The public towpath provides access to the aqueduct and locks. Follow Canal & River Trust’s route and any closures or diversions. The railway viaduct beside it is not a footpath.
Check the official visitor information ↗ · checked 2026-09-13
Use public paths and visitor areas. Do not enter unstaffed tunnels, shafts, railway land or restricted property.
Advice before you visitInformation checked 2026-09-13. We checked published records and visitor information. No site visit or direct confirmation from the operator.
The story of this place
The Peak Forest Canal opened in 1800 to carry limestone from Derbyshire towards Manchester. Marple’s locks followed in 1804, helping boats travel between different water levels. Benjamin Outram’s aqueduct carried the canal across the Goyt valley.
The taller railway viaduct beside it came later. The two crossings show how different transport routes found their way across the same landscape. One carries a channel of water; the other carries a railway.
- Canal & River Trust — Peak Forest Canal history ↗ · reviewed 2026-10-07
What you can see
Canal & River Trust publishes visitor information for the aqueduct and locks. The towpath offers views of the two crossings, with the option of following part of the lock flight.
Check its map to choose a distance that suits you, and follow any closures or diversions. Access is to the canal route, not the neighbouring railway deck. We have not inspected the structures or checked today’s path conditions.
- Canal & River Trust — Peak Forest Canal history ↗ · reviewed 2026-10-07
- Canal & River Trust — Marple Locks ↗ · reviewed 2026-10-07
What we still need to check
The original scheduled-monument entry has little historical detail. The canal history comes from Canal & River Trust. We have not carried out a site inspection.
Sources for the visiting information
- Canal & River Trust — Marple Locks ↗ · reviewed 2026-10-07
About the original record
This place is recorded by Historic England / Planning Data. The details below include the original description of its building or site type.
Place details
- Category
- Industrial relics
- Building or site type (original wording)
- Marple aqueduct
- Period or date
- Canal opened 1800; lock flight completed 1804
- Current condition
- Not checked in person
- Heritage protection
- Scheduled monument
- Date protection was granted
- Not given
- Nearby town
- Stockport (approximate)
- County named in the original record
- Not supplied
- Current county or council area
- Stockport
- Nation
- England
- Original record number
- 1001954
- Coordinates
- 53.407266, -2.068786 (reference point, not an entrance)
- Heritage data checked
- 2026-09-13
- Source last updated
- 2026-08-28
- Visitor information checked
- 2026-09-13
We checked the downloaded heritage record on 2026-09-13. We have not visited or inspected the site. The map point may refer to a whole site, one structure or a location where little remains.