Salthouse Dock to Holmes Swing Bridge 10

Mann Island Lock opens at 8am which is a few twists and turns from Salthouse Dock. Over the last week boats have left the moorings anywhere between 7:30 and 7:50am. So we set ourselves a push back time of 7:45am, which we knew would mean that we’d be early for the lock, but depending on how many boats were trying to pull out at the same time it gave us some leeway. After a quick breakfast and a failed attempt to get our Saturday paper we made ready to leave. We were beaten to pole position by NB Jacaranda and were closely followed out from the moorings by NB Lady Baltimore, we were the remaining three boats who had come into the docks last Saturday and were going to be the only three boats leaving today.

The bright blue sky and sunlight was gorgeous as we pulled away. The wind this morning was kind to us and Mick managed to wind Oleanna with no problems whilst the Titanic continued sinking at the far end of the dock, it’s been like that all week!

With only three of us going out through the link today it meant that as we were in the middle we’d be sharing with NB Jacaranda and NB Lady Baltimore would be on their own. Well that’s how it started out.

As we pulled up towards Mann Island Lock, NB Jacaranda had pulled into the opening before the flood gates, the lock keepers had just arrived and were unlocking everything. We pulled up and entered the lock together. The Lockies checking that we’d had a good time, I wonder if anyone ever says that they didn’t. They told us to carry on and if we got to the next lock before them then we could take ourselves up.

Tunnel lights on we followed NB Jacaranda out and through the three sections of tunnel. As we got close to the end of the last section we slowed down. Ahead Mr Jacaranda seemed to skew his boat, then he nudged with some force the bottom gates of the lock. He looked over his shoulder at us. At this point we thought he was a single hander, they quite often gently nudge bottom gates open, but this had happened with a bit of force. I stepped off the bow when we got to the landing and opened the other gate. It turned out that NB Jacaranda’s throttle cable had got stuck, he hadn’t been able to put it in reverse or even neutral, he’d had to turn the engine off and then had no option but to hit the lock gates.

Mrs Jacaranda came out from below as the gates were closed and I opened up the paddle on my side. Mick stood chatting with them for a while and then a penny dropped in everyone’s heads. We’d met them before, at Crick this year when we were moving boats. In fact we had been given their mooring and when they returned earlier than expected they were a tad pissed off that someone was on their mooring. Well here we were three months later sharing locks with them. They pulled their boat out as the Lockies arrived. We offered to breast up or tow them, but the consensus was that we should go ahead, if it was something simple that was wrong they would join us, if not then they wouldn’t.

We pootled on along Sids Ditch. A huge cruise ship was in, it was as big as the buildings along side. Turning into Stanley Dock, the mural was still over looking us. Not sure if it will just stay or is the building it is on due for demolition? We pulled up at the bottom of the locks on the pontoon. The bottom gate paddles of the flight were padlocked shut and even the key of power didn’t work, so we had to be patient. After a while we could make out a figure in blue with a red collar working their way down the lock gates. NB Lady Baltimore joined us and we waited together for the lock to be unlocked and emptied.

The lockie knew about the other boat. It wasmoving but the throttle worked on and off. So as far as he knew they were returning to Salthouse Dock to get sorted and would most probably be tagged onto the boats coming out tomorrow. So three became two.

Mike, the lockie and myself worked the two boats up the flight and by the time we turned out of the arm it was still before 10am. We both pulled in at the services at Litherland and disposed of rubbish, yellow water, checked the weed hatch and popped to the very handy Tescos for a paper and a mid morning snack. Once we were done we pushed off with plenty of time to arrive at the first swing bridge.

Our progress was halted for a while by a Dragon race. Marshalls asked us to pull over and wait for the on coming boats, but we opted to reverse instead so as not to get tangled in the lilies. Further along were more obstructions, two cars were floating in the cut. Both were quite sporty, but we managed to navigate around them. No lady taking our number today, hope her statistics don’t get messed up or us accused of over staying!

We whiled away the time waiting at the first swing bridge with a cuppa and a danish pastry each. Mike and Lesley joined us and when the bridge chap turned up we were on our way again. He showed his face just as we pulled up at Bridge 9 too, perfectly timed so we hadn’t needed to tie up. We were now on our own again. I hopped off and opened the bridge for both boats. Mike and Lesley are hoping to get to Stoke for next weekend so headed off into the distance as we moored up for the day at just gone 2pm.

