• Language
    Language

To build your own Itinerary, click Add to Excursion to add an item to your Itinerary basket.

Already saved an Itinerary?

The Leeds Liverpool Canal

Type:Canal / Waterway / Marina

Through out the Blackburn Borough, Blackburn, Lancashire
The Leeds Liverpool Canal

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal was the first of the Trans-Pennine canals to be started and the last to be completed. The length and the complexity of the route meant that the canal took 46 years to build at a cost of five times the original budget.

The canal originates from a proposal in 1765 to construct a canal from Preston to Leeds to carry woollen goods from Leeds and Bradford and limestone from Skipton. Prospective backers in Lancashire argued for the canal to start from Liverpool.

The Canal Act passed in 1770 was for a route from Liverpool to Leeds via Parbold, Walton-le-Dale (just south of Preston), Colne and Skipton, with a branch from Burscough towards the River Ribble, a branch from Parbold to Wigan, a great aqueduct at Whalley and a branch from Shipley to Bradford.

In 1773, the first part to open was the lock-free section from Skipton to Bingley. In 1777, the canal was open between Liverpool, Parbold and Gathurst, near Wigan, and from Leeds to Gargrave, including the branch to Bradford. However, at this point all the funds had been spent and work came to a halt. By 1781 enough money was found to complete the branch to Wigan and the branch to Rufford.


It was ten years later, in 1791, that work re-started on building the canal west from Gargrave. In 1794 a new Act was passed, changing the route to run via Burnley and Blackburn instead of Whalley and Walton-le-Dale. Foulridge Tunnel was opened in 1796 making the canal navigable from Leeds to Burnley. The section from Burnley to Blackburn took a further 14 years to construct and the missing link west of Blackburn to the Lancaster Canal at Johnson's Hillock was not complete until six years later in 1816.

The plan to continue the canal as planned from Johnson's Hillock to Parbold was abandoned through lack of money. An arrangement was made to use the section of the Lancaster Canal between Johnson's Hillock and Wigan, and to incorporate that and the Wigan "branch" into the main line of the canal. In 1820 the new branch was opened between Wigan and Bridgewater Canal at Leigh, linking with the rest of the canal system. In 1864 the Leeds and Liverpool Canal took over the southern section of the Lancaster Canal.

The engineering of the canal is very different from other Trans-Pennine canals. Most of the locks are concentrated in groups with long level sections between. Tunnels and cuttings are avoided where possible with the canal following the contours round bends and loops. In some sections the distance between points by canal is twice the shortest distance. The earliest locks, between Leeds and Bingley, are often grouped together to form staircases of two or three locks. The most spectacular feature of the canal is the five rise lock staircase at Bingley.

Book Tickets

Opening Times

The Leeds Liverpool Canal (1 Jan 2025 - 31 Dec 2025)

Directions

Road Directions

For road directions please contact Blackburn Visitor Centre 01254 688040

Public Transport Directions

For details of Public Transport please contact Blackburn Visitot Centre 01254 688040

Facilities

Other

  • Open All Year
  • Outdoor Attraction

Provider Preferences

  • In countryside
  • In town/city centre

TripAdvisor

Follow Us

What's Nearby

What's Nearby

Recently Viewed

  1. Jean Stansfield Memorial Park (Vicarage Park)

    Type

    Parks & Gardens

    Just a hop skip and a jump from Poulton's market square lies just under 3 hectares of peace and…

  2. A Star is Born │Cream Tea Cinema

    Type

    Film Screening

    Bradley Cooper directs and co-stars in this outrageously watchable and colossally enjoyable new…

  3. A Christmas Celebration Concert (150th anniversary}

    Type

    Christmas/Festive

    Join Stacksteads Brass Band as they celebrate their 150th anniversary with a family Christmas…

  4. Bacup

    Type

    Town

    Surrounded by stunning moorlands, right in the Pennine hills, Bacup is home to beautiful, historic…

  5. Chorley Market

    Type

    Market

    Chorley's popular markets date back to 1498 with the most popular market day being a Tuesday. If…

  6. Top Hat Tours

    Type

    Walking Tour

    Award-winning Top Hat Tours can offer groups of visitors tailored tours to meet their needs as well…

Sign up for e-newsletter

Don't Miss

Don't Miss

Don't Miss

Don't Miss

Don't Miss