Cheshire, England

Bollington put-in

Launch — A canal-side access point directly onto the Macclesfield Canal, mapped by OpenStreetMap as a slipway on the towpath towards the southern edge of Bollington.

Parking — Clough Bank Car Park, off Grimshaw Lane, offers limited free parking as one of the Middlewood Way's access points, around 600 m from the towpath.

Access — No gates or booking are needed to reach the towpath. The only published restriction is that all unpowered craft, including paddleboards, must carry a valid Canal & River Trust waterways licence before launching.

Season — The canal is normally navigable year-round, though the Trust can temporarily restrict movement during periods of drought to conserve water.

Regulations — Canal & River Trust requires a waterways licence for paddleboards, canoes and kayaks here, available through Paddle UK's 'On the Water' membership, Canoe Wales, or a CRT day Paddlers Permit; the licence does not cover CRT's reservoirs. This stretch lies within the Macclesfield Canal Conservation Area, which Cheshire East Council must take into account when deciding planning applications nearby.

This slipway launches onto the Macclesfield Canal on the edge of Bollington, near Clarence Mill and on the Cheshire Ring cruising route. The canal crosses the Bollington valley on two aqueducts and an embankment as it threads through the town.

No locks through Bollington

Construction of the Macclesfield Canal began here at Bollington on 4 December 1826, engineered by William Crosley to Thomas Telford's survey. Rather than following the land's contours, the canal was built by cutting and filling to keep as straight a course as possible; it has no locks at Bollington, its only flight — twelve locks at Bosley — several miles to the south.

A short paddle north the canal crosses Grimshaw Lane on a Grade II listed stone aqueduct, built around 1830 in hammer-dressed sandstone. This stretch forms part of the 97-mile Cheshire Ring cruising route, so paddlers share the water with narrowboat traffic.

Nearby

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Cafe Waterside

Independent cafe inside Clarence Mill on the canal, about 1.4 km (0.9 miles) north of this launch.

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Conditions to check

Boat traffic

This stretch is part of the 97-mile Cheshire Ring cruising route, shared with narrowboat traffic.

Source

Overhead cable

The Macclesfield Canal's bridges have a maximum headroom of 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in).

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Location data

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