The C2C Route The coast to coast route is made up of a series of eighteen trails. It’s designed to be travelled west to east, across the country; the recommended direction of travel considering prevailing wind direction and river flows.

The trails combine the Leeds Liverpool Canal and Aire and Calder Navigations to create a route stretching 162 miles across the north of England. Passing through villages, towns and cities that played a major part in the industrial revolution and textile industries, as well as enjoying the stunning scenery as you travel over the Pennines in Lancashire and Yorkshire.

The Leeds Liverpool Canal and Aire and Calder Navigation offer different paddling experiences. The Leeds Liverpool wanders gently, connecting its two two major namesake cities. It recently celebrated its bicentenary and is enjoyed by boaters and paddlers alike. The Aire and Calder is a commercial waterway, transporting goods and materials between the town of Goole and the city of Leeds. The navigation brings its own challenges, combining canalised navigation and river sections with large locks and high walls. PLEASE NOTE: It’s recommended that only more experienced paddlers or groups of paddlers with experienced coaches or leaders paddle on the river sections of the Aire and Calder Navigation.

This is the fourteenth in a series of eighteen individual trails, which combine to create a coast to coast route for paddlers. Enjoy a paddling journey past one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways and a world heritage site at Bingley and Saltaire. Bingley Five Rise Locks are the steepest staircase locks on the longest canal in the country. This unique 5-rise staircase, opened in 1774, has a total rise of 60 feet and is a Grade 1 listed structure. The locks open directly from one to another, with the top gate of one forming the bottom gate for the next. It really is quite an amazing structure.

Saltaire Village is named after Sir Titus Salt who built a textile mill, known as Salts Mill, and the village on the River Aire. Designed by architects Lockwood and Mawson, Saltaire has beautiful Italianate architecture and a rich history. Saltaire Village was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001.

Saltaire is a village where people live and Salts Mill is free to enter. There are shops, places to eat, wonderful architecture and a lovely park.