A new exhibition has opened at Lymm Heritage Centre detailing the events surrounding the breach of the Bridgewater Canal.
Now open, the exhibition is one Lymm Heritage Centre never wanted to have!
It follows on from the worst start to the year locally as rain battered the area through New Year’s Eve and Day causing a dramatic breach of the Bridgewater Canal. Mercifully no boats were moored near the spot or they could well have been swept away.

Picture Josh Taylor
Daylight revealed a huge gash in the embankment and thousands of tons of water in the Bollin Plain below all meaning that the canal is closed for an indefinite period.
Only three years ago Lymm Heritage Centre staged an exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of the National Waterways Rally in Lymm following the last Dunham breach in 1971. Now the Centre has responded quickly to this latest catastrophe with a new exhibition – Breach! which is now open.
“It’s the exhibition we never wanted to have” explained the Centre’s chair Alan Williams.
“A busy canal with boats stopping over and passing through is an essential part of the character of Lymm. The boats also bring business and other day visitors who together contribute to the economic well-being of the village. The breach is bad news for the whole canal community and bad news for Lymm”.
The exhibition uses stories, images and an in-depth video to tell the whole story of the Dunham Embankment from its construction in 1766 right up to the events of the last few weeks. It looks at the possible causes of the breach and its likely implications. The Centre is open Thursday to Sunday every week from 12 till 4. At 1 Legh St Lymm WA13 0DA www.lymmhic.co.uk

Picture Josh Taylor