A day in Southport, and bloggers everywhere!

Wednesday 17th August

We spent a quiet night in the village of Rufford.  Lovely mooring and well worth the  short trip down the Rufford Arm – very rural with the smell of potatoes, cabbages and leeks all around as the soil here is very good for vegetables.

‘Chance’ moored in Rufford Village.

In the morning Doug took the bus into Southport (1/2 hour) and spent the day wandering around while James stayed on the boat to look after Oscar and carry out some maintenance (again!).

Southport War memorial in the Town Centre.

Southport Pier and the lovely gardens in the distance.  Just as Doug arrived back ‘Heth’ ( fellow blogger from nb ‘Takey Tezey’) was paying us a visit.  We only realised that morning that they are moored in St Mary’s marina just over the bridge from where we are moored.  Great to meet you at last and hope it’s a longer chat next time as Heth and Dave were only three hours away from catching a plane to visit their son in Germany (thanks for walking round to see us Heth – we understand we’re privileged that you did so (walk that is!)).

Heth and Doug - meet up at last!

Thursday 18th August

On Thursday we headed back up the Rufford Arm with nb Unique (Lyn and Roger).  We had a pleasant journey sharing the 7 locks with them in lovely weather.  We stopped off at Burscough  to stock up at Tesco’s then moored up just outside the town for the evening.  It’s a bit strange at present as we don’t have a map of this part of the canal system from Burscough onwards to Liverpool so the swing bridges are always a surprise.

Friday 19th August.

We continued on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to Lydiate as we knew that fellow blogger Debbie on nb Tickety Boo moored here. Sadly Debbie wasn’t at home but we hope to meet up when we are this way next time.  We winded (turned round) at Lydiate and started our return journey.

nb Tickety Boo!

James operating one of the many swing bridges (they are not such a surprise on the way back!)

Tonight we are moored up in the countryside again and just as we hammered in the pins Doug noticed the trees were full of Mirabelle Plums so guess what  we will be having for pudding tonight!

Heading into Lancashire on the L & L Canal

We had a very quiet and safe stay at the BW mooring Sunday night.  On Monday we headed on towards Liverpool.

Out of Wigan on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.  It’s not just these days that you can have a massive block of flats built next to lovely little cottage!

Out of Wigan some more and passing Wigan Pier. However we didn’t get very far.  The first lock out of Wigan is Pagefield Lock – we got the boat into the lock then Doug suddenly realised that there was no water in the canal after the lock!

We’re sorry not to have any photos of the muddy bottom with all the various debris thrown in over the years but there was much rushing around and phone calls made to BW (who were their usual unhelpful selves).  The double hotel boat Duke and Duchess came up behind us (with their guests aboard) and there was more rushing around.  BW said “it might not be filled until tomorrow” to which we gave a suitable response and started to let water through in order to fill up the 1/2 mile stretch of dry canal – much to BW’s protestations.  Anyway, about 3 hours later there was enough water to float a boat and so two way traffic was resumed once again.  It was certainly a first for us but not for that section as we were informed later. 

Dean lock – dwarfed by the M6 motorway.

We moored up in Parbold for Monday night – a village masquerading as a town with a strange variety of shops and banks.  A quiet night none the less.

Some of the odd things you see beside the canal – a (Neolithic?) round house probably waiting for retrospective planning permission.

Today we progressed onwards. We’re trying to tread water this week as we are due to be in Manchester next week to meet with friends so we’re heading west until Wed/Thurs then turning round and coming back.

We turned onto the Rufford Arm at Burscough Junction where we were fortunate to meet up with nb ‘Evergreen’ with Jackie and Dave for the flight of 7 locks.  Shorter than usual (62ft) they have a variety of paddle operating gear with padlocks on most which makes life hard work if you’re on your own.

One of the paddle operating mechanisms – a lever which you swing upwards

We are now moored in Rufford (West Lancashire) – an interesting parish church in the village in red and blue brick with stone mullions and spire.

And onto Wigan

We left Stockton Heath on Friday and headed onto the village of Lymm where we moored up for the night – about 1/3 mile on the ‘Manchester’ side it’s very quiet and peaceful.  We walked back into the village for supplies but there was nowhere to buy a newspaper and no milk available.  Not until Sainsbury’s opens on 26th August!

Lymm Village in the rain.

Canal side cottage at Lymm Bridge.

