Manchester wants more visiting boaters.

“Be very careful where you moor … and do not offer anyone a ride in your boat.”  That was the advice given to Manchester boaters by the 1993 Nicholson’s Guide. Since then two of the region’s major waterways, the Rochdale Canal and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, have been fully restored and Manchester has become a popular tourist destination with a huge amount to offer visitors but the Canal & River Trust is concerned that boaters still do not visit the city in large numbers.

Canal Street café bars alongside the Rochdale Canal

CRT has just launched a publicity campaign to tell boaters about the many attractions on offer in the ‘Venice of the North’. With the help of bright, new canal signage, improved towpaths and more regular events, the Trust is hoping to create a new buzz around the city’s waterways.

David Baldacchino, local waterway manager with the Canal & River Trust, explained: “Twenty years ago only a few pleasure boaters travelled through the area along the Ashton Canal and down to Castlefield as part of the Cheshire Cruising Ring. Even the buildings used to turn their backs on the city centre canals. “But the situation is very different now. New developments like Piccadilly Village, the Bridgewater Hall, the Rain Bar and Castlefield positively embrace their lovely waterside settings. In addition to the popular Cheshire Ring, the South Pennine cruising ring offers boaters some of the most spectacular scenery in England. Salford Friendly Anglers have just taken out fishing rights in Manchester  city centre and local boating businesses are expanding as visitors discover one of the best kept secrets of the waterways.”

The 2015 Nicholson Guide now says “a passage through central Manchester, a pleasant experience these days, but it was not always so… The problem used to be timing your passage through the city so that the “Rochdale Nine” locks were open, and your subsequent overnight mooring was a safe one! Local children preyed upon you as you tackled Ancoats, Beswick and Clayton flights, leaping across the locks from one side to the other, begging lifts, and “picking up” anything you might have left lying around… The lock machinery was stiff, water supply uncertain, and the things which fouled your propeller defied description…
It is, thankfully, VERY different now, and the city passage is very attractive, interesting and enjoyable. Just take the usual precautions.

Manchester is home to a wide array of cultural and sporting attractions from world famous soccer teams and the National Football Museum to art galleries, concert halls, theatres and the award-winning Museum of Science and Industry. The Coronation Street Tour offers fans a glimpse behind the popular TV soap and hundreds of city centre stores, bars and restaurants provide top class shopping and dining experiences. Festivals devoted to canals, food, science, literature, music and even Gay Pride mean that almost every month the city is alive with events and activities. Tourist information is available at www.visitmanchester.com.

To help boaters get the most from a trip to Manchester, CRT has produced a new guidance sheet on city centre visitor moorings including detailed information on the best locations in Piccadilly Village (East Manchester) and Castlefield. (Downloadable as a pdf).

Thanks to CRT for information and Mike Poloway/CRT for photos.