Cheshire Ring

The term "Cheshire Ring" first appeared in the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) Bulletin in 1965, where it was coined as part of a campaign to prevent the abandonment of, and restore navigation to, part of what had been known as the Peak Forest Circular Route between Manchester and Marple. When commercial carrying declined after the Second World War, sections of the Rochdale, Ashton, and Peak Forest canals that make up the urban part of the ring had gradually fallen into disuse, and by the early 1960s were impassable, with little depth of water and many locks in an unusable condition. There was a risk that the canals would be abandoned, and infilled, as they were becoming stinking…