Manchester · Linear (one way)

Bridgewater Canal towpath: Castlefield to Stretford

Almost 5 km of the Bridgewater Way from Castlefield Basin out along the canal towpath.

Official trail page (opens in new tab)Bridgewater Canal: The Bridgewater Way

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Near the start, along the way and at the finish

Merchant's Bridge, Castlefield & the Canals
Near the start: Merchant's Bridge (under 1 km away)Photo: Ridiculopathy, CC0
Old Trafford, Salford Quays & MediaCity
Near the finish: Old Trafford (about 1.3 km away)Photo: Daniel from Glasgow, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0
Roman fort (Mamucium), Castlefield & the Canals
Roman fort (Mamucium) (under 1 km from the start)Photo: Maarten, CC BY 2.0
Castlefield Bowl, Castlefield & the Canals
Castlefield Bowl (under 1 km from the start)Photo: Gerald England, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photos of named places from our guides closest to each point of the walk, with the straight-line distance. They show the area, not the path itself: follow the waymarks and the official page.

The route

The Bridgewater Way is a leisure route for walkers and cyclists along the Bridgewater Canal, and the stretch from Castlefield to Altrincham town centre is reported complete. This walk covers the first section westwards from Castlefield Basin to Stretford. Pedestrians have priority on the towpath, and cyclists share it.

The interactive map needs JavaScript. The start and finish are listed below.

Along the way

  1. Start: Castlefield Basin, Merchant's Bridge
  2. Finish: Bridgewater Canal towpath, Stretford (end of this section)

The line is drawn from OpenStreetMap data and simplified to 211 points. It can differ from what is on the ground: waymarks and the official page take priority.

Route and map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), saved 2026-10-25. Spotted a mistake? Fix the map.

Download GPX Official trail page (opens in new tab)

The GPX file holds the route as a track and the start, finish and waypoints, for use in a walking or hiking app. It is a planning aid, not a navigation guarantee.

Before you go

Safety and access notes come from official pages. Conditions change, so read the linked page for the day you walk.

Getting there

  • Nearest station or stop to the start in our dataDeansgate (rail, Northern Trains), about 0.4 km in a straight line.
  • Nearest to the finishTrafford Park (rail, Northern Trains), about 0.3 km in a straight line.

Straight-line distances from our station list, not walking distances. Check timetables and the route to the start before you travel. Getting between regions

Step-free and pushchair access

The official page does not say whether this route is step-free or suitable for pushchairs, so we do not either. Check the official page (opens in new tab) or ask the site.

Safety

Seasonal access

How these figures were worked out

  • Distance: route length measured from OpenStreetMap geometry. The official page gives no distance. It is a straight-segment sum along mapped paths, so it can differ from a waymarked figure.
  • Grade: our rule, because the official page gives no grade. Easy: up to 8 km and up to 150 m of ascent. Hard: over 16 km or over 600 m of ascent. Moderate: everything else. No ascent figure is available for this walk, so the rule used distance only and the real grade may be higher.
  • Time: only shown when an official page states it.

Sources

  1. Bridgewater Canal: The Bridgewater Way (opens in new tab). 39 mile (65 km) leisure route, Castlefield to Altrincham section completed, towpath code, maintenance closures; no distance for this section. Checked on 2026-10-25.
  2. OpenStreetMap ways 28021642 to 511290462 (Bridgewater Way / Bridgewater Canal Towpath) (opens in new tab). route geometry (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL; measured 4.68 km, used as the distance. Checked on 2026-10-25.
  3. OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab) (ODbL). Route geometry. Saved 2026-10-25.

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