Canal Boat — February 2018

38 February 2018 Canal Boat canalboat.co.uk

great views of the Manchester skyline.

Quite where the Irwell ends and the

Manchester Ship Canal begins is not

entirely clear, but once you’re beyond the

confines of the former docks, you’re

clearly on the river. Technically, navigation

is possible for a couple of miles, almost as

far as Manchester Cathedral. But the river

is known to be shallow, and the

Bridgewater Canal Company staff who

worked the Lock suggested it would be

unwise to continue beyond the former

Mark Addy restaurant. In the event, there

were major bridge works before that, in

connection with a new railway link

between two of Manchester’s major

stations, and we decided that caution was

probably wise.

The journey back past Pomona Dock to

the Quays is also full of interest. The tram

goes over the Ship Canal on a bridge, and

the Trafford Road crosses on a swing

bridge. A large concrete obstruction in the

water has been colonised by gnomes. And

then the vast expanse of Salford Quays

comes into view. In fact, what you can see

is only a fraction of the whole; there’s a

network of basins which can be explored

on foot.

The pleasure craft mooring (and there

really is only one, so breasting up would

be necessary if there are several boats

making the trip) is in the Central Bay, next

to the Holiday Inn Express and across from

the watersports centre. The huge bollards

give some indication of the size of boats

which used to stop here, and the scale of

the place is impressive. Once you’ve

SALFORD QUAYS

The biggest of Salford’s docks could once hold ten cruise liners

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