UK Canals - Journey reports

Shropshire Union Canal:Calveley

Last night the canal re-opened at 19:30.   There was a surge of boats both ways, but nowhere near the 29 boats that Pat had counted from behind us.   The last boat through said they are all drunk or having barbecues.   WE went and had a look at the remains of the tree.   Basically they have cut the top off leaving some of the substantial trunk but giving a single channel as a temporary measure.  We stayed put overnight but left especially early to get a headstart at Middlewich as the junction is a bit of a canal hotspot and also to make up a bit of lost time.     The plan worked.    We didn't see another boat moving until up on the Middlewich branch.   It has turned out a fine day and once we turned on to the Shroppie proper heading for Chester we were so impressed by the sight of a wide grassy bank after passing the Calveley Service Centre (so called) that we stopped for the day.   We have been passed by a regular stream of boats in both directions including two full length CRT working boats.   Haven't seen those in operation for ages.

Trent & Mersey Canal:Bramble cutting - Stoppage.

We got off to a good start this morning, past Northwich salt works - massive place straddling the canal with steam escaping in places from huge number of pipes and tanks - and then the flashes with the wide open water.  Then a towpath runner gave us warning that the canal ahead was obstructed at bridge 176.   When we got near it was evident that there was a queue of boats.  I counted 8 in all, all hire boats and a massive tree down right across the canal and towpath.   Access here will be terrible and Sunday too.   We are resigned to spending the night here.   Poor telephone coverage here.  Am able to post this with the phone in a plastic bag up on the wind generator using it as a WiFi hotspot.

Trent & Mersey Canal:Big Wood

More rain again today.   By Preston Brook we were well saturated and had missed the tunnel slot.  Southbound one can only enter between half past and twenty to the hour, as the tunnel is narrow and not quite straight.  On the other side the rain had stopped, so we continued on arriving at Saltersford tunnel just at the right time.   This tunnel is also narrow and very windy so that the exit is invisible at first and entrance is again controlled by notice boards.   The final tunnel is straight and not restricted.  We motored on past the Anderton lift to a spot further on by some woods, good for dog walks.   The old standby, spag bol tonight with some red which I am using up, a 2009 portuguese offering which was quite good.   Wanted to watch the news on TV but the wretched football has taken over and seems to bump everything else off the schedules.  Pat says that it is because the BBC has paid so much money they have to see it through.

Bridgewater Canal:Stockton Heath

Shortly after 9 am there was activity across the canal at the boatyard.  The boat lift moved and the dock was cleared.  Then we got the word to move across and were pulled into the dock to disembark.  We were aleady positioned over the straps and within a minute the boat was up in the air and being driven inland to the hard storing a few yards.  We then had a wait for the engineer to arrive to fit the rudder.  He duly did and got to work, first by removing the temporary rudder and helm, then with an angle grinder

Grinding off the old cup

to cut off the cup from the skeg and then the bearing on the counter.   He then tack welded a new bearing on top, dropped a bar down into a loose bearing below, tack welded that and then finished them both off.

Welding on the new rudder

  The main rudder section was then offered up and welded to the bar, the front section likewise and then what I can only describe as two "wings", long horizontal fittings that run the length of the rudder at the top on each side.  Finally the swan neck was just welded to the top of the bar.  Job done apart from very quickly blending out the welds and a coat of waterproof paint.

Then we were on our way.   Wow the new rudder is good.  I am convinced that the wings give more propulsion, though with no hard data to that effect.  However, fine rain set in and by Stockton Heath we had had enough.  Pat found the household rubbish dump and we shut down for the night.

Bridgewater Canal:Lymm Marina

A very short distance to go today.  We passed the visitor moorings at Ye Old No 3, then a long line of moored boats and finally an even longer line from Agden Bridge to arrive at the Marina.   Not really a marina as such, more a working bankside boatyard with boats being fitted out.  There is a large 35 ton boat lift opposite.  Maybe we will get a ride tomorrow.

Bridgewater Canal:Bollin Aqueduct

We left on Wednesday morning, first to try and get water but couldn't find the water point.   So we just moved on to Stretford Marine, just past Waters Meeting.   We needed gas too.   It seems that there is a transport rally on at Lymm this weekend.   Hopefuly we will not get caught up in it.   The temporary rudder is working well, but it is perhaps wise to run on low power to avoid shaking it about too much.   Early diagnosis of propeller trash leading to rudder shake resulted in a load of plastic being removed via the weedhatch.   We are now moored in a quiet spot just before Dunham Underbridge with just a mile to go to the marina tomorrow.   Lots of wide grass here and the books says we have a grand view of the Ship Canal.

Dunham Underbridge:Nuggler in distance

 Pity about the tall hedge.

