The region has over 10,000 hectares of lakes and open water, including England’s longest lake, deepest lake and the longest man-made waterway in Britain.

The Cheshire Plain is known as the pond capital of Europe, whilst the Northwest’s canal network is extensive and, often, unique.

Cheshire’s Trent and Mersey Canal contains the ‘Cathedral of the Canals’ – the Anderton Boat Lift - the world’s first and the UK’s only working boat lift, while the Lancaster Canal is the only one in the country to contain no locks, making it perfect for canoeists.

The region contains some of the highest quality salmon rivers in England, with the Lune considered to be the second best in the country. It is also one of the country’s most important refuges for the White-clawed Crayfish.

Coal mining and industrialisation, particularly around Greater Manchester and Merseyside, has led to the creation of many flashes or meres, which have become important wildlife and watersports sites.

The survival of large numbers of bird species and two ‘rare or threatened’ mammals, the otter and water vole, depend on our inland waterways, which also support over two-thirds of Britain’s native vascular plants.