Nearly 40 people turned out to hear Ian talking about the history of canals across the region.  We weren’t quite sure what to expect but we enjoyed an indepth introduction as to how and where the first canals were built.

Prior to actual canals, rivers were sometimes modified to make them navigable but it wasn’t until James Brindley built the Bridgewater Canal in 1761 that canal mania started.  The Sankey Canal in St Helens is sometimes claimed to be the first but in reality it was Sankey Brook that fed the channel directly and therefore is not a true canal.

Using old photographs as well as modern we were taken to the Leeds Liverpool canal,  Douglas navigation, Lancaster canal and Bury, Bolton and Manchester canal to name but a few.  I think few of us realised that an Act of Parliament had been passed to build an extension of the latter to Haslingden but the plans were scuttled by the coming of the railways!

Ian kindly ended by talking about the Ashton, Peak Forest and Macclesfield canals, an area some of our members will be visiting in April on a chara trip.

A thorouhly enjoyable afternoon.  Thank you Ian.