Lock-free cruising
It was one of the last narrow-gauge canals (locks 7ft wide) to be built, and the audacious 'cut and fill' techniques, high embankments and ambitious cuttings are all indicative of Thomas Telford's hand. As this was a late canal, the lessons of earlier works were incorporated: locks, for example, are all grouped closely together for efficiency of operation. Consequently today's leisure users will find that a few hours burst of energy is rewarded with miles of lock-free cruising either side of the flight.
It was hoped that the Macclesfield Canal would decrease journey times, and therefore reduce costs, between Manchester, the Potteries and the Midlands. It also served mills, quarries and mines around Macclesfield, Congleton and the Peak District. However, it was not very successful, and the canal passed into railway ownership in 1846. Although suffering the effects of competition, it was still being used for freight carriage until the 1960s. Fortunately, a local cruising club had by this time already been using the waterway for many years - and so, its leisure potential established, it remained navigable despite some of its near neighbours falling into dereliction.
It is now part of the popular 'Cheshire Ring' and is often remembered by holidaymakers both for its elegance, particularly the roving or turnover bridges that allow a horse to transfer from a towpath on one side of the canal to the other without the need to unhitch; its spectacular views; and its architectural follies.