As the mooring spikes were going in and ropes tied all we could hear was incredibly loud MEOW!!!s After a whole week of being locked up they could have opened the doors a bit quicker! I had things I wanted to do. After ten minutes Tilly had made up for the last week and returned home with a large friend, who had seen better days. Lots of coming and going all afternoon. She even had a full walk of the roof for the first time ever and discovered that the life buoy was a good place to sit.

We’ve had a great time in Liverpool, our second visit by boat. There is still plenty to see and do, so we will be back.

6 locks, 12.56 miles, 4 swing bridges, ? held up, 3 boats down to 2, 1 beautiful day, 1 rain shower, 2 many false stops, 2 locking partners, 1 wave for Jean, 1 paper, 2 cars, 1 fire extinguisher, 6 boats heading to Liverpool, 1 expert at swing bridges, 2 friends, 5 hours, 1 woofer spotting ring, 1st coat on plank, 2nd coat on poles, 1 Saturday Roast for tea.

Salthouse Dock

The sound of an engine starting up in the morning tends to make one of us get up and put the kettle on and see who is leaving today. Another morning of the full six boats pulling out in turn and heading back under the bridge to Albert Dock. That will be us tomorrow morning. Our new neighbour made a move shortly afterwards and moved up a couple of moorings that had become available, not sure if we smelt or if that was their allotted mooring that hadn’t been available when they arrived.

Mick set off as soon as he’d had breakfast to pick up our life jackets. He opted to go by bus, but this proved to be more expensive than the train as he had to buy a rover ticket. The jackets were ready and waiting to be picked up. They all passed and only one auto-inflate needed replacing, even though we thought they were all out of date.

Once back we decided that we’d only be able to visit one type of God today and opted for the Anglican. On the way we called into John Lewis so that I could exchange some wool, I’d under estimated how much blue I needed and over estimated the red, so a straight swap was easy.

Mick opted to head on up the tower to admire the views whilst I kept my feet firmly on the ground and had a good look around.

The first Bishop of Liverpool was appointed in 1880 who was installed at St Peter’s Church in the town centre. In 1901 a decision was made to build a cathedral worthy of Liverpool. Giles Gilbert Scott submitted his design in 1903 at the young age of 22 and was partnered up with a more senior architect George Bodley. The foundation stone was laid by King Edward VII the following year and work started on the Lady Chapel.

At the end of June 1910 the chapel was complete. Today you enter the chapel down stairs from the main cathedral. A very pretty chapel greets you with it’s predominantly blue stained glass windows and wonderful carvings. High above the organ pipes cling to the wall like a slightly tatty romantic baroque moth. This took my attention away from much else here.

Worked progressed despite both world wars and eventually the building was completed, a thanksgiving service was held in 1978 in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II. It is the largest Cathedral in the UK and fifth largest in the world.

Everything seems so clean, most probably because it isn’t as old as I’d expected. Most memorials in the aisles are carved into the structure of the building. Two stood out to me. The first was simple and was for one of the four organists the cathedral has had since 1910. Henry Custard will have played both the Moth organ in the Lady’s Chapel and the one in the Cathedral. Built in 1926, the organ was the largest musical instrument ever conceived. It has 8 manual divisions and pedals, 199 draw stops controlling 10,268 pipes played from two massive consoles. Today the organ was being tested prior to a recital tomorrow. It certainly has some very very low notes that resonated around the building as they were played in turn. If we were still here tomorrow I know that we’d be paying £1 to sit and listen to this mighty beast.

The second was in memory of a bishop who passed away around 2005. Sadly I didn’t record his name. The sculptural memorial is very reminiscent of the way a hard pebble gets moved around on a softer stone leaving different bowl shapes carved out on it, also a little like a rock pool. All of this has been carved into the fabric of the building with only the pebble added.

Mick in the meantime had made it to the top of the Cathedral with the assistance of a couple of lifts! On the way up he got to see the bells  and on the way down there was an embroidery room where gowns are stored, he didn’t stop here. Up on the roof the views were great. Men were working on a house roof meters below. He managed to take quite a few photos, sadly our mooring is just out of sight so no photos of Oleanna.

