The historic Leeds and Liverpool Canal was once a bustling transport line between the two industrial cities. Now, as part of the National Cycle Network, we’re working with partners to revive these connections as green commuter links, nature walkways and heritage trails.
Improvements on the route at Saltaire have been welcomed by families, as well as people using the path with mobility aids, or commuting to work and school. Credit: Simon Dewhurst Photography
What is the Leeds and Liverpool Canal?
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal stretches an impressive 127 miles as part of the wider National Cycle Network, providing a traffic-free route for walking, wheeling, and cycling.
At over 200 years old, it once served the textile mills of the industrial north, transporting raw materials and finished goods.
Now, increasingly it's an opportunity for safe and sustainable travel to explore the area by foot, bike, wheelchair, with a pushchair or adapted cycle.
Designed to connect the cities of Leeds and Liverpool, the route is the second longest canal in the UK.
From Liverpool, the canal winds through East Lancashire, traverses the Pennine countryside and passes picturesque villages in the Yorkshire Dales, before reaching Leeds.
Along its route are iconic attractions such as the Bingley Five Rise Locks, a feat of 18th-century engineering, and Saltaire, a UNESCO World Heritage Site celebrated for its industrial heritage.
In 2023, the Leeds and Liverpool canal society canal celebrated the 250th anniversary of the first boats to carry goods on the Leeds and Liverpool canal between Bingley and Skipton.
The National Cycle Network
Several sections of the Leeds and Liverpool canal are part of the National Cycle Network.
Part of the western end around Maghull, Merseyside is on Route 62 (the Trans Pennine Trail).
National Route 6 runs along the canal between Blackburn and Rishton.
Route 68, the Pennine Cycleway, uses the towpath at Burnley, Barnoldswick and Gargrave.
Route 69 picks it up from Stockbridge to Shipley.
The towpath to Leeds is also part of Route 66, the Aire Valley Towpath.
We worked with partners to improve the surface and access points to the towpath. Credit: Simon Dewhurst photography
What we've done so far
2023-2024
Bingley to Five Rise Locks
The Canal and River Trust lists Five Rise Locks as one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways. It is the steepest set of staircase locks, on the longest canal in the country!
We worked with Canal and River Trust to lay a new sealed surface and widen the path from Canal Road in Bingley to the two interconnecting Locks.
We also engineered the towpath with a slope towards the canal along most of the length of this section, to allow rain water to run off.
Shipley to Saltaire
We worked with Canal and River Trust and Bradford Council to improve and widen the towpath between Otley Road Bridge in Shipley to Hirst Lock in Saltaire.
We also worked with students from Shipley College, who designed and painted a 33-metre long mural on Otley Road Bridge in Shipley. It features Titus Salt, Shipley Glen tramway and Five Rise Locks in Bingley.
The mural on the bridge at Shipley shows some of the Canal's famous landmarks, including Bingley Five Rise Locks. Credit: Simon Dewhurst Photography
Saltaire to Bingley
Our North team worked with waterways charity Canal & River Trust and Bradford Council to widen the path, fill in muddy potholes, and lay a new surface on the two-mile stretch of towpath between Hirst Lock in historic Saltaire to Primrose Lane in Bingley.
This section features the spectacular, grade II listed Dowley Gap Aqueduct and the Dowley Gap Bridge.
2025-2026
Bingley Five Rise Locks to Bingley Three Rise Locks
We're working with Canal and River Trust and Bradford Council to improve the surface along the towpath between these two sets of impressive staircase locks.
127 miles
Length of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
18 metres
the height of Bingley Five Rise Locks, Britain's steepest lock staircase
Our vision is to create a National Cycle Network which is accessible for everyone. Credit: Jon Bewley
What's next for the route?
We will continue to work with the Canal and River Trust and local authorities on other sections of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to make the towpath accessible for everyone.
Find out more about our work to improve the National Cycle Network.
