Dramatic gorges and historic industrial architecture, glorious Peak District landscapes and the high foothills of the Pennines – canal boat holidays on this enchanting ring of waterways offer the perfect blend of town and country. The famous Mow Cop Hills, Little Moreton Hall, Lyme Park, the Salt Museum at Northwich, and Cheddleton Flint Mill are among the wealth of attractions along the way.
Heading north up the Macclesfield Canal, you can visit near Macclesfield's Silk Museum and Heritage Centre before reaching Marple locks, perhaps the most picturesque flight of locks in the country. Divert onto the Peak Forest Canal or stay with the Ring and cross the Marple Aqueduct, 100ft over the wooded ravine of the River Goyt. Canal boats can now also travel the recently restored Huddersfield Narrow Canal, where industrial landscapes give way to rolling hills and river valleys.
The northernmost arc of the Ring takes your canal boat along the Ashton and Rochdale canals, through the heart of Manchester, where you can moor at Potato Wharf, and onto the Bridgewater Canal. Detour onto the Leeds and Liverpool and marvel at the Barton Swing Aqueduct, one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways spanning the Manchester Ship Canal.
Continue round the Ring, through the Preston Brook tunnel and you're on the Trent and Mersey Canal, winding its way through the unspoilt landscapes of the Cheshire Plain. At Northwich, you can explore the restored Anderton Boat Lift, known as the 'Cathedral of the Canals', before rejoining the Macclesfield Canal and completing the Ring.