Ribble Link

The three-chambered staircase at the Lancaster Canal end of the Link

The rotating sector gate just before the canal joins the Ribble

Ribble Link
legend Lancaster Canal 1-3 Locks B6241 road Preston - Blackpool Line 4 Lock Savick Way bridge 5 Lock Footbridge 6 Lock Footbridge Footbridge 7 Lock Footbridge Holding Basin 8 Lock A583 road 9 Rotating sealock Savick Brook (tidal) River Ribble River Douglas River Lock -- Leeds and Liverpool Canal

The Ribble Link is Great Britain's newest inland waterway, opened in 2002. The four-mile link connects the once-isolated Lancaster Canal with the main navigable system via a canalisation of the Savick Brook which is tidal in its lower reaches. The Link runs around the outskirts of Preston and flows into the River Ribble. From there it uses the River Douglas to connect with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal's Rufford Branch.

The channel has been widened to allow navigation by 10 ft 6 in beam boats. Starting from the Lancaster Canal, the Ribble Link descends about 59 feet (18 metres) by means of:

• a staircase of three locks
• four conventional locks
• one lock which is semi-tidal at its lower end
• a rotating sector gate (originally planned as a lock) only passable around high tide.

Closure

The Ribble Link was indefinitely closed during 2006 with British Waterways citing that the appearance of voids meant that the last section was too dangerous to operate for both British Waterways staff and boaters.^[1]. After dredging and infilling behing lock chambers during the winter of 2006-7, the link was re-opened on 6 April 2007.

See also

• Canals of Great Britain
• History of the British canal system

References

1. ^ British Waterways notice posted at Johnson Hillock Locks, Whittle Springs 2006

External links

• Map sources:
  • grid reference SD509312 - junction with the Lancaster Canal
  • SD481288 - the Savick Brook joining the Ribble
• Ribble Link Trust

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