Moorings & Facilities
MOORERS
Any mooring enquiries please contact the mooring office on 01785 714692. If no-one is available please use the mobile number 07710 631683 and we will take a message.
- Peaceful linear moorings
- Marina side moorings
- Towpath side moorings
- Great cruising options including:
- Cheshire Ring
- Four Counties Ring
- Llangollen Canal
- Shropshire Union Canal
- Water and Elsan disposal
- Regular fuel boat visits
- New Chandlery and Shop
At Barbridge Marina we have extensive moorings along both banks of the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal with the capability of berthing up to 70 narrow boats. Sometimes we also have some space available for casual moorers, so please call if you require a temporary mooring.
The towpath is on the opposite side of the canal and access to the marina facilities is across 'Wardle Roving Bridge No.1' at the canal junction. The marina side moorings (pictured above) are grassed with no towpath, but on the same side as the boatyard facilities and car parking area.
All moorings enquiries and payments are administrated through our Penkridge office.
For availability and/or confirmed mooring rates, please
CALL 01785 714692
or send an email via our 'Contact Us' page
Our moorings are located at the junction of the Shropshire Union Canal and the Middlewich branch which enables cruising in all directions. North to Chester, South to Nantwich and beyond, West on to the Llangollen Canal and East onlong the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal to the Trent & Mersey Canal which provides many more miles of canal network to explore and enjoy.
Facilities
Midway Boats Barbridge Marina in Cheshire, is on the banks of the Middlewich branch of the Shropshire Union canal at Barbridge Junction. The Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal runs between Middlewich, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal, and Barbridge Junction, where it joins the main line of the Shropshire Union Canal.
Midway Boats is managed and owned by the Bourne Boatbuilders of Penkridge, but there has been a boatyard on this site since the 1960's. The marina is family run and offers the personal attention and a warm friendly welcome.
Approximately 100m from Barbridge Junction and Barbridge Roving Bridge No.1, our marina is capable of providing moorings, depending on sizes moored, for up to 70 river cruisers and narrowboats on both sides of the canal. We usually have a good selection of quality used narrowboats and river cruisers available to purchase, but we can also buy boats in for stock without an outgoing sale.
Our facilities include:
- Narrowboat sales
- Inland cruiser sales
- Boat brokerage
- Moorings for up to 70 boats
- Wharf
- Slipway
Third party operated facilities include:
- Chandlery
- Bottled gas supplies
- Chemical toilet disposal
- Toilets
Operating from the far workshop, our site partner, Barbridge Marine can also provide:
- Engineering repairs
- Custom narrowboat fit-outs
- Boat hull repairs
- New and used sport boat sales
- Outboard sales, repairs and servicing
- Marine road trailer repairs/servicing
More About the Shropshire Union Canal
The Shropshire Union Canal (Middlewich Branch) is a narrow canal and is part of the Shropshire Union Canal. It runs for through 3 locks from Barbridge Junction (where it joins the Shropshire Union Canal (Chester Canal - Nantwich to Bunbury)) to Wardle Lock No 4 (where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal (Wardle Lock Branch)).
The maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 72 feet long and 7 feet wide. The maximum headroom is 8 feet. The maximum draught is 4 feet and 10 inches.
The navigational authority for this waterway is Canal & River Trust.
The Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England. The Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union system and lie partially in Wales.
The canal lies in the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire in the north-west midlands of England. It links the canal system of the West Midlands, at Wolverhampton, with the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, 66 miles (106 km) distant.
The Shropshire Union main line runs southeast from Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Autherley Junction in Wolverhampton. Other links are to the Llangollen Canal (at Hurleston Junction), the Middlewich Branch (at Barbridge Junction), which itself connects via the Wardle Canal with the Trent and Mersey Canal, and the River Dee (in Chester). With two connections to the Trent and Mersey (via the Middlewich Branch and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal) the Shropshire Union is part of an important circular and rural holiday route called the Four Counties Ring.
The Shropshire Union main line was the last trunk narrow canal route to be built in England. It was not completed until 1835 and was the last major civil engineering accomplishment of Thomas Telford.
The name "Shropshire Union" comes from the amalgamation of the various component companies (Ellesmere Canal, Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, Montgomeryshire Canal) that came together to form the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company. The main line between Nantwich and Autherley Junction was almost built as a railway although eventually it was decided to construct it as a waterway.