Closing the loop

Sunday 4^th August

And so we come to the final leg of the circuit, on the fourteenth day of the trip. This was over familiar waters, through the remote countryside between Middlewich and Northwich, and then round the latter town, through Wincham, Marston, Anderton and Barnton. The main point of interest is the time we will hit the Saltersford tunnel, because there’s a window of only twenty minutes in each hour that you can set off north. I had some idea we might get there for the 13:00 sailing, but that started to look infeasible, which was a good thing really, as it meant we could take things easy.

Nearly Home

Thin House at Anderton

As we went through Wincham we passed a group of youngish people (by comparison with the average canal population) on the bank next to three plastic cruisers (GRP – Glass Reinforced Plastic) or margarine tubs as they are known to those of us sailing something more solid. Much later, after we had gone through the Saltersford Tunnel, they came up behind us very fast (gosh, perhaps ten knots or more). We pulled over to let them pass, which they did, though I think they could probably have slipped past regardless. When you are used to 57 foot and 17 tonnes of solid iron, these seem incredibly nimble – they are typically only about 20 foot or less, with an outboard motor – they can spin in their own length, accelerate instantly and manoeuvre with ease. They soon vanished up the canal ahead of us.

On Lookout

As usual we took two hours to go from Saltersford Tunnel to Preston Brook Tunnel, and when we arrived the Margarine Tub Club were waiting to go in – their extra speed hadn’t enabled them to get an hour ahead of us. The stop lock was tough to work, because the Trent and Mersey was higher than usual, so even with the water overflowing the bottom gates, there was still a bit of a height difference at the top gate, which made it hard to move. I managed it in the end, and when they saw me there the GRP boaters came back to help.

In Preston Brook Tunnel

We followed them through the tunnel, and then as usual we went up to Keckwick Lane to drop off the dogs. I then winded and came back to the marina, where I moored very nicely – I am getting more confident with experience. I greased the stern gland and we unloaded into Loulie’s car and went home – tired but also sad it was over.

Map at 4-8-19 - the Ring complete

TODAY: 8:05 HOURS. 20.1 MILES. 1 LOCKS.

VOYAGE: 88:45 HOURS. 115.9 MILES. 92 LOCKS. 8 BRIDGES

Down the hill

Friday 2^nd August

We awoke this morning to discover we were still afloat, and indeed when I ran the bilge pumps nothing at all came out. That meant that there had been no leakage since I had greased the gland, but I was fairly sure that this was subject to change once we got under way, and the prop shaft started spinning. And indeed so it proved – when we had been going an hour or so, running the pump produced several squirts of water – nothing huge, but a clear sign that there was now some leakage where previously there had been none. This was not an issue while we were travelling – the pump will simply expel any excess – so I left it to be looked at once we were moored.

A fallen branch which has almost blocked the canal

The challenge for the day was simple – the rest of the locks on Heartbreak Hill, twenty left to do before we reached Wheelock. We got away from our moorings just before some people we had seen the day before, on NB Just Joe, which was good news – as I had explained before, following someone through a series of locks is irritating, as they are always against you.

As it was we found almost all of the locks set in our favour, so I only had to fill one chamber completely. Sometimes it worked perfectly so we met another boat coming up and could leave the lock open for them, while they did the same for us. Although they are mostly quite deep the locks are fast and well maintained, and also well designed, with a single gate at the top end and bridges or walkways at both ends, which means you never have to walk twice the length of the lock to work the gates. We met quite a few boats coming up, exchanging a few words as we worked the locks and then said goodbye.

Seems some cows like paddling in the floods

We essentially kept going all the way down. We planned to stop at one point, but there was a boat coming out of the lock, leaving the gate open for us, and we couldn’t resist. We let the girls off for a tiddle just above a lock, and they disgraced themselves, racing off down to the lock and carting about. Minnie even jumped into the water and had to be hauled out before the boat coming up could go past. I got the bicycle off, which meant that I could finish working a lock and close the gates, and still be down at the next lock ready to let Loulie in. We stayed ahead of Just Joe all the way, though they had two people working the locks. Quite a few of the sets on this flight are duplicated, but this didn’t help them, as they were typically finding both locks set against them after we had passed through. It was a nice warm days with plenty of sun and only high clouds – all in all very pleasant.

We finished lock 66 at about 16:00, and we were immediately in wheelock. I dropped Loulie off at the Barchatta restaurant to make a booking, and sailed on a few hundred yards to moor. There are plenty of boats around us (Just Joe is right behind) and houses with dogs opposite but for some reason the dogs have been very quiet all evening.

