Leeds & Liverpool Canal

Overview:

This is the longest canal in Britain  built as a single waterway - yet one of the least busy. One of three trans-Pennine waterways, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal is 127 miles long and, via its connection with the Aire & Calder at Leeds, offers a coast-to-coast route across the north of England.

Introduction:

Fascinating towns and attractions abound, from the big city appeal of Leeds to the peace of villages on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Waterway landmarks include the famous Five-Rise flight of locks at Bingley, the impressive Burnley Embankment, and Foulridge Tunnel, through which a cow once swam.

The canal has good connections at either end - the Lancaster Canal, Bridgewater Canal, and the Aire & Calder Navigation - but keeps itself to itself across the Pennines. Consequently, it has its own vocabulary (lock paddles are known as 'cloughs') and has retained a distinctive character.