Rochdale Canal. Locks 41-42

Another walk along the trans-Pennine Rochdael Canal gives me a view of this flight of locks. As our lockdown is relaxed there are more people walking these paths now, especially in the unusual dry warm weather. This taken between Littleborough and Summit. See Pip for another set of locks near here.

Enjoy full screen.

~ The Rochdale Canal runs for 33 miles between Manchester and Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire, UK. In Sowerby Bridge it connects with the Calder and Hebble Navigation. In Manchester it connects with the Ashton and Bridgewater Canals.

The canal was opened in 1799 between Sowerby Bridge and Todmorden and from Manchester to Rochdale. A proposed 1.6 mile tunnel between Walsden and Sladen was replaced by more locks and a higher summit level at 600 feet. The resulting shorter summit level meant that many reservoirs were required to prevent the summit level drying up and to maintain an available supply of water for the 92 locks. The canal opened through to Manchester in 1804. This made it the first trans-Pennine canal route, as the Huddersfield Narrow canal, experiencing much difficulty in the Standedge Tunnel construction, did not open until 1811. The Leeds and Liverpool, with a much longer route, was not fully opened until 1816.

The canal was re-opened to navigation along its entire length in July 2002 and forms part of the South Pennine Ring.