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Canal Network

The new £6 million Ribble Link. The first new canal to be built in 100 years provides a linear 4.5 km waterpark which features a sculpture trail, 4 new bridges, 9 locks and 2 miles of towpath cycleway and opportunities for angling, rambling, and boating.

The first piece of the Community Arts Trail "Gauging the Ripple" is located at the staircase flight on the Millennium Ribble Link off Tom Benson Way, Preston.

The importance of water to the Millennium Ribble Link and the monumental nature of the staircase locks led Thompson Dagnall, a well known local sculptor, to use a theme of Earth, Wind, Fire and Water as the inspiration for the arts trail, an integral part of the new canal.
A 15ft statue has been installed and is the first in a series of four pieces created by Thompson Dagnall. At the head of the navigation a figure stares into the water "Gauging the Ripple", gauging the tidal window for crossing the Ribble, the height of water in the locks and the physical volume of water in the locks. The "Ripple" as well as describing the surfaces of the water and alluding to its expanding influences, is also thought to be the original name for the River Ribble.

Work on an historical new regional waterway link began in 2001. The Millennium Ribble Link has its origins more than 200 years ago when an ambitious scheme to build a canal from Wigan to Kendal was first proposed. Construction began in 1792, but its dramatic planned aqueduct over the Ribble was never completed, and the northern Lancaster section remained isolated from the inland network - until now! The Link will also perfectly complement Preston's 'Riversway' docklands redevelopment offering a marina, shopping, leisure, offices and residential accommodation.

river ribble info.pdf

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river ribble info.pdf

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