Wigan and Manchester

The day began as usual: rain and a flight of locks! In fact the rain was only very intermittent druing the morning as we worked the Wigan 21, taking just four minutes over the three hours to complete. We were helped by the fact that both lock keepers set most of the locks (filled and opened) for us and we met only one boat coming up. We felt quite satisfied with the time especially as a boat that came up last night when we were mooring said that they had taken all day!

The Leigh section of the Leeds and Liverpool, followed by the start of the Bridgewater Canal, is very direct and unremittingly plain. The land alongside the canal was former industrial and mining landscape - several large flashes indicate subsidence usually caused by salt mining. Later, the Astley area had deep coal mines as signified by the unusual sight of a winding head at a mining museum.



Most of the stretch is bordered by semi-mature woodland which has helped to improve the environment quickly but easily becomes boring!

The rain returned with a vengeance and, at times, tipped it down as hard as we have seen in the past three weeks. One result of the rain is that the canals are very full of water - in the Wigan flight this made for some delicate judgements when moving the boat between closely situated locks.



Gradually the countryside gave way to a more urban outlook as we apprached the various satellites of Manchester. We could see very little at the Barton Swing Aqueduct - as we passed over it the rain offered up a special downpour! As we turned at a junction towards Manchester itself, we passed very close to the huge Manchester United football ground, towering above us



By early evening sunshine emerged as we navigated into central Manchester. Eventually we found Jackson's Wharf, a much improved area at Castlefield Junction. A number of other boats were moored here so we felt that it was likely to be reasonably safe. (We shall see!) Certainly, the range of buildings and bridges, from old prnate cast ironwork to modern glass and concrete is quite remarkable and the basin itself has been pleasantly laid out. All we have to do now is to find a Weatherspoons pub for a wifi connection. (This took three goes!)

More Leeds & Liverpool

At 3 am we were awoken by unusual movements of the boat and a sense that there was someone on the outisde. Mike quickly looked outside to discover that two lads were making off up the towpath having pulled out both mooring spikes and pushed the boat into the middle of the canal! It was also the middle of a very heavy rainstorm.

Dressed only in his pyjamas, Mike started the engine and brought the boat alongside - by now Andrew was also out to help. One of the spikes was still attached to its mooring rope but the other was missing - presumably in the canal. There was then little else but to change out of rain-soaked pyjamas and return to sleep and look for a new spike during the day.



The 'proper' start to the day was the, by now ususal, combination of an immediate flight of locks in the pouring rain! We were, however, quite pleased with the efficiency of our operation leaving the flight just over an hour later.

At Johnson Hillock flight we moored to take on water whilst Christine went to the nearby boatyard in search of a new spike - successfully.



There were few other incidents in a pleasant day of cruising with long woodland stretches, despite being quite close to several towns. For about four hours in the middle of the day the sun shone and it was pleasantly warm - at least by comparison with recent climatic conditions.



By five o'clock we arrived at the top of the Wigan flight of 21 locks - which we will tackle tomorrow. At the moment, the party sent to suss out the pub (which seemed quite interesting in Nicholsons) has returned to report that it has seen better days but might be a possibility for an evening meal - there is little obvious opportunity in the sections immediately ahead of us.

Burnley and Blackburn

A day largely without interruptions from locks or swing bridges. However, we faced the Barrowford flight of seven locks, the first of the downhill section of the Leeds and Liverpool, as soon as we set off. As a result, seeing another boat pass our mooring, we quickly took the decision that this was a good time to cast off and join efforts through the flight.

This tactic proved worthwhile as the two men on the other boat were quite familiar with the need to work in an overlapping mode, setting one lock whilst the previous one is finishing emptying. We also benefitted from a lock keeper preparing the top five for us.

From here it was a pleasant cruise through mostly open countryside, although in many places the scenic view belies the fact the the motorway (which follows the canal route for several miles) was never far away and its noise was even more present! Gannow tunnel. outside Burnley, seemed quite modest by comparsion with others we have navigated!



