All Great Things Must Come to an End.

Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th August 2024 at Boothstown,

Friday morning, M got into conversation with the owner of two beautiful Malamute dogs that were walking past MM. The dogs were so very bright and always seemed to be smiling.

 Later in the morning, Lazy Bee set off first as they needed to empty their cassettes and MM followed soon after. As we left Leigh, we waved goodby (for now) to the "Leigh Branch" and the C&RT and sailed onto the "Bridgewater Canal", owned by the Manchester Ship Canal Company.

 

This area was heavily industrialised and as recently as 1968 coal was being delivered to the local power station by barge. We saw this photograph in the Waterside Inn of coal arriving in 1968.

None of the buildings survive and even the bridge in the foreground is no longer. All that remains is some vast mills, some of which have been converted into apartments.

We moored the two boats side by side just outside Boothstown and sat on the towpath for a farewell drink as the sun set.

At one point, M had called Harley a "Jammy Toe Rag", an expression with which he was not familiar but he soon adopted as his own. Shopping in Tesco, we saw a wine labelled "Jammy Red Rod" and, after some editing, presented Harley and Shelley with this bottle of wine to take with them on their travels..

On Saturday morning, we set off together for the last time this year. MM stopped in Boothstown Marina, where she will spend the next couple of weeks, while Shelley, Harley and Lazy Bee went on to the south and disappeared with a smile and a cheery wave.

This has been the most fantastic four weeks travelling with Shelley, Harley and Lazy Bee and we will very much miss their company, their hospitality and the fun times that we had all together. Hopefully we can catch up with them again next year one way or another. We look forward to that very much.

Having moored up MM in the Marina with the brilliant help of Les, we walked up to the bus stop and took the bus into Manchester. Because the centre of Manchester was closed for Gay Pride, the bus dropped us about a mile from the bus station, but we still had plenty of time to walk to bus station and on to the train station and catch our train home.

We plan to be back on board on Wednesday 11th September, so watch this space.

Today: 5 miles, 0 ;ocks and 4.4 hours (with power).

Trip: 223 miles, 99 locks and 115.2 hours.

 

Through a Damaged Plank Lane Bridge

 Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd August 2024 in Leigh.

We started off from Scotsman's Flash early as the lift bridge at Plank Lane, about 4 miles away, is damaged and the C&RT is only opening it once a day at 10:00am to let boats through. 

The sky was very threatening so R was dressed for rain. He still looked happy!

We got to Plank Lane Bridge in good time but there were already four boats waiting in front of us. The C&RT let two boats through going the other way, then closed the bridge again to let the road traffic over before opening it again to let three boats through going our way. 

When the road traffic queue had reduced, they opened the bridge again to let MM and Lazy Bee through.

In total, eleven boats got through the bridge today with the bridge being opened and closed four times to reduce the road traffic queues and avoid seriously annoying the motorists. M said it was jolly nice not having to operate the bridge herself for a change!

As Lazy Bee followed us through the bridge, M photographed Shelley photographing M photographing Shelley...

On the other side of the bridge is a water point and MM was third in the queue for water. We had to wait a very long time, not least because the crew on the first boat, that shall remain nameless, had installed their hose the wrong way round so the non-return valve on the boat end reduced the water flow to a trickle! Still, we were not in a hurry and it didn't matter having to wait a while.

The nameless boat is not the one in the foreground above.

Together with Lazy Bee, we cruised on into Leigh, where we moored up just opposite the recently re-opened "Waterside Inn". 

As the weather on Thursday is predicted to bring strong winds and rain, we decided to stay in Leigh for a second night and only move on towards Boothstown on Friday. Meanwhile, Shelley managed to get a hair appointment and we all went to Tesco for a few bits including Shelley and Harley's favourite Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc.

Two Days: 6 miles, 0 locks and 2.2 hours.

Trip: 218 miles, 99 locks and 110.8 hours.

