-Lyne.

History: Promoted under Acts of 1792, 1793, 1798, 1800 and 1805. Completed, except for the Ancoats to Piccadilly section, about 1796. Main line completed in 1799. Excluded from British Waterways cruising licence in 1959.
For more details see the History page.

Points of Interest: It was the subject of "Operation Ashton", one of the largest voluntary clearance operations. The canal is now completely restored. It forms part of the Cheshire Ring.

Waterway Group: This waterway is part of the Ashton, Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canals

Navigation Authority: MD's Office: Northern Waterways, General Manager: North West Waterways, Trafalgar House, Temple Court, Birchwood, Warrington, WA3 6GD: Telephone 01925 847700 : Fax 01925 847710 :

Ducie St. Manchester, junction with the Rochdale Canal

Related Articles

• Peak Cruising
• The Cheshire Ring

Related Books

• The Canals of North West England (1) by Charles Hadfield and Gordon Biddle, ISBN: 07153 49562, 236 pages, Published by David & Charles, Volume 1. . Order now from .
• The Canals of North West England (2) by Charles Hadfield and Gordon Biddle, ISBN: 07153 49929, 260 pages, Published by David & Charles, Volume 2.. Order now from .
• Nicholson/Ordnance Survey Guide to the waterways - 5 by Not known, ISBN: 978-0-00-728165-7, 190 pages, Published by Nicholson, in 2009, North West & the Pennines. Includes the Aire & Calder (leeds to Wakefield), Bridgewater, Calder & Hebble, Huddersfield Broad, Lancaster, Leeds & Liverpool, Macclesfield, Peak Forest, Ashton and Rochdale canals plus the Trent & Mersey north of Hardings Wood Junction.. Order now from .
• Pearson's Canal Companion: Cheshire Ring by Michael Pearson, Edition: Eighth, ISBN: 978 0 9 5491160 7, 80 pages, Published by J M Pearson & Son, Includes the River Weaver, Rochdale Canal and the route to Preston via the Leeds & Liverpool - Rufford Branch,. Order now from .
• Hollinwood Canal by Gerry Fanning, 60 pages, Published by Neil Richardson, in 2000, A4 size. A detailed history of this former branch of the Ashton Canal..
• Adventures of the Nippy by James Hewitt, ISBN: 0 9543197 0 2, 164 pages, Published by Published by the author, in 2002, The story of boating in the 1950s and the fight to keep the canals open.. Order now from .
• Narrow Boat to the Cheshire Ring by Margaret & Ted Hill, ISBN: 978-0-9553568-9-6, 172 pages, Published by Published by the author, in 2007, This book is a personal account of ten years involvement with inland waterways in the 1960s..

Related videos

• The South Pennine Ring , Released in 2002, 57 minutes Produced by VideoActive, The Huddersfield Narrow and Broad canals, Calder & Hebble, Rochdale and Ashton Canal. Available on tape DVD. Order on video tape from . Order on DVD from

Related photographs

• Ashton Canal: Ducie Street, Manchester

Related External Web Sites

• Narrow Boat to the Cheshire Ring A book about canal cruising and campaiganing in the 1960s.
• Lock 92 A new site covering the Rochdale, Huddersfield Narrow and Ashton Canals.
• Pennine Waterways Peak Forest, Ashton, Rochdale, Leeds & Liverpool, Huddersfield and other canals in the area.
• The Stockport Branch of the Ashton Canal An arm of the canal that was filled in in 1962.
• Hollinwood Canal Society The Hollinwood Branch of the Ashton Canal ran from Fairfield in Droylsden, through Littlemoss and Daisy Nook Country Park to Hollinwood.
• Manchester & Stockport Canal Society The society was formed on the 3rd February 2004 for the sole purpose of restoring the Stockport Arm of the Ashton canal to its head of navigation in Stockport

Related Cruising Logs

• 1st September 1998
• 21st June 2003
• 4th August 2004
• 6th July 2008

Other Related Pages

• Cruising Times

Lock Sizes and maximum craft dimensions: Length 70 foot, beam 7 foot. NOTE: For more details of maximum lock and craft sizes and the basis of these figures see Craft and Lock Sizes Page

Ashton Canal: Table of distances			Miles	Locks	Navigable (N)	Grid ref	OS Map No
Ducie Street, Manchester	Junction with Rochdale Canal Junction with Rochdale Canal		0	0	N	SJ847981	109
Lock No 1 Ancoats Junction	Junction with closed Islington Branch		0.4	1	N	SJ853981	109
Lock No 3 Ancoats			0.5	3	N	SJ854983	109
Lock No 4 Bewicks Locks	Locks 5,6 and 7 of the Beswick flight follow. Lock 6 is sometimes known as Bradford Lock.		1.3	4	N	SJ864987	109
Lock No 8 Clayton Bottom Lock	Locks 9 to 13 of the Clayton Flight follow.		2	8	N	SJ876984	109
Clayton Junction	Junction with the closed Stockport Branch		2.4	12	N	SJ882982	109
Clayton Lock No 13			2.8	13	N	SJ885981	109
Clayton Lock No 14	Edge Lane Lock		2.9	14	N	SJ888980	109
Clayton Top Lock No 16			3.5	16	N	SJ891979	109
Fairfield Top Lock No 18	Hollinwood Branch junction (branch closed)		3.8	18	N	SJ900978	109
Guide Bridge Railway Station	A6017 road bridge No 26		5.4	18	N	SJ925976	109
Walk Mill Bridge No 28, Ashton-under-Lyne			6	18	N	SJ933983	109
Dukinfield Junction	Junction with Peak Forest Canal Junction with the Peak Forest Canal		6.3	18	N	SJ935984	109
Huddersfield Narrow Canal Junction	Junction with Huddersfield Narrow Canal Ashton-under-Lyne		6.8	18	N	SJ939988	109

NOTE: N and U in the Navigable column above indicates that the node is navigable or unnavigable. If a D appears here it means that navigation is difficult or restricted to smaller craft.

 

Text and photographs copyright of Jim Shead.