UK Canals - Journey reports

Return to Barby Moorings

At Ansty it was quite misty when we set off, but after leaving the protection of the trees and hedges and emerging alongside open fields the mist thickened to the extent that vision was limited to around one hundred yards.    Knowing the canal meant that obstacles were expected and going slowly had little risk, the worst being moored boats or something coming the other way.  However, once past the Brinklow road bridge the mist thinned and progress improved.  We did meet an opposite direction boat, very unusual at this time of the morning but its tunnel light was well visible and probably unnecessary at that point.  The straight down to Stratton Stop was a little better although the tiny swing bridge at Rose Narrowboats was not visible at all from a distance.  Then once past Easenhall Bridge the mist started to clear and we were joined by other boats.   Rugby moorings were pretty full as were the moorings leading up to Hillmorton Locks.   Hillmorton locks were congested but we were lucky in not having to queue at the bottom, total confusion in the middle for a poor newbie on a hire boat, first stuck on the side on a bend, then caught in the backwash of an emptying lock.   We just drifted into an just exited lock, then at the top fortunate to arrive at just the right time to see a flotilla of 4 boats all arrive opposite direction at the top.   I think the volunteers do a grand job coping with it all.  These are, I believe, the busiest locks on the whole system.  Not far then to our moorings and the sad job of loading the car and putting the boat to bed.  We’ll leave that all for tomorrow.

Ansty

Ansty is our computer advised target overnight stop for today, so we have recovered time lost yesterday due to the rain “stopping play”.   An extra hour today, therefore, some of it spent waiting in a queue to get through Hawkesbury stop lock.    Our early start paid dividends in that we had no interruptions on our ascent of Atherstone’s 11 locks and we’re the only mark on the top lock-keepers score board for the day at the time of our arrival.   Pat has returned to normal lock operation in that she has been working next lock ahead to ensure uninterrupted passage of the boat from one lock to the next.   However, from Atherstone onwards we met lots of opposite direction traffic and were following in a small convoy for some of the time, all possibly due to a marked improvement in the weather.   Hawkesbury junction as expected was “busy”.  The Coventry Canal is joined by the Oxford Canal here in a 180 degree turn through a bridge and ending in a stop lock (a lock historically designed with a rise of just a few inches to prevent water from one company leaking into another).   The 180 turn is tricky and some boats need to make forward and reverse mores to accommodate it, thus adding to the congestion at busy times.   Success for a “turn in one” is best achieved by going very slowly.   I still have not worked out in my head what was actually happening, but we found ourselves behind a boat waiting to go through in turn waiting for an opposite boat or two.  Pat was at the lock probably acting as a traffic controller.   Not long to Ansty with limited moorings on the corve Rugby side of the village only.

Atherstone Bottom Lock

Bit of light rain first thing which settled down to a grey uniform overcast dismal day.   We did make good progress though.  Fazeley in about an hour.   Glascote Locks were quiet and the first of the two empty.   The next was full, but by the time the boat exited the lower one Pat had already opened the gates.  Then a boat appeared ahead so we didn’t even have to close the top gates and were on our way again.   NO traffic until near Poleswoth when suddenly there were opposite direction boats everywhere.   That didn’t last long.  The rain set in, heavy wetting kind.   We stuck it as far as the bottom of the Atherstone Flight, but by then were cold more than anything.  I must have reptilian blood because when cold I start to shut down and don’t want to do stuff anymore.  In this circumstance Pat and I both agreed that, after a full health and safety assessment, that it would be foolish to continue, so we stopped.   The schedule for today was for us to be 6 locks up.  A popular mooring stop possibly because of the nearby pub and which we were hoping to explore.   No problem.  We will just have to put in some extra time tomorrow.     The rain continued heavily until around 4pm. We had the fire going.  Although the temperature is not that low, a fire dries out all our kit quickly and cheers us up.

Hopwas

We had a good run down to Fradley.  We arrived at Woodend Lock just as a boat was exiting and with two lock-keepers as well doing a water resources survey.   The lower two locks were starting to get busy.  We had a short wait - one down one up, but by the time we entered the lock there were three waiting behind.  Once on the Coventry Canal things slowed down.  It was suddenly busy and with many curves, difficult bridges and off side vegetation great care is needed.  At Hademoor the canal feels very shallow.   In the Tamhorn areas reed beds have encroached in some places restricting the cut to narrowboat width.   Is this a sort of traffic calming measure?   I am worried that offside vegetation encroachment has reached such a stage that Canal & River Trust will have more on their hands in dealing with this than they can afford.   Increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere really do promote plant growth and perhaps the growth of trees and bushes is an example.   One small sapling today is tomorrow’s tree.