Bridgewater Canal:Castlefields

By Tuesday we needed a major shop for supplies before the next phase of our travels, so we walked to Sainsbury's in Ordsal, taxi back!  That took all morning.    Regarding our incident, the insurance company wanted an accident report form returned and had posted it to Beckenham.   After explaining that we would not get it until the end of the month, they sent it by email.  There was no way I could find to complete the form from its pdf computer display and it needed to be printed out and posted.   I have no printer on the boat and would have bought a small portable printer if I could have found one.   My daughter said I was daft.   Just go to the library.   So after walking round in everdecreasing circles (literally) I found the library in the town hall.   Very impressive, very large and with computer terminals everywhere.  For £1.50 I was given temporary access with £2.00 for printing.   All done in a trice by accessing the original email.

Bridgewater Canal:Castlefields

Sunday was spent attending to little jobs.   With 6 days to wait for repairs there was no point in rushing off.  We might as well take advantage of what Manchester had to offer, so this was an opportunity to visit the Museum of Science and Industry.   It has a very large site and very large exhibits including a Cape gauge Beyer Garratt steam locomotive from South Africa.  We have the two foot gauge cousins working on the Welsh Highland Railway.

Bridgewater Canal:Castlefields

Philip catches some sun at Islington

This morning we got our pumpout and filled our water tank before setting off down the Rochdale 11 for Castlefields.  Water level between the two locks above Picadilly junction was 2 feet down and we were scraping the bottom, but from lock 9 down there was plenty of water with strong flows over the gates making opening a struggle.   With the expected problems by Canal Street of no towpath access to the lock we were ready.  There is a little gate in the glass railing to gain access to the lockside by climbing down if all else fails.   The whole flight took about 3 hours and there was a mooring in Castlefields.   RCR called with good news.    We are now booked into Lymm Marina on Friday for repairs.   From the start our bow thruster had been out of action due to a broken joystick.  I was going to source a replacement in Manchester so felt very foolish when by dismantling it  I discovered that it worked just as well, though not as easily, by manipulating the microswitches directly.

Bridgewater Canal:Castlefields

Philip catches some sun at Islington

This morning we got our pumpout and filled our water tank before setting off down the Rochdale 11 for Castlefields.  Water level between the two locks above Picadilly junction was 2 feet down and we were scraping the bottom, but from lock 9 down there was plenty of water with strong flows over the gates making opening a struggle.   With the expected problems by Canal Street of no towpath access to the lock we were ready.  There is a little gate in the glass railing to gain access to the lockside by climbing down if all else fails.   The whole flight took about 3 hours and there was a mooring in Castlefields.   RCR called with good news.    We are now booked into Lymm Marina on Friday for repairs.   From the start our bow thruster had been out of action due to a broken joystick.  I was going to source a replacement in Manchester so felt very foolish when by dismantling it  I discovered that it worked just as well, though not as easily, by manipulating the microswitches directly.

Rochdale Canal:New Islington Marina

Both rest and activity.  This morning a call was made to Braidbar and in turn to Tim Tyler who built the shell and hence the original steering gear.   Would a replacement rudder be avaialble?    It seemed not, but a better design of helm was perfectly possible and would be no problem to fit.  The boat just needs to come out of the water - but where.   Friends had suggested Lymm Boat Club.  Perhaps as members of the Association of Waterway Cruising Clubs, they could help as they had a slipway.   Putting these suggestions back to RCR set more phone calls in operation, but without a tow (realistically breasted up on the Rochdale and Bridgewater would be the only option) we would get nowhere.   Meanwhile our engineer, David Ormerod of Bronte Boats arrived, dismantled our handiwork and removed the rudder stock which proved it was indeed bent.   There were a lot of dicussions between us, David and RCR.   Could he fix up a temporary rudder.   Now it just so happened that on the other side of the marina fence a team of demolition experts were cutting up a bridge and heavy sheet metal was present.  Could the fitter cut us a rudder plate?   How big do you want it?

The swan neck and bent rudder stock

  David drilled a couple of holes, aquired some bolts and bolted this plate to our helm.   We tested it and it worked well.  Now no need for a tow.   Our insurance company (Haven Knox Johnson) had been informed of our accident at the outset and RCR were in touch with them at all stages of this story.   Now we had to put all these pieces together for a working plan to resolve our problem.  Signs were promising.  Tim Tyler had a working arrangement with Lymm Marina and their slipway might be available.   The rest of the day was spent at the marina in hot sunshine.   We did some shopping.    Ben, the marina supervisor had been visiting and couldn't have been more helpful, as had other boaters when we arrived the night before, making space for us.   The marina is 48 hours free, then £10 per day come what (or £50 per week).  Pump out £8.   Elsan, water also.

