Lancaster Canal

The long-term aim is to reopen the abandoned ‘northern reaches’ from the limit of navigation below Tewitfield Locks to Kendal.

The Lancaster Canal Trust’s ‘First Furlong’ project aims to re-water one furlong (220 yards, about 200 metres) of the dry section of the canal which extends for five miles from Stainton to the original terminus in Kendal.

The long-term aim is to reopen the abandoned ‘northern reaches’ from the limit of navigation below Tewitfield Locks to Kendal. However the southern part of this section is beset by main road blockages (particularly the M6), while proposals to reinstate the Kendal terminus have struggled with planning issues.

The First Furlong aims to ensure that there is visible physical progress, and to extend the current tripboat operation once the nearby Stainton Aqueduct (damaged in the winter 2015-16 floods) is repaired.