Over the Top

Woke up early this morning and realised the boat didn't rock at all, we were aground. Leakage during the night had lowered the water level and meant we had settled on the bottom. I went for a walk and let some more water down from Lock 42. Above Lock 41 there wasn't any! Just in case anyone thought I was exaggerating when I said there was no water here are some photos.

Between Locks 41 & 40, the tyre isn't floating!

Lock 40

Between Locks 40 & 39

The white topped posts on the left are the mooring bollards to tie the boats to while preparing the lock! The problem isn't so much lack of water for the canal, although the reservoir is a bit low, it is that mining subsidence means this section leaks like a sieve. It didn't take BW very long to let the water through for us but it was a bit scary seeing all the junk we take our boats over. It was very windy today which added to the fun but we were fairly quickly (by narrowboating standards) up and across the summit. The views make it all worthwhile.

Going down at last!

Looking back

Across the border

After crossing the border into Yorkshire we moored up for a well deserved cuppa and biscuits then decided, in view of the wind that we would stop here for the night.

Todays journey 1.6 miles, 8 locks and 1 swing bridge.

So far we have travelled 274.4 miles, 289 locks, 12 swing bridges, 4 lift bridges and 7 tunnels.

Wet and Dry!

Unfortunately it was the sky which was wet and the canal which was dry! Well, not dry exactly but certainly not as wet as it should have been.

We all moved up through the two locks at Littleborough on Thursday afternoon to go to fill up with water, empty our loos and dump the rubbish. On Friday morning Kathy and I went and stocked up with food at the Co-op. We got ourselves booked for passage across the summit on Sunday morning, so the plan was to go up to Lock 37 today. Kathy cooked us all a smashing sweet and sour for dinner, I shall reciprocate with a chilli or spaghetti bolognese next week before we part company. I woke up really early this morning to a beautiful sunrise.

Within 10 minutes of taking this photo it was chucking it down with rain. Later in the morning Ray and Chris spoke to a BW man who was walking past and he told us to wait below Lock 42 for them to come and get us in the morning. About three o'clock the rain had eased off and we started to make our way up, Ray led the way with Morgana as we have the shallowest draught so were less likely to run aground. Luckily I walked between the locks because even keeping to the middle Morgana grounded but I was able to let the water down through the next lock and get her refloated. I had to run more water off to get Kathy and Chris through the locks but we all eventually made it up to Lock 42. We had to run water off through Lock 42 to make sure the boats all remained afloat overnight, we didn't want to wake up on a slope! We could see why they didn't want us going any further, you could see the bottom above lock 41. It was the sort of journey that made us all glad we were in company because we were able to laugh about it. I don't envy Kathy and Chris who will have to do this all again in the opposite direction after we part company.

Can't resist adding this photo of one of the kittens.

Sweet!

Thursday and today's journeys 0.9miles and 6 locks.

So far we have travelled 272.8 miles, 281 locks, 11 swing bridges, 4 lift bridges and 7 tunnels.

Plan B

It was so windy yesterday that it made travelling hard work. Some of the locks on this stretch are too narrow for two boats so we were having to do three fills of the lock to get all of us through. Ray was towing Almyne Too, the tender that is like a mini butty today, he found it easier than towing Scott's little cruiser. We stopped short of Littleborough and then carried on this morning. We are trying to find out from BW when we can cross the summit. It definitely won't be tomorrow because we didn't get our washing done today, and there are 11 locks between here and the top so it won't be Friday either. If BW give us the all clear it could be Saturday but we are still waiting for a call back. We don't want to move up to the summit until we know when we can cross because at least here we have all the facilities.

Unfortunately we will lose Chris and Kathy when we get to about Hebden Bridge, they had thought that Destiny would be able to do the Calder & Hebble and Leeds & Liverpool if Destiny went into the locks alone so she could be angled across the locks but at 62ft plus her fenders she is too long! They are planning to head back down, through Manchester onto the Bridgewater, up towards Liverpool then back and up to Wigan to meet us in a few weeks time.

So it looks like we won't be moving on until at least tomorrow, and only then if we can cross the summit on Saturday.

Yesterday and today's journeys 6.3 miles, 5 locks, 2 swing bridges and 1 tunnel (a very short one).
So far we have travelled 271.9 miles, 275 locks, 11 swing bridges, 4 lift bridges and 7 tunnels.

Upward, ever upward

We have had a relatively lazy few days. We planned to take Friday off after all our hard work on Thursday, we were debating whether to move on when Chris told Ray they were planning a barbeque on Saturday night and asked if we would like to join them. We seem to have so much in common with Chris and Kathy, it is starting to feel as if we have know them far longer than just a few days. So we have decided to travel with them for a bit longer. One of their cats, Marley, had kittens just over a week ago, we had been planning to get a couple of kittens to share the boat so that has worked out really well. It will be a few more weeks before the kittens can leave mum but as they are heading in basically the same direction as us for at least a couple of months that isn't a problem. It should be easy to arrange to meet up.

Kathy has a traders licence, which allows her to run a business from her boat. She sells jewellery, cards, rag rugs and other handicrafts. If you have a turnover below the VAT threshold it only costs a little bit more than a normal licence and you don't have to pay duty on the diesel you use for business use. So if you count the travelling you are doing as business, going from one place to another to sell your goods, it can save you lots. I think I'm going to have to investigate it.

After a very enjoyable weekend being busy doing nothing we carried on up the Rochdale to Slattocks. Not very far but there are so many locks that it can be hard to find places to moor. We have looked at the map and we think we will probably aim for Littleborough tomorrow, take a day off on Wednesday as both Kathy and I need to get some washing done and there is a launderette in Littleborough. Much easier than doing the washing on the boat especially the big stuff like bedding. Hopefully we will able to cross the summit on Thursday, although a boat that moored up by us tonight said they had come over the top and water levels are low. We will have to speak to BW and find out what the situation is. After that it is downhill all the way to Leeds, less than 30 miles now as the crow flies, 59.4 miles and 103 locks by canal. We are only about 4 hours journey time behind where I had planned to be and it is worth it for such good company.

Today's journey 2.1 miles and 10 locks.
So far we have travelled 265.6 miles, 270 locks, 9 swing bridges, 4 lift bridges and 6 tunnels.

And, in no particular order!

The Rochdale Canal is 'interesting'. We paired up with Chris aboard 'Almyne' for the climb out of Manchester and also towed a small fibreglass cruiser with a seized outboard belonging to Scott, a twelve year old who's mum Kathy and sister Kaia were following us up on her boat 'Destiny' with another boat. Her boat plus Scott's cruiser were too long for her to tow him and fit into the locks. 'Almyne' has a mini butty, a sort of floating garden shed, it's brilliant. It looks a bit like a chopped off narrow boat.

Having more people made working the locks easier but this canal is hard work. Chris kindly kept us supplied with coffee on the trip. The canal is very shallow, we felt our hull scrape the bottom a few times. Chris actually ran aground in a lock! Ray was following him into the lock at the time and because 'Almyne' suddenly stopped dead the butty jacknifed into Ray's path, Ray hit it and the tow bar broke so Chris had to do running repairs in the lock. We all got rubbish round our props which we had to clear, Chris got a sofa seat cushion, Cathy got a black leather jacket and Ray a tan suede coat. There was the usual complement of shopping trollies. On one stretch you can see where the canal was once concreted over, before it was restored. Ray got stuck in one set of lock gates where one gate wouldn't open fully and had to back off while Chris moved Almyne over in the lock so Morgana could go in through the gate that would open. At one lock we had to clear a wheelie bin from the lock entrance so we could close the gates. When we eventually reached the top we were greeted with this -

It is a floating pontoon to allow work on the railway bridge, Ray wandered up to talk to them and discovered that they were working until four, which gave us about three quarters of an hour to wait until the canal reopened. We moored up and Chris spent the time doing a proper repair to his towbar while I made sandwiches for everyone. I think we were all glad of the break. Kathy and Kaia had reached the top lock before the pontoon was moved so those two boats stayed it the lock until the canal was clear.

