Category Archives: Tunnels

Star Jumps, WD And Thespians. 26th August

The hedge Flecknoe Road Bridge to the view before Norton Junction

Last night we’d had this stretch of armoc to ourselves, but just around the corner there were seven boats nose to tail, we preferred the view we’d had. As we made our way towards Braunston Turn we kept our eyes open for any gaps in the hedge to the north of the canal so that we could drop a pin on our map to remember it, only one and not much of a gap.

As we cruised along I tried to drink several glasses of water. A few weeks ago I got an invite from the Zoe covid app to do an antibody blood test, this would show if I’ve had Covid without knowing. I’d arranged for a test kit to be sent to Scarborough and then have been waiting for a suitable time to do the test. On the instruction video it suggests drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water the day before, so yesterday I spent a lot of time filling up the yellow water tank! Today 2 to 3 glasses had to be drunk at least half an hour before doing the test, I also needed to be near to an NHS Priority Post box, Braunston.

At Braunston Turn we turned right following a hire boat who quite quickly pulled in. Would Braunston be full of boats or would we be fine finding a space? There was so much space available we easily slotted in at Butchers Bridge our preferred mooring.

Now to do the test. I laid everything out and had to discourage Tilly from watching too closely. Then I had to get my blood pumping by doing some exercise before submerging my left hand in a bowl of warm water for a couple of minutes. Far more complicated than sticking a cotton bud up your nose!

Star jumps are a little bit hard to do inside a boat, but I decided to stay indoors rather than amuse those having their bacon butties at the Gongoozlers Rest. Then self inflicted pain! A lancet pushed hard into a finger tip, followed by massaging my hand and finger to fill a little bottle up to a line. One thing they should add to the instructions is that if you have long finger nails then most of your blood will collect on your nail, a trim before hand would have worked better. With my sample done, labelled and packed up we set off to the Post Office.

As we crossed Butchers Bridge we glanced up towards the bottom lock, was that boat NB Winding Down? It was green, the sign writing wasn’t visible. We walked down to have a look, yep it was, but would we know the people on board?

Mick called out to the occupants, ‘Hello, do we know you? We used to have a share in Winding Down’. Well we did know them, Paul and Aileen , some of the original syndicate members. Our paths crossed several times in Waitrose at Sandbach on hand over days. A lovely catch up with them and news of other members we knew, the last AGM on zoom and most importantly that NB Winding Down will be moving further north for next years cruising season, so we’ll have to keep our eyes open near Stone in future.

Up the hill we climbed to the Post Office first popping my sample into the post box, then across the road to the butchers.

Well, since first noticing a sign saying they do gluten free sausages a few years ago, we’ve asked every time we’ve come in and only once have we had any. Quite a disappointment! Maybe the church spire no longer means Bangers! Yes I could buy some of their normal sausages for Mick, but what would I have!?! We bought bacon, a pork pie, some pork, eggs and some strawberries. Have to say their fruit and veg looked better than it used to, maybe they have a bigger turn over after the lockdowns when I suspect the locals shopped with them more. A few more bits from the shop across the way and we were done.

After lunch we pushed off to climb the locks. A lady waved to Mick from the bridge after opening the bottom gate, she thought he was her husband! With no boat following and two boats coming down the next lock we headed up on our own.

In the pound below The Admiral Nelson people sat out side their boat, turns out they were waiting for a boat to share with. Marvellous!

Nick Wolfe stood at the stern of Aldgate, he turned to me and said ‘Hire Boat!’ One was pulling into the lock landing below the lock, doing their best to get out of our way whilst being berated for mooring up. Oh blimey! Poor holiday makers! The poor ladies at the bow had steam coming out of their ears as they tried to pull their boat out of the way. They assumed I’d have the same reaction and angrily said they weren’t staying. As we worked the two boats up the lock I could still hear ‘You can’t moor there!’ from below. No wonder some people think boaters are down right rude, I think they already knew what was being rammed down their throats!

Calmly we worked our way up the remaining locks. Three generations of one family out on a friends boat for the day. The lady said they lived on a boat for ten years in the 70’s, it must have been so different then. Then she said that her husband was an actor, so they used to go where the work was. Obviously that started a whole different conversation.

Meanwhile Mick at the stern was chatting away, acting had been mentioned and the chap said ‘Oleanna’ sounded familiar. The world got smaller over the next couple of locks. Graham Padden had been working at The New Vic in Stoke in 1998 when the Stephen Joseph Theatre visited with their 10 x 10 season. 10 new plays with a company of 10 actors. Comic Potential, Perfect Pitch and Love Songs For Shopkeepers were the main house shows with seven more in the studio, I designed eight out of the ten. He then mentioned that he’d been in Shadowlands with Janie Dee in the West End. His wife and son were also actors. They’d all toured into Chipping Norton too!

At the top of the locks we led the way to the tunnel. Life jackets and torch at the stern. We soon saw a light coming towards us, this was followed by another three in quite quick succession. Thankfully no-one else entered the tunnel so we got to the kink on our own.

3:30pm. Would we get to the Watford flight in time to go up the locks before they closed? We’d get there, but if anyone was waiting then we’d not get up the locks today. We carried on up to Norton Junction where there was space for a couple of boats with the lovely view. It would have been rude not to moor up, so we tied the outside up and let Tilly out. She was given a strict time to be home. She obliged.

A little while later the bow of a very new Cowpar appeared at the bridge ahead of us. This was the new Finesse boat that had been shown at Crick Boat Show last weekend. Excuse the looks on their faces as it is a 70ft boat turning at a junction with a bridge hole to contend with. A very nice looking boat with electric drive, there’s a boat test by Adam about it in last months Canal Boat magazine.

6 locks, 6.98 miles, 1 right, 3 glasses, 1 prick, 500 whatevers, 10 turns, 2 syndicate members, 1 share for sale, 0 bangers, 6 rashers bacon, 3 pork loin steaks, 0.5kg beef mince, 1 small pork pie, 1 punnet strawberries, 3 actors on a boat, 1 tunnel, 2 mysterons, 4 passing boats, 1 prime view mooring, 1 bruised finger.

https://goo.gl/maps/1qq4YepPW6DonSeZ6

Waving Goodbye, 31st July

Eco-Moorings to Ballot Box Bridge, Paddington Arm

Mick was off with a shopping list to keep us going for the next few days until we can get a click and collect somewhere. Then it was time to sit down with the Geraghtys. Todays topics, Olympics, Toddler stage school and Trampolines.

Time for us to head off. We unplugged (once the dishwasher had finished), turned on our tunnel light and followed the trip boats through Islington Tunnel. On the other side a boat was showing off it’s tyre sculptures. A curvy lady and a lizard, all very clever, have to say I preferred the lizard.

Many of the same boats were moored up in the same spots as when we first came past a month ago, tyre fenders touching the water an ideal place for a moorhen or coot to build a nest. Have to say one boat almost certainly had done a diy nest on their back deck, the predominance of organic material a sheer give away, London coots and moorhens like a bit of plastic bling added to their nests!

St Pancras Lock sat full, full of duck weed, in the last two weeks the bloom has taken over.

As we worked our way up Richard and Victoria from NB Chance stopped for a bit of a chat, they are currently staying at the Cruising Club before heading onwards, we also spotted NB Misty Blue pulled in against NB Flora Dora. Today we wouldn’t be stopping, not even for water as planned, someone else had got to the tap before us.

We waved goodbye to the gas holders as we ducked under the railway bridges and carried on our way westwards.

Below Kentish Town Lock Christine was waiting behind the railings to watch our ascent up the three locks, the last on the Regents Canal. She stayed a good distance away from the waters edge at all times, just as well as she still had her shopping to do.

The pretty NB Moondance was coming down in the middle lock, so we swapped over in the pound below and carried on upwards. The boat that had been on the water point at St Pancras appeared below the locks, but we were well on our way up and there was plenty of water coming down.

