Finishing Off June and Most of July 26-6-10 to 20-7-10

Good news for all you loo fans there’s more on the continuing saga, so for those of you who can’t wait scan straight to 7^th and 9^th July

 

We didn’t make it on the lift in the end as it was all booked for the rest of the day by the time we got there so we booked in for the first of the day on the Sunday and then moored up and waited.   On Sunday after we had gone up in the lift we headed back to Middlewich and the Macclesfield Canal.  Stopped for a long lunch and watched England get hammered by Germany and then carried on till quite late to get through all the locks at Middlewich ready for an early start on Monday.  We had breakfast and dinner on the move and by 5.45.pm we were 2 miles up the Macclesfield Canal having done 14 miles and 31 locks in one day, phew! That just left us 11 miles

and 12 locks to get to our meeting with Lyndsay and Chris.  On Tuesday 29^th we did 11 of the 12 and stopped for the night between locks 1 and 2.  We stopped off near Congleton on the way and cycled into town for some shopping as well.  So on Wednesday we had a more leisurely day getting the boat all spick and span and then pottered along to Gurnet to meet the others at about 3.30.  After loading their on the boat we went back to their camp site and had  BBQ.  On

Thursday 1^st July L & C took up residence and we moved on a bit, taking in a walk up a hill to a prominent folly called White Nancy which afforded a beautiful view of the surrounding area.  Friday we didn’t move, we walked an old railway track, had lunch out, and Chris borrowed my bike and moved his car along a bit and C & I managed a pint in the evening.  On Saturday we moved further up the canal in order to fill up with water and then turned and came back to a restaurant where we had booked for dinner with Clive and Sue as well.  When we got back to the boat after our meal we found the key would not open the front door so M climbed in through the skylight which luckily was open.  Said farewell to L & C who were going back to there van to sleep ready to move on again in the morning.  Thanks for a lovely few days people.  Discovered that the latch was down when we closed the door which we shouldn’t have been able to do.  I have since moved the strike plate so it shouldn’t happen again.

Sunday we had to do some forward planning as the water shortage was beginning to affect where we could go.  We still wanted to get to York if possible so the routes available were the Rochdale Canal or the Huddersfield Canal.  At the time of this planning the Rochdale was only taking 2 boats a day through the 2 Summit locks and the first 9 out of Manchester had to be booked and it was supposed to be an assisted passage, ie helped and protected by BWB staff as they had to unlock and relock all the locks as they went through a pretty rough area.  There was also a closure at Sowerby Bridge which is further past the summit, which we thought might make it difficult to book if things had backed up.  The alternative was the Huddersfield Narrow Canal which involved a 3 ½ mile tunnel which takes about 3 hours to get through and is quite small so your boat has to be measured to ensure that you’re not too big to get through.  On Monday morning I rang about the bookings and found that they were still taking bookings for the Rochdale but only until mid August so I booked the Rochdale 9 for the 15^th July and the Summit locks for the 19^th July to give us time to do the in between bit without too much rush.  After that we set off for Marple at the end of the Macclesfield Canal where we turned right onto the Peak Forest Canal.  Whilst in Marple we did a couple of lovely walks around mill country thanks to some leaflets from the library.  7^th July saw us heading for the south east end of the Peak Forest at Whaley Bridge and a mooring at Bugsworth Basin.    On the way I stopped at a marina to collect a new waste tank gauge as I was pleased with the fresh water tank gauge I bought earlier.  Also I collected 10m of sanitary hose.  This is the piping that is connected to the loo holding tank.  1 breather pipe, 1emptying pipe and the input pipe from the loo.  All these are in our bedroom and there has been a bit of a whiff!! sometimes from both our wardrobes and below the bed boards where the tank is.  On investigation and advice which seemed to be common knowledge to a lot of people, these pipes become porous but not leaky and should be changed every 5 years or so.  Ours were 11 years old!!  The chap at the marina lent me a 32mm hole saw as to fit the gauge I had to make a hole in the top of the tank, so I did that bit there and then.  Once we got to Bugsworth Basin, which was once the busiest inland port in the country, and really lovely, M walked into Whaley Bridge and had her hair cut and I changed 2 of the three pipes which were routed through our wardrobes and relatively easy.  The basin was used to load all sorts of cargo and there was a network of little railways around all the little arms to service the boats.  It was restored to water by enthusiasts who had to contend with a new bypass being built some 500 yards from it and all the arms silted up. It was an enormous task. It was a lovely spot to stop with the Navigation Inn nearby.  The following day we the trained into Buxton and spent a very enjoyable day looking around, back to the Navigation in the evening as it was fish & chip and quiz night.  Our team (Charlie’s Angels) got 24/30 and a guy on the next table won £350 on the Jack the Joker draw.

