Down the Aire & Calder Navigation

We are now on a very different sort of waterway. The Aire & Calder was until recently important commercially as it was used to transport large amounts of coal from the mines to the power stations and also to transport gravel and oil. Most of this traffic disappeared with the closure of the mines, the vast majority of the boats are now leisure craft. However the canal width and depth and the locks remain appropriate to large freight barges.

Densie dwarfed by Lemonroyd Lock

These enormous locks were all manned, but now they are configured for private boater usage with electrically operated paddles and gates controlled from panels by the side of the lock. I believe lock keepers assist with commercial barges, but so far we have yet to see either a barge or a lock keeper.

The canal is a river navigation - partially canal and partially canalised river, in this case the Aire. However, when one is on the waterway the difference is not obvious. The waterway is wide and deep, and for the most part tree-lined.

We left Clarence Dock at at 9:25 after refilling with water. After passing through our first Aire&Calder lock just outside Clarence Dock we were able to travel down the canal with the engine roaring as it propelled Densie at the amazing speed of 5.7 mph (as measured by my satnav).

Going under the M1

After stopping for lunch and a quick birdwatch at Woodlesford where the canal towpath overlooks the river, we arrived in Castleford, a busy industrial town, in the afternoon.

Last day in Leeds

We plan to move tomorrow, so first thing this morning we walked into the city centre to get provisions for the next few days. These included prawns for today's dinner of prawns in spicy tomato sauce with pasta, and pork and veg for a two-day stew.

Denise's relations come to see us

Mid-morning, visitors arrived and we spent a pleasant few hours together on the boat, lunching, chatting and walking around Clarence Dock and the nearby lock.

Clarence Dock

As this is our last day here, I thought it is time to say something about Clarence Dock. It was a major dock for Leeds but recently since the disappearance of commercial canal traffic has been redeveloped into a leisure and residential centre. Taking advantage of the attractive waterside setting, there are a large number of flats, shops and the massive Royal Armouries Museum in addition to the moorings for perhaps 30-40 visiting boats as well as private moorings. It all looks very impressive and has obviously cost a vast amount of money.

Unfortunately many of the shop premises are unused, the expensive designer clothes outlets appear to have virtually no customers, and one of the few restaurants has gone out of business. I understand that the flats have proved difficult to let. Hopefully the place will become more successful once the housing market begins to move. However as itinerant boaters we have found the facilities, security, and relatively easy access to the city centre have made Clarence Dock to be an excellent place to stay.

Out for the day

Kirkstall Abbey church

Today was spent off the boat. We took a bus from the central bus station to Kirkstall Abbey, a 12th Century Cistercian foundation, similar to the perhaps better known Fountains and Rievaulx abbeys. Having spent half an hour looking around we crossed the road to the Abbey gateway which housed an interesting museum of Leeds life in the Victorian period, the main portion being devoted to streets of fully furnished 19th century shops.

After lunch we took another bus to Armley Mills, which when built in the early 19th century was the largest woollen mill in the world. Since it closed in the 1960's it has been converted to a museum showing the wool processing machinery and the manufacturing heritage of Leeds upto the 1960's. It was a very interesting couple of hours, though it was sad to realise that very few, if any, of the then major employers exist now.

Dragon Boat Racing

Today is our first full day in Leeds. We went to the enormous Kirkgate Market in the morning to buy the ingredients for this evening's dinner - scallops cooked in bacon with a celery and tomato salad. We are feeling full after eating out at a Persian restaurant last night so a light meal will suffice.

Visitors arrived at 12:00. After lunch at a local cafe we watched the Dragon Boat racing being held within Clarence Dock. Being moored there gave us a grandstand seat right by the finishing line.

Dragon Boats in action

For those who have not seen Dragon Boat racing it is based on the Chinese boat races. A Dragon boat is a long fibreglass boat seating a team of perhaps 8 pairs of people equipped with canoe-type paddles who propel the boat to the beat of a large drum mounted at the bow. The boat is steered by a steersman who stands at the stern. Local companies and organisations supply sponsored teams who compete against each other in a series of timed races to determine the event winner.

