anderton boat lift

Having lived in the Northwich area for over 50 years, It was only earlier this year that I had cause to use the boat lift to take my Narrowboat to her home mooring. Staff efficient and friendly. Be prepared to wait at times. Visitor centre is also well worth a visit.

When I first moved to Northwich I was keen to do some "touristy" things, so one of the first on my list was the Boat Lift, I took 4 family members (middle age to elderly). The place is reasonably accessible for disabled visitors and we all had a great day, especially on the boat trip itself.

After a walk along the canal we went to the visitors centre at the Anderton Boat Lift. There is a gift shop (naturally) and cafe. We ate in the cafe and there are some good offers to be had. We both ordered the toasted turkey and stuffing baguette and a pot of tea each; the total of which was less than £15.The staff are most friendly and one chap clearing the tables struck up a conversation with us about canals and the boat lift.Downstairs is an exhibition about the boat lift and then its outside to see this magnificent feat of engineering. The landscaped outdoor area is very tidy and when we visited there was a small craft fair in the marquee.All in all a very good attraction to visit.

We were on an organised visit and took the trip in the lifts vessel and had an excellent commentary and explanation of the workings of the lift and surrounding sights. Only drawback for photographers is that the vessel is enclosed so photos of the "inner workings" of the lift aren't possible, but there are lots of opportunities for to take pictures around the site. The Cafe and general facilities are excellent

If I were a tourist, of course, I would rate it as excellent. Beautiful grounds, spotlessly clean, helpful staff, an informative museum, nice café, pleasant surroundings and steeped in history, right next to a nature park. This place has everything, not to mention the absolutely fascinating and impressive marvel which is the boat lift. Not only that, the entrance is absolutely free. There is also a tour boat that takes people up and down in the lift.As boaters, we went up and down the lift, which for us, provided you are prepared to wait in a queue is also absolutely free (part of the license fee), unless you want to book to guarantee yourself a time. So what is the down side?Not much, but very important to us as boaters. This is to do with mooring down on the river side. There is no problem on the Trent and Mersey as there are short term moorings east and west of the Lift. However once you are down the lift onto the River Weaver, mooring is a different story. The problem is this, that there are no short term or overnight moorings provided by the lift itself, (security reasons). The only way you can get back to the museum, or nearby pubs and facilities is to either climb a nasty nettle and bramble infested steep path up to the car park, or take the long way round through the nature reserve and the car park. That is, provided you have managed to find yourself a mooring. No rings or bollards are provided on the nature park quite away around the corner. Canal and River Trust is losing money as some boaters will choose to have there tea on the boat, rather than walk all that way back to spend it in the café or museum.The upshot is this, what happens if there is a disabled person on the boat? How do they get back to the café, pub, etc, up the top. There is no cut through as the gate which could provide access is thoroughly locked, and there is no access with even a boater’s Watermate key. Why cannot they provide access with a special card when you come down? As boaters we provide entertainment for the tourists, as without us, only the tour boats would go up and down! Not very interesting. Surely CRT could provide some berths around the corner on the other side of the lift, or even allow boats on the holding moorings overnight! In fact, you cannot even moor there overnight even though you have booked to go up in the lift first thing the next day. This seems paranoia in its most extreme!So, in view of this very important aspect from a boaters perspective, I cannot give it a full five star rating!Needless to say, we did have a lovely time there and enjoyed our cruise up and down the lovely River Weaver.