Manchester canal tours reach record figures

Passengers boarding Mersey Ferries' Manchester ship canal tours have reached above the 20,000 mark this year, which is a record figure.

Demand for the cruises, lasting six hours and covering 35 miles, was increased by almost 10% compared to last year and nearly double the 10,500 passengers recorded four years ago.

Neil Scales, chief executive and director general of Merseytravel, which owns and operates Mersey Ferries, said: "We've invested more than £50m in the ferries' business over the last ten years. In that time we have made improvements to all three ferries and terminals, including new and exciting attractions."

The final cruises of the 2008 season take place on Thursday 16 and Saturday 18 October from Seacombe, Wirral, to Salford Quays and on Friday 17 and Sunday 19 October from Salford Quays to Liverpool.