A Long Day and Visiting Children

 Tuesday 20th August 2024 at Scotsman's Flash.

M was fascinated by this plant just next to MM's mooring. It turned out to rejoice in the name of "Devil's Beggarticks", amongst other names! The names of some of our wild flowers are hilarious!

As we passed through Burscough on our way to Liverpool, we had struck up a friendship with Adam, the General Manager of Hugo's restaurant. He'd never been on a narrowboat so had come to see MM that day and we promised him a short trip as we passed through Burscough on our return journey. Adam duly arrived at 9:30 and we set off a mile down the canal to the "Ring o' Bells" pub, where he had left his car on his way to work. He did an excellent job of steering MM and we would not be surprised to find that he gets involved with narrowboats again in the future.We rather hope he does!

On this stretch of the canal there are two sets of locks which were originally double locks side by side but one of the pair has been allowed to fall into disrepair. These are the lower gates of one of those  locks, now reclaimed by nature.

Our route from Liverpool is not exactly the shortest! In order to go south, you have first to go north and then south east and, soon after south west. The route is highlighted in yellow on the map. Clearly its course was designed to follow the contour rather than as the crow flies.

Just west of Parbold is the small village of Newburgh which, in the Second World War, was the site of top secret trials to see if raw sewage could be turned into rocket fuel - yes, really! This did not go entirely to plan at the trials and a much bespattered visiting French General was heard to remark "C'est manifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre!"

Parbold village has what seems to be a fortified windmill, minus the sails.

The valley of the River Douglas is beautiful and quite reminiscent of the lovely Peak Forest Canal.

Travelling with Shelley and Harley on Lazy Bee has made this trip even more special. They are so much fun to be with and the two boats work so well together that they might just be sisters.

At the penultimate lock into Wigan, we passed a large group of children and adults. One small boy in particular sat on a bollard and watched in fascination as we went into the lock and started asking questions as the boats rose up. Soon we were surrounded by small people who clearly wanted a ride. Harley and R agreed to take two children each on to the next lock with their parents' blessing.

It was a pity that we couldn't take them all but Harley and R agreed that two each was enough to keep an eye on at the same time as driving the boats! The children on MM were Vienna and Toby and they were full of questions and very well behaved. At the next lock their parents recovered four very excited children who will remember this day for a long time.

Having gone on into Wigan, we found that the Wigan pound was a bit low but quite passable and so carried on to the two Poolstock Locks, which are normally quite challenging but today presented no real problems, and we passed through without any difficulty other than heavy gates and heavier paddles tackled heroically by M and Shelley.

Just after Poolstock, we moored up with the two boats breasted up side by side and celebrated a good long day's travelling with a glass of wine on the towpath.

As it had been a very long day, we retired early. We were just in time as a massive rain and hail storm hit us just after we had gone inside. Good timing! And there was even a rainbow to round off the day!

Today: 11 miles, 8 locks and 8.1 hours.

Trip: 212 miles, 99 locks and 108.6 hours.

Finally Past the Leak at Burscough.

 Sunday 18th and Monday 19th August 2024 at Burscough.

The plan today was to get to Burscough so that we were past the leak between swing bridges 31 and 32, not least because the C&RT was still silent as to when they might close the canal to make a second attempt to fix the leak (the first attempt closed the canal for four weeks last year).

None of us particularly likes doing swing bridges but M decided to take on the first one at Coxhead. 

Luckily, that bridge opened and closed without any problem.

The canal goes through a cutting at Halsall, where the very first sod of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal was cut on 5th Novenber 1770. The completion of the canal was delayed by arguments about its route and very many difficulties of overcoming the high terrain between Leeds and Liverpoool, which includes the Pennines. As a result, the canal was not finally completed from end to end until 19th October 1816, 46 years later!

After the cutting, the canal runs through some very agricultural land that used to be a marsh but was drained and then fertilised by "night soil" (human waste - yeuk) shipped on the canal from Liverpool and Wigan - all promoted by our friend the Duke of Bridgewater.