The huge Burnley embankment still has views of terraced houses, once just back-to-backs with very basic facilities for the families of mill workers living on very poor wages. No doubt a closer inspection would show that most have now been much improved. A large Tesco store appeared at the end of the embankment and we paused here for milk and a few other items. On returning to the boat, Andrew proposed that we had lunch from Christine's latest soup (which she had prepared earlier) with the French bread just acquired from the supermarket - before setting off once more.

Apart from a few swing bridges (with an entirely different locking mechanism that combined the captive bolt lock which we had first encountered at the locks earlier in the day, with a windlass top raise a post a few inches from its recess - just to release the bridge!) it was straight cruising until we looked for a place to moor in Blackburn. Whilst we say 'straight', the canal actually follows a very winding contour route along this stretch and we were sometimes surprised to see landmarks passed ealrier in an entirely different direction. The anticipated Visitor Centre at Eanam Wharf (much lauded in Nicholsons) has clearly gone bust so we were reduced to a rather more modest mooring - at least we found somewhere with housing on either bank.



The towns/cities on this side of the Pennines have made much less progress in the development of the waterside and much of it is still either low grade industrial or derelict. Perhaps the local councils should take a trip to Leeds or Nottingham to see what is possible!

Pennines

There was a short half hour run from our overnight mooring spot to the bottom of the Gargrave flight of locks. These locks are quite heavy work and there were several other boats around which made progress slower than expected. Part way through the flight we photographed Bridge 172 which is probably the most northerly point of this journey. Most of the day was spent in delightful Pennine countryside.



The Banknewton flight followed almost immediately - it was taking so long that there was a unanimous crew vote for bacon butties which eventually turned into lunch. However, bribing the lock keeper with a sample very definitely improved his day (in the rain) and kept him 'on side'.

The next pound is over five miles long and is distinguished by being very winding - at several points we could look across a short field to see the canal running almost parallel. Double arched bridge does exactly what it says - probably the second arch was built on top of the original bridge when the road was developed to carry motor
traffic.



At the top of the Greenberfield flight of three a sign offering local ice cream was followed up with pleasing results! A little while later we came across a small boatyard with canal-side diesel supplies so, for the first time, we fully filled our fuel taank - last time the marina could only supply 20 litres.

Barnoldswick - according to an information panel - was where the Rolls Royce RB-211 engine was developed - which is the reason for the B in the name!

The next feature was Foulridge Tunnel - which we reached just minutes after the lights turned to red: passage is only allowed for 10 minutes each hour in order to allow for wide beam boats which cannot pass in the tunnel, even though it is possible to see right through the near mile long tunnel. Hence we had to wait to the next hour for a green light. Once through the tunnel we looked for a mooring spot as the next stretch runs through a series of towns, starting with Nelson. Also, another flight of locks awaits us first thing tomorrow!

Skipton

Although it had rained overnight, the 8 o'clock start was dry - rain came before too long, however! A two lock staircase faced us just after starting and then it was a short run to Bingley, with its famous Three and Five Rise staircases. On the approach we were again impressed by the extensive re-development of warehouses, mills and other former industrial buildings, including one huge project by Barratts.



The Bingley locks (alongside the large Damart factory) have to be worked with the assistance of a lock keeper - a result of too many accidents by boaters (often using the locks after normal working hours) who did not know how to operate the staircases. We were told that at one stage, boat sinking was a regular occurrence - almost daily! The locks are each about 13 feet rise and the middle gates are truly awesome! The keepers maintain a very slow and steady pace through the locks so it was well after 10 am before we cleared the flight. From here the canal has no locks for some distance but is regularly interrupted by swing bridges - about a third are mechanised, each to a different design!



Mike had a tentative date to meet up with the chirman of an internet discussion group to which he has belonged for a number of years. Using a combination of email (which only worked from the roof of the boat) and mobile phone, it was arranged to meet near to Kildwick for a pub lunch. We did indeed make contact and Chris Wright (whom Mike had never actually met face to face!) joined us for the last section into the pub. The canalside hosteltry was welcoming and supplied us with most acceptable baguettes.

