Introduction

This canal ran north from Preston to Lancaster and on to Kendal with a disconnected portion running south from Walton, south of Preston, to Wigan.

It was built to carry coal etc north from Wigan with limestone coming south. As a result it was known locally as the Black and White canal. It should have been a through link from Wigan but the money ran out before the Ribble could be bridged. The part of the Leeds Liverpool Canal north of Wigan started life as the Lancaster Canal.

The tramroad from Preston Basin to Walton Summit 'bridged' the gap until mid 19c but by then railways were in ascendancy and an aqueduct wasn't built. Preston to Walton Tramroad (Lancaster Canal).

It still did quite well. Coal for Garstang Gas Works came in by canal until 1960s. The northern section (limestone) was apparently leaky and closed 1947(?) but half of it now serves as feeder from Killington Lake reservoir down to navigable section.