The Sankey Canal in North West England, initially known as the Sankey Brook Navigation and later renamed the St Helens Canal, is a former industrial canal, which when opened in 1757 was England's first of the Industrial revolution, and the first modern canal.
The canal eventually connected St Helens to the River Mersey at Spike Island in Widnes. Originally it followed the valley of the Sankey Brook from the Mersey through Warrington to Parr following which extensions were constructed at the Mersey end to Fiddlers Ferry and then to Widnes, while at the northern end it was extended to Sutton.
The canal was abandoned between 1931 and 1963 but has been the object of ongoing restoration attempts since 1985.