THE LEEDS AND LIVERPOOL CANAL127 MILES OF HISTORY

One of the longest canals in the country, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal took 46 years to build. Originally the Leeds and Liverpool Canal with it's 60' long and 14' wide locks started near Walton Summit near Preston in Lancashire. The stretch from Walton Summit to Liverpool Docks (which could take barges up to 70' long) was actually the Lancaster Canal southern section, the northern section of which started in Preston.

Funds ran out for the Lancaster Canal Company and the link from Preston to Walton Summit was never built. The southern section of the Lancaster Canal was incorporated into the Leeds and Liverpool canal while the northern section was to remain isolated until a link was built into the River Ribble at Preston in 2001 allowing boats to access it via the Rivers Ribble and Douglas and the Rufford Branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal winds it's way up through East Lancashire's industrial heartland, passing through a tunnel in Burnley then another, mile long tunnel at Foulridge near Colne where it is said that a cow fell into the canal in 1912 and swam the entire length of the tunnel. The Canal briefly joins the Pennine Way at East Marton before passing through Gargrave and arriving at Skipton from where it descends to Leeds.