The stocks in the centre of Lymm – perhaps they should be used these days!

On Saturday we carried on up the Bridgewater Canal through Altrincham and Sale, and turned left at the Waters Meeting junction.  We are now on virgin territory for us.  We passed the gigantic Kellogg’s factory (so big we couldn’t get a proper photo but will try on the way back) – the smell of sugar was amazing and you could almost see it in the air.  We also passed the equally massive Trafford Shopping Centre and then across the Barton Aqueduct.  This is a swing bridge that carries the canal across the Manchester Ship Canal.  We are told by one of the locals that it still operates around 5 times a week – the canal water is sealed in a huge caisson and then it is swung round so that ships can pass up the MSC.

Entering the Barton Aqueduct.

Crossing the Manchester Ship Canal on the Barton Aqueduct.

Leaving the Barton Aqueduct.  Don’t look so worried James it’s been there since 1894!

We then passed through Worsley, another lovely Cheshire village.  Quite busy with tourists and moored boats Worsley was the centre of the Duke of Bridgewater’s coal mining empire. At it’s peak there was a system of underground canals totalling forty miles with an inclined plane connecting them to the surface canal.  The colour of the water is bright orange which is the ironstone leaching from the old mines the entrance to which is just next to the half timbered house in the photo.

Finally mooring on Saturday night at Bridgwater Marina which we can highly recommend (£8 per night including electricity)  the owners are really helpful and the Moorings pub in the distance does a very good pub food menu.  We spent the evening chatting to a family from Manchester who were telling us what to visit when we get there next week.

On Sunday morning, we left the marina mooring and headed onto the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.  An extremely dull section of canal all the way to Wigan where we arrived at about 3 o’clock. We had a look around the town after first securing ourselves on the 48 hour secure mooring outside the British Waterways Offices.

Moorings at the British Waterways Office at Wigan.

Chance makes the front page!

At last!  we managed to get a copy of  September’s Canal Boat magazine yesterday after receiving various e-mails from friends, and shouts from other boaters passing by, telling us we were on the front cover!   We are thrilled with the review and the pictures and hope it will help MGM Boats to secure a few more orders.

It does seem strange to see our boat on the front cover of a national magazine on the shelf in WH Smiths!

Since Monday we have  returned from the River Weaver via the Anderton lift.

 

Entering the Anderton Boat Lift from the River Weaver.

Fifty feet higher and exiting the Anderton Lift onto the Trent and Mersey canal. 

After a  few miles the Trent and Mersey changes to the Bridgewater canal at Preston Brook and after a short while we got to Moore where we moored. In the afternoon Doug caught the train into Warrington (to spend some money!)  and we had a lovely quiet night moored in Moore .

Leaving the outskirts of Moore through a tree lined cutting.

Unlike the bridges on most of the canal system, which all have numbers, the bridges on the Bridgewater have names and the water is generally much deeper allowing cruising to be faster – a posher canal one might say!

On Tuesday we continued on to Stockton Heath where we moored at the bottom of the garden of our friends Jan and George.  We have sort of “gone to ground” for the last few days - taking advantage of the bad weather and staying put we’ve had a few relaxing days – having a lovely meal with Jan on Wednesday evening and catching up with another friend Ian, from Warrington, who joined us.

Having been to Stockton Heath a few times before we’ve always enjoyed this lovely town with its impressive houses and buildings.

An lovely terrace of houses built of red brick and terracotta tiling.

The centre of the town.

This is a new development in the centre and just as pleasing to the eye as the older buildings.

‘Chance’ moored up at Stockton Heath.

The Anderton Boat Lift

Saturday 6th August

We continued on to Anderton today (still on the Trent and Mersey canal) passing through the centre of a huge chemical factory -  we show the picture as proof that it’s not all lovely countryside on the canals!  We have to be thankful, however, as we wouldn’t have canals if it weren’t for industry.

Within a few hours we arrived at Anderton.  Again, very few boats around so we thought we might be in with a chance that we could go down to the River Weaver on the famous lift. The answer was ‘yes’ and we only had to wait 45 minutes.

Onto the Anderton Boat Lift.  The lift takes narrow boats up and down between the canal and the river – a height difference of 50 feet.  Boats are floated into a caisson (tank of water) and a huge hydraulic ram raises and lowers the whole lot.  There are two caissons – one goes up while the other comes down.  Built in 1874 it fell into decay and was restored 2000 / 2002 at a cost of £7 million.  It’s one of the wonders of the canal system and Alton Towers should think about one!

