I’d just finished doing my exercises this morning when I could hear voices at the blue boat ahead of us. I peeked out of the bow blinds there was a CRT chap chatting to the crew, he had a life jacket on and I thought I spied another person down at the lock, possibly unlocking it. I flung on some clothes and shoes, disguising my pyjamas so I could go out and see what was happening.
Navigational advice was being passed on to the crew, low pipe bridge, put the paddle down before filling etc. I then asked about the tail bridge at 37E, Kevin (the chap from CRT) ‘Ahh, yes I’d forgotten about that. Hang on.’ He made a phone call, apparently it was being mended this morning. He set off down the locks to check how things were progressing. Time to chat to the neighbours, a boat from Strawberry Island in Doncaster, this has been their first proper summer out and about.
Of course I asked how they’d faired on the Diggle flight. They’d been warned about one pound possibly being low, but it was all fine, no problems! There had been at least one if not two boats go down the flight since we’d come up and we’d most probably sorted the levels out for all of them.
Kevin came back, the bridge would be sorted in an hour so the blue boat could head on, so could we if we wanted to. Well I really didn’t want to tackle a flight single handing, especially the Marsden flight. I checked it would be fine for tomorrow. It was.
Eggy Bread!!!
Currently you have to book the Marsden flight and Lock 1E in Huddersfield. This is to help preserve water levels. Leaving tomorrow morning we simply wouldn’t manage to reach 1E for Thursday morning when we were booked to go through, 41 locks and about 7 miles away. The next possible day to go through was already fully booked, I asked if there was any way to get round this, Kevin said he’d sort it and give me a call later on to confirm.
Back on board for breakfast, now more like an early lunch! There was half an egg left from making Nan bread so I made myself some eggy bread for the first time in decades. I discovered that gluten free bread isn’t so good for it, it has an inability to hold itself together when dry, never mind when it’s got an eggy coating! All the same it was nice with a sprinkling of sugar.
I had a quick tidy up, sweep through and spent some time dissuading Tilly from wanting to go out. Mick in Scarborough was suffereing a little from having had both flu and covid jabs yesterday along with a cold. He’d contemplated staying in Scarborough another night, but with news that the locks were open he’d head back as originally planned. If only the roofer people had come on Monday or cancelled earlier we’d have been able to do the Marsden flight today! Oh well.
Jamie Olivers gf Carrot Cake
Kevin called back. The top lock had been left open for us to use in the morning and he’d bypassed the system booking us in at Lock 1E. The system allows two boats in each direction through the lock, twice a week. With no-one booked to go up he’d been allowed to add us onto the list, not that the people who lift the stop planks know who’s booked anyway, they just let the boats waiting through. Lifting the stop planks is easy, it’s putting them back in again and ashing it up which takes the time, so the more boats through the better. That’s as long as there’s sufficient water!
Sadly no volunteers would be available to help us down from Marsden. But we’d had an offer from Paul Balmer of Waterway Routes to come and assist, so contact was made and plans put together.
Mick got in touch saying he’d be on an earlier train, Brian from NB Alton the coal boat was willing to deliver coal and diesel to us as he was delivering to parts of Manchester today, it would be late on.
Some baking for our volunteer tomorrow was needed. It also meant I could check the temperature in the top oven. Recently things in the main oven seem to be cooking a little bit too quickly, but the top oven has been behaving. Todays cake baking has confirmed the top oven is fine. Next time I use the main oven it will also get checked now I’ve dug out the oven thermometer.
Top oven correct
When Mick returned we nudged up closer to the top lock so Brian didn’t have so far to bring us coal and 40 litres of diesel. Eta was 7pm, and bang on the dot he arrived. Refuelling was done in the dark. Big thank you’s to Brian for venturing over the top and into Yorkshire to get to us, then we moved back to where we’d come from on a more level mooring!
0 locks, 120ft forwards, 120ft back, 1 sparking chimney, 1 carrot cake, Gas mark 5, 350 F, 0 shore leave for Tilly, 2 boaters now on lemsip!
Mick has developed a cold over the last couple of days. I’m doing my best to avoid it, so I’m trying to avoid touching things he’s touched, sharing the same air won’t be helping, but I’m hoping to fend off getting it for a week if possible as I have a hospital appointment amongst other things.
A month old!
So this morning I was on tea and Lemsip duty. This is normally Micks job as he’s on that side of the bed and he hands me my tea. This morning I was scrabbling my way back to my side of the bed ( we have a cross bed) trying my best not to spill any tea when the alarm above our heads sounded. A red flashing light and three beeps. This meant there was a fire. Not that we were aware of. I pressed the button to silence the alarm. We took it off it’s base and Mick tried to reset it. It did nothing! Was this a dud detector? Only a month old! Mick spent some of the day checking things on line and it turns out the detector was fine, it just turns itself off when not on it’s base on the ceiling. Why had it sounded? Steam from my tea!
Subjects included Radio Caroline, sausage casserole, cousins in Gravesend and tying Aunts in armchairs! Everyone was present this morning for zoom, even if our internet kept dropping out in a somewhat annoying manor, so we only got part of the story from John about the PS Waverley passing Radio Caroline a few days ago.
This morning seemed to be dry enough to add another coat onto the mushroom vent. Mixing, brushing followed, the starboard side grabrail bits got another coat too. If my knees hadn’t been playing up so much I’d have done the port side as well, but balancing on a gunnel with nowhere to step back to at the moment is not on the cards, my knees are burning whilst doing nothing, so that side of the boat will have to wait.
Current location!
Just about as soon as I’d finished it started to spit! Oh well, I’m trying my best considering my phone currently thinks I’m just to the west of Moscow! Mick seems to have this happen to his phone too at the moment. Are the Russians checking up on us? Anyone else get the weather in Russia rather then West Yorkshire? They are expecting thunder storms tomorrow.
Marsden Mechanics standing out from the crowd
This afternoon I headed off down the Marsden flight of locks to see what I could see at lock 37E, the lock which has closed the flight has a dangerous bridge. Despite it being a grey day the flight is still pretty with the occasional glimpse across the valley.
Apples ready to bob
Below lock 39E there were numerous apples bobbing about waiting for Halloween, none of them had toffee coatings though!
The Blue Peter Lock or Smudgees Lock 37E
Lock 37E is the Blue Peter lock with a shield on both bottom gates. Orange fencing was draped around the tail bridge. On the far side I could see what looked like rotten wood on one of the uprights to the handrail. With a suitably sized baulk of timber and carpentry tools and skills it didn’t look like it would be a long job to mend. Hopefully it will be sorted tomorrow.
I didn’t want to do anymore down hill so headed back up. There are a new cabins that have been built alongside the canal, A Place in the Pennines. The office looks like it is in a blue narrowboat next to the care takers cabin. They look nice and I suspect they have good views from their terraces across the valley.
Views
I walked up the hill, hoping I’d stay on the level more to return to the boat. Past houses all with great views over the top of one another and along to the station. Steep stairs lead down to the platforms, I’ll enjoy those tomorrow!