Hampstead Road Lock was full and needed the gates closing so we had a pause whilst I set the lock, no volunteers on duty today, although Mick said an off duty lockie stopped to say hello.

Now which gate was the b**ger to close? I called Mick to see if he could remember, he couldn’t, don’t know why I asked really! Foolishly I chose to open the gate on the island which opens over the steps, this was the wrong gate and did take quite a lot of effort to close. A lady appeared at the other gate and said as much, wound down a paddle then stood keeping an eye on the bottom gate. I half expected the lock to immediately be emptied as soon as I closed the top gate, but it wasn’t.

Christine had headed up onto the bridge above for one final wave goodbye. It’s been lovely to be able to catch up with family whilst we’ve been in London, spending some quality time with them. There were plenty more people we could have seen, but family were the most important for this visit.

Now back into the mayhem that is trip boats, paddle boarders and Goboats. The paddle boarders held back as we passed following NB Black Pearl who stayed in tick over for most of the way through Regents Park.

Big piling has been going in where we’d seen the sunken workboats two weeks ago. All boats now above water, a busy site.

By the time we reached Park Road Bridge we had another trip boat behind us, three Goboats at least coming through the not quite tunnel ahead. Then came another trip boat. With three boats waiting to go through, Goboats dawdling, some having pulled in right where the new trip boat had to go as there was nowhere else for it, it slammed into reverse! Quite surprised there wasn’t an incident!

Once through Maida Hill Tunnel we were away from any possible collisions. Rembrandt Garden moorings were awaiting it’s next lot of moorers and luckily for us the water point through Westbourne Terrace Bridge was empty, we pulled in, hooked up the hose and started to fill up. The tap being slow we knew we’d have chance to have something to eat before carrying on.

Blimey those fish down there blow big bubbles! I waited to see if one would surface in amongst the grass but it didn’t.

Slowly we cruised out west, we passed the widebeam we’d rescued a few weeks ago. Where scaffolding has been used to tie up to forever the hording boards have been removed, maybe the scaff will follow and people will have to drive mooring spikes in again. A wall we’d seen being cleaned of graffit tags as we came in last time already has a collection forming again.

Just where we’d rescued the widebeam a couple of weeks ago

Our progress slowed to the point where we needed to stop to clear the prop. Urban Jellyfish, as Tom used to call them, had been caught on our prop.

In Alperton we noticed a mural under a bridge. Had this been here before? A plaque at the end mentioned the artists name Gianpaolo Buccheri and that the piece was a commission from C&RT. It turns out it was created only a couple of weeks ago.

I also like the cat and sofa that must have been there longer.

Might have to start carrying a container with me soon

Soon we arrived at our destination, now our usual stop in and out of London, Ballot Box Bridge. We pulled in where there was plenty of space and despite it being very nearly Tilly’s dingding time she was given an hour of shore leave. I put a chicken in the oven to roast and Mick cleared the prop again.

4 locks, 1 tunnel, 11.63 miles, 1 right, 1 full water tank, 1 dry Christine, 1 empty wee tank, 2 trips down the weed hatch, 1 near miss, 2 many Goboats, 2 boaters and 1 cat waving goodbye to London.

https://goo.gl/maps/3JnRLqCfLrfnHpBM7

Breach 37. 30th March

It’s not often you feel relieved to see a canal with a lack of water in it, but the fact that the cofferdam has drained itself whilst not refilling itself is great. I think it was about a month ago that it was this empty.

There are a few things to note from todays photos, other than it’s a lovely day to go boating!

The western end of the cofferdam seems to have improved water levels, so no overtopping.

The aggregate ramp into the cofferdam has been added to. The pile driving crane is no longer on the floating pontoon. In the photo above you can see what looks like a light with a red box standing on some new aggregate which I think will be used to illuminate the area and down into the drain.

The bags that were dropped in by helicopter are very visible now.

So is the big hole in the towpath by the blue tarpaulin.

What can also be seen in the above two photos is a yellow pump on the north bank by the drain.

There is now a small tarpaulin dam in the drain and the yellow pump appears to have two hoses one to either side of the dam.

Now that the water in the cofferdam has drained down into the drain below, as much as the breach will allow it, my theory is that the drain under the canal will now be pumped out. This will give them access under the canal.

The cofferdam seems to be holding its own now, hopefully things can progress. Will they need to do a fish rescue?

Then, at last, they will be able to pump out the remaining water to reveal the canal bed and the breach itself.

According to a local boater who has recently spoken to the control at Goole Docks, they are still not permitted to pen leisure craft through the locks onto the Ouse. He was told to contact C&RT for updates.

The tide at Goole this evening was going to be high 6.5m, 3 ships would be leaving the docks and 3 more coming in. Both locks in operation. Here’s hoping the high tide means the level doesn’t drop too much in the marina. I hope we left our ropes slack enough!

Other good news is that the Figure of Three Locks on the Calder and Hebble will be reopening on 12th April. This means that if we ever get to leave Goole this year then we might just be able to cross the Pennines via Standedge Tunnel.

Thank you to Mark again for the use of his photos.

2020 A Long And Winding Year.

Get yourself a cuppa and put your feet up, this is a long post.

Having seen New Year in on the North Stratford Canal we commenced the new year by cruising in to Birmingham or as Tilly would have it know, BUMingham, she’s not too keen!

A meeting with Amy from Dark Horse Theatre Company about a project in the summer set out our years cruising as I’d need to be in Huddersfield then York for the show. Then it was time to pack and get myself ready for ten days in Vienna. This would be the longest I’ve been away from boat life since we set out in 2014. Half of my clothes were packed up along with a basic scene painting kit and I jetted off to what was a mixed experience. Despite the problems I had a wonderful time working with a great team in the theatre, I hope one day to return.

Whilst I marvelled at the wonderful scenes in Vienna and pulled my hair out at work, trying to keep a calm exterior, Mick and Tilly headed back out into the countryside towards Tardebigge on the Worcester and Birmingham. Here they met up with a friend Chris who was planning a boat build.

Mick and Tilly came back into Birmingham to pick me up and then we set about exploring the BCN. There is plenty to explore and we didn’t quite manage to go everywhere, but we did our best.

We headed up Smethwick New Locks onto the Old Main line. Stopped at Dudley Port Basin, coconuts accompanied us down Brades Staircase, then through Netherton Tunnel where we’d planned on visiting Hawne Basin, but thick ice thwarted our first attempt. The following day we succeeded and had a bumpy ride along the Dudley No 2 to fill our diesel tank.

Factory Locks brought us back onto the Old Main Line, we visited Wolverhampton, turned onto the Wyrley and Essington Canal and wiggled our way through the rubbish to Pelsall Junction. Here we had a wonderful get together with my bestestest friend and her son Ted (my Godson) who were over from Sydney, an all but too short lunch with them before they headed onwards on their whistlestop tour of England.

The Cannock Extension and Anglesey Branch were ticked off followed by the Daw End Branch, The Rushall Canal, Tame Valley Canal and up the Ryders Green Locks back into the centre of BUMingham early February.

The Jewellery Quarter kept us busy with visits to Smith and Pepper a time warp jewellery manufacturers, The Back to Backs, The Coffin Works. We watched the film 1917.

I designed costumes and made the white card model for The Garden for Dark Horse whilst we sat out storm Ciara which was to wipe out the Figure of Three Locks on the Calder Hebble. The damage to the locks looked great and not fixable quickly, a rethink to our cruising route was needed for me to get to work in the summer.

We went to the Symphony Hall and listened to Schubert and Berg spurred on by Dimitrios from NB Galene. Storm Dennis kept us from cruising to our next evening of entertainment at Titford Pump House, a bus replacement did the job so that we could see Alarum Theatre Company’s Acts of Abandonment. Little did we know at the time that this was to be our last live theatre until December.

A night out in the countryside for Tilly and a last night in the city to fill our bellies with curry. Then we were off again, up Smethwick Locks under the M5 where the scaffolding was being taken down. We turned up the Oldbury Locks following a boat that turned out to be NB Sola Gratia. A spin round the Titford Pools was in order before we returned for another diesel top up at Hawne Basin.