On our way back to the boat we stopped off to pick up enough provisions to see us through till Monday when we hope to be moored somewhere suitable for a supermarket delivery.  The boaters who arrived today are all very chatty and excited about where to go and what to see whilst they are here. The washing machine has now washed everything possible and has had a 90deg wash to give it a clean. The dishwasher is also having a clean before we top up the water tank for the last time ready for an early start tomorrow.

0 locks, 0 miles, 3 life jackets serviced, 1 ball wool exchanged, 2 nephew presents returned, 1 house of God visited, 10,298 pipes! 2 lifts, 108 steps, 1 pair of very squeaky shoes, 1 man passing off photocopies as originals, 2 new neighbours, 6 cat naps til freedom!

Salthouse Dock

Time to make up time in Liverpool.

So this morning we headed to The Walker Art Gallery. I’d noticed when deciding what to see in Liverpool that there was an exhibition on Alphones Mucha. Since my college days I have been a fan of his work. One scene painting exercise at college was to copy a printed artwork and I chose his poster for Ruinart Champagne. The end product was, even if I do say so myself, very good and hung in my parents conservatory for years. Not enough height on Oleanna so it now sits rolled up in our attic in Scarborough. A trip to Prague in the late 90’s meant I had chance to visit the Mucha Museum, which I loved and very uncharacteristically bought myself two copies of his Sarah Bernhardt theatre posters. These stayed in a tube until my 40th birthday when my Dad paid for me to have them framed. In my 30’s I bought a house which had Mucha tiles in the surround, this wasn’t the reason I bought the house but was a nice touch.

Alphonse Mucha 1860-1939 was a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist with a very distinctive style. He started out as a scenic artist but after moving to Paris to continue his education he volunteered to design a poster for the superstar of the time Sarah Bernhardt and her next theatrical production, Gismonda. His distinctive style and the large format of the posters caught everyone’s eye. Sarah Bernhardt was so taken with the image that for the next six years he designed all her posters. Quite often people liked the posters so much they would be taken down in the streets of Paris for people to take home. HIs graphic style spread into other areas, perfume, cigarettes, mostly depicting beautiful young ladies with flowing hair. Borders of flowers quite often formed  halos around the ladies heads. His colour scheme was pastel colours which contrasted with his contemporaries.

Between 1916 and 1928 he worked on The Slav Epic depicting the history of the Slav and Czech people. Some of these paintings are 6m by 8m and it was a major labour of love. In the exhibition there was a slide show of these paintings which took over a large corner of the room, one image of each painting and the another that scrolled around showing that image in greater detail. Also on display were works by his contemporaries, Rodin, Gauguin whom he shared a studio with in Paris. Then a section on works influenced by him. In the 60’s art nouveau influenced many a psychedelic poster. His influence carries on including on a Grateful Dead album cover.

A very interesting exhibition and I would recommend it if you happen to be visiting Liverpool this summer.

Before looking around the general collection at the gallery we decided to stop and have a sit down and partake of a bowl of Scouse each which was very tasty.

Back at Oleanna new boats had arrived and we had a new neighbour on one side. Tilly was pleased to see us, too right! Who said they could go out all day and leave me to meet the woofing neighbours just outside my window. Spoiling my view!!

Late afternoon we walked over to the Georges Dock Building, Grade 2 listed Art Deco where  we joined a tour of the Queensway tunnel and it’s ventilation shafts that help to keep air smelling sweet below the Mersey. The building was the former head office for Mersey Tunnels and is still a working building. Our two tour guides Ryan and Billy were very informative and their patter was very well rehearsed.

Construction was started in 1925 from both sides of the Mersey and by 1928 the two tunnels met out of line by just an inch. When it opened in 1934 it was the longest road tunnel in the world at just over 2 miles. The tunnel is round with the road deck halfway down it, below is a similar sized passage which at one time was planned to have double decker trams going between Birkenhead and Liverpool, but this never happened.

Our tour took us up flights of deco stairs to the old control room, where two engineers used to sit and monitor the air in the tunnel. Almost two years ago they were moved downstairs to share an office with the tunnel police force. The banks of old controls were installed in 1966, dials, bulbs and switches a go go. We then started to head downwards through doors that had air locks, this was to prevent clean air getting mixed with bad. The ventilation towers, originally six of them now five, are used to push and pull air through the tunnel. In one large room we were shown the huge fan (6m diameter) that helps to suck polluted air up through the roof of the tunnel to be expelled. The air quality in the tunnels has improved through time, no more 4 star leaded petrol has made a lot of difference.

