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| Our only lock of the day – the aptly named, Deep Lock |
With rain forecast all day
on Saturday we decided to crack on towards Wigan on Friday with the intention
of going up the 21 lock Wigan flight on Sunday.
Once we are back at Wigan and turn left up the flight we will be back on
new canals for us and heading over the Pennines. We have been through the Pennines before on
our previous boat but on the Huddersfield Narrow canal. That time we had to turn around and come back
before hitting Huddersfield as we were too long. It did mean we were able to go through the fantastically
exciting Standedge tunnel twice in one week. It is by far the most interesting canal tunnel
in the country and, at over 3 miles long, it is also the longest, highest and deepest
canal in the UK.
Our only problem with
getting back to Wigan was that we had had an email saying the swing bridge
outside Burscough was out of action. There
is a winding hole about ½ mile before the bridge, so we decided to head for there
and stop for lunch, then walk down and see what the situation was.
It was quite a dismal day
but at least it was dry. It was also a
lot cooler than of late, so we donned fleeces and jeans for the journey. In complete contrast, by the time we moored
up in the evening we were back to shorts and tee-shirts.
On the way we passed the
Rufford branch again; this leads up to the tidal River Ribble that narrowboats
can book passage across to the other side of the estuary to gain access onto
the Lancaster canal. Thinking about this
reminded us that our friends Les, John and Sue were on their narrowboats on the
Lancaster canal this time two years ago.
They were caught the wrong side of a breach for many weeks and in the end,
CRT arranged to crane their boats out into a watered section.
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| Signpost at the junction with the Rufford branch |
We moored for lunch as
planned and, as no email had arrived with an update on the bridge closure we
were getting ready to walk down to the bridge when a boat came past in the
opposite direction. It transpired that
the bridge had been fixed first thing, but no email had been sent out! When we finally got the email saying it was
open we noticed it wasn’t sent until 16:28 ☹
We were soon back at
Burscough and stopped outside Jack & Gin to take on water. The sun was beginning to peek through the
clouds and warm things up and by the time we left tourists/people were sitting
outside the bars and wandering around looking at the moored boats.
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| Taking on water outside Jack & Gin |
As the weather was getting
more pleasant we decided to push on through Parbold and Appley Bridge and moor alongside
the Douglas flood plain below Gathurst as we had on the way down.
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| Cruising between Parbold and Appley Bridge |
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| Our mooring for Friday night with Buddy immediately fast asleep on the cycle track as soon as we moored 😉 |
So, we travelled 15 miles
through one lock on Friday the first time we have travelled that sort of
distance in a day since last May when we were heading up the River Severn to Worcester
from the River Avon at Evesham.
If we end up going up the
Wigan flight on Sunday, we may well be in Gargrave for the following weekend as
there will only be 55 miles to go with 32 locks. At our pace of four hours cruising a day that
should only take seven days 😊
Before I sign off, my mum
came out of hospital yesterday and according to my sister, who has gone up to
see her, she is perkier than ever which is good news.
And finally, here are the
boats stuck in Salthouse Dock waiting for news on when the Melling breach will
be repaired. The latest news is that it
will take at least six weeks to repair and initial thoughts are that it is not
as bad as the current Middlewich breach. According to our friends, who are still there, many people have gone home as they were only on holiday for a week or so and had to get back to work or other commitments.
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| Dave & Barbara are on Four Bells; Chris & Aileen’s boat is at right angles to them |
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