Anderton Boat Lift celebrates 150th Anniversary with a fabulous Victorian Fair

Anderton Boat Lift, the world’s first major commercial boat lift, celebrated its 150th anniversary in style this weekend (July 26/27) with a fabulous free Victorian Fair, organised by the Canal & River Trust charity.

More than 2,500 visitors congregated at Cheshire’s Cathedral of Canals near Northwich to mark the special birthday, enjoying a spectacular gathering of period attractions, including circus entertainers, stilt walkers, traditional fairground organs, aerialists and a playground of illusions.

Guests enjoyed guided boat trips along the River Weaver and Top of the Lift Tours, as well as Lego ‘make and take’ workshops to create an exclusive 150th anniversary model of the boat lift to take home.

The day before, on Friday 25 July, dozens of families joined in a special Teddies Bear Picnic in the shadow of the famous Scheduled Monument, which connects the Trent & Mersey Canal with the River Weaver Navigation, 50 feet below. A lookalike of the Victorian engineer Edwin Clark, who designed the incredible 1875 iron structure, also made a guest appearance to cut a special anniversary cake.

Jon Horsfall, Canal & River Trust North West director said: “It was wonderful to see so many people joining us to celebrate. Anderton Boat Lift holds a unique place in our national industrial waterway heritage and local history. It’s a much-loved and vital part of our waterway network and is of international heritage and engineering significance.

“When the Lift formally opened to boat traffic on 26 July 1875, it took the canal world by storm. It was a huge success and attracted distinguished engineers, scientists and guests from all over the world to marvel at the ingenuity of its creation.

“Today it is still an incredibly important part of our industrial heritage but preserving it as a working monument is increasingly a challenge. Sadly, the lift wasn’t working on its special anniversary weekend. There have been problems with the lift gates since the start of the year and a major planned upgrade has had to be postponed due to spiralling costs.

“The Trust is working very hard to deliver a sustainable plan for the visitor attraction and raise funds to get the lift operational as soon as we can, returning it to its vital role of transporting around 3,000 boats a year between the two waterways.

“In the meantime, the Anderton Boat Lift Visitor Centre is very much open for business, hosting a lively exhibition, thriving café and running three fascinating guided boat trips a day along the River Weaver Navigation.”

During the main summer season, Anderton Boat Lift and visitor centre is open six days a week (closed Thursdays), 9.30am – 4.30pm. There is a charge for boat trips, but entrance to the visitor exhibition, shop and café are free. Future special events feature the Cheshire Live Steamers (miniature traction engines) this weekend (August 2/3) and Steampunk Lift Off Weekender (September 20/21).

For more information about visiting, check out the Canal & River Trust website or call 01606 786777.