Bridgewater Canal

Monday 23 July

The moorings in the centre of Leigh are next to Aldi - really handy to stock up on crisps and wine!  Leigh has a small shopping centre, very handy for provisions and essentials. Cruising through to Bridgewater Marina takes about 2hrs where you can purchase diesel, gas etc.  It was very hot both on-board (30'C) and off (27'C) !!!



Barton Swing Aqueduct

Tuesday 24 July
Making our way to Lymm, we passed through Worsley, past the Trafford Centre and over the Barton Swing Aqueduct which spans the Manchester Ship Canal.  We also went past the old Linotype and machinery Company factory built in 1897.  The company built 185 homes for their workers and provided football pitches and other recreational facilities.  Most of the buildings have  been demolished, however a new housing development is being built on the grounds and the original factory is being converted into flats.

Linotype development -  new and old 

The cruise to Lymm takes about 5.5 hrs from Bridgewater Marina. There are plenty of pubs, restaurants, cafes and a few shops here. The moorings in the centre are limited to 48 hours & usually get very busy at the weekends. We moored in Lymm for the night. Weather overcast & warm.
Five minutes from the moorings is a Turkish Restaurant featuring an 'early bird menu'  - yum, yum, might break into a new £20 note for a treat !??  😉   😂



Excellent restaurant and food
 

The meal at 'Flavours', the Turkish restaurant, was really good! 😋

Wigan 21

Saturday 21 July 2018




                                      Yippeee 'I'm going on my holidays'



Waiting to descend Wigan 21 locks yet again, we usually hope for another narrowboat to pair up with, but this year there is a record 8 already waiting.  This is because within a matter of a few days, the whole of the Eastern side of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal including the Wigan flight will be closing until at least the end of August.  The feeder reservoirs are already less than 50% full with little prospects of reasonable rainfall in the near future!



Wigan Top Lock

    We paired up with narrowboat 'Predator' and began our descent about 8.30am.  We made slow, steady progress for the first few locks enjoying the warm dry weather.  Then along came our friends Martin and Andrea providing some much needed and welcome help.  We reached the final lock at about 12.30pm without incident.   We headed on along the Leigh branch passing through the two locks at Poolstock before they are padlocked for the evening.     An hour later saw us moored up at Abram by the Dover Lock Inn which has now been closed for a number of years.  Out came the deck chairs and wine!   

Sunday 22 July

Just a short cruise today passing through Plank Lane Swing Bridge to pleasant moorings overlooking Pennington Flash Country Park.  Plank Lane Swing Bridge is key operated and cannot be opened during morning and evening rush hour. Another warm sunny day.

Pennington Flash

Bank Holiday 'fun in the sun'

We really enjoyed the May Bank Holiday and the weather certainly helped!

We went on a short cruise from Standish to just before Bridge 74 on the Leeds & Liverpool mooring not far from 'Fredericks' ice cream parlour.

It was so lovely to see lots of cute ducklings and newly hatched Canadian geese goslings.



Duxbury Park and Woods are just a short walk from bridge 74.  We enjoyed a leisurely stroll around the grounds and came across the a memorial erected by Susan Standish in 1870 in remembrance of her dog Bevis with the inscription:

All ye who wander through these peaceful glades,
Listening to the Yarrow’s rippling waves,
Pause and bestow a tributary tear.
The bones of faithful Bevis slumber here.”

 

On the return journey stayed overnight just outside Adlington  and enjoyed (as always) an indian  take way from 'Adlington Spice'

Autumn on the Leeds and Liverpool

Plank Lane to Top Lock Wigan - Leeds & Liverpool

We moored on the offside just before Plank Lane lift Bridge and completed a circular walk stopping for a pint in the 'Nevison' (a quirky cosy pub just 400 yards down the road from the lift bridge).

Cosy in the Nevison Pub 

The following day we waited until 9.45am  to go through Plank Lane lift bridge as you are unable to use it during rush hour due to the volume of traffic.  A newly built marina is next to the bridge and boats are already moored here with new houses under construction surrounding it. 

On route to Wigan we stopped off at Leigh for provisions (a handy Aldi is next to the canal with mooring rings).

We then moored at the bottom of the Wigan flight in anticipation of the ascent the following day.  Due to water shortages, CRT are only opening the locks from 8am to 9am and for exiting the locks from 2.00pm to 3pm.