Down more floors and through more air locked doors to the fans that draw fresh air into the building and push it down into the bottom section of the tunnel. Here the old opening looked like something from Tracey Island in Thunderbirds.

Then we went down and down and down to reach the road level of the tunnel. Taken out to a viewing area which was a refuge we clung to the wall to avoid any possible contact with wing mirrors. The tunnel was built for much narrower vehicles! No photography or hand gestures were allowed here to distract the motorists, they did all seem to slow down though at the sight of our high vis. Here we could see where the air came in at road level on both sides of the tarmac and large wholes in the ceiling is where it is sucked out. Should there be a fire in the tunnel the air flow is kept going so that the smoke doesn’t build up and the emergency services can see what they are doing. Modern refuges have been built below the road deck where the trams were once going to be. Monitors in each of the seven areas would relay information from the control room down to those safe below.

Once back up all the stairs we got to meet one of the Police constables who works there. They have their own force who are also fire fighters and first aid trained, so that should an emergency occur they would be able to deal with it before other emergency services could arrive. If you break down in the tunnel there is a charge to get you towed out, if however you run out of petrol or have a flat tyre without a spare you will be charged a lot more! Traffic can back up quickly right through Liverpool as around 90,000 vehicles use the Queensway Tunnel each day. A fascinating tour well worth the £6 and all the steps.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 Nouveau graphic designer, 0 photos allowed, 2 hours reading and looking, 2 bowls scouse, 2 teas, 2 nephew presents to be returned, £6 for an £8 million tunnel, 4 boaters do steps, 1 double act, 212 steps back up, 5 down, 2 humungous fans, 4 olympic sized swimming polls full of air a minute, 12 cat naps to go!!!!

Salthouse Dock

The plum glut needed sorting this morning along with the apples and beans. So blanching and stewing took up much of the time. Sadly because I didn’t feel like doing this yesterday, about half of the plums had gone past being wonderfully ripe and had to go in the bin, sorry Frank and Helen. We now have apple ready for a crumble, beans for quite a few meals and stewed plums to have with breakfast over the next few days.

Our yellow water tank needed emptying so as today we had no direct neighbours we emptied and rinsed out the tank. Unlike in the middle of nowhere, nobody came up to chat to Mick whilst this was happening!

At 2.30pm we watched todays boats arrive, another six. We’ve been wondering if C&RT have a system for allocating the berths, say rotating them on an eight to ten day basis, or Mondays berths 12-17, Wednesdays 18-23 but boats that left yesterday were replaced today by others. If there is a system we haven’t been able to work it out.

At just gone 4pm Micks old school friend Jeremy arrived, after a cuppa we headed to the Pier Head to catch the Mersey Ferry across to Seacombe. We had just missed the 5pm ferry, but this meant that we could watch it cross the Mersey before it returned to pick us up. I try to avoid waves, so am always a bit apprehensive of going on such boats, but it was an experience I wanted to do and was glad that there was little if any swell. As we were about to pull out the Isle Of Mann Ferry came into dock. We could see all the way though underneath its catamaran hull as it moved sideways into the pier.

The views back towards Liverpool were great with it’s iconic waterfront. Very few people were actually looking at the view as most were just commuters returning home.

We spent a lovely evening catching up with Jeremy and Sarah, chatting away, eating and drinking wine. It had been something like seventeen years since Mick had been to their house in Wallasey. I’d never been to the Wirral, despite in my early twenties having gone out with a chap for a year or so from there. Thinking about it I only met his Dad once, the relationship was obviously never going to last!

With the last ferry crossing long gone we walked to New Brighton Station via the scenic route. This took us through Vale Park where Major Mace and his wife have created a drift wood Fairy Village. My photos don’t do it justice as it was quite dark, also we had a train to catch. But here are some photos from the local paper. We then walked down along the waterfront where another creation by the Major sits on the beach. In the light last night my photos make the galleon look very atmospheric. It is on the beach for all to enjoy until one day the sea will reclaim the drift wood. But this has happened several times already and a new ship is built to replace it. If we had time it would be great to come over during the day to see it better, but that will have to be one for the next time list.