Our early start early stopping routine does pay off.  Plenary of mooring at Hopwas.   Tomorrow we encounter the Atherstone Flight of 11 locks.  Before that two locks at Glascote- a well known bottleneck.

Aston

No drama today.   Drizzle to start with and then a warm partly sunny day.  First we had Stoke Locks to deal with. No other traffic.  These are what I see as a mixed bag of locks.  The first and the last are deeper than the rest.  The middle lock leads to a low bridge exit, the penultimate to a very low railway bridge for which I need to remove the weather vane from the wind generator lying on the roof to be safe.  Water levels can vary and the clearance is very small.   Anyway, no problems there.  The last deep lock, just rather slow.   Nest after a few miles comes Trentham Lock.  A single isolated lock can almost always guarantee lock queues as below are some top mooring sites.  Most close are the moorings for the nearby pottery factory and then a little further, Barlaston with its popular Plume of Feathers pub and a handy store.    Moving on we came to Milford Locks - two and two with a gap in between.   We found the top lock empty with bottom gates open immediately before a road bridge.   Walking down and looking over it was evident that a boat swap was going on between there at the lock below, so a wait for all that to resolve.  We were the centre piece of another boat swap at the second of the two locks further on.   There is an attractive length after this with good mooring throughout, but with boats spaced out, not fast going.   Then Stone Locks.  Nicely balanced one up one down here.   There were good mooring opportunities in Stone as we passed through just after midday, but they will soon disappear for sure.  Wanting to clear the area we continued on to Aston Lock, has a good swap here and finally moored just past the large marina and the Carr Lane road bridge on the first piling moorings since Liverpool.

Etruria

The morning was going well.  Pat’s back has been troubling her recently so we are running with a modified single handed boater routine.  I do everything except take the helm at locks.  We had not seen any boats moving up until Lawton, so it was just a matter of choosing the most likely empty of a pair, then me getting off leaving Pat to take the boat in.  This saves a lot of lock ladder work.  This then involves me stepping off the boat at the lower lock landing.   This is when it all happened in very quick succession.  The landing must have had some slime on it because my foot slipped with the other foot airborne I suppose and that foot then fell into the gat between the boat and the landing causing a total loss of balance and the inevitable plunge into the canal.  I had a hand on the bank and the boat so it wasn’t a complete dunk thankfully saving my hearing aids.  The boat was hardly moving and Pat quickly shut down the engine.  Let’s say that took 15 seconds.  I realised then it was nigh on impossible to get out quickly, but as that thought settled in and almost as quick as I had fallen in, a well built young man appeared and helped me out of the water, enough to get a leg out and roll only the side.  Another 15 seconds.  Unbelievable.   Here’s the lesson!    If I had been truly single handed and with no-one around I would have had a bit of a problem, as they say!   We just carried on as usual for this and the next lock and then I had a shower and change of clothes for the rest of the climb.   One or two abrasions made themselves apparent  15 minutes later which were initially heated with alcohol sanitiser.  Pat alter insisted on a dressing.

Reaching the top we approached the Harecastle Tunnel  landing.  No boats were waiting and I saw the tunnel keeper get on the phone to his opposite number at the other end, so was pleased that we could go straight through and not have to worry about any boats in front.   Our aim was to moor for the night at Westport Lake.   Considering we had hardly seen another boat all day the reason became clear.  They were all moored up here with no spaces left. No alternative to go on and find an alternative.   There are some neat moorings with rings just after Bridge 119 before the Black Prince Hire Base.   So we headed there.

Hassall Green

We expect to leave our overnight moorings early and alone, but three boats passed us before 7:00 am.   So we are not the only ones.   First came Big Lock which can take two narrowboats.  Two must have already gone up ahead.  The third was finishing taking on water and joined us to go up.   We were expecting a bit of a queue at the next lock, the first of three deep narrow locks, but they were deserted and empty so a quick ascent was ours.  Kings Lock next, just after the junction with the Middlewich arm of the Shropshire Union Canal was full and a boat was about to descend giving us open gates eventually.   However, I did pop-up to have a look.  The hire boaters were just returning from a trip to Bugsworth Basin on the Peak Forest Canal and singing its praises for heritage interest and attractiveness.   Their intent to work this into a “ring” had been thwarted by a tree down on the Ashton Canal apparently.    Soon we were on our way again, all locks in our favour.   We had intended to stop at Wheelock for water, but the landing was occupied so we carried on with the intention of getting the first few of the Cheshire Locks out of the way before a threatened turn for the worse in the weather.   Again all bar one of the locks were in our favour and better, some left with gates open for us by opposite direction boats.   We were lucky.   It isn’t always like this.  One can picture a scene where following another uphill group all the locks need to be emptied, or they have been turned around by enthusiastic crews setting up a passage for their boats well in advance without regard for the needs of boats coming the other way.     The Cheshire Locks are paired for the most part, which does help.

We stopped above Lock 59 just in time to a valid a soaking and watched a very slow procession fo traffic on the M6 motorway.  Emergency bridge repairs apparently.

Crofton Aqueduct

Did a weed hatch job last night and retrieved a heavy plastic bag and some strong waterweed stems wrapped around needing the diving knife to free them.   So all was well once we started the cruise this morning and we should not have a lot of further trouble.   The Trent and Mersey Canal on which we are now on is much narrower and shallower than the Bridgewater we have just left.  Reeds are proliferating and narrowing the channel in places in one instance where there is a line of moored boats reducing it to single line working and on a bend too, so that there is no sign of an opposite direction until too late.   The views however are stunning, when the hedgerow permits you to see them, over the Weaver Valley from 50 feet above as the canal winds along the hillside.   We arrived at Saltisford Tunnel (N) with only 5 minutes to go for the timed entrance needed. (20 minutes from the half hour).  The tunnel is quite bent at the end, and as the book says, the other end is not visible from the North.  I realise now why I had so much trouble getting control of the boat when entering from the south.  The sudden change from full daylight to darkness, even with the headlight, takes a few seconds for the eyes to adapt nad then you find the tunnel isn’t leading where you thought it was.  

Barton Tunnel is still a bit wiggly and there is no time restriction.  The only problem is that one cannot see if it is clear until already in it due to the 90 degree turn necessary at the entrance.

We found the rubbish drop at Anderson’s Service (thank you Sue) and had a pretty uneventful run down to Middlewich.   Expecting most moorings to be taken (it was lunchtime) we stopped short and tied up just after the Croxted Aqueduct.   At least we are in the shade after another sultry hot day, however it was much further from the supermarket stop which I had hoped for and after a mile walk almost found that the moorings are plentiful and pleasant above the Big Lock.

Return to Preston Brook

Misty this morning but it soon cleared.  Needing a few odd items of groceries, we stopped at Stockton Heath.  Plenty of moorings both before and after the main bridge by Throne Marine.   There is a Sainsbury local just a short walk down the hill.  Then on to Preston Brook, starting to think about the timed entrance allowed for the single track tunnel.   Looking at the map and with a bit of guesswork we could make the cutoff.   Entrance from the north is allowed from the half hour to 40 minutes past the hour (just 10 minutes window), so missing the time means almost an hour wait.  As we got nearer I was sure that we would just miss, but pressed on and made it with just 1 minute to spare.   It took us 15 minutes to get through.   At the end there was a collection of boats, some going on north, some newly arrived and a couple already waiting for their slot on the hour.   Once through, we moored just after the first (tricky) bend where there were rings - an unaccustomed luxury.  Once again we are getting desperate for rubbish disposal.   Seemingly there is nothing between Leigh and Wheelock, but it might be worth a try at the council tip just before getting to Middlewich.

Barn Owl Pub

We have stopped opposite the pub on a pretty wide part of towpath, but as the pub is between bridges there is no easy access for us.   No locks today, just steady cruising, first to leave C&RT waters at Leigh (with a quick visit tot the nearby Aldi) and then onto the Bridgwater Canal (Leigh Branch).  We passed no opposite direction boats until the Barton Aqueduct which had been swung, so closed to us.   Luckily it started to swing back almost as soon as we arrived.  Very interesting to see how it all worked to seal the water it contains from the canal and of course the Manchester ship Canal below when it opens.  There are gates which swing rather than barriers which lift or drop.  Soon we were on our way again.   No sign of any shipping below, so probably just a routine test.  At Waters Meeting and past the huge Kelllogs factory we turned right for Preston Brook starting with the long straight sections through Sale and Altrincham.    Lots of walkers out there - children being taken to school and runners of all sizes.   Once out of the urban area we continued to the boatyards after Agate Bridge for a diesel top up.  Weather is warming up and looking quite hot for tomorrow.

PLANK LANE

 

Plank Lane lifting bridge was our target today.   Just a little further than the computer plan suggested, but if we were to stop short, then we would faul foul of the restricted hours on a weekday morning tomorrow.  It is a very busy road and the bridge is narrow for the road user, so controlled by traffic lights to make things worse in a way for the motorist.  We have right of way.  So we have passed through and are moored up opposite a new housing development and marina and adjacent to a large country park.    First, though, our journey.  8 locks today, 5 up and two down.   The first, a deep lock formed of the amalgamation of two.   It was full and had to be emptied first.  Then once in, all a bit of a muddle.  The ideal ground paddle to use was u/s and gate paddles not ideal, so lots of running around the lock bridge at the bottom trying to get a safe fill without the sluice wash throwing the boat around.   Then next after, a swing bridge (manual).   Then another lock, again with a defective top ground paddle and yet another lock this time a little strange in that there was no rush of water opening the ground paddle so that I assumed it was not working.  Yet the lock was filling.    By then we had reached Wigan and there was a boat waiting below the two Wigan Locks which we joined up with for the rest.   From now no more locks (apart from a stop lock) until Middlewich), which will be pretty well 3 days motoring.   It’s fascinating to think: all this distance and all on the same level.

