2016 marks the 200th anniversary of the Leeds Liverpool Canal. 127 miles of man made waterway & the longest single canal in the UK.
Our industrial unit sits on the canal and although we don’t use it to deliver our ice cream to our customers in Liverpool, it’s inspiring to think how important it was to the merchants of the time.
It took 50 years to complete the build and then the canal was used extensively for merchants to trade goods from East to West and vice versa – Coal, Textiles & Limestone.
Leeds and Liverpool Canal – some facts and history.
- It is the longest canal in Northern England – it is nearly 130 miles long and passes through 91 locks!
- The construction of the canal began in 1770 and took 46 years to be completed.
- It was the earliest trans-Pennine canals, offering a coast to coast route between the Irish Sea and North Sea.
- The canal passes through Skipton, Gargrave, Colne, Whalley, Walton-le-Dale and Newburgh.
- For 178 years the canal was a private company but was nationalised in 1948, just like many of the country’s canals and railways.
- The last cargo of coal was carried along the canal in 1972. The Leeds and Liverpool canal was this successful due to the local heavy industry and the broad locks.
- The canal also formed part of Britain’s defence plans against foreign ages, and today you can still see some remained concrete pill boxes and blockhouses.
- The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has continued to be affluent and prosperous in to the 21st century, with new additions it now connects with the Lancaster Canal and extends in to the centre of Liverpool and the historic Albert Dock.
We’ll be celebrating this weekend at the Leeds Waterfront Festival.
Come find us in our retro van at LEEDS DOCK on 25/26 JUNE and get your ice cream fix!
