Long-term moorings in Burscough

Burscough is a town in West Lancashire, about 14 miles from Liverpool and 13 from Preston, on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. The canal's Rufford Branch leaves the main line here, heading north to the tidal crossing for the Lancaster Canal. Moorings in Burscough itself are Canal & River Trust linear sites along the bank, and the nearest marinas are in the villages of Rufford and Scarisbrick.

Moorings in Burscough

• Burscough Bridge: Trust moorings in the middle of the town, reached from Victoria Street off the A59. A water point and Elsan are on the other side of Bridge 32A.
• Crabtree Lane: about 290m of off-side mooring for up to 20 boats, around a mile from the town. The path along the moorings is a public right of way.
• Lathom: about 275m of off-side mooring for up to 20 boats, north west of Bridge 32 where Crabtree Lane crosses the canal. There is no vehicle access.
• Ring O Bells: about 85m against the towpath for up to six boats, by Bridge 34 and the Ring O Bells pub.
• Fettlers Wharf Marina, Rufford: on the Rufford Branch, about three miles and seven locks from the junction. Aquavista bought the marina in August 2025.
• St Mary's Marina, Rufford: a few yards from Fettlers Wharf on the branch, with diesel, pump out, showers and a launderette.
• Scarisbrick Marina: a family-run marina on the main line near Bridge 27A at Scarisbrick.

The four Trust sites are basic leisure moorings with mooring rings and no parking, and are not for full-time residential use.

On the water

The Leeds & Liverpool Canal main line is 127 miles long. The Rufford Branch runs for about seven miles and eight locks from Lathom Junction to Tarleton, where a tidal lock opens onto the River Douglas. Boats up to 62ft long fit its locks.

• Route to the Lancaster Canal: from Tarleton by the River Douglas and the River Ribble to the Ribble Link, which opened in 2002 and has nine locks on the way to the canal at Preston.
• Booking: the Canal & River Trust helps every boat through, so each passage is booked in advance and runs only on set tide days. The 2026 schedule ran from April to September.
• Size limits on the Ribble Link: 62ft long, 10ft 6in wide and 2ft 3in draught.

Getting there and around

Burscough has two railway stations: Burscough Bridge on the Southport to Manchester line and Burscough Junction on the line to Preston. The A59 runs through the town. None of the Trust moorings has parking, so a boat owner needs to arrange somewhere to leave a car.