Now on the Aire & Calder Navigation

Denise in a staircase lock

Started moving at 7:30 to get through the first lock when it opened at 8:15. This like several others on this leg of the journey was another staircase - preceded by three swing bridges.

At each staircase British Waterways have lock keepers who ensure that the locks are used correctly and that boats dont disappear between locks. There may have been problems in the past as the canal goes near some of the less desirable parts of Leeds, but the only people we saw were friendly fishermen, cyclists, joggers and dog-walkers.

The journey itself was interesting, passing by old and new buildings and the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey with much the route along the wooded southside of the Aire valley. As we have found travelling into other large cities by canal the surroundings look attractively rural until very close to the centre. The water was deep so we were able to give the newly serviced engine a work-out.

The Aire & Calder Navigation through Leeds

Entering Clarence Dock

After nearly dropping Denise in the water at the last lock where access was difficult because of building work, we crossed the boundary from the Leeds & Liverpool onto the Aire & Calder Navigation and moored at Clarence Dock in front of the Royal Armouries Museum at 13:45. The moorings are free, have electricity and water available next to the boat, and are 10 minutes walk from the city centre - perfect for an enjoyable weekend.

Engine service and we reach Leeds (nearly)

Today was Densie's big day - engine service time. We reversed the boat from the mooring back to the nearby Calder Marine boatyard and waited for the engineer. He arrived at 10:30 as arranged and spent the next 90mins changing the oil and checking out the engine. I was surprised to hear that the bolts connecting the prop shaft to the engine drive shaft were all loose - something I had never thought of checking myself. Fortunately no harm done. The service was very thorough and much cheaper than I have paid elsewhere.

We also bought various items at the boatyard including a fresh cylinder of propane gas and a Calder&Hebble spike. The former is used for the cooker, a cylinder lasts several months and we carry a spare. The latter is a heavy piece of wood about the shape of a baseball bat but rather larger. It is used on the Calder & Hebble Navigation, where we will be in a week or so, for operating the lock paddles. Why the C&H uses a totally different paddle mechanism to every other canal I have no idea.

Boatyard business completed we set off on the 2.5 mile journey to Rodley on the outskirts of Leeds. We will spend the night here before making the non-stop cruise to Leeds city centre. Mooring between Rodley and the centre is not recommended.

Apperley Bridge

Salt's Mill at Saltaire

The time has come for a longer journey, looking back I am surprised at how short a distance we have travelled in the past week - 24 miles, 19 locks and 30 swing bridges. However we are now leaving the scenic areas though today's run was certainly pleasant made more so by the sunny weather.

Our first stop after passing through Saltaire again was at Shipley to visit a convenient supermarket - it was an Aldi so I could only buy the essentials plus a few European sliced meats. Shipley had a good number of mills and victorian factories, though those we saw by the canal had mostly been sensitively converted to offices, shops, and flats. I only noticed 1 derelict mill. It was amusing to see a hotel, obviously new, which had been built to vaguely resemble the converted factory/mill buildings in the vicinity.

Densie descends the Field 3 rise staircase locks

Beyond Shipley the countryside became much more attractive as the canal followed the Aire around a wooded hill. In this section there were 2 further staircase locks, one of 3 rises, and the other of 2. Another point of interest was identified by a couple of workmen who kindly helped Denise with a recalcitrant swing bridge. The adjacent sewage works, where they were constructing a Visitors Centre, is one of the largest in Europe.

One of the largest sewage works in Europe

We moored at Apperley Bridge at 14:30close to the boatyard where we hope to get the boat serviced tomorrow.

A quiet day

Densie moored at Dowley Gap

There is no need for us to move today because of the engine service on Thursday at Apperley Bridge which is not far from where we are now.