Once we had moored Loulie took them for a long walk (all except Ruby) while I stayed with the boat. I opened the engine hatch and it was immediately obvious that the stern gland was dripping fast, almost trickling, so I needed to grease it again. Last night I sat on the engine to get down to the gland, but now it was hot after a day’s sailing, but I discovered I could lie on the deck and reach down far enough to get at the greasing screw – helped of course by the fact that it was daylight and I didn’t have to work by the light of my head torch. I put in more grease and happily the dripping stopped dead. So the grease will solve the problem, but only until we turn the prop shaft – presumably the motion and heat drives the grease out of the gaps in the gland and allows the water through. That means I will need to make greasing a part of my end of day routine every day, until we can get it fixed.

We decided to leave the dogs on the boat when we went for a meal at the Barchetta, which allowed us to eat without worrying that they were bothering the other diners. They were quite happy sleeping down below until we came back. It was a very nice meal – the restaurant is in an old canal-side warehouse with floors at various different levels and gaps to allow goods to be hoisted in and out of boats. Back to the boat, and a nice quiet end to the evening.

Moorings at Wheelock 2-8-19

Map at 2-8-19

TODAY: 5:30 HOURS. 5.5 MILES. 20 LOCKS. 0 BRIDGE.

VOYAGE: 74:40 HOURS. 87.3 MILES. 82 LOCKS. 8 BRIDGES

Dive dive dive.

Thursday 1^st August

There was a marina/hire boat centre, Heritage Narrowboats, a couple of miles down the canal from our moorings, so we made our way down there and stopped to get a pumpout, diesel and water, so we were up to date on all our services. It is always nice not to have to worry for a while. The pumpout was particularly important, as last year on the Home Run we found a couple of pumpout places broken down, and there are none in any case all the way down from Red Bull Locks in Kidsgrove until you reach Middlewich.

Ramsdell Hall overlooking the Macc

We pressed on then, down to Hall Green Lock, which is actually the end of the Macclesfield Canal and the start of the Trent and Mersey, although you are still about half a mile from the main line of the latter. Apparently when the Macc was built in about 1830 the Trent and Mersey company were concerned about controlling the link and so they built the arm up to Hall Green, where there were two matching stop locks and to end. Nowadays there is just the one (with a drop of one foot four) and then a long narrow channel where the other lock used to be.

After that you sail over the Trent and Mersey main line, turn sharp left and go along parallel, past two locks which bring the main line up to the same level. You then turn sharp left again, which brings you out to a T-junction on the main line at Hardings Wood Junction. To your right is the entrance to Harecastle tunnel, but we turned left to start the long descent of Heartbreak Hill, 26 locks down to Wheelock.

Joining the Trent and Mersey main line at Hardings Wood Junctions

We still had the laptop to sort out, so after the first lock we moored and I cycled up to the computer place, only about half a mile now. I couldn’t get the exact power lead I needed, but they had one which will provide a trickle feed to the battery, so I can power it up over time. I set off back, and as I did so the heavens opened, again, and I was soaked by the time I got to the boat.

That set the scene for the rest of the trip, heavy showers interspersed with dry intervals. We had our eyes on a spot that we used last year on the Home Run, a good mooring with rings on a narrow stretch near Church Lawton, six locks down. When we arrived there was space, though there were half a dozen boats there already. We like to be well away from others, but the alternative was to do another six locks with no guarantee of anything better, so we tied up at around half five.

As I said we were close to Church Lawton, and at eight the campanologists of the church started to practice, going on for the full hour. At the same time the dogs, especially Posie and Mabel, started seeing or hearing things, and barked incessantly to warn us. Perhaps they were particularly sensitive to bad bellringing. All in all it was not a peaceful quiet evening.

Mabel hiding

And it was to get worse. At half eleven we went to take the dogs for their final walk, and I could hear a constant noise. It was like the central heating, but that wasn’t on, and we finally traced it to the automatic bilge pump, which was running constantly. Normally it only operates for a few moments when triggered by a float.

Investigating, I found that there was a steady and fairly rapid leak in through the stern gland where the prop shaft exits the hull. Fortunately, and quite by chance, I had had a conversation with the engineer last week, while we were pumping diesel out of the engine room, so I knew where the greasing screw was, and also where our tube of grease could be found. Did we have the correct Allen key? Knowing Steve Dugdale (the boat’s previous owner) there would be one around somewhere, and indeed I found it.

The challenges were not over – I had to sit on the engine and work well down below my feet – undo the screw without dropping in, screw in the grease tube and squeeze in the right amount, and then get the screw back in place and nicely tight. And talking of nicely tight, I had to do all this after two beers and half a bottle of Prosecco. I was also by no means certain that this would fix the problem, and as I started to squeeze the grease in the drips of water speeded up. However they then suddenly stopped entirely – the grease must have been pushing the water out of the gland, and once it was full of just grease, the dripping stopped. I watched for about ten minutes (by the light of my head torch) and didn’t see a single drip – so we could go to bed confident that we would not wake up at the bottom  of the canal.

