Shropshire Union Canal (Chester Canal - Nantwich to Bunbury)
The maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 72 feet long and 9 feet and 8 inches wide. The maximum headroom is 8 feet. The maximum draught is 3 feet and 9 inches.
It has junctions with the Shropshire Union Canal (Llangollen Canal - Main Line) at Hurleston Junction and with the Shropshire Union Canal (Middlewich Branch) at Barbridge Junction.
The navigational authority for this waterway is Canal & River TrustRelevant publications — Waterway Travels:
Relevant publications — Waterway Maps:
- Waterway Routes 32M - Shropshire Union Canal Map (Downloadable)
- Waterway Routes 84M - Four Counties Ring Map (Downloadable)
- Waterway Routes 01M - England and Wales Map
- Shropshire Union Canal, including the Middlewich Branch
Relevant publications — Waterway DVDs:
Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:
| Nantwich Basin Entrance Junction of the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal - Main Line and the Chester Canal |
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| Nantwich Leisure Area Visitor Moorings | ¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Nantwich Basin Narrows | ½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Nantwich & Border Counties Yacht Club (nbcyc) | 1¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Acton Bridge No 93 | 3 furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Henhull Bridge No 95 | 7¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Henhull Bridge Winding Hole No Winding! |
1 mile and 1 furlong | 0 locks | |
| Henhull Offside Moorings C&RT long-term moorings |
1 mile and 1½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Poole Hill Pipe Bridge | 1 mile and 2½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Poole Hill Winding Hole | 1 mile and 2¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Cornes Bridge No 96 | 1 mile and 4½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Hurleston Junction Visitor Moorings (south) 48 hour moorings |
1 mile and 6¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Hurleston Roving Bridge No 97 | 1 mile and 7 furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Hurleston Junction Junction of Llangollen Canal and Shropshire Union Main Line |
1 mile and 7¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Hurleston Junction Visitor Moorings (north) | 1 mile and 7¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Hurleston Reservoir Pipe Bridge | 2 miles and 1¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Vickers Bridge No 98 | 2 miles and 2¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Stoke Hall Bridge No 99 | 2 miles and 5½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Bremilows Bridge No 100 | 2 miles and 7¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Barbridge Visitor Moorings (southeastern end) | 2 miles and 7½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| The Olde Barbridge Inn Under new management and re-opened as of April 2025. |
2 miles and 7¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Barbridge Visitor Moorings (northwestern end) 48 hour moorings |
3 miles and ½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Barbridge Aqueduct | 3 miles and ¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Barbridge Visitor Moorings (24 hour) | 3 miles and ¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Barbridge Junction Stop Narrows | 3 miles and 1¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Barbridge Services NO SERVICES HERE |
3 miles and 1½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Site of Jolly Tar PH now demolished (2020) |
3 miles and 1½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Barbridge Junction Junction with Shropshire Union - Middlewich Branch |
3 miles and 1½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Barbridge Junction Visitor Moorings 48 hour moorings |
3 miles and 2 furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Goodwin Bridge No 101 | 3 miles and 2½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Wardle Farm Bridge No 102 | 3 miles and 5½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Wardle Hall Bridge No 103 | 4 miles and ½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Tweedale Bridge No 103A | 4 miles and 3½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Wardle Service Station & Country Store Accessed up a bank, over an Armco barrier, through a hedge and across a very busy derestricted trunk road. EXTREME CARE ADVISED |
4 miles and 4 furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Calveley Mill Shop & Café Calveley Cheese Factory |
4 miles and 6¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Calveley Service Station C&RT Services |
4 miles and 7½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Calveley Bridge No 104 | 5 miles and ¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Calveley Visitor Moorings 48 hour visitor moorings with rings |
5 miles and 1¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Winding Hole above Bunbury Locks | 5 miles and 5½ furlongs | 0 locks |
- NBCYC - Canal Cruising Club : Nantwich, Cheshire — associated with Nantwich & Border Counties Yacht Club (nbcyc)
- Nantwich and Border Counties Yacht Club. Boat club moorings in Cheshire
- Club Fees | NBCYC - Canal Cruising Club : Nantwich, Cheshire — associated with Nantwich & Border Counties Yacht Club (nbcyc)
- You need to be a club member to apply for a mooring. The maximum boat length that can be accommodated at the club is 40ft.
- The Olde Barbridge Inn — associated with The Olde Barbridge Inn
Wikipedia has a page about Shropshire Union Canal
The Shropshire Union Canal, nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. The Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union (SU) system and lie partially in Wales.
The canal lies in the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire in the north-west English Midlands. It links the canal system of the West Midlands, at Wolverhampton, with the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, 66 miles (106 km) distant.
The "SU main line" runs southeast from Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Autherley Junction in Wolverhampton. Other links are to the Llangollen Canal (at Hurleston Junction), the Middlewich Branch (at Barbridge Junction), which itself connects via the Wardle Canal with the Trent and Mersey Canal, and the River Dee (in Chester). With two connections to the Trent and Mersey (via the Middlewich Branch and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal) the SU is part of an important circular and rural holiday route called the Four Counties Ring.
The SU main line was the last trunk narrow canal route to be built in England. It was not completed until 1835 and was the last major civil engineering accomplishment of Thomas Telford.
The name "Shropshire Union" comes from the amalgamation of the various component companies (Ellesmere Canal, Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, Montgomeryshire Canal) that came together to form the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company. The main line between Nantwich and Autherley Junction was almost built as a railway although eventually it was decided to construct it as a waterway.