This is the second of eighteen individual trails which combine to create a coast to coast route for paddlers. In this route you paddle from one pub to another, passing a very famous sporting venue and taking you from city to countryside.

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.

As you begin to leave the city for the countryside you pass the famous Aintree racecourse. The course opened in 1829 and ten years later the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was first run. This race, which became known as the Grand National, was first won by a horse called Lottery and, in its original form, included a jump over a stone wall and across ploughed land.