On the "bank"

From our overnight mooring near Hyde we took a walk to the Joshua Bradley pub for a fairly average pub dinner. On the Saturday morning we had a late start before setting off for Marple arriving at the bottom of the flight for around 14:30. By 17:30 we had worked all 16 locks and were looking for an overnight mooring just above the town.
We walked back to visit the Ring O' Bells for and excellent meal and pint.
Sunday morning another late start for the short run to New Mills marina for a temporary mooring.
An uneventful drive back to Reading and now on the bank until the last bit of the cruising for this year and back to Leeds for the winter.


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Location:Station Hill,Reading,United Kingdom

Narrow locks

Yesterday we completed the Bridgewater in to Castlefield and started up the Rochdale 9 to an overnight mooring in Piccadilly Village, later venturing out for a curry at Shadesh in Manchester city centre. Good food, slap dash service.

This morning we got up early (for us) and were underway by 08:30, even so all the other boats heading in the same direction had already departed. Almost immediately we reach the bottom of the Ashton flight of 18 locks.





Narrow locks this time, the first We have seen since we left the Huddersfield narrow canal last summer.
Although the narrow locks are generally easier to do having to double work almost every lock and lack of water in several pounds meant slow progress and we reached the top at around 13:30. in one pound we had to stop to remove a pair of trackie bottoms from the prop, how appropriate.
We plodded on along the shallow Ashton canal to the junction with the Peak Forrest canal then continued to Hyde for our overnight stop.

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Location:Stockport Rd,Ashton-under-Lyne,United Kingdom

Bridgewater marina

First rainy morning today, but between the showers we manage to get from the overnight mooring at Astley to Bridgewater Marina at Boothstown.



As promised a pressure relief valve in stock and as we were stopping an opportunity to top up the Diesel and get a pump out. Unfortunately when the pump out was turned on it was apparent there was a problem as the motor was not turning the pump. 30mins later a repair made and we could get pumped out.
Hopefully the rain will clear up before we reach Castleford and the start of the Rochdale 9 this afternoon.

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Location:Quayside Close,,United Kingdom

And on to the Bridgewater

After a fairly uneventful few days in Salthouse dock interrupted only by the local youths throwing piles if bagged rubbish awaiting collection into the dock, getting chased and then returning to "moon" at the assembled boats all of which we missed as we were eating Tapas at a local bar, and then the following morning sounds of splashing in the dock as the local tri-athletes were out for a practice (picture below) we left to return up the Liverpool link.





We reached the end of the assisted passage at Hancocks bridge in good time and carried on to just short of Burscough for an overnight mooring.
In Burscough bridge while waiting for the shopping party to return I went into the small chandlery to see if they had a pressure relief valve for the water system as the one in the boat is leaking. Unfortunately they had just sold the last one a few days earlier. However a few phone calls later and we were told that MD boats at Crooke could get us one but nothing could be found in stock locally. Fortunately Bridgewater marine at Boothstown have some in stock so planning to stop there tomorrow.
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Location:Vicars Hall Gardens,,United Kingdom