There have been lots of walkers out today, being a sunny weekend.  Behind our mooring there is a large wooded country park cross crossed with narrow paths inviting exploration.   I found it handy for collecting some kindling for the stove, thus guaranteeing fine weather for the next few days.

Parbold

After a very pleasant meal at the Ship Inn last night we had a straightforward run today.  All the swing bridges worked.  No dramas, although we did see that C&RT have posted a navigation closure for the Maghull swing bridge that we passed yesterday with the help of the engineers.   I have to feel sorry for the boaters booked for Liverpool as it looks like from Monday the closure will last at least until Wednesday.    It was nice to renew our acquaintance with Parbold.  A shame perhaps that there are no mooring rings here as the ground after the recent dry spell is like concrete and I could have wished for a pneumatic hammer to get a couple of mooring pins in.

Haskayne Ship Inn

No rush this morning.  There is a restriction at Hancocks Bridge limiting our use before 9:30 in the morning (and after 2pm.).  So first a pump out to give us an empty tank to start the journey back to Barby, then with Pat manning the Litherland swing bridge we were off at around 8:30.   As we found yesterday the canal is pretty clean apart from edge waterlily growth here and there, so excellent progress and in just under an hour we were at Bridge 6, the first of the automated swing bridges.  From here we had experienced more weed on the way in, but in fact, apart from a complete coverage around the winding hole just before reaching Bridge 9 we were in the clear.   Between Bridge 6 and Bridge 9 we encountered a convoy of six opposite direction Narrowboats that must have come through the aforementioned bridge at “opening hour”.   This would have held up the traffic a while.    This bridge is on a ‘B’ road between residential areas and very busy.  It normally has traffic light control so in one direction or other the traffic is always stopped which actually makes it easier when deciding to “press the button”.   For us, nearer to 10am, traffic was not that bad.  The bridge works quickly and the delay would not be that bad for just one boat, but for 6!

Having cleared that obstacle the canal on to Maghull is very weeded with waterlily leaving a narrow channel in the centre.   Is this because the edges are shallow, I wonder.  Finally through Maghull we have a succession of swing bridges.  The first automated bridge had no power.  Two boats were waiting on the other side and had already raised the matter with the authorities, so actually we did not have to wait long before the hi-viz appeared and the bridge opened for us.   This is the bridge that was under repair on our inward journey and probably being one of the first to have been automated along this stretch has original equipment I guess.   Others gave us no problem.

We found the moorings at the Ship Inn empty, though they are on a convex curve and needing some work, so cat’s cradle time.   The pub is busy with lunch time customers and we are advised to book for the evening.   Looking forward to supper here.

Departure Salthouse Dock Liverpool

After a very enjoyable week spent in Liverpool helped by some decent weather it is time to go.   My daughter and family joined us for a few days by train from Kent.  Four Narrowboats and a broad beam were scheduled to leave today.  We were with the second pair and we were advised to give the first 10 minutes to clear Mann Island Lock with is small rise.   Sid, the C&RT guy in charge was there to set the lock for us and told us that the first two boats ahead of us had been asked to set Princes Lock for us.   The landing stage below Mann Island is well accessible on the left side, but Princes Lock can be a little more difficult as it is just a stair access quite close to the bottom lock gates.   One can easily step off from the bow.  Less easily from the stern which is way back for a 60 foot boat.   As it happened, the previous boats were just clearing the lock, so there was some delay getting it ready.   The channel through Princes Dock and beyond is marked by orange buoys, but it is not immediately clear on which side they should be passed.  Better they were cans or cones with conventional colours which makes it easy.  Arriving at the bottom of the Stanley Flight we were happy to see a full team of volunteer Lock Keepers and the bottom Lock was being prepared for us.   On our journey last week these locks, and indeed the canal main line above, were weed infested.   The bottom lock still had a bit of a problem, but further up it improved and the canal above was clear.   It seems that all the weed had been driven down towards Eldonian Basin by a change of wind, or it had been cleared, although there was no sign of that.   Consequently, no weed hatch trip was necessary, and once on the move again we made very good time to Litherland.   The moorings there were deserted.  We need a pump out here as there are few opportunities further on apart from the boat club at Scarisbrick where a phone call might prove the desired result.

So we stop here the night and it puts us within 2 hours or so of Bridge 9 with its restricted operating hours.

The photo: Early morning at Litherland C&RT secure moorings.