The C2C Route
This is the eighteenth and final in a series of eighteen individual trails, which combine to create a coast to coast route for paddlers. This final stretch of the coast to coast route takes you through open countryside to the finish point in Goole.
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.
The New Junction was the last canal to be built in England for commercial purposes. Opened in 1905, it is entirely straight for its 5 mile length and has just one lock. It’s still used today to carry freight from the Aire & Calder Navigation to the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation.
Goole itself did not exist until the 1800’s. The land it now stands upon was not particularly habitable until, in the 1600’s, a Dutch Engineer called Cornelius Vermuyden, diverted the River Don by 10 miles to make it flow into the River Ouse rather than the River Aire. This was done at the request of the King who liked to go hunting on Hatfield Chase near Doncaster and was fed up with the land always flooding. The creation of this diversion, now called the Dutch River, allowed the land around Goole to become more habitable.
