Day 1: Return to Boroughbridge.

5th October 2013 (10.5 miles/16 locks). Pippin had been at Sowerby Bridge for 5 weeks after our epic trip. Now all we had to do was get her back to her winter mooring at Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire. Only 88 miles away but by boat there was a lot to consider.

There was the shorter days, it getting colder, the river sections that could be in flood and closed at the slightest hint of rain in the hills and then there was the dreaded tidal Ouse!

We intended to do the trip in 2 sections. First section to Selby. Second section onto the tidal Ouse and finally back to Boroughbridge.

We set off from Sowerby Bridge at 10am. We came down the previous night to prepare the boat and ourselves for the return.

We soon hit our first minor problem. Because there was a leak on the Salterhebble section, you could only pass through the Salterhebble 3 locks between 10 and 2 and with the aid of CART staff. Luckily, when we arrived, the lock was prepared for us. We descended  with another narrowboat who had been waiting for 15 minutes. We quickly past through the 2 top locks and then the guillotine lock and with both crew's working together, we made good progress to Mirfield. We stopped for the night on the visitor moorings. The other narrowboat was going no further than Mirfield. We did not want to moor outside the supermarket as there were a few 'kids' hanging around. It was a good job we did because we heard next day from the crew of another narrowboat that they had had problems with those very kids!

Day 23: return to Sowerby Bridge.

8th September. We had been 'out' for over 3 weeks! The weather has been kind to us. A lot of decent sunshine and warmth. Very little rain and only the odd cold night. Can't grumble.

We set off quite early from lock 15. We needed to. If we didn't make the big Tuel lock by about 4pm, we would be stuck for another night on the canal with the car in spitting distance. The night had been the coldest so far and the little wood burner was called into action for only the second time. As we left our mooring, a spooky mist sat on the water and as we cut through it, the sun was already up. You could be in shade and in the cold mist one minute, and then we came out into an opening, the sun hit us and the warmth was very pleasing the next. An uneventful trip down the canal was only slowed down by a boat in front of us who had just gone through lock 5. We would catch them up at the big Tuel lock and descend the final 3 locks together. Helped through by CART staff, it was a bit of an anti-climax and all we had to do was sit on the back of our boats and chat to the lockie.

We finally exited lock 1 and our mooring for the next 5 weeks was just on the left at Shire Cruisers. We were back! We reversed into our birth, tied up and turned off the engine. What an adventure!! Would I do it again? Yes, but only when we are retired with a lot more time on our hands. But it had been good fun and we proved to ourselves that we could survive on a boat for at least 3 weeks and  more.

We just sat for a while and thought about where we had been. Wow!!

All we had to do now was tidy up and pack things into the car. We would soon hit the motorway. What a contrast and we already longed to be back on the canal.

My next blog piece will be our final return to Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire and the real journey's end.

Day 22: Fancy bumping into Timothy West and Prunella Scales!

7th September. We had almost made it back to Sowerby Bridge but there was going to be one more big surprise!

The lockie unlocked the gates at 10am. A boat was coming down! It had moored on the summit pound overnight. Funny thing was, there was a little lady, can't have been more than 5 foot tall and she was doing all the lock work. Doing the paddles. Opening the big heavy gates and then closing everything afterwards. Yet on their narrowboat were 2, yes 2 men. I though one of them could of have helped her and I was shocked to see that they both remained on the boat! But I did wave as they went past me while I was sat on the back of our boat drinking coffee. No, I didn't just watch her work through the lock by herself but shouted to her to leave the lock gates open so that we could easily move into the lock!

Anyway, we were soon over the summit and going back down the Rochdale and down into Yorkshire.

The first lock back down't canal.

We progressed down the canal and things were going OK when we saw a paramedic at the next lock. Oh no! Had someone fallen in or hurt themselves! We just had to ask him. He was working that day but not on what I thought. He was actually waiting for a couple coming up the canal on a Shire Cruisers hire boat. Not any 'old' couple but the canal crusaiders themselves. The one and only Timothy West and Prunella Scales from Waterworld fame!

The paramedic said that we could be on television. We went through another 4 locks and nobody. Was it a joke? Well at the very next lock was a camera crew. They did have the camera aiming towards me as I exited the lock. Maybe my 5 seconds of fame!

Their hire boat was moored below the lock and I took this pic:

Tim said hello as we passed but Prunella was sat talking to a young lad. Probably the director.

I will be watching channel 4 next year to see if I did make it onto the silver screen but I won't hold my breath!

We continued to Todmordon where we stopped for a break and to look around the antiques shop. The Buckby can had already been sold!

A few more locks and we moored for the night by lock 15. Tomorrow we would return to Sowerby Bridge.

Day 21: Almost back in Yorkshire

6thSeptember We wanted to make it back to the top of the Rochdale so that we could go over the top and back into West Yorkshire tomorrow. There were only 16 locks and 8 miles to the summit. We had done all the hard work yesterday with an amazing 29 locks and 10 miles.

We had been with the couple on't narrowboat all day yesterday and did make good steady progress, but we had a goal and set off alone at 9 into light rain. The forecast was not to good but after a few miles and 4 locks, the rain stopped and I believe that the sun even poked its head out from behind the heavy grey clouds.

Good progress up to the summit and we moored at the visitor moorings just before lock 37 which was padlocked. It would be open tomorrow at 10am and we had an early night as the rain started to come down again.

Day 20: Manchester 18

5th September. After a busy day and night yesterday, we had to be up early as the booked passage up the 18 starts at 08:30. Ourselves and one other narrowboat were making the accent. A friendly couple from West Yorkshire. They had been out cruising since April. Makes our 20 days so far seem a little tame.

We were at the 1st lock of the 18 waiting for the CART staff to arrive. Three turned up. Was it that bad? Not really. One guy would see us up and the other 2 started right away on clearing up some of the crap that always seems to end up in't canal!

We made good progress in warm late summer sunshine and before too long we were back at lock 63. This is where we waited to come down the Manchester 18 nearly 3 weeks ago.

We just kept on up the Rochdale and stopped just before the M62 underpass. The one where they can move the towpath for wide  boats. Not the best mooring but it started to rain and we had gone as far as we could today. Tomorrow would be a final assault up the Rochdale and hopefully reach the summit.