This morning we walked along the canal to Saltaire where Sir Titus Salt built an impressively large mill and his version of an ideal residential area for his workers in the 1850's. This included well built houses located in wide streets with a school, a hospital, a church and a large park by the nearby Aire river, but of course no pub as Sir Titus was a teetotaler. The whole area which is in apparently original condition, is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Salt mill is now used for offices and an upmarket shopping centre with a David Hockney gallery. I personally found the Hockney's uninvolving and without the intensity of feeling of the Lowry's we had seen in Manchester.

We then walked along over the canal and river up to the moors overlooking Shipley Glen, a deep wooded valley with rock outcrops. There is an old cable tramway from the Aire up to the moors which we had hoped to use, but unfortunately it is closed until later in the year because of safety concerns.

Bingley 5-Rise

View down the Bingley 5-rise

A late start this morning because we didnt want to disrupt the school run by opening the next swing bridge which would have blocked the road to much of Riddlesden.

We arrived at the top of the Bingley 5-rise locks at 11:00 where we met up with my brother's family again. They and the resident lock-keepers helped us down both the 5 staircase locks and the subsequent 3 staircase locks.

A staircase lock is one in which the bottom gate of one lock is also the top gate of the next lock, each lock directly feeding the next. They can be complex to operate as the levels in each lock must be such that filling/emptying one lock does not overflow or drain the next lock - hence the need for permanent lock-keepers.

The Bingley 5-rise is one of the largest staircase locks in the country where the canals falls 60 feet in the 5 double width locks.

On the way out of Bingley

We stopped in Bingley to shop and have lunch, we then moved on to a wooded area just outside the town on the lock-keeper's recommendation.

Visit from friends - Sunday

In the morning we travelled the 5.5 miles and 8 swing bridges to Riddlesden on the outskirts of Keighley where we met friends from Hampshire who were in the area. After a pleasant visit to the local pub, a leisurely lunch on the boat and a walk down the canal, the friends departed and we decided to stay where we were for the night.

Problems with the T-Mobile connection prevented any access to the internet and so no posting yesterday.

Short journey to Kildwick

Skipton Castle gatehouse

We left Skipton at 10:15 after a pump-out and filling up with water.

I havent said anything about the pumpout side of things so far, perhaps this is fortunate. The boats toilet flushes into a large tank which needs to be emptied every couple of weeks.

We were sorry to leave Skipton as we had enjoyed our time there. Yesterday, when there was no blog because the internet connection was too slow, we both had a hair cut and then visited the local Morrisons to stock up for the next 5 days. We also had a look around the market and bought 3 local Yorkshire cheeses. In the afternoon we visited Skipton Castle which was of great interest because it is one of the few in the country that was not badly damaged during the Civil War.

Airedale View - Mill at Low Bradley

But we had to move on because we need to be in Apperley Bridge on Wednesday night as the boat is booked in for a 250 hour engine service. After a 2 hour journey we stopped at the small village of Kildwick where I had arranged to meet my brother and his family.

Down Airedale to Skipton

Yesterday's rain cleared and so we set off at 10:00 after filling up again with water. Through three locks and then no more for today. The dale scenery was very attractive. But there were 5 swing bridges.

Swing bridges, as mentioned before, are inconvenient but we were travelling again with Mulberry and so we were able to "bridge wheel". One boat goes ahead, drops their crew who open the bridge. The front boat then goes through and moors, letting the second boat through the bridge. The second boat goes ahead to work the following bridge whilst the first picks up their crew after they have closed the bridge again.

This journey was made more arduous by the strong wind. We can cope with sun, we can cope uncomfortably with rain, but wind presents problems for narrowboats. Despite their weight of perhaps 15 tons their large flat sides provide all that a strong crosswind needs to push the boat from one side of the canal to the other. To keep going you often have increase the revs, turn the bow of the boat towards the wind and travel down the canal partially sideways. When you decide to stop, mooring on the windward side of the canal can be difficult, requiring the crew to leap ashore with a rope and quickly make the boat fast before the wind has a chance to push the boat off.

