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The Anderton Boat Lift near the village of Anderton provides a 50 foot vertical link between two navigable waterways: the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal. It is one of only two working boat lifts in the United Kingdom, the other being the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland.

Constructed in 1875, the boat lift was designed by Edward Leader Williams and Edwin Clark. It originally used water-filled hydraulic rams to support a pair of water-filled caissons, which could each accommodate two narrowboats or a single barge. Corrosion proved a problem with the hydraulic rams, which were replaced in 1908 by electric motors with a system of counterweights and overhead pulleys, designed by J.A. Saner.

The boat lift remained in use for over 100 years until it was closed due to corrosion in 1983. Restoration started in 2001 and the boat lift was re-opened in 2002. The lift and associated visitor centre and exhibition are operated by British Waterways.