The Ashton canal, the trans-Pennine routes, the Bridgewater and the northern reaches of the River Weaver and its connection with the Manchester Ship Canal are still navigable (sometimes), the rest is long gone.

The St Helens (aka Sankey Brook) Canal is/was the oldest industrial canal in the country. Isolated parts of it remain in water.

The Beat Bank Branch of the Stockport Branch was never completed or opened.

Canals covered:

• St Helens (Sankey Brook) Canal

• Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal

• Rochdale Branch Canal

• Ashton Canal branches (Hollinwood, Fairbottom, Islington, Stockport, Beat Bank)

• Runcorn to Latchford Canal

• Runcorn Canals & Docks

Want to download the map to help you explore?

Here are two Google Maps that you can download for your personal use. (You will need to zoom in a lot to see the detail).

The map titled RSL shows canal as single lines, that titled RPL shows them as polygons that can be clicked to show more detail. Clicking the square brackets at the top right corner of the map will open it in your ‘Google My Maps’. See the ‘Explanatory Notes’ page for more detail.

Links to useful sites

MANCHESTER BOLTON & BURY CANAL

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Bolton_%26_Bury_Canal

https://mbbcs.org.uk/

https://waterways.org.uk/waterways/discover-the-waterways/manchester-bolton-bury-canal-restoration

ST HELENS CANAL (SANKEY BROOK / SANKEY CANAL)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankey_Canal

https://www.sankeycanal.co.uk/

https://waterways.org.uk/waterways/discover-the-waterways/sankey-canal