2014

SJ7099 : Bridgewater Canal at Astley Green

taken 10 years ago, near to Astley Green, Wigan, England

Bridgewater Canal at Astley Green
Bridgewater Canal at Astley Green
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

See other images of The Bridgewater Canal

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Canals Camera: Panasonic DMC-G3 Canal: Bridgewater Canal other tags: Canal Narrowboats Canal Towpath Tow Path Towing Path Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Bridgewater Canal at Astley Green [27] Title Clusters: · Bridgewater Canal at Astley Green [3] ·
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
+
+
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
TIP: Click the map for more Large scale mapping
Grid Square
SJ7099, 153 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
David Dixon   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Thursday, 12 June, 2014   (more nearby)
Submitted
Friday, 13 June, 2014
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 7015 9975 [10m precision]
WGS84: 53:29.6161N 2:27.0837W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 70287 99760
View Direction
WEST (about 270 degrees)
Clickable map
+
NW N NE
W Go E
SW S SE
Image classification(about): Geograph
This page has been viewed about 46 times
You are not logged in login | register