Lift Off! Anderton Boat Lift celebrates its 150th anniversary with a fabulous Victorian Fair

Lift Off for a fabulous Victorian Fair on 26 & 27 July 2025 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Anderton Boat Lift, the world’s first major commercial boat lift, Cheshire’s Cathedral of Canals, in Northwich.

Raising the roof at this unique Scheduled Monument, the Canal & River Trust charity will be transporting visitors back in time to 1875 by hosting a spectacular free family festival over the anniversary weekend.

Visitors will be able to enjoy magical, historical activities and events, including Victorian games, circus entertainers, fairground organs and slot machines, jugglers, aerialists, stilt walkers, illusionists and circus workshops.

Guided tours and delicious food will be available and for a small fee, guests can also book one of the popular boat trips along the River Weaver Navigation or join a Lego ‘make and take’ workshop to create an exclusive 150th anniversary model of the boat lift to take home.

Designated one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways, Anderton Boat Lift was designed by engineer Edwin Clark to connect the Trent & Mersey Canal with the River Weaver Navigation 50 feet below and opened on 26 July 1875. The lift has successfully carried boats between the two waterways for most of its 150 years. It was converted to an electric system of pulleys and counterweights in 1908 but has only been completely out action for a couple of decades in the 1980s and 1990s due to safety concerns about corrosion.

At the turn of the Millenium, more than £7 million was raised to fund a major restoration and the boat lift began operating again on 26 March 2002, with an official opening the following year by HM King Charles, then Prince of Wales, on 28 April 2003. Since then, it has attracted thousands of visitors to Northwich to marvel at the incredible engineering masterpiece and enjoy a trip aboard the Edwin Clark boat, named after the lift’s designer.

Jon Horsfall, Canal & River Trust North West director said: “We would love to see as many people as possible join us to celebrate this special anniversary. Anderton Boat Lift took the canal world by storm when it formally opened to boat traffic on 26 July 1875. 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 an incredibly important part of our industrial heritage but preserving it as a working monument is increasingly a challenge. A major planned upgrade has been postponed due to spiralling costs and sadly there has been a problem with the lift gates for the last six months. We are hopeful this will be sorted out by our charity’s engineers very soon and the boat lift can resume its task of transporting around 3,000 boats a year between the two waterways. It would be wonderful if this could happen in time for its big birthday celebration. We are keeping our fingers crossed!

“Whatever happens we will enjoy a fantastic anniversary celebration for a truly unique and much-loved, special historic structure.”

The Victorian Fair will be open 9.30am – 4.30pm each day. During the main summer season, Anderton Boat Lift and visitor centre is open six days a week (closed Thursdays), 9.30am – 4.30pm, offering four fascinating guided boat trips a day along the River Weaver Navigation. There is a charge for boat trips, but entrance to the visitor exhibition, shop and café are free.

During the rest of the summer season, visitors will be able to enjoy a host of other fantastic events, including Pirates Weekend (June 21/22) and Steampunk Lift Off Weekender (September 20/21).

For more information about visiting, check out the Canal & River Trust website: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/places-to-visit/anderton-boat-lift-visitor-centre  or call 01606 786777.