The Walsall Canal now beckoned us, that was a bumpy ride over trolleys, trees and all sorts! A fantastic fabric shop, the New Art Gallery right by our mooring and The Leather Museum kept our interest for a couple of days before we climbed up the Walsall Locks back up to Wyrley and Essington Canal.

The ladies at Urban Moorings welcomed us for an overnight visit, time to work the washing machine hard as we plugged into the electric. Then we kept our fingers crossed for a mooring at The Black Country Museum, which thankfully worked.

Marion and John came to meet us for an afternoon at the museum and we all enjoyed fish and chips with plenty of salt and vinegar in between visiting shops and watching chain links being made. The following day we took a boat trip into the Dudley Tunnel, had a second visit to the museum along with a portion of chips before heading out to moor in Tipton and have a visit from Heather from NB Bleasdale, followed by a pie at Mad O’Roukes Pie Factory.

The 7th of March saw us descend the Wolverhampton 21, leaving the Birmingham plateau behind us. Blimey we managed to pack a lot into the first ten weeks of the year! Just as well really. Onto the Shroppie where I had my first successes with gluten free sour dough bread, Tilly got to remember life in the countryside and we were treated to Shroppie Sunsets again.

The recent storms had brought down numerous trees and caused landslips so our progress was a touch slow heading northwards. We had a lovely lunch with Alison and Laura the Margees at Norbury Junction, they were to be our last visitors on board Oleanna for quite sometime.

Passing NB Bessie Surtees on the Tyrley Locks we actually got chance to chat for the first time. A stop to stock up in Market Drayton, we saw our first homemade mask (a pair of y fronts repurposed) and the start of empty shelves in supermarkets with people gleeful to have a twelve pack of toilet roll under their coat.

The Audlem flight was busy with plenty going down and NB Mountbatten coming up, delivering coal as they went. Theatres closed that day and we started to put into practice new ways of working locks hoping to keep ourselves safe. As we socially distanced around the shops in Nantwich people were joking about the virus. We shopped, adapting what we bought to what was available and then got ready for our first Zoom with family on the 21st March.

We stocked up with NB Halsall at Calverley then made our way onto the Middlewich Branch and down Cholmondeston Lock. The following morning (23rd March) we listened to our gut instincts. If lockdown was to happen we’d rather not have to negotiate locks to get to shops or services, so we winded and headed back up Cholmondeston Lock onto the Nantwich pound. Our gut instinct was correct.

The next few days we saw plenty of boats moving, finding places they wanted to spend the coming weeks, heading for home or temporary ones like NB Briar Rose. Jac my sister in law eventually managed to get a flight back from Melbourne where she’d been to celebrate her Mum’s birthday, at last everyone was where they should be.

We tried different moorings out for size as the need to fill with water or get shopping arose. It was also good to keep Tilly moving, both to stop her from getting bored and to help the local wildlife survive.

Our decision to be on the Nantwich pound turned out to be a good one, we ended up mooring at the bottom of Hurleston on the visitor moorings most, this became ‘Home’ for us where we watched spring turn into summer.

Watching the field behind the hedge be ploughed, planted and start to grow. Listening to the Lapwings enjoying the bounty in the potato fields. Getting to know our neighbours at a distance. The wheelie shoppers. The huskies out for their morning walk. The egg farm at the top of the locks. Weekly veg boxes from Nantwich Veg Boxes which we collected for ourselves and NB AreandAre. Supermarket deliveries were sought each week, sometimes only managing click and collect. The sun shone and Tilly had freedom. The coal boats kept us stocked up with fuel and our waterless (composting) toilet took one need to move out of the equation.

By mid-April my design for The Garden had been reimagined into an illustrated audio play. I was to do the illustrations, then they would have audio and some animation added to be available online. Chippy panto started to gear up with the hope that all would be back to normal-ish by the end of November for the show to be mounted.

We winded, went for walks, watched plays on the internet, winded, ate cheese scones, winded again! Tilly ventured further afield, across her field. We had barbeques, brownies and watched the reservoir banks get mown by remote control.

By Mid-May we were allowed to travel, so we hired a car for a day trip to Scarborough to see how our house was after the tenants had lost it during lockdown. In need of some tlc we now made plans for the rest of the year. We would be returning to life on land for a while, but planned on cruising as much as we could before then.

On the 23rd of May the suspension of the 14 day rule was lifted, our ‘home’ mooring was now 48 hours only so it was time to start moving again. Some boats around Hurleston headed off straight away, others remained a full 14 days before pushing off. We spent the next two weeks pootling to the far ends of the pound, Hack Green and Calvereley, the gunnels got a repaint and we said farewell to NB AreandAre who were heading up onto the Llangollen.

With a full boat of veg and fruit from Nantwich Veg boxes, a Sainsburys shop and a visit from NB Halsall we were ready and on the 10th June we pushed our ‘home’ mooring away for the last time this year, Calverely was visited for a top up of water a toilet refresh and then we were off, turning onto the Middlewich Branch and descending Cholmondeston Lock, our first lock in 80 days. New gardening gloves became my boaters PPE and worked well, better than sanitising every five minutes.

Across onto the Trent and Mersey where we headed for Bramble Cuttings for a couple of nights. We’d been hoping to be able to drop down onto the Weaver but the Anderton Boat lift was still closed. So instead we winded at Whatcroft flash and headed up the Cheshire Locks hoping to catch Bosley Locks being open for a day to make our way onto the summit pound of the Macclesfield.

It was nice being back on familiar ground again, although it took a little while to be able to do the Trent and Mersey hurdles over the lockgate beams with ease after sitting still for so long.

Our chairs were brought out onto the towpath to watch the setting sun at Tilly Railings and a barbeque was enjoyed on the Dane Aqueduct as we waited in line for Bosley Locks to open.

Bosley Locks and The Cloud in the background

With a single hander in front and one behind everyone helped out where we could making our passage up the locks a very jolly if hot one that only took 2.5 hours. Over the next ten days or so we pootled our way along the Macclesfield Canal, such a lovely stretch of water and oh those bridges! Still our favourites.

Calling in at Bollington Wharf we had our gas locker lid mended and had a top up of diesel. Foxgloves filled the canal banks and woods, we stopped at favourite spots along the way turning under the snake bridge at Marple onto the Peak Forest Canal at the end of June, heading for Whaley Bridge and Bugsworth Basin.

Saturday 4th July the pubs could re-open, we however went for a walk and waited for our delivery from Sainsburys along with a diesel top up from NB Alton. A batch of cheese scones were made to help us down the Marple flight on the 7th, we were the second boat down and it felt like we were pioneering boats going where no one had gone for months.

A couple of nights at Droylesden Marina saw to the washing pile and to recharge our batteries before we descended into Manchester. Our last narrow lock of the year was to be Ancotes Bottom Lock 1 on the Ashton Flight where we paused for a night at Telford Basin before tackling the Rochdale 9 on our own the following day. Patience and sheer determination got us out of Lock 92 at the bottom and was rewarded with a cheese scone as we made our way out to the Bridgewater Canal and Worsely.

The 14th July saw us rising up the Wigan Flight. We’d made arrangements to share the locks with NB Billy but it was decided by the volunteer lock keepers that they might be over long to share with, so instead we teamed up with John and Lindsey on NB Merganser. With the help of the Wigan Flight crew setting ahead we made good time up the flight, we then slowed down leaving the others to head off ahead of us.

The next few days we found ourselves leapfrogging NB Billy, or should that be hopfrogging? But we finally caught them up at Blackburn to share the locks. Another spectacular sunset was enjoyed by all near Foster Swing Bridge.

We’d planned to take our time along this stretch, but with local lockdowns looking possible in the area we decided to push on. The Burnley Embankment was busy with walkers and not a place to stop so we continued on to the bottom of Barrowford Locks. The following day we were caught up again by NB Billy so we shared the final flight up to the summit with Clare and Pete.