The shops and arcades of New Brighton were all shut up, a surprise as in Scarborough the arcades and chippies are open till late in the summer.

We said our goodbyes to Jeremy and Sarah at New Brighton Station, all very yellow, and climbed on board a yellow train that would take us around the houses, then back under the Mersey to James Street Station not far from Oleanna.

0 locks, 0 miles, 5 bags beans, 1 big crumble waiting to be topped, 4 days worth of plums, 1 tummy on the mend, 6 boats out, 6 boats in, 1 attempted toilet roll murder, 1 ferry, 17 years, 1 yellow train, 1 surprise package on it’s way, 1 Thank you to Joa.

Salthouse Dock

Today didn’t turn out as expected. We have a list of things that we want to see in Liverpool. This afternoon we had booked to have a look at Queensway Mersey Tunnel, but unfortunately I haven’t been too well and spent all morning in bed. So our tour has been postponed for a couple of days.

Despite me being in a darkened room, exciting things have happened. Mick went out shopping for a few bits and bobs. He returned with a new handheld vacuum. Our old one we left on Lillian, mostly because we fancied a newer one. Mick had looked at reviews and decided that a Vax would be the best. We’ll see how well this fares with picking Tillys fur up from the sofa and the back of curtains. It’s on charge in the back cupboard where we had a socket put for this purpose. I’m looking forward to not having to use up numerous sticky roller sheets to get the sofa unfurry.

Once out of bed I turned on daytime TV, not done that in a long time. Being hooked up meant it came without the guilt of running the batteries down, however it hasn’t improved so I don’t plan  on watching it again for another long while. The knitting needles came out and once Tilly allowed me to have them I did a tension square. I can still knit, well with big fat wool I can. During the afternoon I made good progress.

My old T square came out again to check on our depth. Here there are meters of water under Oleannas hull so Mick hung out of the side hatch. Our diesel and water tanks are only half full at the moment, similar to when we measured it last time. Both of us were on board this time and Mick was stood to the side he was measuring, so not a completely accurate measure. The T square came out of the water measuring a depth of 2ft 3inches. A 2 inch improvement from last time and as Louis said on Thursday, she is sitting at her optimum.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 tunnels, 2 hours of great fun, –2 hours sleep last night, 3 attempted murders of the toilet roll, 3 counts of self defence, 1 poorly Pip, 1 tunnel tour postponed, 10.8v Gator, 6mm and 5mm needles, 1 Dad and Daughter reunited, £3500 prize, 0 suitable houses in the countryside, 16 cm of a front, 1st meal of beans, 1 NB Blackbird cruising again, 38 cat naps to go.

Salthouse Dock

One important job to get done today, take the life jackets to be serviced ready for the Ribble. So Mick set off with all three of our life jackets and got a train out to Sandhills to Norwest Marine. We can pick them up on Friday. Somehow Mick’s jacket had managed to inflate in it’s bag a few months ago, so he has been using my original one. We last had them serviced a couple of years ago, you should really get them done every year. It is an expense, but far cheaper than replacing one of us.

I went to have a look around John Lewis. Our wine glasses have reduced in number, we are down to three now and our lidded saute pan is becoming a stick pan as it’s non-stick surface is wearing out. So I did a recky on the ground floor and then found myself standing on the escalator heading for floor three. A few days ago I was asked if I’d be interested in doing some knitting workshops for a project happening in Scarborough. I used to knit a lot and ended up doing quite a bit of knitting for shows at the theatre. But since my accident a couple of years ago I turned to crocheting and taught myself the basics as using a hook was much easier than needles. If I’m going to do workshops I need to be able to knit and pearl myself. So I spent some time looking at patterns and then selecting some chunky wool for a project. I can’t say too much as it will spoil a Christmas present for Mick, but then he’ll get to see it in the making anyway. Here’s hoping chunky wool is the way back into knitting. Just have to remember where I put all my needles!

Four narrowboats and a wide beam arrived at 2.30, all successfully avoiding the pedalboat swans. Luckily none of the boats replaced our next door neighbour who left this morning, so our view has slightly improved.

