Anderton WILL be open for Easter

Published: Monday, 27 March 2023

THE Canal & River Trust maintain that the reconditioned Anderton Boat Lift will be open in time for Easter.

LiftEdwinClarkBy that time the £450,000 emergency repair programme will be completed and fully tested, allowing boat trips on Good Friday.

Private and trip boats

This will be for both private boaters and public cruises aboard the Edwin Clark trip boat, after a break of more than seven months.

Public boat trips through the lift and along the Weaver to Northwich will be available four times a day at 10am, 11.15am, 1.30pm and 3pm.

 Over the bank holiday, chocolate treats will be on offer for children taking part in a special spring treasure hunt and for motor enthusiasts there will be classic car shows on Easter Sunday and Monday.

The images are of the Edwin Clark trip boat at the lift and the then Prince Charles opening the lift after its reconstruction in 2002.

Looking forward

Anderton Visitor Centre Manager, Phil Gibson, enthused:

PriceCharles“We are looking forward to a fantastic 2023 season, with some great special events in the pipeline, including a special Steam Festival over the Coronation weekend. It is brilliant to have the boat lift operational again after it had to be shut unexpectedly last August due to a problem with one of the gate safety mechanisms.

“Riding through the Victorian boat lift gives visitors a special thrill and a unique sense of the rich waterway history of the area. It will be wonderful to see it working again, transporting boats between the Trent & Mersey Canal and the Weaver Navigation, as it has done since 1875.”

Gate safety systems

Over the winter, trust engineers have been working hard on the emergency repairs to meet the Easter deadline for reopening. The pair of giant hydraulic ram cylinders, which support the metal tank caissons, have been given a much-needed overhaul and new gate safety systems have been installed in each of the lift’s five sets of gates.

[It is hoped this time those gate safety systems allow the gates to operate, as when narrowboatworld editor together with the Press, television and celebrities were taken up, the safety systems prevented the gates opening, with much rushing about by the engineers to no avail, so the lift had to go back down without the promised trip on the Trent & Mersey!]