Thanks to its new waterway, Ashton has some true claims of national importance: the Ribble link is the first inland waterway to be built in Britain for over 100 years (1). It is also the first inland waterway to be built for purely pleasure purposes (2).
The Ribble Link was opened in 2002. The idea behind creating the link, however, goes back over 200 years, when the Lancaster canal was first being built. Originally the idea was to build a canal which linked Lancaster to Wigan. The idea was never fully developed, leaving the Lancaster canal isolated from the rest of the canal network until the beginning of the 21st century.
Savick Brook was remodelled to build the link, which is often called a canal but is actually a tidal inland waterway. The creation of the link meant that the Lancaster canal was given its first locks. The Ribble link connects the Lancaster canal to the rest of the national canal network by flowing into the Ribble. Boats then use the River Douglas to connect with the Leeds Liverpool canal.
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