Time however pressed as we needed to make it into Skipton in time to some food shopping. The rain held off just for that period, returning with a vengeance as we moved across to a water point. As we had not fully filled the water tank for some days, we decided to shelter whilst taking quite a sizeable amount. Alas, the rain turned even heavier for the final section to find a mooring point, out into the countryside beyond the town. For the first time, the evening engine check revealed some wire and plastic bag remains around the prop which Andrew managed to cut free.

Leeds and Liverpool

it was a bright and sunny day, unlike the heavy rain still forecast for tomorrow. This stretch of canal is distinguished by a series of staircase locks - two or more locks joined together so that the top gates of one are the bottom gates of the next. As a result they take a little more care in operating correctly and not losing vast quantities of water. As a result, there are always several lock kepers on duty along the way. Bingley has its famous five rise which is closed when the lock keeper goes off duty.

We needed to arrange a pump out and to take on more diesel but this proved a little more dificult than suggested in Nicholson's Guide. The first marina we drove into (taking 20 minutes in the process) proved to be totally deserted. The next, at Rodley Wharf - who had previously told us on the phone that they did pump out and diesel - were very disinclined to serve us and we eventually agreed that it would not be worth them spending half an hour moving other boats just for that! (We did check that another marina further on provided the service and they assured us that they would be ready and waiting)

True to their word, when we arrived at Apperley Bridge we were indeed expected. Although they did not have enough fuel to fill our tank, they did manage to do the pump out for us - quite a relief!



At one lock we spotted a family of very young ducklings caught on the downside of the overflow. No doubt that had managed to get there when the water was flowing over but mother called to them and they made valiant, if not desperate, attempts to jump over the hurdle, without success. Eventually, mother came to join them and led the group down the spillway to the water at the bottom!



We continued with a series of staircases and swing bridges. There are almost as many bridges to open as locks and each one is different. Some are just for access to farms or buildings isolated on the 'wrong' side of the canal, whilst others carry traffic. At one bridge we had five cars one way and four cars waiting the other way - power!

There was only one powered bridge and another had a very complex mechanism which involved unlocking and re-locking two road barriers, winding one windlass 18 turns clockwise and the other 36 turns anti-clockwise! Saltaire was once famous for its mills, each of which was a most impressive building (no matter what it might have been like to work there). Their industrial use has long gone but many have been converted into apartments or offices and look very resplendent in their new life.

For most of today it was difficult to realise how close to urban life we were - the canal is sheltered by woodlands often on both sides and the water is very clear - ennough to see the bottom of the canal. Realising we were too late for Bingley locks tonight we moored a little early, along a very pleasant stretch of canal.

Leeds at last

Awoke to find that, although the river level had dropped further, it was still showing red and a call to BW
indicated that it would be some time before the flood locks at Wakefield and above would re-open. As a result, to avoid being completely stir crazy, we decided to navigate back down the canal section to Woodnook Lock where it re-joins the river.

On arrival the situation was ambiguous but a BW lock keeper appeared shortly afterwards and we had a long conversation, including him making a call on his mobile to a colleague who looks after Nostrop Flood Gates. The upshot was that it seemed safe to continue - which subsequent experience supported. In fact, both the Calder and the Aire were more subdued than the Trent when we came down. In any case, we had already been advisd that the Aire at Leeds was already down to amber in the early morning.



It was certainly a relief to be on the move again and we were determined to clear the river sections before stopping - more heavy rain is still forecast for the weekend. The sight of the Knostrop Flood gates open was an important milestone. Once in the centre of Leeds the architecture was most impressive - both the conversion of historic warehouses and the futuristic Royal Armories Museum.

Despite indications in Nicholsons and elsewhere, Leeds River Lock - the commencement of the Leeds and Liverpool canal - was unmanned and not locked up. (We had missed the deadline of 4 pm given in some listings by a few minutes due to a malfunctioning sluice in the preceding lock) However, our progress was halted after about an hour as the two-rise staircase (Oddy Two) was locked by BW. Hope for a good start in the morning!



The locks here are all protected with handcuff locks which take an extra amount of time to open - manipulating them on and off sometimes seems like a Chinese puzzle! The top ground paddles are also different - they are worked by turning a horizontal capstan-like mechanism.