We had a lengthy discussion trying to decide our programme for the rest of the trip fitting in with everything that everyone wanted to do.    Once this had been settled we set of at a fair old trot to avoid having to stop in Blackburn.  We would whole heartedly recommend this policy to anyone else taking this route.  We had a bit of a struggle getting around a workboat stuck mid canal with a duvet wrapped around its prop.  “A daily occurrence” they said. The canal was full of detritus; plastic bottles, old doors, a motorbike in one lock ( not actually seen by us) – in fact anything anyone felt like chucking in.  The locks gates were heavy and the ground paddles produced water flows that tossed poor Oliver from side to side regardless of what we did to control things.  The locks are also quite short and although Oliver is only 60 ft we could only just close the gates with the front fender touching the curved cill.

We finally came to rest after bridge 109 opposite another golf course just before Church.

It had been a lovely sunny day and it was a beautiful evening having finally escaped a part of the canal that seems to have been left to decay.  Shame on those responsible for the condition of Blackburn’s canal and its surrounding environment.

We set out a bit late today and at Addlington we had to run the gauntlet of a fishing tournament with about 20 rods lifting and falling across the river like a sequenced run of lifting bridges.  No more keep nets to add to the haul.

Heavy rain at midday had cleared by the time we reached Chorley where we planned to do some shopping and use the launderette.  Shopping always takes longer than expected and it we just managed to grab clothes from the dryer before the shop closed at 6pm.

We thought we would moor just outside Chorley but moorings were there none – well none we fancied.  So we decided to go up the Johnson Hillock Locks locks to Wheelton.  There were no moorings at the top of the locks so we carried on until we found a very nice spot opposite the golf course. The water was a bit shallow so we had to moor at a bit of an angle in front of Colin and Rosemary on Eleanor Rose.

At least we killed this little …….

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It’s strange to look out of the window and see the geese looking down at you.

There we were nicely positioned for the Wigan Twenty One, just before the first lock at Poolstock, when the pound dropped like a stone.

We were however pleasantly surprised that the pound rose again by 09:40 and we were able to pass through the lock then.

After an arduous 5 hours and twenty minutes we had reached the Wigan Top Lock.  So the Wigan 21 actually took us just under 5 hours.

Here we had some more fun.  We decided to pick up water and Romy advised the fisherman sitting by the water point that we were going to tie up there and we were sorry but he would have to move.  He didn’t and he ignored Pat’s request to move his keep net.  The end result was that his keep net became firmly attached to our prop. He lost a keep net.  We lost about an hour.

After disentangling ourselves we made cruised on to Haigh Country Park where we moored just opposite the golf course.

 

 

 

There was an interesting “Lock Sculpture” next to our mooring by the Country Park.  A good landmark should you wish to visit!

We waited for the rain to stop before starting our walk around part of Pennington Flash and it looked very promising when the sun came out.  After a while it clouded over and light drizzle started so we turned back after around 2 miles or so.  Peter and Romy walked into the village for some shopping and Pat and Judith moved Oliver to below the swing bridge which has restricted opening times.

We then had a very short cruise to Scotsman’s Flash where we found a sunny mooring overlooking the flash and positioning ourselves nicely for the Wigan Flight.

And a good place for a group photo for Sarah.

 

 

Boats moored in the winding hole at Castlefield made turning tricky so we decided to reverse out.  Inspite of shallow water and prop encumbrances Pat did a fine job.  After a short distance we stopped to remove the debris and Peter dived into the weed hatch yet again with his manly torso on display to all.  What a haul!!

This was from only about half an hour getting away from  Castlefield.

The next picture is included for a very special person.

The crossing of the Manchester Ship Canal was uneventful and it looked as if it was seldom brought into operation.

At Parrin Lane we started to wonder if we had gone badly wrong with our navigation. A lighthouse we must be at sea!

We had a brief stop at Worsley to top up the water tank and to visit The Delph.  Here an underground canal system joined the canal to the Duke of Bridgewater’s Coal mines.