This afternoon, after England won the cricket, we went to have a look for somewhere to eat this evening. We had a wander around Albert Dock where much of the food is burgers, pizza and pasta and then crossed over into Liverpool One to see what we could find there. A better selection was to be found high up on the terrace. Late afternoon we were joined by our friend Frank and his friend Helen. Frank had been doing a bit of carpentry work in Helens school in Warrington, so they had decided to come over and spend the evening with us. It was very nice to see them both. I think Frank is now the most frequent visitor we’ve had since moving onto Oleanna. They brought with them a mass of fruit and beans from the school garden. Plums, apples, runner beans and green beans, half a boat full. I think we may turn green by the time we’ve eaten them all. I might have a go at blanching and freezing some, maybe even make a frangipane plum tart, who knows.

We had a very nice meal in Wagamamas along with a bottle of wine and lots of conversation before they caught a train back to Warrington.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 trains, 3 life jackets for servicing, 10 balls of wool, 2 stitch holders, 1 pattern, 4 new glasses, 0 pans suitable, 1 dock walk, 1/2 a boat full, 4lbs of beans, 3lbs plums, 2lbs windfall apples, 2 recipe books on the table, 3 hours catching up, 1 bottle wine, 3 bowls of ricey niceness, 1 plate of noodles, 46 cat naps to go, 3 extra taken today.

Salthouse Dock

As the sun went down last night it cast a wonderful light across Salthouse Dock turning everything golden in it’s path. Mike on NB Lady Baltimore had also picked up his camera, a far superior one to mine with huge lenses.

A slow morning and a cooked breakfast. Since the 16th of June when we left Hanwell we have moved everyday but three (interview check on the house and hand Lillian over) so we deserved to sit around for most of the morning. We’d missed the boats leaving to do the link at 8am, as our eyes had still been firmly shut, we’d drifted off to sleep last night as music still blared out from the pubs and clubs on the other side of the dock.

More washing was done, got to make use of being hooked up especially as it’s free! By the end of the day our water tank was only a quarter full!

During the morning we got news of a sighting of Lillian. I think everytime Tim and Elizabeth take her out past Crick Lizzie will be waving at them from NB Panda like a loony woman. She says she’d have introduced herself if she hadn’t still been in pyjamas. The report was that Lillian respected Panda and was the slowest passing boat all morning.

By the time we got our act together to go and get some culture it was most definitely afternoon. I’d had a quick look at The Tate’s website and noticed something to do with the mural we’d seen yesterday on our way in which finishes tomorrow. So we headed over to Albert Dock to see some art.

On the ground floor was part of an epic wall hanging by Aleksandra Mir Space Tapestry, inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry depicting Halley’s Comet in 1066. Large sections of paper hung on the walls asking questions relating to our home and space, is there anybody out there? In the room there is getting on for 40m of the work, but in total there is 200m. The work took two years to make with the aid of 25 collaborators all using black marker pens. It was strange standing in a room in Liverpool looking at images of where we have travelled from in the last two months in East London.

Further up the gallery are rooms showing various art works from the collection which all have links to each other. A constellation map connects the artworks to a trigger piece. The works stretch from Grayson Perry to Lowry,  Duchamp to Paul McCarthy and his Artist video. Some of this we found interesting, other parts not so. Certainly Paul McCarthy’s video was strange, slightly amusing yet very disturbing (we didn’t watch it all the way through it’s 50 minutes). The Felt Suit by Joseph Beuys was a calm moment after the video and had connections with Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Venus of the Rags. My favourite piece was in the Lowry room by Ghisha Koenig, The Machine Minders (seen above).

Up another floor and an exhibition that was co curated by Tracey Emin and the gallery. Tracey’s controversial work My Bed 1998 sits in a red room, surrounded by drawings by William Blake, at the far end of the gallery are drawings by Tracey. My Bed is a self portrait where the artist is absent, her bed after four days of inner turmoil laid out for all to see. We timed our viewing with a talk by a chap from the gallery, which was interesting and informative if a little bit meandering. Blakes drawings at first glimpse are detailed drawings easy on the eye compared to the detritus around Tracey’s bed, yet the subject matter is more disgusting, boils, torture, lust in a form that we now would tend to pass over without looking at in detail.

Still no sign of an exhibition about the mural. That was because we had already seen it yesterday at Stanley Dock.