Friday 9^th was supposed to be a long walk day but M was feeling a bit funny in the tummy dept, probably the mushy peas with the dinner last night, so I started on the last pipe from loo to tank.  This went under the floor from bathroom to bedroom so I had the carpet, underlay and floor panels up to get to it.  The old one came out as I could cut it, with out too much spillage!’*>>!? But the new one being just a fraction bigger in dia. was tricky to get in.  With Clive’s help, some rope and Fairy liquid we managed…. just but I was sweating bit.  I was also able to complete the installation of the new gauge and everything smells sweet now.   So that’s 4 times I’ve taken the loo out, I do hope there isn’t a number 5.  On Saturday we left the basin heading back to Marple.  On the way we stopped at New Mills and did a beautiful Millennium Torrs Walk all around a lovely gorge   with a bit of history of New Mills thrown in.  Sunday we had a busy day as we had 16 locks to go down to get us halfway to the Ashton Canal and thence the Rochdale which starts in Manchester.  Just before we got to Marple M who was walking with Charlie had rung Richard & Liz on Dragonfly, who we last saw on the River Weaver, to see how they were.  They were in a marina only 5 minutes from us having just come up those 16 locks on Friday because at lock 15 Liz had had a nasty accident and had to be taken to hospital by ambulance.  The lock gate beam was quite low to the ground when shut but as it opened it passed over the wall of a little bridge across the lock.  You have to stop pushing with your bum go down to the bridge level before you continue to push.  Unfortunately Richard was not quite paying attention, as they had friends with them, and he hit the gate.  Suddenly the beam that Liz was pushing moved very quickly and she was catapulted over the wall which was a 4’ drop.  Luckily she didn’t break anything and when we saw her she was mobile but moving very slowly and carefully and she only had a small graze on her elbow to show for it,  so they were having to rest up for a while.  After visiting we did the 16 locks and they were the hardest we’ve ever done including on our last boat when we were much younger and stronger.  M was at the helm and I did all the hard work as she just wouldn’t have been able to do the paddles.  We stopped at the bottom and had roast lamb with Lady G done in their Dutch Cobb.    Next day we all set off intending to get to the Ashton Canal where we had arranged to stop at an almost finished marina just before the first lock of 18 on the Ashton.  The reason for this was that we were entering bandit country (or lowlife types) and we wanted to be secure for the night.  We made it safely and before retiring I cleared the roof of everything not fixed down just in case.  Tuesday 13^th we started at 7.00am so as to clear the first 3 locks before the lowlife were around.  Our intention was to do the whole of the Ashton right into Manchester in one hit and we had even done sandwiches so we didn’t need to stop.  In the event it was all ok with no sign of trouble.  All the locks were single so we worked together and we had our bike out to nip back and forth setting the next lock while in the current lock. All the locks have anti vandal keys on them so that was an extra thing to do but as 2 other boats were following us we didn’t have to lock them up again.  At Manchester we stopped in Piccadilly Basin which again was secure.  In the afternoon we went into Manchester which we thought was great with a lovely mix of new and old buildings.  There is a lot of redevelopment going on and still to do.  We had a look at the Bridgwater Canal where it comes into Manchester   and we also went to the John Ryland Library a wonderful old purpose built library, the building was fantastic.  After that we went to the Museum of Science and Industry and could have spent all day there but we only had a couple of hours.  The following day we caught a bus to Salford Quays and had a good old wander round   and went in the Lowry to see his paintings.   In the evening as it was Sue’s birthday we went for a meal and the theatre and saw Charlie’s Aunt at the Royal Exchange Theatre, which was very funny.  Thursday 15^th saw us ready to start on the Rochdale canal as this was the day we had booked passage for the Rochdale 9 (locks)  as they are called.  4 boats were booked (the max)  and we were all going up.  The locks are all double width so it’s a lot easier in pairs.  Not a pleasant trip, the canal was full of rubbish and there were a few dubious characters about.  We both had to open up the weed hatch Clive 3 – Me 1   and then he got a chunk of wood in the prop which stalled the engine.  All the boats got stuck trying to avoid a big bit of scaffold pipe sticking up in the middle of the canal.  We ended up doing 19 locks in 6 hours so in the evening we went to the pub, but at least by now the canal was beginning to improve and would soon be getting pretty. We did another 10 locks the next day as we had to be at the summit for our booking on the 19^th, and 5 more on the Saturday and we were still having to open up the weed hatch to clear the prop of plastic bags and in my case some rope which needed a knife to clear.  On the Sunday we could only do 3 more locks as we were then asked by the summit lock keeper to stop until the morning as some of the pounds ahead get very low overnight. So far every day on the Rochdale it has rained, not all day but enough. We’ve also done some lovely walks in the dales around.  So the big day arrived and we were going over the summit of the Rochdale Canal, the highest in England, and it was raining again.  It soon stopped and the scenery was absolutely stunning with steep hills rising either side of the canal.  After 10 locks we were done and moored up  just past Summit (the village is called Summit) and went for a meal in the Bird in Hand which was excellent and I had a Lamb Henry which was a lamb shank.  It was so huge  that I had to forgo my pudding!  We were almost ready to leave at 8.30pm when the chap from the boat next to us (there were only the 3 of us) who was waiting to go over the summit the other way in the morning came in to tell us that our boats were all leaning over alarmingly and beginning to pull out the mooring pins.  When we got back to the boats Lady G and Sammy Jo were well out of the water and stuck.  The other guy was still afloat at the front but stuck at the back.  The water in the pound had gone down by a good foot or more hence the lean.  We let some water through from the pound above and managed with a lot of heaving and rocking to get him off, we then sent him up in the lock to safety in the next pound and then released that lock full off water into our pound and just managed to get Sammy Jo afloat as she‘s not as low in the water as Lady G.  Then I was able to pull her off as well, and we just about managed to get through the next lock into a fuller pound, which was where the lock keeper reckoned that he had said we should moor anyway because of that very problem.  All this took place in the semi dark and rain with us all dressed in our glad rags as we had been out…oops.

Tuesday 20^th guess what, …more rain, we did a few more locks so that we could top up with water at a place called Walsden where we are going to stop for a couple of nights to recharge.  We are now about 20 miles from Manchester and 12 miles from Sowerby Bridge which is where the Rochdale Canal ends and the Calder and Hebble starts in our quest to get to York or Skipton. We have left Lancashire behind and are now in Yorkshire.  There are 82 locks on the 32 mile Rochdale Canal and we’ve done about 54.  We are looking forward to our next visitors, Lin & Mike who are due to arrive on Friday.