The Lancaster Canal, England’s most northerly canal, was a main artery in the economic development of Cumbria and Lancashire in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1792, the broad gauge (14ft) navigation linked Kendal to the Wigan coalfields and soon became an important focus for passenger traffic, leisure and recreation.

From 1820 onwards a key attraction was the highly popular packet boats, which provided an express passenger service between Preston and Kendal at the then astonishing speed of 10 mph. The seven-hour journey time halved the best speeds of stage coaches and, because of the comfort of the journey, passengers stayed loyal to the packet boats even after the advent of steam train competition in the 1840s.

Listed packet-boat houses can still be seen along the canal and are included in schemes for restoration.

However, in the 1960s, the 14-mile (22.5km) Northern Reaches of this beautiful and historically significant canal were blocked by construction of the M6. The motorway severed the waterway in three places, closing this stretch of the canal to navigation. Click for map.

If the Northern Reaches were to be reopened, the Lancaster Canal would stretch for 58 miles (93km) from Preston in the south to Kendal in the north. In 2000, British Waterways carried out a feasibility study on this restoration.