Macclesfield Canal

Quick Facts

• Length: approximately 27.5 miles
• Locks: 12, all in a single flight at Bosley
• Connects: Marple Junction (Peak Forest Canal) → Hall Green Junction near Kidsgrove (Trent & Mersey Canal)
• Build period & engineer: opened 1831 — one of the last narrow canals built. Surveyed by Thomas Telford and built by William Crosley.
• Boat dimensions: 70 ft long by 7 ft beam (narrow)
• Typical cruise time: 2 days end-to-end

What's it like to cruise?

A late, well-built contour canal that hugs the western edge of the Peak District. Long lock-free pounds with views across the Cheshire Plain to one side and the Peaks to the other. The single Bosley flight of 12 locks raises the canal 118 ft in a beautifully kept rural setting. Stone-built, generally deep, well-maintained — many boaters rate the Macclesfield as the prettiest narrow canal in Cheshire. A key leg of the Cheshire Ring.

Highlights along the route

• Bosley Locks — 12 stone-built narrow locks with mitre gates at both ends and side ponds, in a stunning rural setting under the Peaks.
• Marple Junction — junction with the Peak Forest, with the canal-side cottage and good moorings.
• Macclesfield town — the canal passes the town with mill heritage and good moorings at Hovis Mill.
• Bollington — pretty mill village with the towering Clarence and Adelphi mills.
• Snake roving bridges at Marple and Bosley — distinctive turnover bridges where horses changed sides without unhitching.
• Little Moreton Hall — Tudor manor house, an easy walk from the canal at Scholar Green.

Connections & cruising rings

The Macclesfield is a key leg of the Cheshire Ring (Bridgewater–T&M–Macclesfield–Peak Forest–Ashton–Rochdale–Bridgewater). At Hardings Wood it joins the T&M just above Harecastle Tunnel; at Marple it meets the Peak Forest.

Suitable for

Excellent for intermediate boaters. Bosley is the only lock work, and the long pounds make for relaxed cruising. Suitable for an experienced first-timer, and a popular hire-firm route.

Practicalities

• Stoppages: occasional Bosley flight maintenance; the canal generally maintains good water levels.
• Water and elsan: Marple, Macclesfield, Bosley, Congleton, Hall Green.
• Mobile signal: good throughout.
• Pump-out: at the marinas and major service points.

Best time to cruise

May to September. The Cheshire Plain views are at their best in early summer; autumn colour is exceptional in the Bollington/Bosley section.