River Weaver (Main Line)

The maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 130 feet long and 10 feet wide. The maximum headroom is not known. The maximum draught is not known.
It has junctions with the Runcorn and Weston Canal at Runcorn and Weston Canal Junction; with the River Weaver (Acton Bridge Back Channel) at Mill Wharf (southeast entrance); with the River Weaver (Hunt's Lock Back Channel) at Hunt's Lock Weir Entrance; with the River Weaver (Frodsham Cut) at Frodsham Cut Junction; with the River Weaver (Acton Bridge Back Channel) at Mill Wharf (northwest entrance); with the River Weaver (Weston Marsh Lock Line) at Weston Marsh Lock Entrance and with the Anderton Lift at Anderton Lift Junction (River Weaver).
Relevant publications — Waterway Maps:
Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:
Delamere Dock Entrance Entrance to Weaver Navigation |
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River Mersey Tide Lock Tide Lock into Delamere Dock |
¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
Church Cut Bridge | 1 furlong | 1 lock | |
Delamere Dock Tide Lock Tidal gate into dock |
1¼ furlongs | 1 lock | |
Post Office Lane Bridge | 2¼ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Runcorn and Weston Canal Junction | 2¾ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Weston Marsh Lock Entrance Link between the Weaver Navigation, Manchester Ship Canal and Old River Weaver |
1 mile | 2 locks | |
ICI Weston Works | 1 mile and 3¾ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Runcorn Rowing Club | 2 miles and 2¼ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Weaver Viaduct (Navigation) M56 motorway |
2 miles and 4 furlongs | 2 locks | |
Weaver Motor Boat Club | 2 miles and 6¼ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Sutton Weaver Viaduct | 2 miles and 7 furlongs | 2 locks | |
Sutton Weaver Swing Bridge A56 road |
3 miles | 2 locks | |
Sutton Weaver Visitor Mooring | 3 miles and ½ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Sutton Weir Entrance Channel leading to Sutton Weir and Sluices. No access through the Sluices. |
3 miles and 3¾ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Frodsham Cut Junction | 3 miles and 7½ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Devils Garden Good countryside mooring, maybe shallow, not marked in Nicholson's but in BW's Skipper's Guide. |
5 miles and 2½ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Pickering's Wharf | 6 miles and 7 furlongs | 2 locks | |
Dutton Viaduct A spectacular railway viaduct. |
7 miles and 1½ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Dutton Locks Weir Exit Channel leading to the Weir |
7 miles and 3½ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Dutton Locks No 4 | 7 miles and 5 furlongs | 2 locks | |
Dutton Locks Weir Entrance Channel leading to the Weir |
7 miles and 6¾ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Dutton Mile Visitor Mooring | 8 miles and 4 furlongs | 3 locks | |
Acton Bridge Visitor Moorings | 8 miles and 5½ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Mill Wharf (northwest entrance) | 8 miles and 6 furlongs | 3 locks | |
Acton Swing Bridge | 8 miles and 6½ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Grange School Rowing Club | 8 miles and 7¾ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Mill Wharf (southeast entrance) | 9 miles and ½ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Wilbraham's Quay | 9 miles and 4¾ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Saltersford Locks Weir Exit No 2 Channel leading to the Weir |
10 miles and 4½ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Saltersford Locks Weir Exit No 1 Channel leading to the Weir |
10 miles and 5¾ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Saltersford Locks No 3 | 10 miles and 6½ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Saltersford Locks Weir Entrance No 2 Channel leading to the Weir - No Access |
10 miles and 7¼ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Saltersford Locks Weir Entrance No 1 Channel leading to the Weir - No Access |
10 miles and 7¾ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Barnton Cut Junction East end of Barnton Cut and entrance to weir - No Access |
12 miles and 1 furlong | 4 locks | |
Winnington Bridge | 12 miles and 5 furlongs | 4 locks | |
Winnington Weir Entrance Channel leading to the Weir |
12 miles and 7¼ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Anderton Lift Junction (River Weaver) | 13 miles | 4 locks | |
Anderton Boat Lift Holding Moorings (River Weaver) Only for boats using the boat lift |
13 miles and ½ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Anderton Boat Lift Short Term Moorings | 13 miles and 1 furlong | 4 locks | |
Anderton Visitor Moorings (River Weaver) | 13 miles and 2¼ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Chemical Works | 13 miles and 2½ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Gas Pipe Route | 13 miles and 3¾ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Weaver - Witton Brook Junction Witton Brook navigable by small craft only |
13 miles and 5½ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Northwich Visitor Moorings 48h mooring; secure pontoon |
14 miles and 2¾ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Northwich Town Service Station | 14 miles and 3¾ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Northwich Town Swing Bridge | 14 miles and 4 furlongs | 4 locks | |
Weaver - Dane Junction Junction of the River Weaver and the River Dane. |
14 miles and 4½ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Northwich Town Visitor Moorings 48 hour visitor moorings |
14 miles and 4½ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Northwich Quay Marina | 14 miles and 4¾ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Hayhurst Swing Bridge | 14 miles and 5¼ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Site of Northwich Maintenance Yard & Offices | 14 miles and 5¾ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Hunt's Lock Weir Exit Channel leading to the Weir |
14 miles and 6 furlongs | 4 locks | |
Northwich Maintenance Yard Swing Bridge Narrowboats can pass under this bridge without it being opened. |
14 miles and 6¼ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Yarwoods Basin | 14 miles and 6¾ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Northwich Railway Viaduct | 14 miles and 7¾ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Hunt's Locks Visitor Moorings | 15 miles | 4 locks | |
Hunt's Locks No 2 | 15 miles and ½ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Hunt's Lock Weir Entrance Channel leading to the drydock and sluices |
15 miles and 1¼ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Pimblott's Shipyard | 15 miles and 3 furlongs | 5 locks | |
Pimblott's Marina Entrance | 15 miles and 4¼ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Hartford Bridge | 16 miles and 1¾ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Vale Royal Railway Viaduct | 16 miles and 5¾ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Vale Royal Locks Landing Stage | 16 miles and 6½ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Vale Royal Lock Weir Exit | 16 miles and 6¾ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Vale Royal Locks No 1 | 16 miles and 7¾ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Vale Royal Lock Weir Entrance Channel leading to the Weir - No Access |
17 miles and 4 furlongs | 6 locks | |
Vale Royal Visitor Moorings | 17 miles and 4 furlongs | 6 locks | |
Newbridge Swing Bridge Newbridge - Bradford Mill |
18 miles and 1¾ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Meadowbank Mine and Works | 18 miles and 5¾ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Cheshire Amalgamated Works | 19 miles and 4 furlongs | 6 locks | |
Winsford Winding Hole Last winding hole on C&RT waters |
19 miles and 5¼ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Wharton Grinding Mills | 19 miles and 6¾ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Red Lion PH (Winsford) | 20 miles | 6 locks | |
Winsford Bridge (eastbound) End of C&RT waters |
20 miles | 6 locks | |
The Ark Inn | 20 miles | 6 locks | |
Winsford Bridge (westbound) | 20 miles | 6 locks | |
Winsford Marina | 20 miles | 6 locks |
- Discover the River Weaver Navigation — associated with River Weaver
- The Weaver Navigation
- Runcorn Rowing Club — associated with Runcorn Rowing Club
- Club website
- Dutton Locks Moorings | Discover the River Weaver Navigation — associated with Dutton Locks No 4
- Newbridge | Discover the River Weaver Navigation — associated with Newbridge Swing Bridge
- Photos and notes about the mooring
- Weaver Viaduct - Wikipedia — associated with Weaver Viaduct (Navigation)
- The Grange School Rowing Club — associated with Grange School Rowing Club
- club website
- Acton Bridge Moorings | Discover the River Weaver Navigation — associated with Acton Bridge Visitor Moorings
- Northwich Quay | Narrow Boat Marina Northwich Cheshire UK — associated with Northwich Quay Marina
Wikipedia has a page about River Weaver
The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, which included eleven locks, was completed in 1732. An unusual clause in the enabling Act of Parliament stipulated that profits should be given to the County of Cheshire for the improvement of roads and bridges, but the navigation was not initially profitable, and it was 1775 before the first payments were made. Trade continued to rise, and by 1845, over £500,000 had been given to the county.
The major trade was salt. The arrival of the Trent and Mersey Canal at Anderton in 1773 was detrimental to the salt trade at first, but ultimately beneficial, as salt was tipped down chutes from the canal into barges on the river navigation. Access to the river was improved in 1810 by the Weston Canal, which provided a link to Weston Point, where boats could reach the River Mersey at most states of the tide, as the water was deeper. The navigation was completely reconstructed between 1870 and 1900, with the original locks being replaced by five much larger locks, capable of handling 1000-tonne coasters. With the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal, a new lock was constructed at Weston Marsh, which gave direct access to the ship canal without having to pass through the docks at Weston Point. All water from the river entered the canal nearby, and any surplus was released into the Mersey through the Weaver sluices, which were located just upstream of the junction.
A notable feature is the Anderton Boat Lift, which is near Northwich, and links the Weaver with the Trent and Mersey Canal some 50 feet (15 m) above. It was opened in 1875, to allow canal boats to reach the Weaver, and although closed on safety grounds in 1983, it was refurbished and reopened in 2002. Many of the structures of the navigation are of historical importance, and are grade II listed. They include the Hayhurst swing bridge and Northwich Town bridge, which are believed to be the earliest swing bridges powered by electricity. Both have a sectional pontoon, which is immersed in the river and carries about 80 per cent of the weight of the bridge. Dutton Horse Bridge, which carries the towpath over the weir stream at Dutton, is one of the earliest surviving laminated timber structures. Dutton railway viaduct, which was built by Joseph Locke and George Stephenson for the Grand Junction Railway, is grade II* listed, and a civic celebration was held on its completion, as there had been no deaths and no serious injuries to the workers during its construction.