15 August: a day out in Cheshire – the Boat Lift and a cruise on the Weaver navigation.

Part 2: Daniel Adamson. Slow travel through Cheshire! Having had a light lunch at the boat lift visitor centre, we boarded the coach for the journey to Sutton Weaver, near Frodsham to board ‘The Danny’. Such trips are sold as a package, starting from Anderton (with plenty of car parking) on a road coach. The 10 mile cruise takes around 4 hours, so a one-way journey is ideal for most participants. Once all are aboard, the swing bridge is swung and we’re off, at a sedate pace, gliding through attractive countryside. Two locks along the way provide extra interest, and there’s another swing bridge where the A49 crosses our route near Acton Bridge. We also cross under the west coast main railway line at Dutton viaduct. Will a train pass? Yes!

There’s plenty of natural interest too – numerous herons (or was it the same one several times?) take to the air as we approach almost silently (unless the Danny needs to sound his hooter at canoeists or other waterway users). Cormorants fly by, ducks and moorhens scuttle about beside the banks. Progress is slow and steady, but the time flies by, and soon we’re back at Anderton, berthing below the boat lift.

I’ve said little about the vessel itself. Built in 1903 as steam tug Ralph Brocklebank for the Shropshire Union Railways & Canal Co, it was purchased in 1922 by the Manchester  Ship Canal Company, refurbished in 1936 as a directors’ saloon and renamed Daniel Adamson after a key proponent of the ship canal. Its wonderful art deco interiors date from that time. Much more detail is available on the website https://www.thedanny.co.uk/

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=358020&Y=375621&A=Y&Z=126

15 August: a day out in Cheshire – the Boat Lift and a cruise on the Weaver navigation.

Part 1: the Anderton Boat Lift. It’s been on the ‘to-do’ list for a long time, and today it’s part 1 of a tremendous day out. The original lift was relatively simple in concept – two giant water-filled cylinders, each supporting a caisson which could hold a canal boat, to transfer those boats between the Trent and Mersey Canal and, some 50 feet below, the Weaver Navigation. The caissons counterbalanced each other on the water balance principle, like some seaside cliff lifts. Salt and chemical corrosion cause the 1875 mechanism to deteriorate, and in the early 20th century an electric motor-powered mechanism was installed, using cables to raise and lower the caissons. Its huge A-frames and cog mechanism changed the outward appearance of the lift considerably.

Further corrosion led to closure in 1983; renovation and restoration meant it was back in action in 2001, once again using hydraulic lifts, now using oil rather than water to prevent corrosion. A relatively minor failure in the mechanism used to open and close the caissons means it’s currently not operational, but should be back in use next year (2027). Nevertheless our expertly-guided tour of the lift was most enjoyable, being both very interesting and informative. The visitor centre, with its displays and cafe, is pretty good too!

Anderton Boat Lift Visitor Centre

Part 2 – our cruise in “The Danny” – will follow soon, I hope.

Where is it? View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=364656&Y=375226&A=Y&Z=115