Our sixth anniversary of being fulltime boaters happened to coincide with pulling up at our favourite mooring on the network, the curley wurlys above Bank Newton. The following day the clouds lifted and we got to see the view. A barbecue was just managed before it started to rain.

It wasn’t quite plain sailing down into Skipton as the skipper of NB Amelie ended up in the cut at the bottom of Bank Newton and then we had problems with lock gates and swing bridges. Mick and I had an overnight in Scarborough leaving Tilly in charge and with the magic food bowl primed. On our return to Skipton we were met by two octogenarians leaning out of the upstairs windows of their house waving. We joined Margaret and Robert for a lovely meal, good to see them even if we were a bit nervy being in their company inside.

Sunny weather accompanied us onwards and finally I managed to take the photo I’ve been after for four years, Oleanna coming towards me under Parson’s Bridge. Now we have the matching pair, Lillian going away from us, Oleanna towards.

At Bingley five rise we teamed up with NB Barley to descend with the help of Lock Keeper Clare, carrying on to Saltaire in the sunshine.

A pause in Rodley meant we could meet up with friends Graham and Tracy in their new garden room, very nice to have a good catch up with them. The following day we took the opportunity to have lunch with my cousins Julie and John, our first pub in months.

Meeting up with Jenny and Andy on NB Barley again we shared the locks down into Leeds with them early the next day. A lack of water meant it took an hour to do one pound as water was let down from above, but we made it in the end to Granary Wharf. Shame the lack of water followed us, in fact the basin did a good job of emptying itself overnight. It took quite a few hours before boats had enough water to be afloat again, we all made a hasty exit as soon as we could.

Back into the big locks of the Aire and Calder we motored on to Ferrybridge where now only three of the power station cooling towers remain, a very sad sight.

Down Bank Dole Lock, the slow filler and we headed to Selby. Our trip up the Tidal Ouse was an interesting one a there were SO many trees floating about, we had to try our best to loose them before passing through what few bridges there were. Kingfishers escorted us just about all the way to Naburn which was a real treat. Instead of pulling up in York we decided to head on up to Ripon, we’d spend time in York on our way back, or so we thought!

Above Boroughbridge a familiar boat came into view, NB Billy. This was the last time our bows would cross this year. At Oxclose Lock we had some time for Tilly to explore before heading up into Ripon Basin to meet up with Robert and Margaret again and for Tilly to show off her ability to spot otters.

I’d get it in the neck if I didn’t include a photo!

On our way downstream the river was rising, we stopped off for a meal at The Dawney Arms making the most of the Eat out to Help out deal. Wonderful food and chance to meet up with Kerry the Landlady and hoped that the river level would ease overnight. Fortunately it did and we made our way in to York. We had hoped to meet up with old friends whilst we were in the area, it turned out the only people I got to see where Jaye and Duncan for lunch. Social distancing, rising rivers sadly put paid to seeing other people.

Over the next ten days the river rose twice. On one fall we made it back into York to pick up a supermarket delivery but very quickly headed back to Naburn where we ended up breasting up in a line of four boats tied to the floating pontoon by the water point. Levels didn’t rise so much as to necessitate wellies or waders, but it did put paid to the London Leckenbys joining us for a few days at the nearby campsite. A big disappointment all round.

But on the 31st August levels had dropped sufficiently for us to head back to Selby accompanied by Richard and Heather on NB Isabella, new boat owners. Naburn was their very first lock, Selby was to be their second! It was such a beautiful morning, we led the way but then let them go first when we reached Selby, we were likely to be able to stem the tide better, but they managed the lock with ease.

At West Haddelsey we had a visit from Bridget and Storm, so lovely to see them. We’d planned on being good and sitting out, they’d even brought their own chairs and the camper van for their own toilet. But as it started to rain we bent the rules taking shelter inside Oleanna. This was the day I gave a second phone to the god of the cut.

For a replacement we headed down to Goole, calling in at Viking Marina to check we would have a mooring later in the month. After filling up with cheap diesel we then headed off up toward Doncaster and Sprotbrough where we caught up with Mick’s niece Fran, before returning back onto the Aire and Calder to do maintenance jobs and enjoy our last days onboard.

On the 18th September we pulled into our berth at the marina, finished off the contents of the freezer and started to pack. Two trips in a hire car to Scarborough and we were moved, Tilly joining us the second time.

Back then we imagined we’d be down to Oleanna doing jobs on day trips and by now we’d have had a couple of weeks out on the cut, but this simply wasn’t to be.

Jobs in the house keep me busy, along with starting work on the postponed Chippy panto. Mick for a while applied for supermarket jobs, hoping to be a delivery driver. The only job he was offered was as a meet and greeter just before Novembers lockdown. We both decided that maybe we’d cope without the money.

Then before Christmas came the news of the Aire and Calder breach. Fortunately plenty of people are keeping an eye on all the boats including Oleanna.

Blimey what a year!

So our vital statistics for the year 2020 according to canal plan are

Total distance is 792 miles, 2 ½ furlong and 339 locks . There are 82 moveable bridges of which 5 are usually left open; 233 small aqueducts or underbridges and 41 tunnels – a total of 19 miles 6 ¾ furlongs underground and 8 major aqueducts.

This is made up of 365 miles, ¼ furlongs of narrow canals; 242 miles, 4 ¾ furlongs of broad canals; 81 miles, 3 ¾ furlongs of commercial waterways; 76 miles, 1 ¾ furlongs of small rivers; 0 miles of large rivers; 27 miles of tidal rivers; 202 narrow locks; 118 broad locks; 18 large locks; 1 lock on major waterways.

Sadly with Oleanna’s log book where it should be, onboard, I’m not able to offer up the engine hours, litres of diesel, gas bottle or bags of coal. This year I can’t even work out how many boxes of wine we’ve gone through!

However I can tell you that from one page of journeys on our trip computer, missing out all the journeys in between the start of the page and the end, the total distance travelled would have been 2.25 furlongs. Instead it actually amounted to 56 miles 7.5 furlongs with 19 winds (turning around). This was of course in Lockdown 1. Grand total number of winds this year, 67.

Here’s hoping that the pandemic calms down, we all get vaccinated and the breach on the Aire and Calder gets sorted so that we can go boating again. After all we didn’t plan to move back on land permanently!

Locks, Docks And Aqueducts. The Lee Harris Bursary.

Scarborough/Llangollen winter 2017

Earlier this week we were invited by my brother to join an on line presentation. The Lee Harris Bursary is awarded to a member of staff from 3DReid an architectural practice that my brother used to work for. The bursary commemorates the life of Lee Harris an architect who worked at the practice who tragically died from injuries he sustained in the 7/7 London Bombings in 2005. Inspired by Lees love of photography, travel and architecture the bursary provides an opportunity for members of staff to explore their architectural passions.

This years winner was Thelma Mannion who proposed to travel the Llangollen Canal on a narrowboat, sketching the engineering of the canal, the aqueducts, bridges and tunnels. Originally she had hoped to do her presentation followed by an exhibition of her sketches, but Covid put a stop to that, so instead there was an online presentation which included her sketches.

Lynn and Brian, Lee’s parents were on line along with about thirty other participants. Jac (my sister-in-law, who also used to work for the practice) suggested we should make ourselves comfortable with a drink to watch, so we did.

Using Microsoft Teams, our first time, we ended up not being able to see everyone at once, but we later rectified this. This was however the first time we have seen Andrew and Jac since last year when they joined us onboard Oleanna between Christmas and New Year. For some reason in lockdown 1 the London Leckenbys weren’t too keen on the idea of Zoom meetings, so we have stuck with the good old telephone. This and an aborted trip to York due to flooding means we’ve not seen them for nearly eleven months. It was lovely to see them again, even though it felt a touch like we were gate crashing an office do. But then when I lived in London I’d quite often turn up at the pub on a Friday night to join them all.

