In 1796 the 6-mile Peak Forest Tramway opened linking the Derbyshire
quarries to the canal system at Bugsworth, near Whaley Bridge, in
Derbyshire. Over the next ten years, great engineers and entrepreneurs
like Benjamin Outram and Samuel Oldknow developed a vision of bringing
limestone and other goods over 20 miles from the heart of the Peak
District into the centre of industrial Manchester and beyond. Great
feats of engineering, such as the construction of Marple Locks and
Aqueduct, allowed the Peak Forest Canal to meet with the Ashton Canal at
Portland Basin and establish a trade route unique to the developing
canal system. Today, the route is still used by canal enthusiasts,
walkers and cyclists who can embark on a nostalgic journey through the
stunning beauty of the Peak District, industrial East Manchester and,
eventually, via the Rochdale Canal, through the centre of Manchester
itself. Many of the original buildings and structures of the route can
still be found along its length and are a fitting reminder of the
ingenuity, skill and vision of the industrialists of the late eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries.