If you’ve ever walked up the canal from Chorley to Johnson’s Hillock Locks, you will have seen a branch going off to the left. This is the ‘Walton Summit Branch’, but this was actually built as part of plan to link Kendal to Westhoughton - by water. Around 70 miles of it were actually built - and some of it is still in use today…
The success of the 1761 Bridgewater canal from Worsley to Manchester led to the realisation that goods could be transported so much more quickly, safely - and certainly more profitably - and that saw the start of ‘Canalmania’ across the country.
Up in Lancaster the price of coal was very high - and there was plenty down in Westhoughton - meanwhile up in Lancaster they were quarrying the finest quality limestone. And in the middle was Preston with its long legacy of textile manufacturing - and also with a very useful seaport.
The man of the moment was Canal engineer James Brindley who had proved his worth on the Duke of Bridgewater’s canal from Worsley to Manchester. Brindley was in demand all over the country so he sent his assistant Robert Whitworth to survey a possible canal route from Westhoughton to Kendal. Plans were presented in 1772 and the project eventually received royal assent in 1792 with John Rennie appointed as engineer. The race was now on!