Our "new rudder" with fixing bolt

Rochdale Canal:New Islington Marina

As advised, because of vandalism risk, we set off early for the descent down the Ashton Canal into Manchester but were somewhat dismayed to find a boat just about to enter the top lock at Fairfield.  Had we been first, the day would have turned out very differently.  As it was it turned out to be a day to remember.   Firstly the boat in front was slow with the locks, even though they had a lock-wheeler.  There was a crew of two, whereas we were still three with Philip.   So exiting each lock we had to wait.   Pat & Philip were walking ahead to wait for the boat in front and then turn the lock round.    Waiting at lock 13 there was an exceptionally long delay ahead with lock 12, including a wait for an opposite direction.   On exiting the lock the bywash which was very strong blew the boat bows across to the towpath side where the propeller and rudder got caught up on some rocks.  The helm jumped up and down as the rudder was lifted.   It seemed impossible to regain the correct line with the approaching boat uncertain of my intentions, so I elected to reverse into the lock as a way of regaining correct orientation of the boat and then rushed the bywash.  To my horror I discovered that the tiller was locked in a midway position and only by luck, a favourable wind and the fact that the next lock was close did the boat enter the next lock as if nothing was wrong.  It was evident that the rudder had been lifted out of its cup, the whole assembly had dropped and the rudder was now jammed against the skeg.    Attempts to lift it back seemed to succeed but then as the tiller was turned, it jumped out again every time. The inference was that the rudder stock was bent.  With another boat following we left the lock and moored up below and I got in the water which was only about 2 feet deep at the edge to confirm that our assumption was correct.    RCR was called but unfortunately no engineer was available until late afternoon and the prospect of being immobiolised on the Ashton Canal overnight was not the best.   Early suggestions were that we should return to Portland Basin, but the owner was on holiday.   However, we discovered that as by keeping the rudder lifted we could steer, so we advised RCR and they suggested we should try and get to New Islington Marina on the Rochdale - 2 locks up - where an engineer would be able to attend.  Unfortunately, just above Lock 7 the rudder fell off.   This left us with no steering at all.   Now, you might say why didn't I tie the rudder up.  That is what the hole is for.  Well, two boatyards had attempted to get the rudder off before, one with jacks and the other with a sledgehammer to replace the bearing, all to no avail, so I guess I had discounted the possibility that it could fall off.    It was now getting late in the afternoon and with still no prospect of an engineer and now little likelyhood of a quick solution, we had to do something.    So we lashed up the gangplank to the tiller with the end in the water as a rudimentry rudder.    This worked to a small degree and succeeded in keeping the boat straight in the centre of the canal, but would not cope with sharp turns and was hopeless if bank effect took over, so we used the bow line walked on the towpath where possible to pull the bows round, or stopping to push the stern out from the bank.   This was how we got the boat to the entrance of the Islington Marina where a favourable breeze gently wafted the stern round so that the stern rope could be used to pull the boat in.    Now it was 7pm.   The engineer was promised for the morning.   RCR in the meantime had been very busy researching options for us.   It was not looking good.   Seemingly little prospect of a tow being offered and the only boatyard seemingly capable, back at Portland Basin.

Peak Forest Canal:Dukinfield Junction

Having spent a few days undergoing maintenance at Braidbar boatyard (Briadbar was the boat's birthplace) the boat is on the move again.  Phil, a railway track gang friend, joined us.  We were aiming for Dukinfield Junction with the Ashton.  There is a short cruise along the Macclesfield then the 16 lock Marple flight before the remaining lockless cruise.   The weather was chilly and overcast, but pleasant enough with occasional sun peeking through.   It would appear that we were the first boat to attempt a descent of the locks because we couldn't get the top gate open wide enough to get in.  This means an obstruction between the gate and wall which we attempted to feel for with the pole but really came up with what felt like gravel and rubble, not a log which we might have been able to deal with.  Nothing for it but to call out C&RT.   A chap arrived after about an hour and a half. He tried with rake and bent fork to clear it with little effect initially, but finally got rid of enough to open the gate another couple of inches which was all it took.  Then we were on our way, and being first made exceptionally good time.  Marple locks are narrow and deep, starting in an urban setting and progressing to pretty woodland. The few opposite direction boats that we came across merged in beautifully.  By lunch time we were getting quite hot.   We reached our overnight spot around 4 pm. mooring by the grass before the final bend to the junction itself.  Hoping to visit the museum nearby we were turned away - too late.

Macclesfield Canal:Higher Poynton

Today we move the relatively short distance to the Braidbar Boatyard at Higher Poynton.   We will be leaving the boat for some maintenance.   In particular:

New TV Shelf
New rear fenders
Remove houdini hatch, trace leak, fix and refit
New deck boards
New batteries
Remove no longer needed ballast to rectify slight list

Macclesfield Canal:Fourlane-Ends

We left early as usual.  Pat was dreading the Royal Oak swingbridge.   It is electrically controlled at is situated off a main road.  Last time we came through a line of narrowboats appeared from nowhere behind us and it caused a huge traffic jam on the main road.  Then she realised it was Sunday.   Not a soul about.    The next manually operated bridge rather caught us out.   We had forgotten about it, but soon dealt with even letting an opposite direction boat through.   The earthworks on this canal are amazing in their alternating height and depth.   The scenery and views are stupendous, though spoilt in many locations by the out of control hedgerows which screen some of the best views allowing only glimpses through gaps.    Between Macclesfield and north to bridge 29 the vegetation on both sides is urgently in need of cutting back with the offside being almost half across and bushes and saplings growing vigorously on the towpath side.    Sightlines to the typically tight bridge holes are partly obscured.   We stopped at Lyme View / Fourlane-Ends for the afternoon and tonight where the hotel boats Duke and Duchess were laying over undergoing some touching up to the paintwork.   They do look smart