Full of art and the views from the galleries windows, two narrowboats coming into the dock, we decided to spend an hour in the Museum of Liverpool. When we were here five years ago we had quick visits to the museums and galleries that surround the docks as we had constant visitors all weekend. On one day we’d come into the museum and started to look around, within fifteen minutes there was an announcement that they would be closing soon. Today we walked up the spiral staircase to the first floor, thinking that we could have a look around there and come back another day to do more. We had just walked to the beginning of the time line for the history of Liverpool when there was an announcement, yes they would be closing in quarter of an hour! Deja Vu! So instead of working our way through centuries we spent what minutes we had looking at the display on Liverpool’s Overhead Railway.

Opened in 1893 the Liverpool Overhead Railway was the first elevated electric railway. Running along the docks, originally five miles long, it was extended to stretch from Litherland to Dingle. It became known as the Dockers Umbrella giving shade on rainy days. A popular tourist trip and at it’s height almost 20 million people used it in a year. In 1955 a survey showed that a lot of repair work was needed on the viaducts which the company could not afford. Despite public protest the railway closed at the end of 1956. We just had chance to watch a small section of a film made looking out of the carriages at the docks before another announcement pushed us closer to the doors. We will be back, one morning so that our visit doesn’t get stopped before it starts again!

For a treat we headed over to Pizza Express for a meal tonight. We had a voucher for free dough balls and another for 25% off food. So we made the most of it with three courses. Next door is the Liverpool Wheel which was still turning as the sun was heading down over the horizon. We may come back to go round it one evening ourselves.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 lazy morning, 1 tiller tied up tight, 0 squeaking now, 3 exhibitions, 40m of felt tip art, 1 bed, 1 split pillow, 2 dumpy chaps, 15 minutes of history, 1 carriage, 0 spitting, 2 narrowboats, 2 loads washing, 2 pizzas, 2 glasses of wine, 2 puddings, 1 portion dough balls, 45ish cat naps to go!

Saracens Head to Holmes Swing Bridge 10.

As we were about to push off this morning a boat appeared through the bridge behind us, so we clung onto our ropes and waited for them to pass. We had a boat to leapfrog the swing bridges with.

NB Tranquillity being ahead worked the first bridge which was all electric. We leapfrogged them and got to the next. I let a cyclist cross who was obviously being followed by another, they were together so I waited for them both to cross. It was a good job the wind had calmed down as I was making the boats wait. This panel slightly flummoxed me. I pressed the button to open it, lights barriers. It then suggested letting go of the button, but not until a bulb had light informing you that the bridge had unlocked, you then had to push the bridge into the open position. Mental note made, make sure whilst you wait for a cyclist to read the instructions before you start!

The next bridge had manual barriers, but was electric. The next for me was the old push and pull, no electricity in sight and a handcuff key to unlock it. I seemed to have picked the short straw as the final bridge of the day was electric too. I only got to stop one car, NB Tranquillity nine! Mental note for the way back, get the posher bridges.

Coming out of Maghull the canal turned yellow with masses of water lilies. A channel through them has been kept clear by the passing boats. Above the blue sky had been combed with cloud, suggesting a front was coming our way. Yellow trains crossed the railway bridge, we should have brought Lillian as she would have completed the picture.

As we approached Bridge 10 the gap in the lilies broadened so we pulled in to moor. This would leave us with the bridge to do in the morning and a miles cruise to reach bridge 9 which is operated by C&RT between 9.30 and 10.30. When we came into Liverpool on NB Winding Down we waited the night at bridge 9, but there wouldn’t have been so good for Tilly due to a busy road.

NB Tranquility pulled in too and after we’d both tied up we chatted away until the heavens opened with very large rain drops, so we retired to our boats leaving the rain for Tilly to enjoy for the rest of the afternoon.

During the afternoon, boats exiting Liverpool have come past, one stopping and so far another three boats have arrived presumably going into the docks tomorrow too.

We have both read the skippers guide to the link and I have found our paper copy from 2012 to have at hand tomorrow. Only one thing appears to have changed since then and that is the operation of Prince’s Dock Lock. Back in 2012 it says that this can only be operated by staff, now it doesn’t mention this, so maybe we get to do it ourselves. We’ll find out tomorrow.

0 Locks, 7.75 miles, 5 swing bridges, 3 done for us holding up 9, 1 held up by me! 1 yellow lined route, 2 yellow trains, 2 cathedrals, 1 soggy moggy, 1 boat waiting for the morning, 1 camera on charge, 1 loaf of bread rising on the bread shelf.

