Canals were at the heart of the development of industrial Manchester. They brought coal and raw materials right to the heart of the city and carried away manufactured goods.
The Bridgewater Canal, one of the earliest modern canals, ran into Manchester. Later, other canals radiated outwards from the area and the Ship Canal brought sea-going vessels close to the city centre.
The waterways of the area are now chiefly used for recreation and leisure. These photos were taken on Canal Street, just a hop, skip and a paddle from Piccadilly Station.
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Linked to The Next Challenge: Water Shots.
Travel with Intent 
Wonderful post, I am always walking the Cheshire Ring Canals and blogging about them at http://mancunianwave.blogspot.co.uk/ 😉
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I shall head over to read more. Thanks for visiting.
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Great shots.
We rented a narrowboat and went sailing on the canals in 2011 (not in Manchester though). It was a great way to travel. We want to do it again and recommend it to all.
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Interesting set of photos, those boats look very narrow. Thanks for sharing.
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Great shots, I did’nt know Manchester had canals..:-)
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First canal in UK was in Manchester- Bridgewater in 1762
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Fascinating! I love learning about new places this way. Great shots!
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That is fascinating. There is a Museum of Science and Industry on the canals that may have some clues on where to start. I am in Manchester today, dropping my daughter at university here. But no time to explore. Next time I’m here I’ll try to take a look and let you know. Where do you live now?
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I am very interested in these pictures as my family was long long ago involved in the barge business in Manchester. You don’t happen to know if their is somewhere I might do some research on what was going on there around 1880? A long shot, but family history becomes so interesting when you see something like this. Very nice post!
Elephant
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