Liverpool & Leeds Canal - Liverpool to Aintree (★★★☆☆)

Today the plan is to head out and over two days walk the final missing stretch of the Liverpool & Leeds Canal - and today the plan is to walk from Albert Dock to Aintree.

This is unlikely to be the most exciting stretch of this canal - with this being the most urban stretch of the canal - but the thing about canal walking is that you go where the canal goes, and in some ways that is part of it's appeal.

But having arrived at Liverpool Lime Street train station, the first job of the day is to head down towards the River Mersey - and what I find is to me a bit of a surprise. 

For unbeknownst to me, this part of Liverpool is doing rather well - and looks rather lovely.

The port and docks area of a city can go either way - their peak came many years ago, and whilst some areas have seen heavy redevelopment (Canary Wharf comes to mind), others instead fall into decline.

At Liverpool the tidal nature of the river meant that what were built were the traditional enclosed docks of tidal rivers (designed so that water levels remain up even when the tide is low) - and the first such dock opened in 1715.

And by it's peak, more than fifty such docks had been opened along a seven mile stretch of river bank - with it's crowing glory in the form of Albert Dock opening in 1845 - as the dock saw activity levels peak.

These were successful docks, aided by their handy location - close both to industrial centres, and to the Irish Sea.

River Mersey in 1873, Source: Liverpool Museums

But this success only lasted so long, and as early as the 1860s the docks were starting to see declining activity - and the problem here was a technological one.

The docks in Liverpool had been designed for sailing ships - but increasingly the sort of ships being used were much larger steamships - and the entrance to the docks in Liverpool had been built with smaller boats in mind.

At the same time it was not straight-forward to expand the docks, because the integrated warehouses sat on top of the land that would be needed to expand the port entrances.

Steamships taking over in 1908, Source: Liverpool Museums

And so trade declined through the end of the 19th century. And by 1920, Albert Dock only saw the occasional commercial ship.

As a result, it no longer seemed worth the cost to dredge the docks of any tidal silt - and by the 1970s, the had docks closed completely.

The docks post- decline, and looking rather sad - Source: Liverpool Museums

In 1981 a bit of hope was found, when along came the Merseyside Development Corporation - with a plan to reclaim and regenerate Albert dock - and turn it into a bit of a destination.

And today, as I eventually find my way down to Albert Dock (from the train station), it is doing well, and looking rather splendid (and well worth a visit).

Arriving at Albert Dock

At George Parade, with the Royal Liver Building being on the left

As we head along George Parade, the waters that we are passing are part of the canal link, that allows boaters to travel down from the main part of the Liverpool & Leeds Canal to Albert Dock.

This extension was built at a cost of £22m - and the idea was to try and encourage boaters to use the full length of the canal - rather than stopping short of the city.

In all honesty, I can't see a lot of boaters down here - but fair play to everyone for giving it a go - and it does at least give the boaters the option of somewhere safe (and pleasant) to park up at the end of their journey.

On our trip, we continue on round until we eventually reach the Isle of Man ferry terminal - and then we cut away from the Mersey, along a section that is being heavily redeveloped as part of a further regeneration project.

Cutting in by the Isle of Man terminal

The section being redeveloped is obviously one that needed a certain amount of redevelopment - and you do just hope they do something about the smell, before the fancy people move into their expensive new apartments.

But here our trip up the Mersey comes to an end as we draw level with the canal, and after passing the slightly vulgar new football stadium, and through the car park of the Titanic Hotel (hopefully they don't serve iceberg lettuce in the restaurant), we manage to meet up with the canal itself.

Meeting up with the canal proper, for the first time

This section has obviously not seen the same level of redevelopment at at Albert Dock - but the towpath is good, and it's quite a pleasant vibe if you ignore the litter and general mess that inevitably seems to come with an urban stretch of canal.

Some of the old bridges

Even though we are up north here, it is only the elderly people who say hello on their way past - but in any case things quieten down as we leave behind the houses, and start walking past larger industrial buildings.

Industrial vibes (plus palm trees)

A tower block in the distance

Here the canal is quite typical for an urban stretch of canal - and whilst there aren't too many about, and those who are about have a hint of the day time economy about them - but it's a fairly uneventful trip through the city all the same.

It would be unfair to call this stretch of the canal boring or ugly - and whilst we are in this very urban landscape, the yellow lilies that are out all the way along the canal do bring some natural joy to the landscape.

And as we start to reach Litherland, the urban landscape on either side of the canal also fades away - and we are now walking along a very pleasant stretch of canal.

Coming up to Litherland

And enjoying the increased greenery

From here, we don't actually have too much further to go - with this being a fairly short day.

And soon I'm counting down the last of the bridges until my turn off to a Premier Inn that usually serves the nearby Aintree Races - but which today offers cheap accommodation due to it's excessive number of rooms for non-raceday demand.

And so we bring to a close a fairly short day - but one that has been better (and more interesting) than expected, despite the very urban nature of this stretch of walking.

Total Distance: 10.7 miles (7.3 miles on the canal itself)

Total Ascent: 174 feet (112 feet on the canal itself)

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ★ ★ / 5

Click for a writeup of the next section of the Liverpool & Leeds Canal, from Aintree to Appley Bridge.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 108 OS Landranger map (links redirect to Amazon). Once you have found the canal it is very easy to follow