Editing Trent and Mersey Canal (section)

==Route==
The route is conveniently divided into a northern and southern section by the [[Harecastle Tunnel]].

===Northern Trent and Mersey===
The northern end of the canal makes an end-on junction with the [[Bridgewater Canal]] within Preston Brook Tunnel, from which one can access Runcorn (but no longer the Mersey or Ship Canal) in one direction and Manchester (with its many canal links) in the other direction.

From the junction with the Bridgewater Canal, the T&M travels south through Preston Brook Tunnel (one-way operation, alternating each half-hour) and two smaller tunnels at Saltersford (since 2008 also one-way operation, alternating each half-hour), and [[Barnton, Cheshire|Barnton]] to the "junction" with the [[River Weaver]] at [[Anderton Boat Lift]] near [[Northwich]].

After Anderton, the next major destination is [[Middlewich]], where a junction with the {{convert|50|yd|m|adj=mid|-long}} [[Wardle Canal]] leads to the [[Middlewich Branch]] of the [[Shropshire Union Canal]] which gives access to [[Chester]], [[Llangollen]] and ( heading south on the Shropshire Union) a parallel route to [[Birmingham]] via [[Wolverhampton]].

South of Middlewich, having passed through [[Wheelock, Cheshire|Wheelock]], the T&M climbs out of the Cheshire Plain via the 'Heartbreak Hill' locks (more traditionally known as the 'Cheshire Locks') to the summit-level and the junction with the [[Hall Green Branch]], leading to the [[Macclesfield Canal]] at Red Bull [[Kidsgrove]]. Most of the locks in this flight are doubled, although not all of the duplicates are still usable. Of particular note was lock 53 where, because of subsidence from brine pumping, the 'spare' lock was replaced by a steel contrivance with guillotine gates. Theoretically, this was adjustable to compensate for further subsidence although, in practice it was less than successful and was ultimately removed altogether. Little evidence of 'Thurlwood Steel Lock' remains today. The boater can use the Macclesfield Canal to head for Marple, and the junction with the Peak Forest Canal (and hence, via the Ashton, Rochdale and Bridgewater canal) to complete the '[[Cheshire Ring]]'.

====2012 breach at Dutton Hollow====
In September 2012 a serious breach occurred at [[Dutton, Cheshire|Dutton Hollow]] near [[Preston Brook]], which cost around £2.1&nbsp;million to repair.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/features/diary-of-a-breach|title=Diary of a breach|work=Canal & River Trust|access-date=1 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21292298x |title=Canal network 'needs millions in investment'|work=BBC News |access-date=1 February 2013}}</ref> The breach was south of bridge 213 and the canal was unusable between there and Middlewich Big Lock 75.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://waterscape.com/things-to-do/boating/stoppage/detail/7261/Between+Middlewich+Big+Lock+75+and+Bridge+213+Preston+Brook|title=Stoppage: Between Middlewich Big Lock 75 and Lodge Lane, Bridge 213 Preston Brook|work=Waterscape|access-date=1 February 2013}}</ref> The canal was officially reopened on 2 May 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northwichguardian.co.uk/news/10392298.Trent_and_Mersey_canal_to_reopen_today|title=Trent and Mersey canal to reopen today|work=Northwich Guardian |access-date=2 May 2013}}</ref>

===Southern Trent and Mersey===
After the [[Harecastle Tunnel]] (one way, alternating roughly every two hours), the canal emerges in the outskirts of [[Stoke-on-Trent]], and is soon in the middle of the city and then at [[Etruria, Staffordshire|Etruria]], and the junction with the [[Caldon Canal]].

Leaving Etruria, the canal is soon back in open country. It is now in the upper valley of the [[River Trent]], which the canal follows until the river becomes navigable and the canal is no longer needed. The next sizeable place is the market town of [[Stone, Staffordshire|Stone]].

After more countryside, the canal reaches [[Great Haywood Junction]] and the towpath bridge across the junction with the [[Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal]], which heads south to skirt [[Wolverhampton]] and join with the [[River Severn]] at [[Stourport-on-Severn]], thus connecting the Mersey with the Severn.

The next event is a right-angle bend, of no apparent significance from the boat, but this is where the canal (and the Trent itself) changes its basic direction from south-east to north-east (heading towards Nottingham).

Very near is [[Fradley Junction]] (with the [[Coventry Canal|Coventry Canal's "detached portion"]]).  The Coventry soon leads to the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal and branches off to [[Birmingham]] or (via another stretch of the Coventry Canal) to [[Coventry]] and a junction with the [[Oxford Canal]] and thence to the Thames and the 'Southern Half' of the English canals.

The canal now heads directly to its terminus, passing through [[Burton upon Trent]], Mercia Marina at [[Findern]], the largest inland waterway [[marina]] in the United Kingdom, and then through wide locks (the first being at [[Stenson, Derbyshire|Stenson]]) to [[Shardlow]] and finally [[Derwent Mouth]].

It is not far from Derwent Mouth, via the River Trent, to [[Trentlock]], the four-way junction with the [[Erewash Canal]] (dead end at Great Northern Basin, formerly a link with the [[Cromford Canal]]), Cranfleet Cut (bypassing [[Thrumpton]] Weir to continue navigation towards [[Nottingham]]) and the [[River Soar]] Navigation (linking via [[Leicester]] to the [[Grand Union Canal]]). Beyond the Cranfleet Cut the Trent is navigable all the way to its mouth at [[Trent Falls]] on the [[Humber Estuary]].