Macclesfield Canal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Image:MacclesfieldCanalMarple.JPG The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England. It runs 26 miles (42 km) from Marple Junction, where it joins the Peak Forest Canal, southwards (through Bollington, Macclesfield and Congleton) to a junction with the Trent & Mersey Canal near Kidsgrove. The canal gained its Act of Parliament in 1826 and was completed in 1831 at a cost of £320,000.

As with so many UK canals the arrival of the railways led to the decline of the canal. After World War II the canal started to suffer from a lack of maintenance and the threat of closure hung over it until the 1968 Transport Act came into force.

The canal is home to Britain's oldest canal cruising club, the North Cheshire Cruising Club. It was formally founded in 1943 although it has pre-war origins. The cruising club played an important role in preventing the canal from closing.