Socks!
Back on Oleanna, Mick was snoozing by the stove. I got out my box of socks to weave ends in. Three pairs in total. I had a sponsorship for four pairs so have been waiting for them all to be finished along with the next pair and then take more photos. My box is now full. By the end of the evening and the ninth episode of Traitors NZ I’d finished off pair 40, ends weaved in too. 40 weeks 40 pairs! Yarn has already been selected for the next pair, they’ll get started on the train tomorrow.
Hopefully this is an easy fix
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 broken handrail, 2nd coat, 1 very bored cat, 5 siblings, 1 dodgy alarm mended? 6 pairs of socks waiting to be posted.
Up early, we moved to the tunnel portal a little after 8am. With the water tank filling we had breakfast, there was hardly likely to be anyone turning up for a few hours and we knew roughly when they’d be arriving.
At 8.30 someone arrived from CRT to unlock the tunnel gates. They asked us once we’d filled the tank to move back so there would be space for the boat coming through from Marsden, they’d be setting off shortly and would arrive around 10.30. We did as instructed and then got on with preparing Oleanna for the tunnel.
I might stay in amongst the washing today thanks
Mick forgets the things we did last time. A similar conversation as the one we had before trying Froghall Tunnel. The pram cover and frame were removed. Cratch cover taken off and stowed inside. Poo buckets removed from on top of the gas locker and popped in the well deck, space was made for me to be able to sit there. Next the nav lights were removed just leaving the wires wrapped in lx tape sticking out of the cabin sides. Bags of coal flattened on the roof, all planks, poles etc put into the gutters. Top of the chimney removed, the stove had been left to go out overnight.
Horns at the ready
I got a message on my phone, could I please call someone back from CRT. I first thought it might be to do with our near miss yesterday, however it was about a closure ahead of us. There was a bridge at one of the Marsden Locks which engineers had deemed not safe. The bridge is the only means of getting to the offside to open and close the gates. It would be looked at again on Monday and hopefully they’d have us on the move again soon. The flight is kept locked to help conserve water and you have to book a passage down. Our journey down the east side of the HNC had been planned around various things. So hopefully they will be able to get us down on suitable days. The chap on the phone told me all the good things we’d be able to do in Marsden over the weekend. There are worse places we could get stuck.
Their return journey through the tunnel
At 10.15 I could see a light in the tunnel. At 10.30 the bow of a hire boat appeared from the dark. A lady stood at the front, three chaps in high-vis at the stern, a dog started to bark it’s head off inside the cabin.
Checking we’ll fit through
David and Stuart came over to see us. David checked to see if we knew about the Marsden flight being closed, did we still want to go through the tunnel? Yes please, even if we have to wait a few days it would still be better than going the long way round to Yorkshire. Oleanna was measured, the top of the pan covering the removed mushroom vent deemed to be the highest point. Depth under the water. 1ft 4″! No chance!! They tried again, 2ft 4″, more like it. Across the top of the cabin at the bow, 4ft 11″, just under the 5ft we’d been told about for Froghall Tunnel. We’d fit.
David, Mick and Stuart
Gas turned off, cuppas made for those who wanted one with the electric kettle. Safety briefing given. Tilly was noted, yes we would be able to climb a ladder if needs be and walk 1.5km. We passed, now we just had to wait the required 3/4 of an hour after the last boat had left before we could go in, this helps fumes to clear.
Going under the railway
With all cabin lights on, we hoped Tilly would have a better journey through the tunnel than she did last time. I actually don’t know how she fared as I didn’t hear her or see her once in the 90 minutes it took us to get through.
Neat archway
On our first trip through on NB Lillyanne Mick had been at the helm, I sat at the stern along with the chaperone from CRT who gave us a good running commentary along with guiding Mick around the S bend in the middle of the tunnel. Three years ago there was still social distancing, Oleanna’s stern was just big enough for the chaperone to be with Mick at the stern, or the chaperone could be at the helm. Mick opted to sit at the bow with me so he could enjoy the trip through rather than spend all his time concentrating. This was quite a noisy affair, every bump or scrape could be heard, we winced quite a few times but were then relived when there was no noticeable damage.
Sprayed concrete and a giant spider
Today Mick opted to be at the helm. David and Stuart would be with him at the stern and I would be alone at the front. There were two of them today as Stuart is in training for Tunnel Control, but needs to know the tunnel too.
Stone
A large lamp was positioned on our gas locker, fire extinguisher and various gas monitors were positioned at the stern. A large crate of stuff and a spare light were popped in the bow with me.
At the bow I had a cushion to sit on, camera and phone. I’d wanted to set up a time lapse, but because of yesterdays drama had totally forgotten about it. I’d also forgotten to give the cratch window a good clean! Oh well, at least we were here and about to go through!
At 11.15 Oleanna was pushed out. A chap who’d been walking up the Diggle flight yesterday had brought his family to watch us. I said we’d race them to the other end. Then we were in the tunnel, brick lined arched roof. Then the roof line flattens out where the rail tunnel crosses over head to travel for the majority of the way on our left hand side.
Craggy reflections
The tunnel was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1794. Construction began a few months later. Within two years cost saving measures and water levels pushed back the tunnels completion date. Thomas Telford took over and drew up a new plan for the tunnels completion and in 1811 it opened. By 1943 it was closed but with the restoration of the canal it reopened in 2001.
That bit goes up some way
Three other tunnels head through the hillside. The first rail tunnel was built in 1848, a second in 1871 these were both to the east of the canal tunnel. The canal was used to remove spoil as the other tunnels were dug and adits were created between them. Then a third rail tunnel was made, this one crossed over the canal tunnel from the east, runs along side it then back over to the east side before resurfacing at Marsden. This was built in 1894 and is the one used today.
The white lines are the drill holes
The interior of the tunnel varies so much. Arched brickwork, Brickwork with ribs giving it more support, several different types of rock. On some stretches you can see where holes were drilled to insert explosives, here there and everywhere.
There are ties holding up the roof, sections where concrete has been sprayed over the surface to keep it more stable. Stone block sections.
Hello!
Small tunnels head off to the east, adits leading to the old rail tunnels where a CRT van follows your progress. Some of these are well lit, and a high-vis chap stood waiting for us, he could also be seen on one of the walk ways that cross overhead to the current rail tunnel. The accompanying van may soon be a thing of the past as new communications have been installed. On our roof we’d had a radio repeater added for our journey. Every now and then there would be something similar attached to the roof of the tunnel, glowing like a UFO as our lights caught it. At each adit the person in the van acknowledged us, but then David would radio Tunnel Control with our location. The system is still being tested, but once it is okayed the driver will no longer be needed in the other tunnel.
Our progress was steady. Quite a bit of bumping about. We discussed this later no, Mick wasn’t aware of as much bumping as I was at the bow, maybe on Lillyanne we’d done a similar amount but not been aware of it.
As with just about all tunnels there are wet bits. I’d put full waterproofs on knowing how wet I’d got last time. One spout of water pulsated towards the cabin side as we passed. Other water features were just a wall of water to pass through. At each one I would stand up and try to position myself under the cratch board, I still got quite wet! Mick at the stern had David and Stuart stand up at one time blocking his view.
This way out! or should we just go straight on?
Small pieces of wood could occasionally be seen on the roof. These were Leggers boards, they had numbers written on them so that the leggers would know where they were. I also spotted quite a few red plastic cotton reels attached to the walls, no idea what these were and forgot to ask about them.
David gave Mick instructions when we reached the S bend, slow, to the right a bit, don’t be tempted to turn just yet, go over a touch. All very helpful instructions and making sure we avoided any overhanging sections of wall that might get our cabin sides. Now Mick was asked to pick up pace, the trip boat was due to come into the tunnel at 1pm and it would be good if we were clear before then.
We popped out into the sunshine of West Yorkshire at 12.45 an hour and a half after entering.
All the kit was removed from Oleanna quicky and we pushed over to the off side for lunch. Over lunch we discussed what to do. We wondered if we could stay here on the offside, there’d be no boats heading for the tunnel over the weekend due to the Marsden flight being closed. Mick went over and chatted to the volunteers (they have 100 on this side of the HNC), he was told it would be fine to stay.
Marsden Tunnel End
As we put Oleanna back together we waited for trains to come past. An educated guess on a train from Manchester was waved at, Josh was most probably on it heading to York for a weekend with Andrew and Jac. I’d sent him instructions on where to look as soon as he was through the tunnel, but it being his first time on the train route he almost certainly missed us.
The Cat H&S committee looked round. Perfect for Tilly apart from one thing, the railway line. Yes there is a good fence that she’d not be able to get through. But the fence was certainly climbable, it also has several trees very closeby which she’d be up like a shot. So very sadly cat shore leave wasn’t going to be on the cards.
Reminds me of a panto I once designed
Mick swept the chimney and cleaned the stove out before relighting the fire. I prepared a beef and beetroot curry, starting it off in the oven. We think the thermostat has got problems in the main oven, after an hour the curry had dried out and starting to burn around the edges. More water was added and it was then moved to on top of the stove to carry on cooking slowly. A very nice meal in the end with enough left over for a meal in a day or two.
0 locks, 3.3 miles, 5677 yards underground, 2nd boat moving on the HNC (excluding trip boats), 2 volunteers 1 cat in amongst the washing, 1 sodden cushion, 1 soggy pair of pants, 1 wave to a nephew, 3rd time, 1 flight ahead closed, 90 minutes in the dark, 0 3rd edition wanted, 1 much better day than yesterday.
Just the last eleven locks up to the summit today, that’s all. They shouldn’t take us long to do. We already knew we might have trouble with one pound being low, it’s been low the last two times we’ve come this way. Our map suggested it would be about 2.5 hours, we added a bit more for good measure but we should still be moored up in time for lunch and to give Tilly some shore leave.
Escape pod!
Before we pushed off I got Tilly’s Escape Pod out of the cupboard and zipped it together, she was straight in it before I’d even got the top on. Should anything go wrong in the tunnel tomorrow we’d need the pod at the ready, so best to get it ready today and let Tilly move back into one of her favourite places, only when the doors not closed!
Mick walking up to the lock
The first two locks were the same as the one’s we’d come up. Although Lime Kiln Lock can’t quite be classed as just a HNC lock. It has Saddleworth Railway Viaduct right across the bottom of it. Then there is Mytholm Bridge just below the lock too. The approach is slightly skewed and I half expected to mess it up, with a bywash coming towards me at the same time, but no it was pretty easy. Up Oleanna rose in possibly the most picturesque lock on the west side of the canal.
Another fender to add to our collection!
We pulled in at the services, topped up on water, the washing machine running, emptied yellow water and refreshed Tilly’s toilet. The weed hatch was also checked. No weed but a fairly new looking rope fender! Mick walked up to set the next lock.
The Diggle flight have single big bottom gates, similar to those south of Banbury on the South Oxford. All the paddles are on the lock beam side of each lock. The bottom paddles are geared and have a pawl to keep them in place. The top paddles wind up as normal but the pawl on these is a flat bar that you need to angle in to slot into place to hold everything up.
Views
We worked our way up the first two locks without too much bother. Then there was the expected low pound. It was VERY low. Mick lifted the paddles to fill the lock, no chance of getting over the cill without more water. He walked up to the next lock and ran water down through the lock. He also called C&RT to check it would be okay for us to do this, they were fine about it. The next pound looking pretty healthy, it wouldn’t stay that way as the one we were trying to raise was really quite big. Mick phoned me, would I prefer him to be at the helm through a low pound, so for us to revert to the A team. I did, so he returned and helped me climb off the boat with the aid of the stern lockers. We needed so much water to fill the pound enough to get over the cill. I walked up ahead and once Oleanna was over the cill and in the pound I closed the top paddles on the lock, let it finish emptying and opened the bottom gate, hoping the pound was deep enough to get across. Thankfully it was. Once Oleanna was in 27W I returned to close the gate at 26W.
More views including a low pound
The same process was now required to rise up the next lock 27W, the pound above very depleted of water. I walked up to 28W and ran water down, Once over the cill Mick managed to encourage the gate to close behind him, the flow of water into the pound helping and saving me the walk back down to do the job myself.
That’ll need a bit more water!
Coming across
Same process at 28W, each pound above was lowered just enough to get Oleanna from one lock to the next. Each time, each pound above looked that bit higher than the one below.
All the stone work
Getting across from 28W to 29W was a little bit more tricksy, getting over the bottom cill took more effort. All the way up the flight we’d had walkers stopping for a chat, saying how they’d never seen the pounds look so low, it must happen especially for us! A chap possibly with a dog had walked up, not chatted then sat down on the bench to admire the view.
Lock 29W we will never forget you!
I stayed to see how we’d do. Opened the top gate when it was level. A guestimate on how deep the water was over the cill had been met. I closed the top paddles and waited to close the gate. We now should be fine.
Mick gently brought Oleanna forward to the cill. Her bow crossed it, but then she came to a sudden stop. Possibly the cill or was there something under the water stopping her. We’d need more water to get her over whatever was stopping her. I started to walk up to the next lock, Mick put Oleanna in reverse to get away from the cill.
Mick shouted. ‘QUICK, really QUICKLY!‘ He’d not been able to get Oleanna to reverse. She was sitting on the top cill. The bottom of the lock was doing it’s best to empty itself!!
I ran. I ran. The towpath curved around the pound, a small bridge to cross over the bywash, up the side of the lock was steep. Which paddles to lift first? I have no idea if there was any water in the lock or not. One bottom paddle was raised, followed by both top paddles, then the second bottom paddle. Now all I could do was gasp for air and watch through the camera 100 meters away.
Mick had climbed off Oleanna, he wound the top paddles up as Oleanna was stopping water from getting past and into the lock chamber. The first paddle dropped and needed lifting again. He was wondering should he get Tilly off, would she be nice and comfortable in her escape pod, easy to pick up. But adding weight to Oleanna would be a really bad thing.
S**T!!!!
All we could do now was watch, hope there was enough water getting into the lock. Mick walked to the bottom gates, checked the paddles were down, they were, but there was still a big leak. From 100 meters away the angle Oleanna had reached was alarming, I suspect it was more alarming close to. Had we done everything in time? Would she rise back up? Or had she reached the point of no return.
I could make out cabin sides again
What felt like a good ten minutes actually it was only one. Oleanna’s stern seemed to be coming back up. Taking a photo to check whilst out of breath and with shaky hands was hard to get in focus. Thankfully down at lock 29W Oleanna was floating again and Mick had to get back onboard to stop her from hitting the bottom gates.
Floated back into the lock behind the cill mark
Mick rang, ‘She’s floating!’ ‘I’m going to lift the engine board to check if any water got into the engine bay’. He disappeared from view, then reappeared, waited a while then gently brought her out of the lock. THANK F**K for that!! The gate closed behind and Oleanna made her way across the pound to 30W.
Over the cill away from danger
The only witness to her very near sinking was a dog who’s owner had sat admiring the view all the time a major drama had been happening behind him. As the lock gate closed, the man stood up and walked away with his dog, totally oblivious.
Up 30W, we had a moment as the lock levelled out. It had possibly only been a matter of a few seconds between saving the situation or sinking. If Oleanna’s stern had got any lower and water got in through the engine vent that would have been it!
The next pound was a touch low. We made sure the top paddles were left open until Oleanna was well clear of the cill.
I walked on to 31W. My phone rang. It was a jolly chap from Standedge Tunnel control checking to see if we’d made it up to Diggle yet and were we still on for our booked passage tomorrow morning. Two more locks to go. I asked if I should report our incident to him or was it the west side of the HNC we should contact. West side, he was the East.
Last lock of a the day
Grandpa Greens looked attractive as we came up the next lock, but we refrained from indulging. I have to say I was extremly relieved when I opened the top gate on lock 32W and Oleanna easily passed over the cill and onto the top pound of the HNC.
Now, which tree first?
We moored up. The only thing out of place inside was a galley drawer. Tilly was checked on. What’s all this with the big hug! Yuck!! It looks great here, just get on and let me out!
Pan off, attachment of doom on
The flight had taken us 4.5 hours, it was time for a late lunch. The sun was out. Time to carry on with prep work for the grabrails. The attachment of doom was attached to the drill and I ground back the fertaned rust patches to bright steel. Then another coat of fertan which could work it’s magic overnight.
Our new roof light
11 locks, 1.6 miles, 1 extremely close call, 2 boaters who will never close top paddles on a low pound again! 100 meters personal best, 1 canine witness, 1 horrible day, 29W reported, 1 grab rail prepped, 4 hours, 2 many pesky woofers!
Bullocks Bridge to almost Hyde Bank Tunnel, Peak Forest Canal
We really need to get better at getting a move on in the mornings, we didn’t get going until 10:45, we’d a bit of catching up to do from yesterday, plus a flight of locks along with other things.
Three miles to Marple, it was windy! We were glad to see the chap still has his collection of things at Bullocks Bridge, spotted a boat that had come up Bosley ahead of us a few years ago, it doesn’t look like it ventures far now. A cat got a chin rub from a passerby, then had a serious grump on at a woofer on the towpath. Passing Goyt’s Mill a gust of wind caught my cap and very nearly had it in the drink!
A message came through from our house. A leak had manifested itself overnight following feral weather on the North Yorkshire coast. Some time was spent trying to talk to someone who’d be able to at least go and have a look to see what the problem was, all we got were answer phones to talk to, hopefully someone will call back.
Sylvester and Peter keeping an eye open for fly tippers at the services
There was one space left in Marple, we tried pulling in, the wind making it hard so an Andy manoeuvre was required. All very well except the local ducks were convinced I’d have several slices of white sliced and were positioning themselves right in the crush zone. I waggled my hands to try to get them to move, but they just thought it was pre-dinner entertainment and Mick thought I was suggesting he brought Oleanna in further. No ducks were harmed in the end and all they got from us was the weed on Oleanna’s hull.
Mick had a prescription to pick up and a pint of milk to buy. Then it was lunchtime. Then we could push off again. The new services in Marple have opened, big fanfare! They have been closed for years whilst some new housing was being built. But now there is a stone built building with elsan, water, toilet and if you go around the corner behind a locked door is a room filled with red Biffa Bins of all varieties! I should have hung onto our recycling. There are also many bird boxes, bird feeders and a rather nice bench all provided by Marple Men in Sheds. There are also five EV charging points, each space was full, no car was charging up though.
They saved the best till last
Under THE Macclesfield roving bridge and the end of the Macclesfield Canal. Left please! The top of the Marple flight of 16 locks, a drop of 207ft 10″ that’s very nearly 13ft each. Mick hopped off and topped up the top lock. Then we were on our way down.
Going down
A chap stopped to chat, as the water dropped I had to excuse myself as I’d no longer be able to hear him as Oleanna descended into the depths. He went to chat to Mick who had now come back having set the lock below filling. In Lock 15 I had quite a wait, Mick came back saying there was a boat coming up. With the pounds here being quite short and the wind blowing a hoolie we swapped over, he could do the do-ci-do.
Mick waiting to move across the pound
The lock below us had it’s bottom gates open, I could see the interested chap chatting away to the man from the uphill boat, the lock ready, but just chatting. They moved over into the next lock, once the bottom gates were closed I lifted a paddle so our locks worth of water would help fill their lock rather than just run round over the bywash. I opened our gates, the lady from the boat below opened her gate, the chap ignored the fact that the lock was ready and carried on chatting on the stern. Come ON!!!! Wake up smell the coffee!! The lady shouted repeatedly to him, I was about to join in and Mick had the back door of Oleanna open ready to give a blast on the horn. He looked up, ‘oh it’s ready, are the next gates open?’ Yes and there’s a boat that’s been patiently waiting for you to get a move on. The lady and I smiled a knowing smile at each other, we were on our way again.
Gate beams overhang the lock bridges
There’s always gongoozlers down Marple. There’s always pissers coming out of the lock walls going down Marple. In the next lock we paused so I could go below to close all the windows to save having puddles inside. The wind blew, the bywashes flowed making some hovering a little difficult. Mostly Mick walked on ahead to set the next lock filling whilst I closed the top gate and dropped paddles before waiting for him to return. One gongoozler said Mick was walking three times as far as the boat was moving. True.
Sunshine!
The sun was out. In a couple of weeks the flight will be filled with golden trees, today it was still pretty.
New stonework on the right
One of the locks had very new looking paddle gear on the top gate, a recent stoppage this last week. Then as the water level dropped in one lock we could see where it had been rebuilt recently. New stone work with dints in it to try to mimic the older stonework. The Marple locks have had a tendency to narrow and several have had to be rebuilt in the last few years as they have narrowed too much. Quite a lot of the stone work overhangs in some of the chambers, stepping out by a few inches!
Fancy stone work either side below the lock
The bottom gates overhang the lock bridges, meaning you can operate the gates from the bridge, you just need to climb up to the top to operate the paddles. I’m a little bit short for some of the gates, but Mick didn’t seem to have a problem with them.
Closing the top gate
From above
A boat was heading up, a lady appeared with a windlass. ‘They don’t half take time to fill these locks’ she said. As I passed NB Somerton the chap at the stern made mention of Tilly, I think his dog sat on the roof was Hannah. Nice to meet you even though very briefly.
Rows of Chocolate Fingers to help you get your grip (just humour me)
We descended the next lock, Mick said we’ll see how well the next few retain their water and I said to myself how nice it was that all the pounds were full, no struggling to get over cills today.
Where’s Mick?
Then at the next lock we discovered why the uphill boat had been taking their time to ascend, a bottom paddle a good few inches up, there was also a top paddle partly open too. Some of the paddles won’t close fully if the gate is open, Mick had had to return to a few himself as we came down the flight.
Across the aqueduct to the viaduct
Under the railway and across the aqueduct, views out towards the north east. Through Rose Hill Tunnel, no longer with a roof. We were now at our preferred mooring, but so were quite a few other boats. It took us a little while to be able to find a place to pull in close enough to the bank, only slightly on a list!
16 locks, 4.6 miles, 1 left, 1 new service block, 2 look outs, 1 months pills, 1 pint, 1 hat saved, 1 aqueduct, 1 very slow man, 1 hire boat catching us up, 0 time for shore leave.
The aim was to set off at 10am this morning. Bridget and Storm were going to see if they could park their van up near Red Bull, if they could then they’d walk back down the locks to meet us, we got a message to say they’d succeeded. We pushed off in the slightly chilly morning.
ZZ Top just about to push out and Bridget waiting for us
As we approached the bottom of the Lawton Locks we could see we’d caught up with the ZZ Top boat, they were American, husband, wife and brother. One of them had walked up to set the locks ahead and our crew sat on the lock beams awaiting our arrival, both bottom locks open and awaiting a boat.
With three crew we were up the first lock quicker, Mick, Storm and Bridget lifted paddles for the other boat on the paired lock. Next a single lock, we moved on first leading the way and lifting a paddle to empty the lock behind us.
Storm ready to close gates
With locks already empty ahead and three experienced crew we were sailing up the locks. It’s lovely to have extra hands to help, but even better when you just know they know what they are doing and should anything go wrong they will react in a necessary way. One person could happily walk on ahead to open gates.
Halls Lock 49
By Halls Lock the sun had burnt through any morning mist that had lingered, it was going to be another wonderful day on the cut.
Crew ideally positioned
At Church Bottom and Top Lock a chap appeared with a windlass wanting to come down, we left the bottom lock with it’s gate open for him. But then there was no sign of him and his boat. ZZ Top could be seen approaching, Bridget walked down to let them know what was happening, just as the chap rounded the bend towards the top lock.
ZZ Top coming up behind
Everyone hopped on board to cruise up to the next line of locks. I could move Oleanna straight from one lock to the next with such efficient crew. Only one downhill boat was passed and that was just below Red Bull Lock.
The building here used to be C&RT offices, but there are new owners now. Despite the big blue sign boasting all the services here, there is now a padlock on the toilet and shower door, these services now lost to boaters. A long time ago there used to be washing machines and driers here too. At least there is still water, rubbish, elsan and a pump out.
Here a gang of C&RT volunteers were packing up for the day, they tend to trim the towpath and keep things looking neat and tidy along this stretch, they do a very good job. As Oleanna rose in Red Bull Lock one of the volunteers came to chat. It was obvious we wouldn’t be needing an extra pair of hands. He asked Bridget which way we were going, he wanted to make sure we knew about the current stoppage at Bosley Locks, the summit pound of the Macclesfield currently closed after a sluice malfunctioned dropping the level.
Red Bull in sight
As Oleanna rose I got chance to chat to Ken, the volunteer. He normally works the Bosley flight but as it’s closed he’d come to join the work party here, then see if he could be of assistance to anyone. Our chosen route to Yorkshire is via the Macc, we’re hoping that the levels improve before we get there. Ken thought they might reopen the locks later today, it shouldn’t be too long anyway. We still have a back up plan should anything ahead of us go wrong, well that was until we later in the day heard that the lock beam at Colwick Lock on the Trent and Mersey had failed and the navigation was now closed!
One more lock to rise up before we stopped for the day. Once moored up, I checked Google Earth, the trees looked safe for Tilly, out she went SHOUTING her head off with excitement. Lunch was had onboard Oleanna with cruising flapjack for pudding. The it was time for Bridget and Storm to head off to their baby sitting duties.
Pip, Mick , Bridget and Storm
What a lovely couple of days it’s been with them. Have they got the boating bug again? I don’t think they ever lost it, at least we’ve given them a fix to keep them going for a while longer.
A load of washing was hung out to dry, then once Tilly returned Mick and I headed off to Tescos for a stock up. Yes Lidl is closer, but they don’t have much in the way of gluten free things for me which needed replenishing. Back on board the stove was lit, I made a giant cauliflower cheese with extras, enough left over for one which was popped in the freezer for later.
Bye bye, see you soon
11 locks, speedily ascended, 2.6 miles, 4 smiling crew, 0 mellow, 1 splattery poo, 1 lovely day to be boating, 4 hours shore leave curtailed to 2, 2 more awarded later, 2 boxes wine, 1 fully laden bike, 1 boat back where it left 2 weeks ago.
Baron’s Quay to Bramble Cuttings, Trent and Mersey Canal
Fog! Who ordered FOG!!!
No choice, we needed to move today. Thankfully as we pootled down to the lift waiting mooring the skies started to clear, still grey but not cloud filled. Tied up half an hour before our booking we could see the caissons were on the move, the chap up top could be seen chatting to a boat that had just gone up, it took ages before we saw the hat of a boater moving towards the aqueduct towards the canal.
Boat Lift
A C&RT person walked round to see us. A few instructions to follow when we got into the lift, and they were ready for us. Round and into the caisson, stern rope tied up, engine off. Time to chat whilst two boats came in from above into the other caisson. Today was the lift operators first day going solo. Having just finished three years at University they were hunting for a job, had worked on the trip boat before and now was working part time on the lift. The occasional glance at a sheet of paper to make sure everything was being done in the right order.
I wonder if the spiders prefer the gate being up or down?
This morning the caisson we were in had had a slight problem. The gates that open to let boats in and out have shot bolts that hold them in place when they are open to boats, one set of them hadn’t been working properly.
They are a safety device, so should anything happen to the winches that move the gates the bolts will hold the gate in place. Anyone who’s ever worked back stage at the SJT will understand this problem very well, as the Round stage is a big lift and every now and again the shot bolts would need a good old hit with a hammer!
Once the two boats were in the other caisson, water drained out from the gap between the gates behind us, we were good to go. That slight judder and we were on our way up.
When originally built in 1875, the lift was operated with hydraulics, water from the River Weaver was used in it’s operation. The caisson going up would be drained just slightly to make it lighter than the other one. The heavier caisson would then sink pushing the water into the other side of the hydraulics and push the lighter caisson up. However the water being used was full of salt from the river and the pipes corroded. In 1882 one of the cast iron hydraulic cylinders burst whilst a boat was at canal level, the caisson descended rapidly, but thankfully water escaping the cylinder slowed the descent and the water filled dock at river level softened the impact!
Cogs right at the top
The hydraulics were replaced by winches above the caissons, extra structure was added to the lift to cope with the extra weight. The winches lifted and dropped the caissons powered by electricity. The conversion happened over two years , but the lift was only closed for 49 days, reopening fully in 1908.
The shiny pole is the hydraulic ram that pushes the caisson up
This worked for quite some time, but commercial boat traffic declined and rust set in. In 2000 major refurbishment was carried out, new hydraulics installed and this is how it works today. The caissons can be moved individually, we think that is what happened 13 years ago, but it is actually cheaper to use both caissons whether there are boats in them or not, the counterbalance meaning they use less electricity. To book your boat on the lift it costs £5. It takes three members of staff to work the lift and if it wasn’t for the trip boat the lift would loose hundreds of pounds a day.
Next year is the boat lifts 150th anniversary. After the summer season it will close again for some more restoration, closing it for 12 to 18 months.
As we reached the top, the lift slows down for the last foot or so. The operator at the top greeted us and gave us our instructions. Once the lift had come to a stop, the gap between gates was filled with water, then the gates open, we move onto the aqueduct. Gate close behind.
Then the gate onto the canal can open. A thumbs up from by the bridge meant the way ahead was clear. A turn right, the only way you can turn out from the lift and we were back on the T&M.
Us
Rubbish needed disposing of so we pulled in behind a boat that had just started filling up with water. I said we were only there to use the bins, ‘They’re getting rid of them!’ came the response. Well this was correct and wrong at the same time. The bin compound as we talked was being dismantled, the biffa bins already gone. However the new skip is there and replacing the bins. Once the compound has been dismantled the skip will be positioned where the bins once were.
Compound being dismantled
We got chatting to the C&RT chap who was wielding a hammer and saw dismantling the bin compound. Recently there have been occasions when one bin was full and someone had put their rubbish bags by that bin, another two bins were empty. Other boaters arrived and just assumed the bins were full and left their rubbish on the floor too. This escalated until Biffa refused to empty the bin as they couldn’t get to it. There is also frequent use by non boaters as a lot of the local tips are now either closed or you are limited in your use. The pump out also gets misused, a new end to the sucky pipe costs in the region of £1000 every time. He said that the services here were ‘this close to being closed for good’ due to misuse.
More power station
Onwards, now on the flat, retracing ourselves along the long pound. At the power station progress was obvious from a week ten days ago. A fifth fan had been added to the sci-fi Swiss chalet structure. We counted the cranes, many different sizes, now 12 of them.
Hi Andy, Nichola and Jez
The sun was out, time to take off our precautionary waterproofs. Was that bow who we thought it was? Were those notes on the bow? A quick exchange of hellos with Andy on NB On A Fiddle, Nichola down below as we passed them.
All mine!
Time to hope for a space at Bramble Cuttings. At 2pm would there be space? Yes! we had the whole mooring to ourselves! A perfect shore leave location for Tilly. I stepped inside gave her the rules and opened the doors straight away, 4 hours! Yeh yeh!
A late lunch for us and self catering for Tilly. With the weather due to be fine for the next few days it was time to attend to a leaking mushroom vent and whilst I was at it scrape off all the rust along the port side grabrail and gunnel! Gosh there was plenty! I also spotted a couple more little bits where the grabrail had caught in Froghall Tunnel.
Mick got busy in the engine bay, an oil change. Tilly was just BUSY!
Down the hole!
Soon we got another neighbour who pulled up right at the far end, no woofer visible. Then an hour later a second boat came in to moor. Mick chatted to the chap and I miss heard thinking it was a boat we’d met a few days ago with a woofer, but there was no dog. Tilly could continue with her shore leave in safety much to the dislike of the squirrels.
Fertanned
Once the worst of the rust had been scraped off, a couple of patches on the cabin side too unfortunately, my knee was starting to complain. I’d really have liked to given things a go over with the attachment of doom, but that would take too long and it also felt wrong to do it at Bramble Cuttings. So instead everything got a coat of Fertan rust inhibitor. Hopefully that will stop things from getting worse before I can attack it again. As it was a lovely warm afternoon I dug out a spray bottle and filled it with water so I could keep the Fertan damp, helping it to do it’s job for longer.
Hooray!!!
Tilly had had a very good afternoon. Plenty of trees climbed and lots of pouncing. I’d had to rescue a few friends and then did my best to persuade Tilly to come in for her dingding. I could tell she was tired as she was doing that belligerent toddler thing of I’m not tired! Look I can do this and walk away from you. This tree hasn’t been climbed yet, so I’ll just do that first. She soon gave in, came inside, had a lick of her dingding and flaked out.
One lovely sunset too
0 locks, 1 boat lift, 9.3 miles, 1 right, 2 many patches of rust, 9.5 litres oil, 4 whole hours! 1 big pan on the roof, pair 37 yarn selected, 12 Mrs Tilly stamp of approval.
Vale Royal Visitor Mooring to Odeon Pontoon, Northwich.
The locks on the River Weaver are open at 9am, we were wanting to get a mooring back in Northwich for the day, so ideally wanted to be on our way as soon as the locks opened. As we pushed off from our mooring Mick made a phone call to the lock, we were on our way from their top side.
We had less than half a mile to cruise to Vale Royal Locks, so took our time. On arrival the lock wasn’t ready, the swing bridge was still across the lock chamber. Was there anyone in sight? It took a while to spot someone in a blue t-shirt, he didn’t seem to be coming to work the lock. Mick checked his phone. Ahh he’d called Hunts Lock not this one! Who leaves Mick to make arrangements and bookings? The chap popped out of the little hut, a volunteer arrived, we got a wave, they were on their way.
8th swing bridge over a lock
The swing bridge had it’s ropes removed that hold it in place and then one of the chaps stood on the end of it as it gradually turned from over the lock, no winding of handles. On closer inspection later we noticed an electric drill was used to rotate the bridge.
We were joined by a boat that had stayed in Winsford last night, they’d had a peaceful night and were now heading into Northwich to moor for an hour or so and visit the market that was meant to be on today. Market! Did someone say Market? I looked for information online. The second Saturday in the month there is an Artisan Market in Northwich.
Spooky faces
We followed them down Hunts lock, then led the way in towards Northwich. Spaces on the wall where we’d moored on Sunday, we pulled up close to a boat already there, our locking partners pulled up close to us. Then Mick spotted a space on the pontoon, that would serve us better, we moved over, thanking the other boat for mentioning the market.
Straight to see what was what. The market stretched for most of Witton Street. Bakers, sausages, cheese, olives, macaroons, gin, beer, scotch eggs, lots to choose from and then stalls of things nobody actually needs in their lives.
There is no point in rushing in to the first stall that has something that looks nice, best to walk round everywhere, see what’s on offer then pounce, or as was the case today, join the queue!
The butchers window
A big sign behind one queue was for a gluten free bakers! Pies, pasties, numerous cakes, we’d certainly be coming back to this stall. Infact other bakery stalls didn’t get a look in. I joined the queue my eye s set on an egg custard, not had one for years. The amount of things people were buying, one chap requested 2 of these, 1 of those, a slice of that cake, a vanilla slice (my ears pricked up at that one), that scotch egg. The lady behind me made a very audible sign, she’d had her eyes on that scotch egg. She asked the baker if there were any more, ‘Sorry last one’ ‘No point queueing then’ She made sure she had words with the chap who had bagged the last scotch egg!
Our edible swag
The pies! Which one? Chicken ham leek and dauphinoise potato .The Sausage rolls, which one of them too? Pork and Black pudding. Oh dear was that a small custard and a vanilla slice that snooked into my bag too! Mick decided he’d see what C Webb and Sons had in the way of pork pies, they had a queue out of the door too. A warm pork pie and a sausage roll. Next we headed to the HS Bourne Cheese chap. Two wedges of treat cheese, some blue Cheshire and some clothbound Cheshire. That was enough edible swag for one day.
This afternoon we walked up to the station, from here we caught the train into Manchester. The London Leckenby’s had arrived in the afternoon with a very full car load, Josh was moving into Halls in Fallowfield at the University. Andrew and Jac had booked into the Ibis Hotel, once The Portland Hotel where I stayed in the early 90’s whilst working on props for the touring version of Phantom of The Opera.
Leckenbys
Big hugs all round, we then walked into the Northern Quarter to find a pub Andrew knew of, this took some time to find, but we got there in the end, it took a while longer to find a table. Beer and wine and lots of loud conversation were had before we then headed to Sweet Mandarin a few minutes walk away. I’d heard very good things about Sweet Mandarin as they have an extensive gf menu, a rare thing for a Chinese Restaurant. The food was very yummy, no-one noticed the lack of gluten. We drank, ate chatted away and had a very good evening.
Now Josh headed off to meet with a friend from Hackney who had also moved to Manchester today. His new life starting as he headed off on the top deck of a bus doing his best to ignore his mothers loud waves! They are seeing him again in the morning for the final goodbye. Another pint in a pub near to Piccadilly Station before we said goodbye to Andrew and Jac. A lovely evening celebrating Josh starting University.
Josh’s first night living in Manchester
2 locks, 3.1 miles, 1 right wrong number, 1 swing bridge, 4 rowing boats, 2 sausage rolls, 2 pies, 2 treat cheeses, 2 pudding yums, 2 trains, 13,893 steps with a pole, 1 new Mancunion, 2 Londoners, 1 old student trying to remember, 1 new student with places to discover, 1 great Chinese meal, 2 many glasses of wine, pairs 51, 52, and 53! 1 cat totally forgotten about!
Blind mans stretch to Winsford to Vale Royal Visitor Moorings
Some shore leave for Tilly as we did our morning routine, she was gone for quite a while but returned before we’d finished breakfast, the doors firmly closed behind her. Time to move on, we’d got the rest of the Weaver to cruise even though it would have been nice to be moored up for a day. Boats had already started going past, NB Lyndsey Jane had pulled onto the pontoon below the boat lift. As we rounded the next bend she could be seen winding and heading back to go up the lift, their time on the river over.
Back to Northwich
We soon caught up with a boat ahead of us, this was Sabrina on her electric boat. She pulled into the moorings in Northwich, there was chance to say a hello, we were carrying on.
Mick tried calling ahead to Hunts Lock. We had two phone numbers, neither of them worked! We’d have to hope someone would see us. First we were to cruise past Northwich dry dock. Here many old boats are moored, including Tyseley, Mikron’s boat, there were also several boats that used to moor in Stone. Two boats sat high up on a sideways slip (not sure what they are called) and boats were most probably in the dry dock under the viaduct which is reached from above Hunts Lock.
Approaching Hunts Lock
Activity could be seen at the lock, this and Vale Royal Lock are both manually operated, lots of handles to turn just like the clown at the end of Camberwick Green. A boat was coming down, perfect.
Our turn, we passed our rope up to the Lock Keeper, he tied it round a bollard and then as we rose up he passed it back down. Mick mentioned about the phone number not working. Apparently there had been a problem with the mobile used at the lock so a new sim had been got, this came with a new number. At the lift we were meant to be given a leaflet, I suspect they’d not bothered as it would have disintegrated in the rain last Sunday. We checked the number, his phone rang. He’d let Vale Royal Locks know we were on our way.
£400,000 click photo for details
The Lock Cottage with it’s immaculate hedge is for sale, it comes with a mooring and it’s garden reaches the end of the lock island.
Now we passed old boat yards on the west bank, several boats sat out on the hard, some under cover. A couple of old fire engines too and a wooden boat shrouded under weather torn tarpaulins.
The number of boats along here has thinned out from 13 years ago, we remember quite big ships.
Is it really round here?
At Vale Royal Locks the lock was waiting for us, we just couldn’t see it as it was tucked in between the bigger lock and a weir that was bobbing us about. Rope passed up, gates wound closed behind us and up we came. Here our discussion about locks with swing bridges over them continued. We are now up to 8 locks with this layout across the system, we’ve been through all of them except Jesus Lock on the River Cam.
We might come back to there
Now the top reach of the river to cruise. We passed a nice stretch of moorings soon after the lock, a good amount of space should we want to come back to it.
The oldest working mine in the country
What was that up ahead? An enclosed pit head? Yep Winsford Rock Salt Mine. A Looooooong conveyor stretched along the bank of the river to one of those salt igloo shaped buildings. It produces on average 1,500,000 tonnes of rock salt a year, used to grit roads in the winter months. The mine was first opened up in 1844, a down turn in the rock salt market forced it to close in 1892 but it reopened in 1928 when another mine near by was subject to flooding. The mine has over 160 miles of tunnels and still has reserves that are estimated to be able to last until 2076. In some of the empty tunnels documents are stored, the National Achieve have over 20 miles of storage.
Mounds of spoil or is it rock salt line the banks, behind trees more industrial units hide. Then the first mooring at Winsford showed itself, sadly with a burnt out narrowboat on it. Under the two bridges then round to the right then a hand break turn into the small basin which faces out onto the flash. We held back as a boat reversed out, then we tried mooring on the side away from the car park, but would have needed long legs to reach the bank. The other side was better and we settled down for a late lunch.
Winsford Flash
Some supplies to see us back to at least Middlewich were needed. The nearest supermarket Morrisons. Only down side was that we seemed to have to cross what felt like a bypass several times. We avoided it by staying on the river, but then had to cross at the next bridge to find a crossing where we’d not be run over. Another dice with death at a round about, Winsford is not intended for pedestrians!
We hadn’t realised we’d been off CRT water
We quickly made a decision that our mooring might be noisy this evening. Several vans were parked up and it had the look of a good place for deals to be done, add to that the number of geese and swans, it could end up being quite a noisy night. Oleanna was backed out, winded and we returned to the nice stretch of moorings above Vale Royal Locks, sadly after cat curfew!
This morning I’d started to write yesterdays blog, I finished it at lunchtime, just needed to be proof read. I logged in to do so, only to find three quarters of the post had vanished! The IT department couldn’t find it, I always click save, it just hadn’t! How annoying now I’ll have to write it all again!
2 locks, 11.6 miles, 1 U turn, 1 flash not investigated, 2 wrong phone numbers, 1 right one noted, 160 miles, 3 speedy roads, 43 swans, 25 geese, 1 cuddly toy goose, 1 slice of white sliced on our solar, 0 cat shore leave, 1 lovely mooring, 0.75 blog post vanished.
A wet morning and my back had a twinge, last thing I wanted to do was get down on the floor to do my exercises, they could wait for another day. One thing that couldn’t wait for another day was a cruising plan. A joint effort was required and a touch of maths.
Serious planning
We both opened up Canal Plan. We worked out when we need to be back in Yorkshire, a mooring has already been found for Oleanna. Then specific dates when we need to be elsewhere, the number of days when Oleanna won’t be moving, which stops require a train station, which a marina. The way Canal plan works is that if you add in some stationary days then the end date of your cruise gets added to. We didn’t bother with this, instead we deducted the number of days Oleanna would be stationary from the full trip and kept a tally on how this affected trip days. I understood my method, Mick just had to go along with it and see if it worked. Thankfully it did. Yes we could have adjusted the trip on Canal plan and added in the stationary days but that would then be a touch ridged.
Three possible routes to try out and see if the dates would work.
Firstly the Huddersfield Narrow, the shortest cruise. Plenty of stations to choose from, if we got stuck by flooded rivers it would be the easiest to move the boat at short notice when levels came down. Marinas not so plentiful, but a slight adjustment to cruising hours made it work.
Second choice the Shroppie, the longest cruise. This would mean not doubling back on ourselves too much. Stations not so good, some buses would be needed. Cruising days on the Tidal Trent have some leeway and the tides look favourable to CRT working hours at the locks. Some adjustment required for a marina, but that would be manageable if they have room.
Third choice the T&M, in between the above cruises, retracing the way we’ve just come back to Fradley. The Tidal Trent on the same days as the Shroppie, better stations too.
The final choice is still to be made, but at least we could let friends know the two possible locations we’d be at for a rendez vous. About half an hours drive between them so at least they’d know where abouts to head in the first place.
We checked the radar. More rain due overhead. Two boats moved off, a while later they were replaced with another two. We were going to wait until after lunch, hoping the rain would subside. The two boats that had arrived headed off again in a lull in the showers.
Hello back there!
At 2pm we decided to make a move whether the weather was good or not. Waterproofs on we winded and headed down stream to Saltersford Locks. On arrival there was a boat moored on the lock waiting pontoon, where was the Lockie? We hovered for a while, then Mick rang the Lockie. The lock would be ready in about 15/20 minutes, the boat on the landing moved off and we could pull in to wait. Sure enough the lock took forever to fill, the Lockie set it filling and headed off for a while.
This is the only downstream lock we went through back in 2011, it holds 660,000 gallons of water and I think it was estimated back then that it could hold 27 Winding Downs. It sits alongside a smaller lock, but that hasn’t been used since the 70’s. We passed our ropes around bollards towards the back of the lock. The bow just by a set of disused centre gates. The lock was set emptying, this would take time too.
For sale with some period details!
Just below the lock was a water point we pulled in to fill up the tank. An end of terrace cottage, formerly a Lock Keepers cottage, is for sale. The pressure was pretty good so we were on our way again soon.
Pontoon Mooring?
We didn’t remember the journey to Dutton Locks from 13 years ago. Houses sit close by. Some leading up to Acton Bridge have pontoon moorings sticking out into the river, one of them for sale!
Acton Bridge
The moorings by Acton Bridge were full. We wanted to be further on anyway and the mooring certainly wouldn’t be cat friendly. Mick took the advice of the Lockie back at Saltersford and called ahead to the next lock, it would be set ready for us when we arrived.
Looking towards the weir
Above Dutton Locks the moorings were full. The sunk vessel we’d seen 13 years ago has degraded a lot! Maybe on our way back I’ll get a closer look, today we wanted to head on further. We pulled into the lock, the gates closed behind us and the water started to drain out through sluices in the side of the lock.
Disintegrating
Now on totally new water to all of us. Back in March 2011 the locks had been on winter opening hours meaning they had to be booked, we only had limited time on the river anyway so hadn’t ventured further, today we could carry on.
Dutton Viaduct came into view, dark against the rain laden clouds, sun streaming through where it could. The river has views, next to no flood banks. Open views, then tree lined banks. We had our hopes on a mooring a mile or so further, a little m on our map meaning we’d need spikes.
Dutton Viaduct
As it came into view it had great potential and there was only one boat moored up, space for us. We winded and pulled in a short distance up stream with trees to our bow and stern, our own slot. We’d found the Devil’s Garden mooring, both of us had heard of it before, a favourite for many.
Ducks are forever hopeful
Tilly was allowed out and we all had a little explore, checking signs and fences avoiding stepping in the cowpats. Tilly stayed out and played for a while, but it was blustery, rainy and she was wanting dingding.
They’ve come out to play too!
Mick lit the stove, we’d be needing one for our jacket potatoes to accompany a pie each. Yarn was selected for the next pair of socks, pair 37 I think. Thank you to those who’ve sponsored a pair this week I’ve now only got to find two more sponsors to make 52 pairs for the year and I’ve beaten last years total too! It may be that as the nights start drawing in I may be able to knit a few more pairs, after all why stop at 52, I’ve still got a mountain of yarn to use.
2 locks, 5.8 miles, 2.2miles of new water, 30 minutes for one lock, 1 full water tank, 1 damp blowy day, 2 pies, 2 jackets, 0 cows, 37 in 4 shades of blue, 1 cosy boat, 1 lovely mooring.