Damaged lock gates

At 8am we set off, luckily we shared the locks with another boat, 'Moongazer' with a crew of three once we had tied the boats together.
  It went really smoothly and we all worked really well together.  Approximately half way up the flight CRT assisted us through one lock as the bottom gates were damaged  due to an over zealous boater the previous week.  We completed it in 4 hours!!! a new record and to celebrate, we all enjoyed a well earned pint or two at the Kirkless Hall pub.

......Another summer has come to an end, we have had an enjoyable trip on the Llangollen canal.   We extend our thanks to family and friends who have kindly ferried us about and who have also joined us for some wonderful times over the summer.

Trent & Mersey and Bridgewater Canal

Over the last couple of weeks,we have cruised the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal, onto the Trent and Mersey for a short while and onto the Bridgewater Canal on our return journey.

The Penny Black - Northwich 

  We have taken our time and enjoyed visiting some lovely places on the way:

A 30 minute walk from the Lion Salt Works moorings  on the Trent and Mersey Canal takes you into Northwich, a small town but caters for all ,with plenty of supermarkets, shops, bars and cafes.

We enjoyed a cuppa and cake in the Wetherspoons pub 'The Penny Black' the building was purpose built in 1914, as the town’s main post office. When it was built, it was the town’s ‘largest liftable building’. It is a timber-framed structure that was used in Northwich so that they can be jacked back into position, following subsidence. 


Pegasus Crossing (pelican crossing for horses)

Whilst on the Bridgewater Canal We moored at Moorefield Bridge and walked to Daresbury village.  We were fascinated to see a 'Pegasus Crossing', specifically for horses.  The village was in preparation for the annual 'Creamfields' festival.  Daresbury is the birthplace of Lewis Carroll, there is a really interesting information centre about him attached to 'All Saints Church.'   Even the local school had a weather vane with Alice in Wonderland characters, well worth the visit.

We also moored at Pickering Bridge (19) and had a walk on the Transpennine Trail to the Manchester Ship Canal to see 'Latchford Locks'.


Latchford Locks 

  The locks are huge.  The large lock was built for ocean-going vessels and a smaller lock to its south for coasters, tugs and barges.

Deer Park  - Dunham Massey 

We enjoyed a delicious meal (early bird menu Sunday to Friday until 7pm) at 'Flavours', a Turkish restaurant in Lymm which  we can certainly recommend .





Whilst moored near Little Bollington, we visited Dunham Massey Deer Park.  The Deer were absolutely gorgeous, you could get so close to them.   








The weather has significantly improved over the last few days and we have enjoyed some sunshine.


Nugget enjoying the sun

 

Outskirts of Sale

  

Return journey on the Llangollen Canal and overview

Over the last week we have thoroughly enjoyed our return journey on the Llangollen Canal with many highlights on the way.

Llangollen Basin

We had a terrific few days with friends who stayed on the Camping @ the boathouse site, which we would thoroughly recommend if you are having friends visiting, as Chirk Marina is next to the campsite and offers visitors moorings at £7 per night.  Also the meals at the Boathouse pub are very nice; however access to the pub is difficult as it is on the offside unless you are moored at the marina.


We moored just before bridge 50 (Hampton Park).  The moorings are wide here, so ideal for barbeques and sitting out, which was great as Natalie joined us for lunch and thankfully the weather permitted us to sit out.


Field of corn on the cobs

   
After the Grindley Brook locks, we went on a walk which took you through an enormous field full of corn on the cobs!


We stopped off at Marbury, (top of bridge 23, Marbury Lock).  It is well worth the 15 minute walk into the village to see the impressive St Michael's Church which overlooks the beautiful Little Mere.  The pulpit is the oldest in Cheshire and there were some really interesting plaques at the back of the church dating back to the 1700's with transcripts of wills showing legacies left to those in need.


There is a useful Spa shop at Wrenbury which is only a 5 minute walk from bridge 19.

All in all, we have had  lovely time on the Llangollen Canal. The weather has been a mixture of sunshine, wind and showers, however this has not stopped us doing all we wanted to do.

St Michaels church - Marbury

Several people advised us not to venture on the Llangollen during the school holidays as it is too busy, however we have always managed to find a mooring and the only really busy areas were Trevor Basin, and Llangollen itself.

It is a beautiful Canal and many many thanks go to the Shropshire Union Canal Society for the wonderful moorings and seats along the way.