We then moved on to moor at Pennington Flash ready for a day of relaxation, on Monday, visiting the nature reserve.  This should help us build up our strength for the  23 locks, rising 214 ft 8 inches,  on the Wigan flight the following day.

It was raining quite hard as we moored up but it looks as if we will have a nice quiet night.

 

We had a very good meal last night at The Wharf.  The food and friendly service were both greatly appreciated.  The band was a different matter!  Luckily they started when we had nearly finished.

Romy and Peter headed off to the Museum of Science and Industry, having arranged to meet Pete, Lucy, Duncan, Isla and Hugo there at lunch time.  Lots to see and a very interesting visit.

This computer is said to be the world’s first stored-program computer (If it’s in Manchester why not programme?).  Ran its first program at University of Manchester June 1948.  Today an iPad is about 10,000 times faster and a little smaller.

Pat and Judith went  on a tour taking in The Ryland Library and Reading Rooms, Piccadilly Gardens, China Town and they also had an old tram ride.

The pictures below show how crowded Castlefield Quay has become.  It looks very different from the 2011 picture sent to us by Sarah.

Saturday night was pretty noisy on the quay with revellers still shouting at 3am and sounds of distant music throbbing away until a similar hour.

We left our mooring on the Peak Forest Canal and turned into the Aston Canal which we had heard was not one of the best.  Our initial impression was “well this is actually quite nice”.

The towpath was well surfaced with pleasant grounds to the side and lights inset at regular intervals.  Unfortunately after an hour we came across our first hazard and it became clear that little was being done to keep the canal clear or to maintain the locks.  Several paddles were not working and some gates were extremely hard work.

And it became clear that people were getting concerned about security.

We then found ourselves in increasingly dull industrial surroundings.

A large tree had obviously been left across the canal for some time.

The industrial past begins to close in.

It becomes more and more gloomy and the crew begins to look as if the strain is telling as the trudge their weary way to the next lock.  How many more? Dunno but it’s 27 all told today!

We were not aware that there were temporary closures between locks 2 and 1 as the wall in the pound was being rebuilt so we had to wait for an hour or so which was not too bad.

The “underground” section at Ducie Street after the Piccadilly Basin was frankly awful.  It was dark,  inhabited by prostitutes and druggies and very intimidating.  The “anti vandal locks” had been vandalised and could not be released.  This made the paddles inoperable and the only reason we could get through was that the water was flooding over the top of the gates.  It took two people to open one gate and leaving the boat without anyone on board would have been very risky.  We all agreed that this area is not worth tackling  with only two people on board.  The whole area seems to have been left to decay after the end of the Olympics and the locks have had no maintenance since then.

Congratulations to all members of the crew for stalwart efforts throughout the day.

We were very relieved to reach Castlefield Quay where we found one of a very few empty spaces.  Only two boats got in during the next 24 hours and they both moored just behind us on what we understood to be private land.

We left Whaley Bridge and headed back towards Marple Junction yesterday evening, mooring close to the swing bridge.  This, we thought, put us in prime position for an early start on the Marple locks.  Unfortunately there were two boats in front of us.  The first seemingly very slow.  In spite of this we cleared the last lock in 2 hours forty minutes.  The locks were b…..ds.  Heavy paddles and heavy gates.  They were so tough that the Oxleys retired to their beds for the afternoon.

Romy steered most of the way.

It was a day with certain difficulties.

We came across a few submerged and semi submerged objects including a couple of boats.

A fallen tree across half the canal soon after Woodley Tunnel forced us over towards the right bank where we grounded still well away from the side.  We got by after a struggle and stopped to put Oliver’s saw to good use clearing the tree.

We then had a pillow case wrapped round the prop.

We finally stopped just short of the swing bridge before Dukinfield Junction.

Dinner was smoked haddock beautifully prepared by Judith.

 

 

 

Excrement tank RED LINED.  Panic ensued.

Relief came at New Mills where we found a pump out,  diesel and water supply not shown in Pearson.  We decided that needs must and received excellent service here rather than carrying on to Furness Vale.  Just as well as Furness Vale is no longer providing any services.

The relief was plain to see: