Day 19: back down to the boat and the Rochdale 9!

4th September. It is confirmed. We are mad. This is how today went. We had a lie in at home. We did not expect the canal to re-open until Friday and therefore a few lazy days pottering around the house. We were sat in our dining room, having a cup of coffee. It was 10am and the sun was shining. It was warm and dry and little wind. In fact a great boating day and we were stuck at home.

Just then my iPod went bing. An email had just dropped in. I had a look at my emails half expecting more junk mail. It was an update from CART. I had signed up to regular updates. Guest what? The canal was open. But it was only 10am. I bet it was open late yesterday.

Well now it was all hands to the pump. Get ready! Get packed! Car refuelled. Food! Etc...

The plan was to get back to Manchester. Do the Rochdale 9 and moor at the safe New Islington basin overnight. I had already booked passage on Thursday to go up the Manchester 18!

From being sat at home at 10am to starting up the Rochdale 9 at 3pm. Then getting to New Islington basin around 5pm. Then walking back down the Rochdale 9 to retrieve the car. Then driving back to Sowerby Bridge to leave the car there. Then getting the train back to Manchester and walking back to the boat at 10pm. Yep, must be mad but the adventure continues!!!

Day 18: still in Manchester!

3rd September. Well, the boat has been left stranded in Castlefield Basin in the middle of Manchester. Surrounded by high rise office blocks and hotels. A million miles away from the beautiful countryside on the Llangollen canal. But in a strange way, I actually like this city centre vista. The old and new buildings towering above old canal. And that very tall hotel dominating the skyline. What is it called again? I will do a quick Google and it's called 'The Beetham Tower'!

A few facts: 515ft high; 47 floors; 9th tallest building in the UK and the tallest outside London. It is tall.

Anyway, we went home to refresh and wait for the canal to re-open.

Day 17: Back into Manchester to stay!

2nd September. Yep, back into Manchester to stay. Well not for ever but for a few unscheduled days. We set off around 10am for a steady trip to Manchester and the dreaded 'Rochdale 9'. With no locks and only about 12 miles to do before the '9' we were not in a hurry. 

The worst thing was trying to book the 'Manchester 18' for the next day. It took ages to get through, leaving message after message. I eventually managed to speak to someone as we approached Manchester United's football stadium adjacent the Bridgewater canal. The news was not good!

A hire boat full of drunken lads had walloped the lock gates on lock 87 on the Rochdale 9 and dislodged the lower gates! These gates could not be closed properly and therefore no passage! How long before re-opening? I was told the end of the week! It was Monday and our plans were in ruin.

We got to the safe moorings in Castlefield basin and tied up. We were gutted. What would we do now? Wait it out. Try the Leeds and Liverpool? Abandoned ship? We had to have a good think.

The L&L option was quickly decided against. 127 locks and about as many miles was too much. We thought about it but a call to CART told us there was a stoppage near Burnley until Thursday at the earliest! We decided to abandoned ship. Not as easy as it sounds. It meant getting things ready to leave and retrieving the car from Sowerby Bridge. I walked to the railway station feeling very disappointed. Head down and with only the Nicholson's waterway map to guide me, it took me a bit of time. I got to the station, bought a single to Sowerby Bridge and joined all the commuters making there way home from work! What a different world it was from my waterway's world.

Anyway, got back to the car which started 1st time. Strange to drive again and got back to Manchester. It the took me around 45 minutes to find Castlefield's basin! I eventually found it but could not get near the boat! I was on the wrong side of the canal but near enough to load up and get out of there!

What a day!

Day 16: back onto the Bridgewater.

1st September. I could not believe that it was now September. We had been out on this trip since mid-August. It was now becoming a way of life! That was one of my plans. To see how we live on a boat for a prolonged period. Yes, only 3 weeks but longer than ever before. Questions like: could we do it? How would we live together in a confined space? Provisions? Breakdowns? Family? Plus lots of other questions.

Well back onto the trip. Today we would pass through Dutton stop lock with a rise of 6 inches! Wow! Soon after the 1200+yd Preston Brook Tunnel. Our last big tunnel. We had the scars of 'tunnel battle' to carry home. A knackered tv aerial ( but it still worked!). A bent and twister stove chimney! A loose boiler chimney. Lost glasses and a lot of scrapes to the cabin sides. Especially the grab rails. All would need attention when we finally get home.

We were back on the wide lock free Bridgewater canal. Yet again we made good progress in sunny conditions but it was turning a little cooler. We were going to moor just before the long boring stretch through Sale and in open countryside. Almost there we past a pub with a very inviting mooring right outside. We did a 180 and moored outside. We had a nice carvery with beef, pork and all the trimmings. A nice change from baked beans!

Next day we would be back in Manchester but we did not know of the problems that lay ahead of us!

Day 15: To the site of the 2012 Dutton breach!

31st August. Our aim was to stop at the site of the 2012 breach at Dutton with good moorings. That was why today was another short day of 10 miles and no locks. Wow!

We stopped for a visit at Anderton boat lift visitor centre and through Barnton and Salters Ford tunnels.

Moored waiting for the right tunnel time.

We reached the Dutton breach site but the moorings were full! We just managed to moor on the edge of the site but missed out on the lovely views over the Weaver valley.

Day 14: Back up the T&M and those wasps!

30th August. Today was going to be a short boating day. We covered just 10 miles and 6 locks. I had to have a good look at my log to find out why? 

Coming down the Middlewich locks was very slow going and it took us over 2 hours! We also made a stop in Middlewich to visit Morrisons and stock up on provisions. At around 3 pm we started north up the T&M and only made it to bridge 182a just south of Northwich. We would have of moored earlier but as we came into moor we disturbed a wasps nest in the canal bank. The sight of me at the tiller trying to outrun those angry wasps at 4mph made us laugh. I just had to grin and bare it and hope they didn't like my aftershave!

Day 13: Back onto the Middlewich and more queue's.

29th August. Through Wrenbury lift bridge with 3 other boats in convoy. We were 3rd. A strange thing happened after the next manual lift bridge. The guy in the lead boat, got through this lift bridge and then proceeded to close it! We were not far behind him but he closed it and was on his way? The rest of us could not believe it. The boat in front of me went through and decided to stop. I soon caught up the boater who had closed the bridge in front of us at the next lock. When asked why he closed the bridge, all he could say was that in the past it had been left open. But 3 boats were directly behind him? My thinking is that he did not want to loose his place in the queue's at the next lock. Fool!

Anyway, we swiftly moved down the canal, up the Shroppie and back into the Middlewich at Barbridge junction. An evening mooring once again in open countryside near bridge 16 was delightful.

Day 12:The lovely 'Mere's'

28th August. We had spent a night on the canal, in the woods, beside a lake! Yes, all in one place. This Llangollen canal was full of surprises!

Beside Blake Mere, just after The short Ellesmere tunnel, we watched a lone swan on the other side of the lake. With 2 other boats for company, we felt safe. Woods after dark are a spooky place!

We had come up the 6 locks at Grindley Brook with no delays. On our return, it was a different story with a 5 boat queue in front of us. We eventually got down the flight and motored on and about a mile past Marbury Lock, we moored for the night in open countryside.