At this point M got off MM and walked the towpath.

The point at which M got off MM is opposite "Trundle Pie Lane" and "Trundle Pie House" - what marvellous countryside names!

On the way towards Liverpool two weeks earlier, M has spotted large fields of wild flowers and was curious to see what varieties they were. Close up, they were very beautiful and the number of different species was surprising; this photo doesn't do them justice. Among all the other varieties were flax, with its delicate blue flower, bistort, crimson clover, two different types of wild mustard and mayweed. It appears that they have been sown as a crop to improve the soil, which will probably be overseeded with a regular crop next year.

There was also a lot of evidence of previous crops of oats and wild oats.

Finally, with a sigh of relief, we gently cruised past the site of the leak and its temporary tarpaulin. So that is one obstacle out of the way!

Back on MM, M used the wild flower books to identify all the many flowers that she had seen today in the fields.

The flower above is Lacy Phacelia, certainly worthy of a florist's stall! It attracts pollinators.

Moored up in Burscough, we watched the sun set behind the trees. It was spectacular.

Later the moon (full tomorrow) rose above the horizon and was reflected in the still water of the canal.

On Monday morning, all four of us went for breakfast at Hugo's in the courtyard next to the canal, followed by a visit to the local Tesco for a few more bits.

Sadly, the weather then deteriorated and so we all had a quiet afternoon being domestic.

Two Days: 9 miles, 0 locks and 4.5 hours

Trip: 201 miles, 91 locks and 100.5 hours.

Leaving Liverpool

 Saturday 17th August 2024 at Lydiate.

A rather overcast morning. As arranged, we were all ready to set off at 7:30am. However, all did not go as planned because Lazy Bee's overheat alarm went off as soon as Harley pulled away from the pontoon. Harley brought Lazy Bee back to the pontoon and added some antifreeze as the liquid level in the engine was low. This seemed to cure the problem for the time being so we set off again together, resolving to check in more detail later when we stopped.

As we left, we looked back on our moorings 15 and 16, now empty. It has been an incredible week and we are all four very sad to be leaving but have a wealth of marvellous memories to take with us.

The bridge that spans the channel between Salt House Dock and the Albert Dock commemorates the beginning of the redevelopment of the docks in 1985. At this early hour, the quayside was almost deserted so no one to wave to us as we left.

M was always fascinated by the chimney of the Old Pump House with its beautiful intricate detailing around its top. The Victorians always made things look good as well as work well. We admired the juxstaposition of the Pump House and the modern Hilton Hotel in the background. Bit of a contrast!

A sentiment that we agreed with. We would love to return one day. Who knows? Maybe?

This building close up is very dramatic and not a little intimidating. It is currently the temporary location of the Tate Liverpool Museum while its normal home in Albert Dock is refurbished.

In the first flood lock on our way out on the Liverpool Link, we found that someone, clearly a hooligan with nothng better to do, had thrown one of the emergency life rings into the canal and it was stopping the gate from opening. R climbed on to the front of Lazy Bee with Shelley watching attentively from above, while Harley gently manoeuvred so that R could climb on to the gate to retrieve the ring and the long cord attached to it. (note from M: what a hero!)

Sid, from the C&RT, was very appreciative that we had retrieved the ring and went off to replace it in its proper place. Very sad that some people think that it is "fun" to throw things like that into the canal.

As we left, we looked back towards the Royal Liver Building and the two Liver Birds, wondering when or if we might return.

On our way to the bottom of the Stanley flight of locks, we passed the new Everton Stadium. So far, it just seems to be known as the "Everton Stadium" without a proper name. Maybe it will be named when it is first used in the 2025-6 season, replacing Goodison Park. It certainly looks very impressive from the water.