Once down safely we turned towards Northwich (up river), as we haven’t been this way before, and soon moored at the town.  We took a walk around the town – mainly estate agents and charity shops.  We continued on, passing through Hunt’s Lock and then Royal Vale Locks.  Just above the lock we found a beautiful and peaceful setting to moor for the night.

Sunday 7th August

We carried on to the end of the River Weaver to Winsford and  Doug took a walk into the town to do some shopping  and James and Oscar stayed on the boat – the visitor mooring being so bad that we couldn’t really berth the boat properly.  We travelled up the Winsford Flash,which is the furthest navigable part of the river, to turn round and head back.

On the upper reaches of the Weaver we came across the only remaining salt mine in the area.  The banks are piled high with road salt.

One or two of the swing bridges are no longer operational so you can either get through or not – duck!!

This is Royal Vale lock on our trip back down river.  Three narrow boats and still room for the QE II – a very different feeling to the locks on the canal system.  The lock only operates at certain times and you have to wait around on a ‘holding’ pontoon for the gates to open.

We’ve enjoyed our couple of days on the River Weaver – a great contrast between glorious, tranquil stretches and heavy industry.  Tomorrow we are booked to go back up on the boat lift (as we couldn’t get a passage up today). 

The impressive Anderton Boat Lift.

Back onto the Trent and Mersey Canal

On Wednesday we took a left turn at Barbridge Junction and went onto the Middlewich branch of the Shropshire Union Canal. We had a pleasant cruise in lovely weather and moored just passed Venetian marina at a spot where we used to moor when we had our previous boat ‘Spirit’.  The area then was a scrubby little hollow which we enjoyed by ourselves but has now been transformed, by the Shropshire Union Canal Society, into Sykes’ Hollow picnic area with tables and BBQ areas for moored boaters!

The Sykes’ Hollow makeover.

It was very nice though with only 3 boats mooring up on Wednesday night.  As we knew rain was forecast on Thursday we planned to stay put for the day.  It rained quite hard for most of the morning but by the afternoon the sun was out again and so Doug and Oscar took a walk back to the marina (about a mile!) for some exercise while James did some jobs on the boat – engine checks and stern gland adjustment followed by some paint touch ups.

In the evening we invited our neighbours Ron and Jenny (on nb ‘Absolute’) on board for a glass of wine or two -  who’d also decided not to move all day!  We had a very pleasant chat and it was great to meet you both -  hope to meet up again with you both one day.

Today (Friday) we came to the end of the Middlewich branch and continued onto the Trent and Mersey canal by turning left after Wardle Lock at Middlewich.  We refuelled and watered at Kings Chandlery and continued on through some very narrow parts of the waterway very overgrown with reeds!

Narrow enough for you sir?

Tonight we are moored at the lovely Billinge Green Flash.  These ‘flashes’ are caused by underground mining (of salt) and the ground has collapsed and formed these small lakes.  We are warned NOT to stray beyond the side channel!  It is still incredibly quiet with very few boats around.

Our mooring tonight.

Leaving Chester

After seeing Ann and John off at the railway station yesterday we decided to spend the rest of the day moored in the basin at Chester.  No sooner had we settled in when we were  joined by nb Piston Broke again! – and it was great to catch up with Paul and Lynne and enjoy more “tales of the river bank”.  We had a lazy day venturing into the city for a wander round the shops and had a quiet night moored in the basin which was quite full with about 9 boats!.

This morning we reversed back to the water point to fill up. Picture below -  it would be nice to have a bendy boat some times.

This plaque commemorating Chester as the birth place of Tom Rolt without whom we would probably not have the 2ooo odd miles of canals which we enjoy today. (what a pity some one has decided it needed a splodge of paint to enhance it)

On leaving the basin we had the good fortune to team up with Buddie and Libbie on Nb Zed to share the 3 staircase locks in Chester and the remaining 5 locks to Beeston – all double locks and infinitely easier with two boats.

Making our way out of  Chester and passing under the city walls – very impressive.

Nb Zed and Nb Chance at Chemistry Lock.

Nb Zed stopping to inspect their propeller - we’ve all had to do it.

Beeston Castle - the view from our mooring tonight. Can’t get much better.  (moored just before Wharton’s Lock and bridge 108).

12 miles and 8 locks.