We moored in Skipton at 13:00 where we plan to stay for 2 or 3 nights.

Another day in Gargrave

We had intended to move on to Skipton today although the weather forecast did not look good. The locks below the moorings at Gargrave, like all locks on this section of the canal, are only available 10:00-18:00 to conserve water. At 9:30 when we should have started to move the rain started. It continued to rain for the next 6 hours.

So we stayed at the mooring. The temperature was uncomfortably cold so I lit the stove. During the morning I finished off my OU assignment and Denise completed a beadwork mat.

During the afternoon we ran the engine to recharge the batteries and provide hot water. This will stay hot overnight sufficient for the needs of tomorrow morning. And tomorrow we leave for Skipton.

Gargrave

Densie and Mulberry descending the Bank Newton locks

We left Nuttleber this morning and travelled the 2.5 miles and 9 locks into Gargrave where we moored at lunchtime. Gargrave marks the start of Airedale. We will be following the Aire down the dale for the next week or so to Leeds and beyond.

Mooring was difficult as all the spaces had been taken. Strange, because yesterday on our walk we noted that the moorings were almost empty. Mulberry kindly let us moor alongside them so we didnt have to carry on through the next few locks.

This evening we are planning to visit the local Indian restaurant, our first meal off the boat for 6 days.

Where's the rain?

Firstly, to continue yesterday - I went for a short walk up the towpath in the evening and had a very good view of a Little Owl on a nearby fencepost.

Back to today - as we had been on the move every day since Manchester and rain was forecast for lunchtime we decided to take the day off and stay at this superb mooring for another night.

In the morning we went for a 6 mile walk across the countryside to Gargrave and then walked back along the towpath. As we returned the clouds were looking very threatening and there was the sound of distant thunder.

Walking down the Pennine Way to Gargrave

Since then no rain! We can see very heavy storms to the north, but nothing here (yet).

Mike spent the afternoon working on his latest OU Maths course assignment while Denise was working on her beading.

Downhill to Yorkshire

Today was fairly quiet. First thing we walked along what remains of the Rain Hall Rock Branch canal. This canal left the Leeds & Liverpool at Barnoldswick (Barlick to the locals apparently) and went for a mile or so into the hills where it was used as a linear quarry, limestone being taken from the rock face and loaded directly into the boats. My guess is that it has been closed for perhaps a 100 years, the quarry now being a heavily wooded ravine.

When we returned to the boat we cruised with Mulberry 5 miles and descended 3 locks, crossing the Yorkshire border. Beyond the locks this section of the canal snakes wildly as follows the contour around successive hills.

Cutting at East Marton

From our mooring at Nuttleber Dyke which we reached at lunchtime we can see across the upper Aire valley to the moorland hills beyond. We spent the sunny afternoon on the canal side drinking tea/coffee, eating cake, and birdwatching. Our "ticks" included good views of curlew, snipe, oystercatcher and pheasant.

Densie and Denise moored at Nuttleber Dyke

Densie goes over the top

Derelict mill in Nelson

Today we reached the summit pound on the Leeds & Liverpool, the highest point on the canal, having worked 7 locks and and a mile (nearly) long tunnel. For non-boaters a pound is the water between two locks.

We started early and travelled into Nelson where we stopped at a mooring kindly provided by Mr Morrison for customers of his emporium which is next to the canal. We bought the groceries for the next 4 days and carried on to the Barrowford locks where we met up with Lynne and Martin on Mulberry with whom we had travelled previously on the Wigan and Blackburn flights.

Densie and Mulberry in the Barrowford locks

There is a shortage of water in the reservoirs that feed the top of the canal and so BW restrict the hours in which the locks can be used. We stopped for lunch and water above the top lock and then moved forward to the Foulridge tunnel. This tunnel is too narrow for boats to pass and so passage on alternate half hours is controlled by traffic lights.

