Gadgie Walks: Six go on a canal boat

Monday, 3 August 2026

Six go on a canal boat

Six go on a canal boat. (And Amber too) August 1st

There are approximately 4000 miles of canal in the UK. Most of those miles were dug in the 18th and 19th centuries to carry goods in the early Industrial Revolution. The railways reduced the loads they carried and today they are almost exclusively used for leisure.

When I was very small we lived near the Leeds Liverpool canal. When I was a bit bigger we lived near the Lancaster canal. But most of my life I have lived in the North East, canal free.

When somebody suggested we should celebrate my wife’s birthday with a day on a canal boat I immediately said yes, even volunteered to pay!

My younger daughter lives not too far from Bollington, a small town on the Macclesfield canal in Cheshire, so we hired our boat there. Bollington was once famous for its high quality cotton yarn, much of which was sent to Nottingham and Brussels for lace making. It was not a full length barge, probably as well as steering wasn’t too easy but it came equipped with a kettle, water, tea bags and sugar, bring your own picnic and milk.

The boatyard in Bollington and a remaining mill building.

Once we had been given a lesson in steering the boat, speeding up, slowing down and reversing we set off, heading north.

We left the town almost immediately and were out in the country, passing large houses with gardens reaching down to the canal bank, then open fields and woodland.

originally the narrow boats were towed by horses, the tow paths are now used by walkers and cyclists.

Running parallel to the canal is the Middlewood Way, a walking route on an old railway line. Hint for gadgies, canal banks and railway lines are flat.

Steering is easy once you have got the hang of it. To turn right (to starboard technically) you move the tiller to the left. After a couple of seconds the boat begins to turn.

There are, naturally, rules of the road. Maximum speed seems to be abpiy 4mph, reduced to 2 when passing moored boats or when passing barges coming in the opposite direction.

Never batted an eyelid as we passed. Probably used to boats.

After a couple of hours, some steering, some relaxing, some brewing and handing out snacks, we arrived at High Lane and moored the boat to the bank. Three ropes came with the boat and there are iron rings firmly embedded in the bank so we tied up securely. Leaving the barge we walked a few hundred yards to the Horse Shoes for lunch.

Lunch in the garden at the BHorse Shoes, High Lane. There was a menu for dogs too.

After a leisurely lunch we returned to the boat and turned it round. Trickier than a three point turn but fortunately there was a nearby pool designed for the very purpose.

Slowly we chugged back to Bollington, carefully passing approaching boats and taking careful aim going under bridges as the canal narrows considerably at them. Docking was a b it tricky but we finally tied up and got off.

Including lunch we had been out on the canal for about eight hours of peaceful scenery on a warm August day. This part of England is very pretty as well as being historically interesting for its industrial past.