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Bridgewater Canal, Manchester

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The Bridgewater Canal was one of the first in England, the first stretch from Worsley to Manchester opening in 1761. Its construction inspired canal building across the country, and the flow of coal into Manchester kick-started the industrial revolution. It later extended west to Leigh, where it meets the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, and also to Runcorn. On a bright, windless day in October, I got off the train at Deansgate Station, and took a tram two stops to Pomono. From there I walked the last couple of miles of the canal into Manchester. Pomono station is at the west end of Pomona Island, a long sliver of land between the Ship Canal on the north and the Bridgewater Canal on the south. For a time it was home to Royal Pomona Palace, taking its name from the Roman goddess of fruit trees. This was a place of entertainment, and there were pavilions and botanical gardens. However, it was surrounded by industrial sites, one of which exploded in 1887, causing significant damage from which it di
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Inverness

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Inverness is the capital of the Scottish highlands. It was made a city in 2000 - beating Preston by two years! It is at the northeast end of the Caledonian Canal, which follows the the Great Glen. Loch Ness empties into the Beauly Forth via the River Ness, which flows through the city. The river is less than seven miles long, but has one of the highest flows in the country at 300 m 3 /s. It gives its name to the city - Inverness means mouth of the River Ness. The River So let us start at the river mouth! This is the Kessock Bridge, which spans the Beauly Firth, and was built in 1982, taking the A9 into the Highlands beyond Inverness. On the far side is the Black Isle, which is neither black nor an island. To the right is the Moray Firth, while Inverness is behind us. The bridge is notable as the only one in Britain that is proofed against earthquake. Inverness experiences an earthquake about every three years, mostly unnoticed, as the Black Isle, and indeed northwest Scotland, heads sl
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Hebden Bridge

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 Note: Originally published on  my "Around Preston" blog 31/Jul/24, but moved here as it is not around Preston. Hebden Bridge is a delightful little town in the upper Calder valley, on the railway between Preston and Leeds. Indeed, the station itself is worth visiting, as it has been kept very much in a traditional style, both inside and out. As you walk out of the station, you cross first the River Calder, then the Rochdale Canal, which crosses the Pennines, from Castlefield in Manchester, to Sowerby Bridge, a few miles east of Hebden Bridge, where it meets the Calder and Hebble Navigation, and was officially opened in 1804. This is the view looking west along the canal from Station Road. And looking back at the bridge, from the canal. The canal looking west from the west end of the town. The Calder is about as wide as the canal, but considerably more shallow. The Hebden Beck flows from the north, into the Calder. I think this is the eponymous bridge over Hebden Beck. The ol
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