With the help of the super C&RT volunteers, we soon reached the top lock and the end of the Liverpool Link and so rejoined the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

We had decided to try to make good progress today on our way towards Burscough and to get past the leaking canal, which for the time being is still open but liable to be closed at some time to try, for the second time, to repair the leak.

All went well until we came to Holmes Swing Bridge.  It looked innocuous enough....

M went ahead and released the lock but couldn't move the bridge even when joined by R, Shelley and a passer by. This bridge has a chain attached to the bridge on the towpath side so, if it is open, a person can pull it closed to get across. Someone had pulled the chain out of the water on to the bank so that when the bridge was last closed, the chain became jammed between the end of the bridge and the bank. 

Robin to the rescue again (says M!). It took a mooring spike, a lump hammer and a lot of brute force to hammer the chain out from between the bridge and the bank to free up the bridge so at last it would open.

Soon after, we moored up for some lunch opposite playing fields being used for a football match and a cricket match. Since it is almost the end of the cricket season and the start of the football season, it felt strangely appropriate that the two should be playing side by side.

When we came to leave there, Lazy Bee's engine alarm went off again, so R and Harley decided to investigate. The engine was indeed very hot and the temperature guage indicated the same. After gaining access to the engine room, we found that the skin tank, that cools down the engine, was stone cold. Not a good sign as it should be full of hot coolant.

We undid the skin tank bleed valve but nothing came out. With the bleed valve open, Harley kept filling the engine coolant and the coolant kept disappearing. Eventually, after pouring several litres of coolant into the engine, the bleed valve started to overflow. It became clear that the skin tank had been almost completely empty of coolant and just full of air. No wonder the engine got hot!

With that problem solved, we continued on for a while, not least on account of a nearby wasps nest (!) and then moored up for the night on some welcome bollards at Lydiate Bridge.

Today: 16 miles, 6 locks, 8 swing bridges and 7.4 hours.

Trip: 192 miles, 91 locks and 96.0 hours.

Our Last Full Day in Liverpool.

 Friday 16th August 2024 in Liverpool.

Last year, we discovered that the Hilton Hotel, which towers over our mooring, offers an "all you can eat breakfast" for non-residents for £10 each. This year, the price has gone up to £15 each, but it's such a treat that we decided to go anyway. It's very palatial!

The buffet breakfast has everything imaginable, from "Full English" to "Continental" and everything in between. M even managed to find prunes in amongst the fruit selection, much to her delight.

By the time that we left, breakfast service was finishing and so all the waiting staff had vanished. It took us a while to find someone to pay. They seemed very relaxed about the possibility of people just walking out. Eventually we did find someone to take our money!

Of course, after such a treat, duty called so R and Harley got to work cleaning both boats on the outside while M and Shelley did the same for the inside. Being in Liverpool for a week, the boats had accumulated a lot of dust and dirt. The cleaning process was made much easier by the availability of running water to wash everything down on the outside.

The result was a pair of very clean boats gleaming in the sunshine. Lovely!

In the afternoon, we went for a walk around Salthouse and Albert Docks. MM and Lazy Bee are in the background under the shadow of the Hilton Hotel. M has always said that the guests at the Hilton look down on us in more ways than one!

Next to Salthouse Dock is an old traditional carousel complete with horses and the occasional dragon, all beautifully painted and very colourful. All the horses have names.

There is an old DUKW that offers rides around the docks and we watched it emerge from the water up the slipway. Not sure if the military would recognise the colour scheme? Very often, we would hear loud cheering and see that it was from the passengers on the "Duck" as it was being launched down the slipway!

In the evening, M, R, Shelley and Harley all went for a last night celebration dinner at "Gusto", the very up-market Italian restaurant in Albert Dock. It was a great evening with excellent food and wine and, best of all, wonderful company and lots of laughter. A splendid way to round off our week in Liverpool together.

Sid, from the C&RT, had come round earlier in the evening and we agreed to be ready to leave at 7:30 in the morning, so an early start tomorrow.