RIVER MERSEY

[Pete K]

Oddly little information available on the Mersey on UKRGB so mainly for searching purposes here is some info. I'd write a guide for the trip but there is a published canoe trail guide produced by Stockport County Council, the EA and the BCU with good info.
http://www.stockport.gov.uk/services/business/regeneration/tcandmajordev/tcregen/tckeyprojects/towncentrerivers/merseycanoetrail

The only other information that may prove useful is a water level guide.
There are 2 EA gauges on this stretch:
Brinksway http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/riverlevels/120704.aspx?stationId=5021
Northenden: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/riverlevels/120704.aspx?stationId=5101

Today we paddled it in canoes from Ford Street in Stockport to Northenden Wier. It took 2h30mins but we went slow, played and had a lunch break. The Gauge at Brinksway was on 0.56m and Northenden was on 0.35m.

All 3 wiers were paddleable at this level but portages are available. The 1st 2 are 1ft verticals with small stoppers at this level, easily passable in a canoe with forward momentum. The 3rd is the huge sloper at Northenden, a straightforward royalex scraping slide into a white frothy wave with all the power at the surface. Got a bit splashed but it had no hold.

I'd say this was as low as you'd want to do the trip, a few more cm's lower and you'd scrape on all the shingle rapids and wiers and it was a bit of a rock dodge as it was. That said this makes a really nice level with no nasty suprises for leasurely canoeing or trips with novices. If in doubt portage the wiers, which are well signposted.

[Pete K]

As posted on the Song of the Paddle Forum:

The Environment Agency are building a fish pass at Ashton Weir on the River Mersey, this is on the last section of the canoe trail near the Carrington Spur A6144M bridge. (GR 773936)
The construction work will obstruct the portage path around the weir from approximately 7th November til mid February. Winter is not a good time to build river structures so there may be delay.

Happy paddling

Chris Cleaver