| This gallery contains a (large) number of pictures taken during a cruise along the Manchester Ship Canal in September 2009, and features many of the sites and ships encountered on the way to Liverpool. This was something that I'd wanted to do for a long time, and thanks to Mersey Ferries now running such trips several times every month, this was at last possible for me to do.
I've long been fascinated with "The Big Ditch", the 36 mile long man made waterway that runs from the River Mersey right into the heart of Manchester (or Salford to be more specific and not upset any Salfordians). I can well recall seeing all the big ships there in the 1960s and 70s, and it's hard to believe just how quickly this fell into disuse at the Manchester end, though the disused Quays at Salford now play host to many different kinds of businesses and leisure pursuits (Lowry Centre, Imperial War Museum North etc.). Built over a six year period from 1887 to 1894, the ship canal was a major waterway, which carried many of the goods from Lancashire's factories out to the world, and brought many other goods in as well. A major engineering feat along the lines of the Suez and Panama Canals, this was, until the building of the Channel Tunnel, probably the biggest engineering project ever built in this country. The cruises now run by Mersey Ferries, run several times a month during the months of April to October, with a departure from the Liverpool end at Pier Head outside the famous Liver Building, bringing passengers up to Salford Quays, and with a return trip the following day back to Liverpool again. The journey takes around six hours, though this can vary according to the amount of shipping using the canal at that time, or delays at the various locks along the route. I decided to do a photo documentary of my trip from Salford to Liverpool in September 2009, and this shows pictures, not only of 'Snowdrop', the ferry used for the trip, but also all of the locks, swing and lifting bridges, working ships and ports passed along the way. I have also included the section of the trip from the exit to the canal at Eastham, to the arrival point at Pier Head as well. The day I travelled was fine, but a bit gloomy and not too warm, but if anyone has been thinking of doing this trip I would certainly recommend it, not only is it fascinating and allows you to see many sights which would otherwise be impossible from the landward side, but also gives you even greater admiration for the Victorian Engineers and workers (navigators), some 16,000 in all who built such a major project in just six years. In some of the shots you will notice a TV crew, these were from Manchester's local TV company 'Channel M', who were making a documentary about the trip, anyone who can receive this channel should keep a look out for this appearing, or check their website as they sometime put programmes on there too! Whilst in Liverpool I couldn't resist visiting the Maritime Museum once again as it must be a good 10 years since I was last there (seems a lot smaller than I remembered it, some floors have now been used for the Slavery Museum I believe). The old Mersey Pilot boat is still berthed there, but harder to see now due to the building of a new musuem just behind it, and it was nice to see the old Bar Lightship and various other vessels now moored there as well. Liverpool has certainly changed since my last visit there in 2005, with all sorts of new buildings going up all over the place, I just hope they don't go any ruin the city's unique character with all this Manchester style 'yuppification'! 
I can hardly wait to do the trip again, hopefully on a slightly sunnier day the next time!
You will find 'gallery links' to the Mersey Ferries and Ship Canal sites at the foot of the page. |
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