A visit to Bugsworth canal basin on the Peak Forest canal.

The ‘basin’ at Bugsworth is always worth a visit and it’s a place we have been to many times in the past. It seems to have been quite a while since we were last there, so it was good to return there last week.

Bugsworth Canal Basin is on the Peak Forest Canal, and is close to the town of Whaley Bridge. In bygone years it used to be the largest and busiest inland port on the narrow canal system. As far as I am aware it’s the only basin of its kind to survive intact.

Decent place to walk

No matter what the weather the Peak Forest canal really is pleasant to walk along. We parked on a small off road area that lies just off the road from Furness Vale and with no particular plan we decided to turn left and head for the basin, had we turned right, the towpath would have taken us in the direction of New Mills and Disley.

I have written about Bugsworth Basin on other occasions, so there is no point in repeating here. There is plenty of information available on line but the information at this link from the Bugsworth Heritage Trust is a decent starting point if you want to know more.

You can also make a really good walk from the basin along the old Peak Forest Tramway Trail and that’s a route we did a couple of years back. You can find more information about the trail and pictures from the route at this link.

Picture gallery

There are pictures here from our walk along the Peak Forest canal. Clicking any of the images below will open a picture gallery that can be clicked or scrolled through.