Off to the deep north

We're taking a week away on the Eileen Dover. We've hired boats a couple of times in the past during October, and we've generally been pretty lucky with the weather - though I must say the signs so far this time are not looking promising. Our plan is to go north, up past Leigh on the Bridgewater and then onto the Leeds & Liverpool. The Wigan flight is still closed, because of the water shortage, so we will go west when we meet the main line of the L&L. Eventually that would take us to Liverpool, but we don't really have time to do that justice. You can go right down into the docks and cruise along as far as Albert Dock. However you have to book in advance, and you have to stay overnight at the end of the run through to Salthouse Dock. So we will probably turn around somewhere about Aintree, rather than going into Liverpool city, and leave that for another trip.

What we do intend to do is to have a look at the Rufford arm. That is a short extension which goes north from the main line, and links up with the River Douglas. That, in turn, flows into the Ribble estuary, and you can use that to get across into the Lancaster Canal. We won't be doing that this trip - you have to book a sailing with a convoy organised by C&RT, and have anchors and lifejackets for the open water. We intend to go down to the end of the canal navigation and have a look - the branch itself should be nice and rural, from the look of the map, so we'll probably spend a night there.

I have Friday off work, so we decided to spend Thursday night aboard and get a good start for Friday - rather than wasting half the day packing. So I brought Eileen round to Keckwick Lane, close to the house, and we loaded our provision and the dogs. We got under way about 17:00, but we hadn't gone far before the heavens opened. There isn't really any good place to stop in Stockton Heath, not one where we can let the dogs out safely, so we pressed on. Eventually I was rewarded, as the clouds cleared behind me and the setting sun shone through, producing a magnificent rainbow. We went on through Grappenhall and moored in semi-darkness; a great spot, with fields behind the towpath, where the dogs can roam freely. We have got them illuminated collars - different colours, with batteries that recharge using a USB port. These make a huge difference - a black Labrador is a tricky thing to spot in the dark, but now we can see where they all are at a glance.

Today: 2 hours. 7.6 miles. 0 locks.