Beyond Foulridge the scenery shows we are at the top of the Pennines. The land is relatively flat with moorland hills rising above small farms. We have clearly left the Lancashire mills behind - it all looks very rural.

Through Burnley

Denise driving on the way to Burnley

Today we have moved 12 miles further up the Leeds & Liverpool canal to the east side of Burnley.

The journey was enjoyable alternately passing through interesting though often run-down mill villages and very attractive Pennine countryside with views across to Pendle Hill. The sun shone, and the absence of wind added to the pleasure. We met 3 swing bridges, of which we will see a lot more when we get onto Yorkshire. These are boater operated and so each requires the boat to be stopped and a crew member despatched to open the bridge and to close it again after the boat has passed through. The boat must then stop again to pick up the crew member. All-in-all they present nearly as much of an interruption to the journey as do locks.

We moored for lunch in Burnley fearing it would be similar to Blackburn. We were very pleasantly surprised as the city appears to have done much to improve itself after the collapse of the mills, which were of course its main source of employment. The town centre is bright, clean and bustling with a good indoor market where we bought some local delicacies of pressed lamb and Lancashire cheese. Like Manchester, there are plenty of the solid Victorian buildings which have been tastefully renovated.

Bye bye Blackburn

Blackburn from the canal

View towards the Pennine Hills

We travelled into Blackburn through attractively wooded countryside getting further into the hills, as farmland gave way to grass fields and then rough pasture and the cows were replaced by sheep. On the way we saw our first kingfisher of this trip - in the southern canals we were used to seeing perhaps 2-3 a week, but they seem much rarer further north.

Of Blackburn little needs or can be said. The canal was shallow and dirty, we counted at least 6 shopping trolleys in the canal as well as a fridge. People we are travelling with picked up a duvet and had to stop because of other rubbish wrapped around their prop. Just outside Blackburn a group of children spat at us from a bridge.

However, leaving Blackburn the scenery is stunning. We are moored on a hillside with views across to the Burnley and the high Pennine hills with just a faint rumble from the distant M65.

Into Lancashire

Canal view near Adlington

Today we have travelled further up the Leeds & Liverpool canal mooring at a village called Wheelton where we hope to visit the local launderette for our first clothes wash of the trip and to celebrate afterwards with a visit to the nearby pub.

During this trip we passed a sign saying "Welcome to Lancashire". I guess we were in Greater Manchester previously. The journey itself was enjoyable passing through attractive scenery and finishing off with a flight of 7 locks.

Back to launderettes - as we plan to be away for 2-3 months we dont have sufficient clothes and bedding to last. We therefore need to wash our clothes, and as we dont have a washing machine on board we are dependent on laundrettes. Furtunately we dont need to spend time looking for one as the Aylesbury Canal Society publish a list of all launderettes close to canals.

Wigan flight

View from lock 15 of the Wigan flight

Today was the Wigan flight of 21 locks in 2 miles which takes the canal into the foothills of the Pennines. We started at 8:30 and left the top lock at 2:00pm. It would have taken much longer had we not seen another boat a couple of locks behind us after we had gone up a third of the flight.

We waited for them and then went up the rest of the flight together - the locks being wide enough for two boats. Working in this way is much faster as there is a spare crew member to prepare the next lock whilst the current lock is being filled. The boats can travel out of one lock into the next without stopping. It also halves the amount of water used, which is highly desirable because water at the summit of a canal can be in short supply.

We have moored for the night at Haigh Country Park where the canal overlooks the wide Douglas valley. Denise is now rubbing down and priming a deep scratch we must have got at a previous mooring.

Wigan

We have just moored for the night at Wigan Junction where we join the main Leeds and Liverpool canal for the 93 miles and 85 locks journey to Leeds.

The journey here along the Bridgewater was easy and of some, but not great, interest. The canal continues to be straight(ish), deep, and wide. En route we moored at Leigh to shop. Leigh was a mill town but most of the evidence has gone. Two very large and impressive mill buildings still stand though.



We then passed through a British Waterways operated lift bridge where a busy road crosses the canal. Talking to the very helpful BW guy, he said he had worked for BW for 25 years, the last 18 being as the bridge operator here. I guess he occasionally finds the job a little boring!



The canal in this area is on an embankment. When it was built it was at ground level, but since then mining subsidence has caused the surrounding countryside to drop by perhaps 6 feet and so it was necessary to build up the canal banks.

Au Revoir Manchester

Fortunately the forecast rain didnt happen so we were able to leave Castlefield moorings at 10:00am taking the Bridgewater canal out to the west.

This canal is famous as the first of the industrial revolution canals built in 1765 by James Brindley for the Duke of Bridgewater. Despite its age the canal is wide and deep so we were able to make good progress.

We passed through the industrial outskirts of Manchester, right by Man United football ground, and then turned northwest towards Wigan. All along this section of the Bridgewater we were surprised to see many wild flowers on the towpath, the most notable being wild orchids.



We stopped for lunch at Worsley where the Duke of Bridgewater had his coal mines for which the canal was built. These mines used underground canals stretching about 50 miles into the surrounding hills to reach the seams. The coal was then brought out by boat.

After lunch we moved on out of the Manchester conurbation into the countryside, stopping at Astley where the last remaining pithead gear in Lancashire can be seen. This site is a mining museum which we plan to visit tomorrow.

Raining in Manchester - still no boating

We stayed in Manchester for another day as it was raining heavily.

Not moving does cause problems as we are dependent on electricity for our lights, water supply (pump from tank), loo (electric flush), radio, fridge and recharging the laptop and mobile phones. This electricity is supplied by 4 large batteries which are recharged by the engine.

To keep the batteries fully charged we really need to run the engine for about 3 hours each day. The engine also heats our hot water tank. So if we dont move we need to turn the engine on and run it in neutral for a while. Which is what is happening at the moment.

Back from boat practicalities, we have just booked to see the latest Star Trek this evening at the Manchester IMAX cinema.

Weather forecast is just as bad for tomorrow, so I guess we will have yet another day in Manchester.

By special request here is a picture of the inside of the boat, it shows the cooking and main seating areas (click picture to show full screen)...

A day in Manchester - no boating

We have decided to stay in Manchester for at least today, though the weather forecast looks like we will be staying tomorrow as well. Canalling in the rain is not much fun - necessary at times, but not something to choose.

Today after shopping we took the Metro light railway to Salford Quays where the now disused docks have been converted for residential, shopping, and entertainment uses. The unashamedly modern buildings in our view work very well in the setting.

One of many impressive buildings at Salford Quays

The main purpose of our visit was to look at the Lowry Gallery which forms part of The Lowry, a multi-purpose arts complex. The Gallery provides an interesting and helpful film introducing the man, his life, and his art. We had not realised that there was far more to him that the well known matchstick men. The Gallery does have many of these pictures, but also includes some atmospheric seascapes and landscapes, and a few portraits. Almost every one seems to show a strange lonely isolation - even the matchstick men aren't really interacting with each other.

The Lowry, Salford Quays

While I (Mike) returned to the boat, Denise stayed behind to look around the Lowry Outlet Mall. I wonder what the great man would have made of that! It is now pouring with rain, I guess Denise will be back soon soaked.

Completion of Manchester locks

Today was our final run into the Castlefield moorings in the middle of Manchester where we hope to spend a couple of days looking around the city.

The journey was "very interesting" (Mike who was driving) or "really hard work" (Denise who was working the locks) as we travelled down the 9 wide locks on the bottom of the Rochdale Canal that cover the mile between Ducie Street and Castlefield. The first lock took both our efforts to open the gate as the water was flowing over both top and bottom sets of gates. Once we got through this lock the canal descended below an office block where we met our first underground lock.



The construction of the supports for the office block had involved considerable shortening of the gate arms which were in any case difficult to access. So, a windlass operated chain and pulley system had been provided to enable the gates to be opened and closed (with considerable effort).

Each successive lock provided further challenges. For example Denise was unable to get to one lock as it was completely isolated below a high wall. A helpful local then showed her where a conveniently positioned piece of masonry enables boaters to climb over the wall down to the lock.

The canal passes through a fascinating mixture of old victorian factories and warehouses converted into flats, offices, bars etc and some striking modern buildings.

A typical view is shown below. the amount of water overflowing the top gate can also be seen.




During the afternoon we walked around the city centre and were both very impressed by what we saw. There is an attractive mix of new and old buildings, the streets are crowded with people, but in general the road traffic is light and so crossing even major roads is easy. There are a large number of up-market shops, bars, restaurants, and hotels.

The Ashton flight

From Portland basin where we joined the Ashton canal, there is a drop through 18 locks on the way into Manchester. This section of canal used to have a fearsome reputation as it passed through some of the poorer parts of Manchester, with drug dealers under bridges and feral children trying to board boats.

Fortunately those days are long passed and we had no problems. The only kids we met were friendly, helped with a lock and were interest to know more about the boat. The journey was interesting but the Ashton canal is very much a typical city waterway with views of factories, offices and some dereliction although nearer the city centre there is much evidence of regneration. One point of interest near the canal was Manchester City's very modern stadium.

The flight was hard work as each paddle is secured with anti-vandal locks which have to be unlocked prior to use and relocked afterwards - as there are 4 paddles on each of the 18 locks this does add to the work. We got into our current moorings, near the city centre at 15:20 after 7.5 hours continuously on the move.

Tuesday - Marple flight

Canal drained on Marple flight for lock repair

Same view 4 hours later - ready for us to proceed

This posting is actually what happened yesterday - Tuesday. Last night I could only get a slow speed GPRS connection which was inadequate for practical web usage.

We planned to start early to do the 16 Marple locks and then to moor at Portland basin ready for the hard slog into Manchester. However BW had other ideas and closed the locks because of problems with one of the gates. It looked like we wouldnt be able to move until the following day so we went out for a 6 mile walk down the Goyt valley. This was beautiful and difficult to believe that it was within a few miles of Manchester.

Just as we returned at lunchtime BW allowed us to proceed to the faulty lock. After an hour's wait there we were allowed to continue down the flight where we met 4 boats who had been waiting at the bottom of the flight all day. The locks are impressive with the canal falling 200ft in a mile and finish at a major aqueduct taking the canal over the Goyt valley.

Mooring looked tricky because of the shallow canal, but we eventually found a pleasant and deep spot north of Hyde at at 18:30, much later than we normally finish cruising and about 4 miles from are planned destination.

Back to Marple

Densie on the Peak Forest Canal

We left Bugsworth at 9:20 and retraced our steps back to Marple. The weather was perfect - blue sky and a slight cooling breeze. Much less traffic today than Saturday - most visitors come for the weekend. The journey was superb and the lack of traffic gave us more chance to take some photos - today's picture shows a typical view of this canal.

Arriving back at Marple we wanted to moor for the rest of the day rather than immediately tackling the 16 lock Marple flight. Same problems as on Saturday - all the available moorings were too shallow for us to comfortably stay. If we could have got in at all, the boat would have been sloping at an awkward angle.

Fortunately one of the boats on one of the only 3 deep moorings moved off and we were able to get in - hooray!

This afternoon we walked into Marple to buy some food for one more day - we want to get into central Manchester without further shopping. The town is really a dormitory for Manchester and, apart from around the canal, there seems little evidence of the 18th/19th century. The centre has a good range of small shops, and except for a Coop, few chains.