The voice of Houdini had spoken and Tom had just got up to make tea. This normally means I get a ding ding which means biscuits, then I return to bed to keep toes warm for at least two cat naps. Repeated ‘No’s follows this before I go back to bed and have quite a few cat naps before I need to check the progress on the outside being moved. But today it was very different! Instead of ding ding Tom let three men onto our boat, I didn’t see any cutlasses, but they certainly cut things up and stole stuff too that I’d never seen before. Was this Oleannas treasure? They were everywhere, I wasn’t allowed to hide under the sink, so took to sitting in the bow. But this wasn’t safe either so I had to jump ship and hope that Tom and her could defend our boat. I spied some trees and headed straight for them, keeping an eye on what was going on, from afar.

Once there was access to the bilges Louis started to appear with the brick ballast. Using a bent metal rod he was able to pull the ballast towards the hole and remove it from one section of the floor.

Next the fridge was pulled out. We’d asked for some holes to be drilled under it to help ventilate the bilges. These were used to also cut a hole to remove more ballast.  With the bricks mounting up in the van, we were all glad that they could get the van within about 10ft of the boat. Oleannas stern started to rise out of the water reducing her draught.

A vent  was added to the dinette to help ventilate the freezer and holes were drilled into the drawer and floor below it to help with air flow. However there doesn’t seem to be enough insulation on the front face of the freezer, so it is causing condensation to form. We will source some foam that we can add to it to help solve the problem. The front door bolt hole had been filling with rainwater, so this had another smaller hole drilled right through it so that it would self drain. An extra thickness was added to the frame around our roof hatch where water had got in. Extra sealant was added in the galley and bathroom, just where water seems to congregate. A catch in the cat proof cupboard was moved to make it cat proof. Wood locker lids had an edge cut down to help reduce them from marking the paintwork when they are lifted off. A second shelf in the pan cupboard was fitted, this now needs reorganising. One of the bathroom doors was given a bit more room so as not to catch on hot days.

Whilst all this was going on Mick and I had nowhere to be as you can imagine. So for a while we put our towpath chairs out in the car park and chatted to a chap who used to run the pub and local boaters as they turned up in their cars. Every now and then we were called upon to move our possessions about, or it would start to rain so we went inside to stand where we wouldn’t be in the way. Next big thing was to strip the bed so that ballast underneath could be removed. The van was moved to be closer to the bow and a human chain was made to remove the 25kg sheets of steel from below our bed. Once the gas locker vents were in view a spirit level was pooped on top of the cratch board to check if Oleanna was level from side to side. One piece of steel needed to go back on.

The leak on the chimney was looked at and some silicone added to where water might have been getting in. We are still concerned that the fixed chimney is too high to get under some bridges. Louis will check the regulations as this isn’t the side of things he deals with. Then with everything else ticked off the list the three of them started to sort out the fairleads. We had a pair that weren’t a pair, different designs, they had also been put on the wrong sides of the bow. A new pair were fixed on, the right way (not the Ken way) round and at one point the gas locker vents must definitely have been back under water as all three of them were on the bow of Oleanna.

It was just gone 1pm and the chaps had only really had a ten minute break to have something to eat. A very efficient mornings work from them all. We waved them goodbye, called for Tilly who came running home and then sat down for some much needed breakfast lunch.

0 locks, 4.54 miles, 2 swing bridges, 11 held up, 7am! 3 thieves, 100 plus bricks removed, 200 kg plus of steel removed, 10 holes, 1 vent, 1 sharp tug, 0 batteries, 3 skilled chaps, 1 bow, 1 Kris Shhh, 1 heavy van, 6 hours enforced freedom, 1 cat glad to be home, 2nd pub mooring, 3.5 pints, 2 burgers, 6 scoups chilled medication, 1 lightweight boat, 1 water line in need of a Gorrie clean.

1. Improbable Fiction a play by Alan Ayckbourn where the actors have to change their costumes at the end of act one and all the way through act two very quickly! From modern day, to Victorian, to 20’s, to Science Fiction, to Goblin and Squirrel. Well worth seeing.
2. Being Franked. Frank was the master carpenter and when he had built things I would paint them. Quite often I would be delayed.
3. Just in case. When going to fit up a show at another theatre, the van would be packed and always include an amount of ‘just incase’ pieces of wood Frank insisted on taking. Just incase!