Hidden away on the Macclesfield Canal

Thursday, 27 May 2010 17:47

A hidden place

High Lane Arm on the Macclesfield Canal must be passed with merely a glance by most of the narrowboaters and cruisers who pass by. It is now a private arm and home to the North Cheshire Cruising Club (NCCC).

High Lane, near Stockport and a suburb of Greater Manchester, is built around the A6, which runs by the end of High Lane Arm. The entrance to the Arm is before Bridge 11 (travelling northwards). Beyond the entrance and beyond the bridge are BW visitor moorings, handy for the pubs and shops in High Lane.

Horse Shoe Inn on the A6

On the Main Line, and in the Arm, it is difficult to believe that the A6 trunk road is so close, as the noise does not intrude on the peace at all. The Arm and NCCC have an interesting history.

The HQ of the NCCC is now in the old Macclesfield Canal Co. warehouse at the end of the L-shaped arm. The semi-derelict warehouse was gutted and restored  before the club took up residence in 1976.

Restored warehouse

Pleasure boats had been moored on the arm since 1900 and it was still in commercial use then. The Wharfinger's cottage remains (I think!), adjoining the warehouse. Sadly the weighbridge office has been demolished, although it was used as a club house in the early days.

Wharf Cottage

The original arm, dug in 1830, was T-shaped. The left arm ran to the Middlewood and Norbury coal pits (which supplied coal to the local mills) and the right arm to the wharf, warehouse and crane. By 1910, the mines in the area were no longer in use and the lefthand arm was filled in in 1914. The wharf became a transhipment wharf; companies such as Pickfords brought their cargo boats to the wharf to collect goods from the industries around.

Wharf from moorings

High Lane Arm now has moorings, a slipway, hard standing, workshops and boaters facilities which are open to the members of the NCCC. The club is a member of the Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs (AWCC) and has a mixture of craft moored along its 300 yard length.

Wharf slipway

High Lane Arm has something I have never seen before - you will have to wait and see what it is and more photos in my next blog!