The prop shaft with the stern gland. The greasing screw is top centre on the gland.

Mooring at Church Lawton 1-8-19

Map at 1-8-19

TODAY: 7:00 HOURS. 5.2 MILES. 7 LOCKS. 0 BRIDGE.

VOYAGE: 69:10 HOURS. 81.8 MILES. 62 LOCKS. 8 BRIDGES

Winter Window

We want to take Eileen to the Narrowboat Navigation Company in Nantwich for her winter service, and to have some changes made. The problem is getting there. In the summer we did the Home Run, all the way down the Shropshire Union to Autherley, and then back up the Staffs and Worcs and the Trent and Mersey. However that wasn’t really an option this time – for one thing with the shorter days it would probably have required three weeks in total, and there are also some closures in the autumn on various parts of the network, which would have been a problem.

So we needed to wait until the breach at Wardle on the Shropshire Union link had been mended, which meant the 21^st December. The challenge is that many pieces of maintenance on the canals begin on 2^nd January, often for a couple of months, and these would block our route in several places. So we would have to move her in that small window between 21^st December and the New Year. Fortunately the completion of the Wardle repair was not delayed, which is pretty good going as it took about six months or more. So we decided that it would take us three days, given that we would only get 5-6 hours sailing, and that we would spend New Year’s Eve on the boat.

To give us a chance at a good start, I brought the boat out of the marina last night, and moored her close to Keckwick Lane, opposite the laboratory. We could just see her from the rear windows of our house. This morning we took the luggage up in the car, then parked back home and walked up with the dogs.

We were on the move at about 10:45, which was what I had aimed for, as it took us to the Preston Brook tunnel spot on half eleven, and we were able to sail straight in. Loulie gave the dogs a walk while I worked the stop lock, and we pushed on so we were at the Saltersford Tunnel just after 13:30, so again there was no delay.

We decided we would try to do a pumpout at Anderton, where there is a CRT automatic facility, but it turned out that our card was empty. We were unclear whether it gave a certain number of pumpouts or a certain length of time, and it turns out the answer is one pumpout. It should not be a problem, we ought to get to Nantwich on the half tank we still have free, but if we can find a facility open tomorrow at a marina or somewhere we will use it.

Although it was only about half two at that point we started to think about finding a berth for the night. The first place we looked was fairly full and at the next one there was a single boat with a large aggressive dog, so we kept moving. We thought about stopping close to the Lostock chemical plant, but we decided that didn’t seem such a good idea. In the end, with darkness falling, we came to the spot at Billinge Green where we have moored a couple of times before, opposite a shallow flash. Assuming no problems with the locks we should get comfortably through Middlewich and on beyond tomorrow.

Today: 5.5 hours. 15.1 miles. 1 locks.Voyage: 5.5 hours. 15.1 miles. 1 locks.

Running the Gauntlet

Having the dogs with us constrains the places we like to moor – specifically towns and cities where we can’t let them out of the boat without their leads. This means both Wigan and Manchester are big no-go areas. In addition we don’t really enjoy mooring anywhere on the Leigh branch, either of the Bridgewater or of the L&L. The banks are very high and steep, and in general it doesn’t feel friendly. So we were reluctant to make a short trip through Wigan and then stop very early. On the other hand we couldn’t just do a normal run, as that would mean mooring somewhere in Stretford or Sale. So we decided to try for the double jump, and see if we could blitz through both conurbations and get out into the country beyond Sale. That would also give us an easy trip home tomorrow.

It was a beautiful clear day, and in late October that meant a frost, with ice on the woodwork of the stern, and mist rising from the canal as we set off, a beautiful sight. We made a good start, getting up the first two locks with no problems, and as we approached the third, after Wigan Pier, a C&RT workman, who was doing some maintenance on the lock, waved us in and worked the whole thing so Loulie didn’t even have to get off.

We did the final lock upwards in Wigan, and then came to the junction and turned down the Leigh branch. Now we were going downhill, and after dropping through the first lock with no trouble, we came to the final one and found a widebeam just going in ahead of us. Although it is a double width lock it can’t take anything else alongside a widebeam, so we had to wait. Loulie took all four dogs and walked on ahead, while I waited for them to finish, and then worked Eileen down on my own. It’s the first dock I have done solo, and it is fine as long as you take care and think things through, but there’s no doubt it takes longer.

I then set off in hot pursuit, and picked up the landing party after a couple of miles. We were going as fast as we dared, and we caught up with the widebeam at Planks Lane lift bridge, where they were about to go through. As the wife was working the bridge and he would have to pick her up after closing it we asked if they minded if we passed by and headed on, as we were in a hurry.

