Hotel Boat Holidays

Are you planning a canal holiday in Lancashire? We look at wonderful places to visit on Leeds Liverpool canal.

Interesting places along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal

Bingley Five Locks

For many people, the most impressive sight along the Leeds-Liverpool canal is the Bingley Five Locks. It is one of the earliest parts of the canal network to be completed and is now a Grade 1 listed structure. It was built in 1774 and has a gradient of about 1:5.

Burscough

Burscough used to be a vital part of the Lancashire canal network, and its wharf was highly important to regulating the traffic on the Leeds/Liverpool canal. The Wharf Buildings included stables, a canal cottage, offices, a veterinary centre, and more.

Wigan Pier

Wigan Pier gained a lot of fame after being titularly featured in George Orwell’s book studying the life of working-class British northerners, 'The Road to Wigan Pier'. The pier was originally constructed on the side of warehouses to allow for the easy transportation of coal onto barges.

The Kirkstall Brewery

Kirkstall Brewery started its operations just after the Leeds and Liverpool Canal had been completed its completion. This was done to take full advantage of the new transport links made available.

These days the property serves as student accommodation for Leeds Metropolitan University, but if you look carefully around the premises, you might be able to spot some remnants of the past.

Leeds Waterfront

Not too long ago, whole sections of Leeds Waterfront were totally derelict. But nowadays, the Waterfront has been revived with a whole new selection of pass-times.

There are plenty of cafes and bars available for food and drink, as well as several museums. The Royal Armouries Museum has a world-class collection of arms and armour.

Royal Albert Dock and Liverpool Canal Link

The Royal Albert Dock was originally opened by Prince Albert in the year 1846. Many consider the dock to be the centrepiece of the wonderful Liverpool South Docks. In 2021, the marinas actually qualified for the highly regarded Blue Flag Award.

This award is a stamp of approval proving that the waters here are clean, safe, and meet all the highest possible environmental standards.

Saltaire's World Heritage Site

Saltaire was a full Victorian village, erected all at once, by a wool baron by the name of Sir Titus Salt for the purposes of housing his textile workers.

In 2001, the site itself achieved World Heritage status. There is so much to explore within Saltaire's World Heritage Village. We would recommend Salt's Mill, a shopping, dining, and art space that holds Europe's biggest collection of David Hockney pieces.

East Marton

East Marton is home to some unconventional and creative engineering. The original A59 road that is used for connecting Liverpool and York crosses over the canal in East Marton.

Though, people found that the original packhorse bridge was much lower than the original road. This meant that an additional arch had to be added in order to maintain the level of the road. Creating quite the spectacular and odd effect when viewed from the side.

Wheelton

Wheelton is a cosy little village in the Borough of Chorley. The community is probably best known for The Johnson’s Hillock Locks. A long series of seven locks along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. A pub by the name of the Top Lock sits next to Lock 58.

Skipton

Skipton is known as the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales. A charming market town that in 2008 won the award for the best shopping spot in Britain from the Academy of Urbanism.

The town is most notable for Skipton Castle, a medieval fortress still standing after over 800 years. In fact, Skipton Castle is one of the most complete and well-preserved castles across all of England.

Rufford and Burscough

Rufford Branch and Burscough have a lot to offer. Vast amounts of wildlife, flat towpaths, and fascinating historic canal features. The top locks, found just beyond the junction of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, make a perfect place for family walks or bike rides.

Rufford junction is only a 10-minute walk away from the towpath from Burscough, making it another perfect location for a stroll after you've had yourself some delicious food.

Burscough has a courtyard wharf, which during the height of the canal age, was purpose-built to be a veterinary centre for the horses that pulled barges down the canal. The site had warehouses, cottages, harness rooms, stables, and more.

These days the entire courtyard wharf has been refurbished. The grounds are home to arts and crafts shops as well as scrumptious cafes.

Burnley

The Weavers' Triangle was an area of Burnley that allowed the town to become one of the world's most productive cotton producing towns.

The population grew larger and larger over the period of a few decades. Not only did the canal allow for the transportation of all this cotton, but it allowed the mills a source from which they could draw water. This water was used for powering the mills' steam engines.

If you take a trip just north of Burney's centre, you will find the canal sustaining its route over the top of the motorway through Whittlefield Bridge Aqueduct No 31a.

Liverpool

The entirely of the Leeds-Liverpool canal was created in order to allow the mills in Yorkshire access to the highly important Port of Liverpool, and potentially access markets further away.

The canal also allowed shipping businesses to gain access to new fuel supply locations across the Pennines. A huge amount of the docks and warehouses that made up the majority of the  Leeds-Liverpool canal economy have been either demolished or redeveloped into offices, housing, or other buildings.

The very last point on the waterway was Stanley Dock, this was until 2009 when the canal system was extended to Canning Dock.