Anderton Boat lift
Anderton Boat Lift
Anderton Boat Lift wins Visit England’s best told story accolade Our ‘Cathedral of the Canals’, Anderton Boat Lift, has been awarded Visit England’s Best Told Story Accolade.
This highly prestigious award recognises the unique story-telling experience that our team at Anderton give 120,000 plus visitors each year.
Officially, the best told story in England 2016 - The Anderton Boat Lift has earnt its nick-name of Cathedral of the Canals for a very good reason.
Not only does it still do the job it was designed to do, all the way back in 1875, of lifting narrowboats and barges straight up the 50 feet from the River Weaver to the Trent & Mersey Canal. But it does it with the most ingenious and endearing character of any structure on the canal system.
It also offers the intrepid among you a unique opportunity – to access the very top of the workings. But do you dare take our ‘Top of the World Tour’? Find out on your visit to the Canal & River Trust’s Anderton Boat Lift.
The Anderton Boat Lift is one of the seven wonders of Britain’s waterways and is an engineering masterpiece, being the world’s first ever successful boat lift. The Lift sits in a spectacular location between the River Weaver and the Trent & Mersey Canal and is an interesting combination of working historic structure and fun, educational experience.
There is an extensive programme of activities throughout the year to encourage visitors to this iconic site. This includes a variety of paid events such as the annual beer festival, summer concert and Firework Spectacular as well as a host of free events such as a Transport Festival, Victorian Weekend, and a Wild West Weekend.
The Lift was restored in 2002 after a £7 million restoration made possible due to a substantial grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. However, it is only through the constant support of visitors and volunteers alike that our team continues to tell the tale of this iconic structure.
The Anderton Boat Lift is a two caisson lift lock near the village of Anderton, Cheshire, in North West England. It provides a 50-foot (15.2 m) vertical link between two navigable waterways: the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal. The structure is designated as a scheduled monument, and is included in the National Heritage List for England. Source (Wikipedia)