Now there were no more locks or bridges ahead of us, and virtually no traffic, so it was just a question of keeping our speed as high as we could. The canal on this branch has high, concrete or metal sides, so the usual concern about creating a wash and damaging earth banks does not apply. The main cause of delay was moored boats, where we had to slow down, of course. At first, looking at our Pearson’s Canal Guide it seemed we had far too much to do, based on his time estimates for each page of the route. However it turned out that he had been far too generous with his estimates and we were taking much less time than forecast, so we could still just make it if we hurried.

We came through Leigh, then through the open countryside until we reached Worsley, Barton and Trafford Park. We arrived at Watersmeet a little before five, and now we were confident that we would at least reach the countryside, if not our preferred spot by the Bollin Aqueduct. Sale is long straight and boring, and the Sale Cruising Club occupies a large percentage of the bank, obliging us to slow down often. Eventually we got through and out into the open as the sun slipped below the horizon.

We still had about twenty minutes to go, but we resolved to reach the Bollin, and the twilight was OK for navigation, especially as there were no other boats. Still, we had the headlight on by the time we reached our mooring point, and tied up. It was about 6:40, and we had covered 28.9 miles, easily our best for a single day. Scrambled eggs and bacon, both from Yates Greer, rounded off a tough but fun day.

Today: 9.7 hours. 28.9 miles. 6 locks. 1 bridge.

Voyage: 48.2 hours. 108.4 miles. 30 locks. 26 bridges.

No fuel like an old fuel

Our plan today was to refuel in Wigan, and then press on to somewhere on the Leigh branch for the night. However when we started to search for places to buy diesel, it became clear that there was nowhere on our route, all the way onto the Bridgewater and down past Leigh. So we would not get a refill today. The gauge was on the top of the red, and we thought that we would probably not run out before we got to a diesel point on Thursday. But only probably – until we actually run out we will notknow exactly where zero is, and we have already noticed that when we fill the tank the gauge only shows ¾, so we are not wholly trusting. We would be nervous all the way to getting refilled, and we would also be reluctant to run the engine to give us power at night. Without the alternator the lights would get steadily dimmer, and the heating would cut out. So in the end we decided to go back to Burscough, a couple of miles behind us, where the map said we would find diesel.

Views of Parbold

One of the things you discover on a canal is that the direction you are pointing matter hugely. The boat is longer than the canal is wide almost everywhere, so we couldn’t just swing round and motor back to Burscough. First we had to go forward a couple of miles to Parbold, where there is a winding hole. I did try in a couple of places where the canal looked wider, but as soon as you start to swing the boat around you realise that you have no chance. After turning in Parbold we came back on our tracks, reaching our overnight spot after about an hour. We went on into Burscough (through two swing bridges) and past the end of the Rufford Branch. We passed a huge old building, a mill of some sort, which has been renovated and turned into apartments – it looked very good. In the centre of the town we came to Burscough Canal Services, a very small business which could, however, sell us diesel. They don’t have a pump, though, they would have to pour it out of plastic 20 litre containers. And could we wait while he went to buy a funnel, as he had mislaid his?

Ainscough Mill

Burscough Bridge

Burscough Canal Services

I walked to Tesco to do our shopping while we waited, and when I got back he had started filling. It took 100 litres, and we had a good chat with the man while he was doing it. He is semi-retired and works for this business, which has two working boats which go up and down the canal with diesel, Calor gas and coal to supply boaters, especially liveaboards.

After we left him we were, of course, pointing the wrong way. The first winding hole was a couple of miles away, through two more swing bridges. Loulie took the dogs off to walk down and work the bridges, then they waited while I went a bit further, turned and came back to pick them up.

Now we were heading towards Wigan, but it was several miles and more bridges before we finally arrived where we had begun this morning, about five hours earlier. We continued through Parbold, and came to the first lock of the day, a deep 12-footer at Appley Bridge. We worked through that, and then the final swing bridge. Here Loulie got off again with the dogs, and I went on ahead, eventually reaching Dean Lock, under the shadow of the M6. I worked this mostly on my own, though another boat coming down arrived as I was filling the lock, and helped with some of the final bits.

The Douglas Valley

The others arrived as we were finishing, and we went on, though not very far, just through the village of Gathurst and half a mile beyond, where we found a very nice mooring in the trees and alongside the Douglas River, another paradise for the dogs. I walked back and explored Gathurst, which I have seen hundreds of times from the M6, and I found there was a nice-looking Indian restaurant beside the bridge – it used to be the Navigation public house. We ordered a takeaway and I walked back to collect it – very nice.

Wednesday Night's Mooring

An oak on the bank opposite.

Exhausted

Today: 7 hours. 15.6 miles. 2 locks. 9 bridges.

Voyage: 38.5 hours. 79.5 miles. 24 locks. 25 bridges.