2011

SJ6899 : Bridgewater Canal

taken 13 years ago, near to Higher Folds, Wigan, England

This is 1 of 2 images, with title Bridgewater Canal in this square
Bridgewater Canal
Bridgewater Canal
Looking west along the Bridgewater Canal, from SJ6899 : Great Fold Bridge, Bridgewater Canal . On the skyline is SJ6799 : Leigh Spinners.
The Bridgewater Canal

Often considered to be the first "true" canal, the Bridgewater Canal was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley. The section from Worsley to Manchester opened on 17th July 1761; it was later extended from Manchester to Runcorn, and then from Worsley to Leigh. Coal was needed in large quantities to fuel the industrial revolution and the canal enabled coal and other goods to be transported efficiently and cheaply to the rapidly expanding towns and cities. Its success helped inspire a period of intense canal building although it later faced intense competition from the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the Macclesfield Canal.

The canal is connected to the Rochdale Canal (Link ) in Manchester, the Trent and Mersey Canal at Preston Brook, south-east of Runcorn, and to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Leigh. It once connected with the River Mersey at Runcorn but has since been cut off by a slip road to the Silver Jubilee Bridge.

Navigable throughout its history, it is one of the few canals in Britain not to have been nationalised, and remains privately owned. Commercial traffic continued on the canal until 1974. By this time, canals were becoming more important as a leisure facility and pleasure craft now use the canal which forms part of the Cheshire Ring circular canal route.

For many years, the canal around Worsley was noted for the distinctive bright orange colouring of the water. This was a result of iron oxide from the mines tainting the water as the canal passes through Worsley. A £2.5 million remedial scheme was undertaken in 2013 to remove this colouration.

The Bridgewater Canal is owned and operated by the Manchester Ship Canal Company in conjunction with the Bridgewater Canal Trust.

LinkExternal link Bridgewater Canal Company
LinkExternal link Pennine Waterways
LinkExternal link Wikipedia


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Canals Canal: Bridgewater Category: Canal other tags: 18th Century Eighteenth Century Canal Bridgewater Canal Canal Towpath Tow Path Former Mill Chimney Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Looking West along the Bridgewater Canal [4] Title Clusters: · Bridgewater Canal [2] ·
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Grid Square
SJ6899, 55 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
David Dixon   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Saturday, 19 March, 2011   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 21 March, 2011
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 680 994 [100m precision]
WGS84: 53:29.4362N 2:28.9447W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 681 994
View Direction
WEST (about 270 degrees)
Clickable map
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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