The presentation brought back memories of our trip back in 2017, and it turns out it is almost three years to the day since we turned off the Shropie and climbed up Huleston Locks to spend the winter on the Llangollen.

Maintenance work was planned on the locks which soon closed after we’d gone through. Our trip back had to be timed to avoid other stoppages, but that’s what happens in winter and if you plan with them in mind you can keep moving.

Thelma travelled with her sister and their partners on a hire boat from Swanley Bridge Marina. A shame as I’d hoped she be starting at Hurleston and we might get a glimpse of our Lockdown Home mooring. They had the boat for a week and travelled last August to Llangollen where they walked to Horseshoe falls and marvelled at how energetic the River Dee is there.

Main points of interest to Thelma were the tunnels with their textures, the aqueducts and locks which are much smaller than you find on the Irish waterways which is where she spent most of her holidays when younger.

It was an interesting talk, even if she had them going down Grindley Brook Step Locks (Staircase) on their way up to Llangollen, and so nice to hear her enthusiasm for their trip. A very fitting way for Lee to be remembered by his colleagues. Thank you for including us.

The photos in this post are from our trip in 2017. Sifting through the hundreds I took during November, December and January it was hard to edit them down to just a few.

The deep snow that fell gave us one of our favourite boating days as the sun came out and we had the canal more or less to ourselves, stunningly beautiful.

Back in Scarborough work continues on the house. One living room and dining room have patched in wallpaper and fresh coats of emulsion and gloss. The room that we call the Shed has also had a freshen up, the scars of several tenants and takeaways now erased. The flower bed at the front has been cleared of gravel and plastic in the hope that our blue geraniums will return.

Next job is curtains, then we can move living rooms and have an open fire again, just so long as we can keep Tilly from climbing the chimney!

There is still plenty more to keep us busy and off the streets.

Back In Time. Rosie. September 2006

Silsden to Foulridge to Bingley 5 and 3 to Silsden, Leeds Liverpool Canal

Having spent the last six and a half years sitting around a dinette table to eat, socialise and browse the internet we have continued to do this in our kitchen in the house. Long gone are the evening meals sat in front of the TV, instead we sit around the middle fitting for each meal. Decorating work on the kitchen is now complete and can now be considered reclaimed, although Frank seems to have taken over some of it with his tools and stuff! One big job left to do and that is to replace the hob, which is now awaiting a plumber, electrician and Frank, we have a single electric hob borrowed from friends to tide us over.

The kitchen computer is now back where it always lived, handy for listening to podcasts, checking recipes and emails, generally just handy. The screen saver is set to work it’s way through the photographs it stores, these have never made it onto Onedrive where everything now goes. Photos from our past sit on the screen. There are photos taken by Aunty Joan, me with my brother, theatre sets and models, Spanish cycling holidays of Micks BP (Before Pip), works on the house and boating trips before we became fulltime boaters.

It used to be that we could name the location and trip in the photos. Now unless we are in them or there is an obvious landmark we have no idea where or when the pictures were taken. NB May approaching Foxton, NB Winding Down the day we met NB Blackbird and then there are photos of our first boating holiday together on NB Rosie, where the embryo of our life afloat started. Happy memories which I thought I’d share.

September 2006 we headed to Silsden with a library copy of Nicholsons guide 5, picking up supplies at Booths in Ilkley for a week on board NB Rosie. I’d been on one boating holiday when I was 16 and Mick had enjoyed several boozy trips with friends and family through the years. We thought it would be a nice holiday, some fresh air away from telephone systems and dark theatres.

Silsden isn’t best placed for lock tuition being situated around 11 miles from Holme Bridge Lock, west of Skipton and 6 miles to the east is the Bingley Five Rise. No DVD was sent out, all we had was a chap explaining everything with the help of a model. We loaded our things on board and were given a walk through of Rosie before we were handed the keys. However we did have to wait for a widebeam to leave before us, luckily they stopped not that far ahead and we were able to carry on towards Skipton, stopping around about a kilometre short of the town for the night.

I’d just like to point out that sitting in the arc of the tiller is not good practice

The following evening we had a dinner date with our friends Robert, Margaret and Katy in Thornton-in-Craven. The aim was to reach somewhere like South Field Bridge 159, so as to be able to walk across the fields to Katy’s house, quite a distance to cover with 12 locks and 5 swing bridges and over 10 miles, an early start was needed.

The day before I’d not been too confident on being able to bring Rosie into the side to drop Mick off, let alone be able to pick him back up again, so I was on bridge and lock duty. Brewery Swing Bridge was a joy using the key of power. At Niffany Swing Bridge a car nearly didn’t stop in time whilst I had the bridge wide open. Another of the bridges took quite some shoving, huffing and puffing but I got it to move in the end.

Then came the locks. I walked round and unlocked every handcuff lock as suggested by the Silsden chap the large orange buoy meaning you were unlikely to loose your keys. The ground paddles took what felt like an age to open up.

Then at Eston Road Lock I met my first Clough paddle. It was now a while since we’d had instruction and I’d forgotten how these worked. I tried pulling the wood towards me to turn it, similar to a lock gate, but this wasn’t to work. Luckily a lady from a cruiser arrived and showed me how they worked, lifting them, ahhhh of course!

Only another ten locks, no other boat to share with. Being keen hirers we were on a mission gradually running out of steam. Once up Bank Newton we reached the curly wurlys, on too much of a mission to really take in what was around us at the time.

Big islands of reeds made our cruise even more curly whilst trying to avoid them. Calculations were done, fifteen minutes a mile, but this was taking longer we’d soon run out of daylight. As soon as we managed to get phone signal we called Katy and arranged to meet at East Marton getting a lift to her house by car. A lovely meal was had before our weary bones were given a lift back to the boat.

A slower pace the following day, thank goodness, I was aching and certainly knew where the lock beams had been pushed with my back. Up Greenberfield Locks, we paused in Barnoldswick for some shopping and then carried on to cross the Yorkshire Lancashire boarder. We headed through Foulridge Tunnel winded and then returned having to wait an hour for the next green light window. Pulling up at the far end of the visitor moorings where the bank wasn’t so good to await a visit from Anne, Mick’s sister. Then we had a walk up into Foulridge for a meal at the New Inn.

The following day we set our sights not quite so high. Crossing back over the border, descending Greenberfield locks, taking the photo which would become Mick’s 50th Birthday card at East Marton, loving the views this time above Bank Newton and then teaming up with another Silsden Hire Boat for the flight. We’d struck lucky here, a group of firemen, at least four of them. Apparently they’d had difficulty with one of the swing bridges on the way out, how had I managed when there had been several of them trying to shift it!

They carried on to Gargrave whilst we chose to moor up in the pound between Stegneck Lock 34 and Scarland Lock 35 for the night. A meal at the Anchor pub a short walk away was enjoyed before returning to Rosie who had found herself now sitting on the bottom. Overnight she did more than sit on the bottom, we woke on quite a list as the rain poured down around us.

Mick set off back to the locks above and found a lock keeper who set about sending water down, we’d chosen a bad spot to moor as the gates at Scarland Lock were by no means water tight! It took several hours until we were afloat again and heading on our way back towards Skipton.

Soaked and getting wetter we wanted to turn the heating on, but the boiler simply wouldn’t ignite. A phone call to Silsden and a rendez vous was arranged for an engineer to come out to help. We pulled in by Thorlby Swing Bridge and didn’t have to wait too long for things to be sorted and heat to start filling the boat.

We pulled in a short distance before Skipton, expecting there to be no room to moor in the town. Instead we waited for golf balls to head in our direction from across the cut. A walk into town where we sampled a few beers at different bars to while away the evening.

A day of swing bridges followed as we worked our way along the long pound. Back through Silsden the manual bridges being a bit of a pain, but the key of power ones a joy. We reached our goal for the day, Bingley, well the top of the five and joined a few boats moored alongside the wooden fence which is no more.

