Glasson Branch, Lancaster Canal

What to spot on the Lancaster Canal

Wildlife: Wetland birds and wildflowers.
Opening times: Open all year.
Access/Conditions: Towpaths are suitable for walking. Thurnham Mill and Glasson Marina have good wheelchair access.
Facilities: The villages of Glasson and Galgate provide local shops, public houses and other facilities.
How to get there: The canal is a short distance from the M6 (junction 33). Follow the B5290 to Glasson.
Parking: A car park is located at Thurnham Mill and at Glasson Marina.

The Lune estuary and surrounding countryside of the Glasson Branch of the Lancaster Canal plays a vital part in the lives of breeding and migrant birds. These include mute swan, mallard, tufted duck, shelduck, coot, moorhen, great-crested grebe and several species of gull.

From September to March visitors can see large numbers of curlew, lapwing, golden plover and knot on the sand banks of the estuary. The canal’s proximity to the sea means that gulls are present at all times, including Mediterranean and yellow-legged gulls. Whooper and Berwick swans can sometimes be seen, together with over-wintering pink-footed geese.

The Lancaster Canal was built to support the industrial development of the late 1700s and served Lancaster, Preston and Manchester. The Glasson branch of the Lancaster Canal was opened in 1826 providing the canal with its only link to the sea. The branch runs through the tranquil countryside of the Conden Valley to the saltings and marshland leading to the River Lune.