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.