A walk down the locks that evening and into Bingley for a meal in a small restaurant. I can’t remember it’s name, but I had a very tasty duck breast possibly in a plum sauce.

The following morning we joined another hire boat to descend the staircases. Barry the legendary lock keeper was on hand overseeing the paddles on one side whilst boat crew were allowed to wind the big handles to empty the chambers, one into the next then the next till we got to the bottom.

Heading down the first chamber on the five rise

Once down the three rise we winded and pulled into the moorings with ease, Rosie was a touch shorter than Oleanna. We were glad we’d stayed at the top for the night as the busy traffic on the road next door would have kept us awake.

A quick shopping trip into town for a pint of milk and some meatballs from a butcher for our last night on board. Then we checked back in with the Lock Keepers and made our way back up the big hill, this time in the lock on our own. Barry kept a close eye on everything and gave me instructions ‘half a turn’ until we reached the top.

We wanted to not quite get back to Silsden for the night, so that we’d have a touch more boating to do on our last morning. Cows crossed Lodge Hill Bridge 196, mooing on their way to be milked. A suitable space was found for a short chug back to the hire base in the morning, we ate our meatballs and then headed off to sample some of the local beer.

Our final morning we tidied up and packed our belongings away and pootled the last short distance back to base. The trip home back to Scarborough saw us stop off in Saltaire, a festival was going on and we’d not managed to reached there before we’d had to turn back. As we were so close to Bradford we took an extra detour to find my grandparents house in Thornton and had a nosy from the road before we headed home.

Everybody has those holidays when you would rather stay another week than go home. This holiday as you can tell left its mark on me. On the last full day back towards Silsden, I got that feeling of not wanting to go home, just more so, a lot more so. I think Mick did too. Travelling at a slow speed (although we’d now do that journey slower, over a couple of weeks), countryside, history, industrial buildings, wildlife, beer, fresh air all felt so good. This is when the seed was planted with us, we didn’t realise it at the time and it took a while for that seed to germinate, but we got there in the end.

46 locks, including 1 three rise twice and 1 five rise twice, 60.61 miles approx, 50 ish swing bridges, 2 pub meals, 1 meeting with the Halls, 6 meat balls, 1 pint milk, 2 nosy cows, 1 huge orange float, 1 holiday that changed our lives.

Going The Wrong Way! 20th July

Barrowford Locks to Foulridge Wharf Visitor Moorings

A slow start to the day, a slow breakfast with no shore leave for Tilly, she quickly accepted this and went back to bed. The boat behind us had gone up the flight on his own and one boat had come down, so we were lucky that the bottom lock was empty and waiting for us.

11:15 we pushed off, I walked up to the bottom lock of the flight only to find that the handy little bridge that used to span the bywash has vanished and the route now is blocked. There was a well worn footpath up the next lock so at least I wasn’t stranded on the off side.

Swapping with the first hire boat of the day

A bit of levelling was required before I could open the bottom gate, by which time I could see that a boat was just entering the lock above. It took a little while before Oleanna was settled in the lock and I was able to lift a ground paddle, above the lock was already emptying, the water running straight down and around the bywash. We were about half way up when a boat approached from below, NB Billy.

We swapped locks with the downhill hire boat and then awaited Billy before entering the second lock in the flight. Clare and Sarah were on their own, Pete and Steve having gone to move their car, they would be returning to join us by bike.

Fortunately there was just enough water in the pound to fill the lock without Oleanna going aground and for Billy to make it over the top cill, so need need to run water down. The chaps soon arrived back and joined the crew.

There were plenty of gongoozlers about, all interested in the locks and our boats as they rose in the next few locks.

Between Locks 49 and 48 Clare spotted raspberry canes on the offside. Whilst the next lock emptied Mick managed to pick a handful, well ten, he didn’t want to get stuck and the wind was a touch blowy, so it was hard to hold his position and pick at the same time, if ever there was a need for Mountain Goat Frank Matthews!

Bikes were loaded back onto Billy, then Clare and Pete swapped roles. Fountains were out cutting the grass around the reservoir. The chaps had two remote control lawnmowers, not quite the size that I’d seen at Hurleston during lockdown. They’d just finished and were driving them up the ramps onto their pickups.

Up at the lock there was a very tame pigeon wandering around the lock gates quite happy eaves dropping our conversations. Pete brought Billy into the lock, but didn’t give her a big enough push to get her nestled behind a bottom gate. A second attempt was needed all the time Clare giving words of advice from above. As the gates closed behind Oleanna we spotted that Mick had a new passenger, the pigeon.

A ring around it’s leg suggested it was a racing pigeon. Had it stopped for a rest? Was it in need of some food?

It had a good wander around our pram cover but then flew off. He’d been hoping to hitch a ride and give his wings a rest, but we were obviously going the wrong way!

We’d just started to lift the gate paddles when Pete vanished inside. Was there a problem? Was he alright? Clare was concerned with nobody at the helm, so she went to be by the tiller, keeping Billy’s stern away from the bottom gates. It turned out that he’d gone to get the rubbish from the well deck as we were alongside the bins.

Looking down over Barrowford Reservoir the level looked quite low. C&RT had lowered the levels of several of their reservoirs for maintenance earlier in the year and as lockdown started to be lifted it looked like there wouldn’t be enough water to last the season. Locks on the Leeds and Liverpool remained closed for a while, then they brought in timed passages, but with the amount of rainfall we’ve had over the last few weeks levels have improved enabling the locks to be open full time. The level must have looked really low back in April and May.

Lock 45, the last lock up onto the L&L summit. Since starting our ascent up Poolstock Locks a week ago we have climbed 400ft and 9″. Apparently we are now at the same level as we were at in Birmingham back at the beginning of the year according to a programme we watched the other evening, although google suggests we might be 8 meters higher!

The Billy crew were stopping for water and lunch whilst we wanted to get through the tunnel and claim a mooring for a shopping delivery. So we waved our goodbyes for today. We pootled on leaving the views behind us.

A chap on one of the offside moorings asked if we used to have another boat and had been in a magazine. Sorry we didn’t get your boats name or yours, but thank you for following us.

Not quite a mile to the south portal of Foulridge Tunnel where we knew we’d have to wait. Foulridge has red and green lights, the passage window of ten minutes on the half hour heading northwards and on the hour for south bound. So we had around about a half hour wait for the next green light. A hire boat had positioned themselves in the middle of the waiting moorings, not quite enough space behind them for us, so we pulled in in front.

One boat came through and when the lights turned green we checked it was okay for us to go first, we wouldn’t have minded waiting but it maybe was just as well as their boat didn’t seem to have warp drive!

Having a big torch at the back of the boat shining up at the ceiling meant we got to see all the formations on the brickwork. Fins of what look like shark jaws all line up against each other as the water drips off them. Maybe the sharks were hopeful that there might be a cow swimming through. Here’s a song about Buttercup. Sadly I didn’t get a photo as we were being followed so couldn’t stop.

Back in the light we warned a Silsden Hire boat of the slow boat behind us and then we carried on to find a mooring. There was space for a couple of boats on the 3 day moorings which would be great for our delivery tomorrow. First we tried at the far end, furthest away from the car park for feline safety, except there was something stopping us from getting into the side. We pulled back, but that was even worse. The close proximity to a shaft/well with birdies down it made our minds up, unsafe for Tilly. The bird looking back up at me was very relieved!

I’ve got enough to contend with without a Cat down here!

We pushed out and reversed back to another space, close to the water point and car park, then we spent the rest of the afternoon saying ‘NO’ a lot to Tilly.

7 locks, 2.58 miles, 1 mile of tunnel, 3 mysterons, 0 cows, 6 hire boats, 1 lost pigeon, 6 crew, 2 boats, 3rd mooring lucky, 0 shore leave, 1 delivery confirmed, 1 Paul Hudson.

https://goo.gl/maps/tyPDU5F47TjpcHWm7

Number Five. 19th July

Pipe Bridge 115A to Barrowford Locks

We really should try to get up earlier, the crew on NB Billy always seem to pass us just after we’ve finished breakfast. Boats were on the move today several having passed us early on and by the time we’d rolled the covers up the boat directly behind us had also moved on. The increase in boat traffic most probably due to Barrowford Locks now being open.

The sun was out but there was a touch of chilliness in the air. We continued on our way following the contour, wiggling back and forth all the time with the M65 close to hand but taking it’s own straighter route along the side of the valley. Views kept coming with every bend more miles of hillside could be seen. I know lots of people think the Ashby Canal is beautiful and has views, but we prefer doing a bit of hard work, climbing some locks and being repaid with spectacular views.

We passed a floating dry dock, a moorhen with her babies and encountered a lot of duck weed. In places the weed stretching right across the canal, we mixed the mushy peas up as we went.

NB Billy was moored up on the visitor moorings at Hapton, meeting with some friends, we leap frogged them, although Pete said we’d hopscotched them! Neither Mick or I used to play hopscotch, but I certainly sang and played The Big Ship Sails. This got me thinking, where had this song come from to keep kids amused and tide up in knots in school playgrounds?

A look on the internet confirmed that it was the last day in September that the big ship sailed, but just where was the Alley, alley O? Some theories were The Manchester Ship Canal, others the Suez Canal and more the Atlantic Ocean. Then the date? The Arctic ship sank on the 27th of September, high tides at the end of September, ships bound for St Lawrence River in Canada had to enter it before the winter ice set in, all sorts of theories about the songs origin. I just remember getting tied up in knots.

Is this a Chinese or an African goose?

As we got closer to Burnley the canal winds under the M65 several more times. We took the opportunity to stop for water at the services on the offside just before Dugdale Bridge. A Dutch Barge sat at one end of the moorings and an ABC hire boat at the other end, leaving the water point free. As we tied up the hire boat pulled out, the chap being a touch too friendly as he cranked up the engine.

As we filled up and disposed of rubbish along with things that had been picked up around the bow and prop, the hire boat returned at warp speed! He shouted over to Mick who was down the weed hatch, ‘You okay?!’ The reply came ‘If you slowed down I would be!!’ Their engine slowed a touch then was cranked back up to warp drive to continue. At least we didn’t think we’d catch him up!

Under the motorway again and then into the blackness of Gannow Tunnel. I remembered to turn the lights on this time. Back in 2016 I’d been drawing below and had forgotten that there was a tunnel so had no cabin lights on!

Now over the motorway for a change, plenty of bridges to keep our interest, new, old. Old mills that have been redeveloped into offices, workshops and residencies.

The moorings at Burnley Wharf were chocka, boats breasted up and a group of boaters sat in the sun drinking with each other outside the closed pub, all very cheery. As we looked back under the bridge we could see a section where steel or iron had been added to the archway. Had this been an access point to load goods, or just reinforcement to the bridge?

Rivets holding the metal to the underside of the bridge

Then the final left hand bend round to line up with Burnley Embankment, The Straight Mile (even if the embankment is only 0.71 miles long). This stands 60ft above the valley floor and reduced the distance it would have taken continuing along the contour to reach the other side. This is one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways and crossing it Oleanna was bagging her fifth wonder.

From the canal the view of the structure is just straight, not that impressive to look at. But the shear amount of work that went into building the embankment! For us it is the views of the houses that make it special, the lines of neat chimney pots all identical running off down the streets and the views across the roof tops.

At the half way point the embankment becomes an aqueduct to cross over Yorkshire Street, breaking up the straight line just a touch.

The warp drive hire boat was back at base at Reedley Marina and people sat out on the balcony having a drink in the afternoon sunshine. Another day of lunch on the go for us.

Mill after mill after mill. Most have been restored and converted into offices or housing. During the Industrial Revolution Burnley became one of Lancashire’s most prominent mill towns, at it’s peak it was one of the largest producers of cotton cloth and had many foundries and ironworks supplying the mills and coal mines with machinery.

A stone wall had numerous drain pipes, one every 10 to 12 foot. A look at google earth confirmed it was a factory with rows of angled glazing on the roof, letting natural light in and each requiring a gutter and drain pipe.

Between Scotland Road Canal Bridge 141C and Hodge Bank Bridge 141D there is a very handy recycling centre on the off side with its own mooring. Here we could dispose of any recycling and deposit the engine oil from Oleanna’s last service.

Only a mile further on we pulled up below the Barrowford flight. A dutch barge was moored on the end of the bollards, we pulled in on the off side and banged some spikes in. On this side there would be less footfall and Tilly had a great variety of trees to climb which kept her busy for a couple of hours before she was called in for dingding.

0 locks, 13.1 miles, 0.71 miles of embankment, 1 tunnel, 1 scaredy cat again! 1 warp drive, 1 full water tank, 0 rubbish, 2 lots of engine oil, 2 lunches on the go, 1 slow cruise, 1 parasol flying, 1 boat caught, 1 flung glass of red.

https://goo.gl/maps/hapT4vRm86j1KvrR8

Pioneers. 7th July

Rawton Walls Bridge to Droylsden Marina

Alarm, an early alarm! After a patchy night of sleep, I think I managed about four hours, we were up and having breakfast, no chance of extra views from our mooring this morning!

Breakfast eaten, we were pushing off at 7:30ish. The top lock at Marple was to open at 8 am and we hoped to be able to get down the locks without too much of a soaking from the forecast rain. Time to wave the views goodbye and go and join the queue.

As Marple Junction came into view there was a boat on the lock landing and all other spaces were full, however there was only one boat facing the locks, the one on the landing. We trod water and a volunteer shouted to ask which way we were heading, we pointed towards the locks. Second in line, marvellous.

From today the Marple flight is open three days a week, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, first boat in at 8am, last boat 12pm, flight locked at 3pm, this is to help conserve water levels on the summit pound for the next couple of months.

We waited and then pulled onto the lock landing as NB Freedom moved on into the lock. Time to have a look at Bridge 1 of the Macc. It is so pleasing to the eye, most probably my favourite bridge on the network.

It was our turn at 8:30 and as Mick closed the top gate I walked down to reset the lock below. NB Freedom had a couple of crew so I hoped we’d not catch them up. Before they left the bottom gates I did call to them to check the paddles were down as I could see one was a few inches up. All sorted and we could start working our way down the fight.

Two people looked out from their top floor, watching boats on the flight again. Others smiled to see the locks in operation again.

By the time we reached the third or fourth lock we’d picked up one volunteer who was going ahead to set the lock in front for us.

It also started to rain, which necessitated adjusting layers and adding waterproofs. Another two volunteers arrived and walked down the flight with the full time lock keeper, it’s their first day back on duty on the flight.

All very chatty, we ended up with two volunteers the first chap now going ahead and setting locks in front of Freedom.

The Lockie imparted updated knowledge to the volunteers as we headed down the flight. One pound is likely to be full on a morning, but two of the locks bottom gates leak like sieves, so best to open and close the gate as quickly as you can to conserve the water level in the pound above.

At Lock 11 you can see where the wall along the side of the towpath has been rebuilt. This lock had serious problems and ended up having to be rebuilt as it got too skinny even for modern slimline boats! The rebuild took sometime and meant the flight was out of action for what felt like an eternity, the wall alongside was demolished to ease access to the site. New stones were quarried at Bollington to replace damaged stones. All looks fine now and you’d hardly be able to tell.

Down eight locks and we were into a good rhythm. Three crew with each boat.

But now we stopped. NB Freedom was tucked in nicely on the offside just before the next lock, no point in joining them in the pound and letting all the water run round the bywash so we sat in the lock above and waited.

Was he stuck or had we started to meet boats coming up? It turned out to be the former. Eventually he managed to get off the bank and reversed quite a long way back across the big pound. The depth a bit of a problem so it seemed.

