Help from a Fire Crew.

 Thursday 9th June 2022 at Riley Green.

This is a lovely open mooring near Norden in Lancashire.We had stopped here overnight on the way up and resolved to do the same on our return.

The clouds were mirrored in the canal in the early morning light.

The mooring is next to a bridge crossed by a very popular footpath but we still can't work out where people are coming from and going to! There is not much in the way of buildings in either direction and our maps didn't indicate any dwellings other than one farm.

This handsome building is Imperial Mill and was a cotton spinning mill built in 1901. It originally housed 70,000 ring spindles but, like other mills in Blackburn, it was badly affected by the First World War. It was eventually taken over by Courtaulds but stopped production in 1980.

Graham & Brown manufacture wallpapers and have covered this old telephone box outside their factory with one of their patterns. Good marketing!

Another former cotton spinning mill is now used by Granada Television as offices and studios.

M was surprised at the number of Ox-eye Daisies growing beside the towpath; they have followed us in profusion for many miles!

The wharf in Blackburn is very similar in design to the one in the Weavers' Triangle in Burnley.

Half way down the six locks in Blackburn, we were surrounded by firemen (and firewomen) who were on a practice exercise. Apparently there is a large tip next to the lock that frequently catches fire, so they were practicing getting water from the lock in preparation for the next conflagration. They were very interested in MM so M had lots of help, including one fireman who wanted to operate the paddles: he said "This a first for me - I've never done this before". M couldn't resist the inevitable reply - "I bet you say that to all the girls". He did blush a bit!!!

The fire crew had two C&RT volunteers helping them and they very kindly helped us through the rest of the flight.

Some of the lock gates are very heavy and are provided with winding mechanisms - but they are still very heavy to operate. It wasn't helped by the fact that M still had a sore upper arm from yesterday's  vaccination!

We moored up about four miles further on near the small village of Riley Green.

Today: 9 miles, 6 locks and 3.1 hours.

Trip: 204 miles, 131 locks and 113.9 hours.