Waiting for the canal to re-open

We then carried on as a convoy of four boats for another couple of miles, through a lift bridge and another lock to reach some good moorings at Chadderton. We managed to cause a long traffic jam at the lift bridge while all four of us went through. According to the locals, most days they don't even see one boat and four at once is unheard of! After we had all relaxed and had dinner we took a stroll to the local pub for a couple of beers. We will probably take tomorrow off, the others are probably here until Monday but I don't know if we will stay that long. They are good travelling companions, so we might. They are heading on the same route as us until we start heading south again after crossing back across the Pennines on the Leeds and Liverpool so we will probably see them again more than once.

Today's journey 7.3 miles, 20 locks and 1 lift bridge.

So far we have travelled 263.5 miles, 260 locks, 9 swing bridges, 4 lift bridges and 6 tunnels.

I hate cities!

After a day off yesterday we today had the delights of travelling down into the centre of Manchester! Eighteen locks and two swing bridges accompanied by quite a lot of plastic bottles and general debris. Six of the eighteen locks had at least one set of winding gear that wasn't working properly. These eighteen locks all have anti-vandal locks which you have to unlock and re-lock on each set of gear (four per lock). We cheated, we were being followed by another boat just one lock behind us, so we left the anti-vandal locks unlocked ready for them. At one lock we met up with a boat who had a carpet caught round their prop. When I got told this at the lock before we reached them by the crew of a boat coming up the flight I imagined a rug or piece of carpet, but it was a carpet, big enough for the average lounge! Two locks after that Ray and I had to haul a 6ft long beam of wood about 12 inches by 6 inches out of the canal!

Eventually we made it to the moorings in Manchester, ready for the climb through, probably, 20 locks tomorrow.

Today's journey 6.4 miles, 18 locks and 2 swing bridges.
So far we have travelled 256.2 miles, 240 locks, 9 swing bridges, 3 lift bridges and 6 tunnels.

Cheaper than gym membership

First thing this morning I rang British Waterways to book passage through the Rochdale 18 on Thursday morning. I thought the weather was conspiring against me, it started to rain just as we left our mooring. By the time we got to Marple it had stopped and after a quick shop, dumping the rubbish, emptying the loo and topping up the water tank we turned onto the Peak Forest Canal and started off down the flight.

The locks are very deep, they lower the canal through 214 feet over the 16 locks. We were lucky that some of the locks were in our favour which made the journey down quicker, at least I wasn't having to fill them before we could get the boat in. Some of the paddle gear was very stiff which made it hard work and one lock leaks so badly that it took an age to fill. I did get a rest at the lock before last as we met a boat with six on board coming up the flight and they did all the work to get us down so they could come up! When we had completed the lock flight, in only 3 hours and 40 minutes, Ray decided on plan B. As it was only a couple of hours cruise to the junction with the Ashton Canal we carried on to allow ourselves a day off tomorrow.

Just after the bottom of the flight there is an aqueduct which takes you across the River Goyt far below you, with the railway viaduct towering above you, spectacular! My photo doesn't really do it justice but it gives you an idea.

The canal passes through a couple of miles of countryside before it reaches Hyde and suburban Manchester where it passes through 2 short tunnels.  The town doesn't encroach too much on the canal and apart from some industry and a sewage works it remains a pleasant cruise.We were going to moor before the lift bridge on the approach to the Ashton but a local dog-walker told us there were other boats moored the other side of the bridge and I always consider there is safety in numbers when mooring in built up areas. After we had moored up I went for a stroll and found a very nice mooring with picnic tables and a view down into the Tame Valley, it was occupied but if they move tomorrow we might sneak onto that mooring for the night. I feel as if I have done about 4 major workouts today and might have a few aches in the morning.

Today's journey 10 miles, 16 locks, 1 lift bridge and 2 tunnels.
So far we have travelled 249.8 miles, 222 locks, 7 swing bridges, 3 lift bridges and 6 tunnels.