Lack of boat movements most probably had caused a build up of silt. He revved his engine churning up black from the bottom, a few branches also appeared from the dark depths for good measure. In the end he got into the lock and continued downhill, I waited for the thumbs up from the volunteer before emptying our lock.

A short distance on and we met an uphill boat, a single hander who’d now got the help of the first volunteer.

Help could now be divided between boats, so I thanked the lady volunteer as she would now help going up hill.

Myself and the volunteer now leapfrogged locks, one going ahead to set the next lock and work it.

We almost caught the chaps ahead of us up, except we ran out of locks.

The bottom gates over the handy footbridge

I got back on board and descended in the lock too so as to make an easier get away.

Thank yous again as we waved goodbye to the volunteer. 2 hours top to bottom, 13 or so with light rain, not a bad mornings work, glad my breakfast refuelling kicked in and kept me going.

NB Freedom had stopped to pick up crew so we caught them up very quickly on the approach to Marple Aqueduct.

This is our first time across the aqueduct since the off side railings have been added. This caused a huge hooha in boating circles. But I have to say I quite like them.

Marple Viaduct and view of the Goyt Valley

They are not trying to look old but are obviously modern, they do the job of stopping people from falling yet you can see through them. I don’t think they distract from the view of the viaduct.

It was very slow going following the chaps in front. Tick over at most, it was damp, getting damper all the time and we still had quite a distance to cover today. In the end they got stuck shortly before Hyde Bank Tunnel, almost right across the cut. The more they revved the engine the more it looked like they had something round their prop. Gradually they managed to get to the side and waved us past. We said it looked like they had something round their prop, but they were certain they had just got stuck on the bottom and got in a flap, they’d be fine.

Tunnel light on and through the shallow tunnel, the going slow. Glances over our shoulders confirmed that the boat behind was still trying to continue without checking their prop. They made it into the tunnel, no light!

Glad we were now ahead we could forge onwards, feeling like pioneers cruising the cut for the first time since it had been cut. The depth was shallow and filled with chunks of trees, branches half submerged that required coasting over, willow trees hanging almost into the water, the lack of boat traffic obvious.

A day boat came towards us, getting grounded on the towpath side. Mick suggested a touch of reverse would help them get off the bottom and warned of the boat behind us, hopefully now through the tunnel! A touch too much reverse had the day boat now stuck on the offside, oh well, it’s all an adventure.

The rain was gradually getting heavier the further north we pootled. A mid morning snack was required, cheese scone and a cuppa as we cruised along, able to go a touch faster than tick over now, but still having to avoid the forest that lay beneath the surface.

A snake bridge, under the M67 all the time staying close to the Tame Valley a green corridor leading to Ashton-under-Lyne.

Dukinfield Lift Bridge took some winding up, but half as much effort as I remembered it being when we first came through on a hire boat. In the past we’ve moored up here or carried on to the junction to moor the night, but today we’d cover some more miles and not have to pick up the mountains of rubbish left around the benches!

Past Portland Basin Marina where we had our first experience of a pooh sucky machine as the portable pump gulped up our offerings into it’s tank. More smiling faces greeted us as we forged our way ahead, the canal now open, the Cheshire Ring now navigable again.

Left please! at Dukinfield Junction, turning to face Junction Mill Chimney which was bought for £1 and saved as a landmark when the mills were demolished in the late 1980s.

We don’t remember much of this stretch. I’ve been along it once, Mick twice, both early in the morning hoping to get through the Ashton Locks early in the day. Today we had chance to look around through the constant rain. The depth now a lot deeper beneath Oleanna we could cruise at normal speed.

Along a stretch of moored boats we spotted an old neighbour of ours. NB Mr G used to be moored at Crick and when we first bought Lillian they were next door neighbours. We’d heard that she’d been sold as the people we knew had split up and their dream of cruising the network disappeared. Good to see her still looking smart and now with a cratch.

Kids ran along side us excited to see a boat, youths smoked their aromatic tobacco under bridges and the amount of plastic floating and sitting in the hedges increased. We are back in a land of many people.

At the top of the Ashton Flight we hung a right and entered Droylsden marina. We’d pre-booked a space for a couple of nights with electric to work the washing machine hard. We slotted in between a couple of boats on a short pontoon, bow end first so Mick can do the fender when hopefully it’ll be dry tomorrow.

Once inside a tin of soup was opened and the stove lit hoping to warm us up. The washing machine could wait a little while.

16 locks, 11.39 miles, 1 right, 1 left, 1 aqueduct, 1 slow boat, 1 prop clogged, 3 volunteers, 1 day boat, 1 hire boat, 1 lift bridge, 40 up, 26 down, 0 shore leave, 1 disappointed cat, 3 afternoon snoozes, 1 load washed and dried, 1 stove, 12 C outside, 2 damp pooped boaters.

https://goo.gl/maps/SmciC1T8EwYf7t6d6

Magnet Fishing. 11th March

Shushions Bridge to High Meadow Aqueduct, Norbury Junction

Look what Mick caught this morning!

Our ash pan. Last night when he was emptying it into our ash can it slipped off the handle thingy and dived into the depths of the Shropshire Union. It apparently made a very good noise as it hit the water, instantly cooling down in a sizzle. Luckily our Sea Magnet did the job of retrieving it from the not too deep depths.

A sea magnet is a very useful thing, when we were at Sandford Lock on the Thames, a shareboat moored nearby somehow dropped a side hatch door into the cut. Our magnet managed to hold it’s weight for it to be pulled out. You hope never to use it, but when the time comes they are very handy.

Tilly was allowed shore leave before we set off, she found her own breakfast and then returned for a snooze.

Whilst still in bed the first boat went past, then as we had breakfast several more. Has the boating season just suddenly started? We’ve seen more moving boats today than in the last few months! Just as we were pushing off one appeared through the bridge hole behind us, Mick pulled us back in quickly to let them go first.

Our route took us through more wooded cuttings, one boat had stopped to fill his hold with large chunks of tree, suspect he’ll keep warm for quite some time.

Looking back the arch made by the trees and ivy were a fairytale, sadly waiting for the next windy day to topple a few more of them.

A day boat came towards us, pulled too far over to the side and got stuck. Mick suggested going into reverse to help pull the stern away from the bank, they were soon free again.

The approach to Cowley Tunnel, all 80 yards of it was a haze of branches just starting to turn green at their tips. Through the tunnel cut from stone with trees clinging on for dear life above.

We considered stopping here, but first checked out the two canalside pubs menus. With plans on meeting friends tomorrow I wanted to see if I could have anything other than steak or gammon. Sadly neither The Boat or Navigation menus on line gave many options, so we stuck to our original plan and continued.

Just through the bridge a dog ran back and forth, checking either end of it’s boat. We knew who this was, the plant boat. A couple of years ago we bought a Thyme plant from them which is still going strong, we told the chap, he was happy but it did mean no sale. I’m considering trying to grow strawberries this year, wonder when I should plant them? Have to look that up.

Now on embankments we got views, views stretching to the Wrekin.

Then we could see the end of moored boats, we pulled in behind one leaving no git gap. But then looked around. The wind was strong and we were under a large tree, at least we knew the size of gap to leave for a 58ft boat, we pulled back to avoid trees should they fall.

Tilly spent the afternoon up the trees. One route up, across three tops to a suitable route down again. Mick climbed into the engine bay again to finish off the engine service, this time the smelly fuel filters.

I got the drawing board out and spent the afternoon measuring and drawing up my design for The Garden. Three sheets of drawings, 1 for a carpenter, 2 for me. The whole show drawn up in a couple of hours.

0 locks, 6.06 miles, 80 yards of tunnel, 0 mysterons, 1 tasty friend, 1 mandarin spring roll, 1 very fit dog, 2 noninclusive menus, 1 changed fuel filter, 1 cleaned fuel filter, 2 outsides, 1 ground plan, 3 sheets working drawings, 2 much sewing to do, I’d best buy some fabric soon and start.

https://goo.gl/maps/iJoR2UCtk3iNAT5F9

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna