THE MILLENIUM RIBBLE LINK

The 18th Century builders of the Leeds/Liverpool and Lancaster Canals always intended that the two waterways should be linked. However the ambitious scheme involved 75 miles of waterway and two costly aqueducts across the Lune and Ribble valleys, and it was never funded. As a result the beautiful Lancaster Canal has remained isolated from the rest of the canal network for over 200 years.

In 1984, The Ribble Link Trust was formed to promote the idea that the two waterways should be linked via the River Douglas, the Ribble Estuary and a short new canal to be constructed along the line of Savick Brook to join the Lancaster Canal in Preston's Haslam Park. This video tells the remarkable story of the Millennium Ribble Link, from early designs through to the official opening in September 2002.

It includes an account of some of the many problems encountered, from Foot and Mouth Disease to major flooding. It looks at the environmental challenges that had to be faced and at how modern civil engineering construction techniques were applied to the construction of a canal - something that hasn't happened in this country for over a hundred years.

The footage in this programme is unique, and is supplemented by access to a digital photographic record made by British Waterways throughout the construction of the canal.

DVD Info

Region: 2
Running Time: 75 minutes