We said farewell to Liverpool, casting off at 7:50 am once I’d got a bit of weed root out from the tiller. It was also goodbye to some new friends; Fred and Lisa, Andrew and Elaine, and Ben. May we meet again soon. I was also sad to say goodbye to the Rough Bakery, but it’s probably for the best for my waistline!
Karen on Y-Knot had left just before us – we both had to hold off for a few minutes in Albert Dock for the CRT man to lower the gate, but we were soon on our way, out through Mann Island Lock and then Princes Lock, with the Royal Liver Building in the background.
The first lock gates going up the Stanley flight need to be opened and closed using a windlass rather than pushing on the beams. Simon did an excellent job supervising Sarah.
Looks like Barry’s taken up a new line in business….
There are quite a few swing bridges to operate around here. The first is the little swing bridge at Litherland, used mainly by Tesco shoppers. Just as we went through, we caught a load of rubbish on the prop and ground to a stop. We had to haul the boat through on the bow rope, and then get a jumble of weed and plastic bags removed. Everyone was very patient waiting for us, and a few helped us get the boat pulled through, so we weren’t delayed long.
Luckily we were underway again after only a few minutes – so we were still on schedule to get through Hancock’s Swing Bridge before it closes at 2pm. Anne-Marie and Simon both had a go at stopping the traffic and feeling the power of the magic button, and Simon did a great job doing the drop-offs and pickups.
Any fans of the Spice Girls reading? Maybe not, but this one made us smile anyway!
Once through Hancock’s bridge (with nearly an hour to spare), we slowed down a bit and relaxed with some Pimms and Lemonade, just as the sun came out too! Lovely.
We moored up for the evening at the Scarisbrick moorings by the New Scarisbrick Arms, with the sound of birds singing in the trees. An early night for us all I think, and hopefully a bit of a lie-in in the morning.
Good to see you got away ok, we had a wonderful time in your company, and I’m certainly going to keep in touch, take care of each other meantime & see you again soon . Xx
Was that really 6 nights in Liverpool? With all the details about the places and events you listed it seemed almost as if we were with you.
What a change from your normal daily travels.