CHANNEL 4 showcased Northwich’s top tourist attraction in a new afternoon TV show.  

Narrow Escapes, which follows the lives of the ‘vibrant community’ which call Britain’s canals their home, featured a trip on the Anderton Boat Lift.

It the first episode of the series, which aired at 4pm on Tuesday, April 30, decorative artist and interior designer, Emma Culshaw Bell, ‘went head-to-head’ with the lift in her small, 30ft narrow boat, Dawn Piper.

Built in 1875, the lift provides a vertical link between the Trent and Mersey Canal and the River Weaver, 50 feet below.

Northwich Guardian: Dawn Piper can be seen pulling out of the lift with Emma at the helmDawn Piper can be seen pulling out of the lift with Emma at the helm (Image: Channel 4)

Known affectionately as the ‘cathedral of the canals’, it closed in 1983, but opened again in 2002 after a huge renovation project.

Emma arrived a bit late for her booking and was concerned she might be ‘told off’.

Northwich Guardian: Emma steering Dawn Piper into one of the lift's two transporter tanksEmma steering Dawn Piper into one of the lift's two transporter tanks (Image: Channel 4)

She was also a bit worried by the ‘tiny’ entrance to the lift from the canal, as she does tend to bump her boat from time to time.

As the gates shut her into the transporting tank, she said: “The room for error here is quite massive.

Northwich Guardian: The boat lift sits on the River Weaver, connecting it to the Trent and Mersey Canal 50ft aboveThe boat lift sits on the River Weaver, connecting it to the Trent and Mersey Canal 50ft above (Image: Channel 4)

“I go in, and I’m 50ft up in the air in a tank of water. I’m thinking of too many things at once and completely losing what few skills I’ve got.”

Emma was ‘fascinated’ by the simple but grand-scale engineering of the lift, which operates on a simple counterbalance principle, one of only six in the world of a similar design.

Northwich Guardian: Emma mooring-up on the Weaver while she went to the visitors centre and gift shopEmma mooring-up on the Weaver while she went to the visitors centre and gift shop (Image: Channel 4)

When she was safely down, she added: “I’m glad I didn’t see it from this angle before I got on it.

“It’s incredible. I feel quite honoured, especially since it’s been closed, and had quite a dramatic restoration.

“I’m really looking forward to exploring the Weaver now. What an experience!

“It was just amazing. I’d really like to get a memento of it, as that was worth remembering."

Emma then went into the visitor’s centre, where she bought an Anderton Boat Lift mug.

“When I moor up for the evening, this is what I’ll be drinking my tea out of it,” she said.

“That’s the magic of narrowboat living.”