The Ribble Link
The Ribble Link is Britain’s newest inland waterway, being
a 4 mile canal connecting the previously isolated Lancaster canal to the
main canal network Via the Leeds and Liverpool canal’s
Rufford Branch. The link was opened
in 2002 and will take craft up to 10ft 6inches wide, though passage has to
be booked for this popular waterway.
The concept of a waterway to link the isolated Lancaster
canal to the rest of he system is not a new one, going back at least 200
years to when the Lancaster canal was being built , but the original scheme
was never fully completed leaving the Lancaster canal isolated from the rest
of the system.
The project however became a possibility with the £6
million Millennium Ribble Link now in place adding an additional 42 miles of
lock free navigation to the national canal system including such features as
Lune aquaduct and Glasson Locks
The route surveyed for a
preliminary report in
1981, with 3 possible routes outlined, the current one being agreed by
Preston Borough Council and the Lancashire Countty Council, while other
options soon disappeared under new housing developments.
The link starts one and a half miles from the Preston Riversway at the
junction of the River Ribble with Savick Brook, following Savick Brook for 4
miles to just west of Cotton mill Bridge on the Lancaster Canal. The route
passes through nine locks and encompasses new towpaths and cycle ways as
well as an Arts Trail, generally designed to make as much as possible out of
the new feature for users and the local community .
The project has proven to be both successful and popular bringing a lot
of new waterway traffic to the Lancaster canal
and real benefits to local boatyards and marinas.
The Ribble being tidal all passages have to be booked in advanced so as
to take account of river water levels and tide tables.