Monday 10th July 2006
Monday was a sunny start and a lie-in for most (I got up after Jamie
dropped his torch on the floor by my ear as he returned from the loo). So it
was 10.30 before breakfast and briefing were completed. A College friend of
mine joined us to give us a conducted tour of the Worsley area. The orange
residue from the mines is now less but the canal still retains a bright
orange colour as it has for 200 years. However, Health & Safety have declared
the iron deposits unsafe and hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent
filtering the water from the mines interestingly the locals didnt want it to
be cleaned either. Unfortunately the money was not spent on the entrances
to these historical Duke of Bridgewater mines, and this important industrial
heritage site looked even more depressing than usual. We then climbed to see
one of the reservoirs above and had time to run around in the woods and
experience real hills. Our next stop was the Barton Swing Aqueduct
far more to see, but unfortunately no ships on the Canal below, so we were not
able to see it swing.
Gentle cruising past Old Trafford, then eventually to Castlefields. Here we
decided to go for the locks which were running weir, and as boats were coming
down, the whole towpath was under a couple of inches of water at times. Our
first flight of locks, so we organised ourselves into 3 groups leapfrogging
each other as we set, worked the boats through or reset the locks behind us.
Whilst waiting at one lock, a group of us explored a side arm which curled
amongst the new buildings. At the end was a huge group of people all dressed
to the nines, with their proud offspring in their graduate gowns enjoying the
after-ceremony photos and food. Well another 8 years and it will be their turns
we felt slightly wrongly dressed for the occasion. All went well, coming
breasted up the locks, until Lock 88, here the two boats jammed coming into the
lock. Some extra boarding on the gates had narrowed the width. Of course this
lock is on Canal Street one of the major tourist
spots in Manchester and so a crowd soon assembled, with beer mugs in their
hands, to offer advice as we tried to pull and flush the boats back whilst
rocking the gates. You know your trouble, that barge is stuck! said one
helpful man to Kevin you need to pull it out! Kevin explained that was
exactly what we were trying to do. Its stuck I tell you you need to get it
out bloody amateurs you are you dont know what youre doing you need to
get it out!!!. Well eventually after 30 minutes hard graft with Spanish
windlasses, ropes, flushing and rocking we did and the rest of the locks we
entered singled out although it added to the time taken for the flight.
Reaching the top of the flight by 5.30, we found two boats there with the
pessimistic news that if we wanted to continue up the Rochdale there was no
hope. Kids had emptied 5 pounds further up on the previous Thursday and the
canal was still dry. The 2 boats had been waiting two days since Saturday. As
the BW offices were shut we decided to have a cup of tea. Afterwards we walked
up the canal, finding it depressingly empty in the first pound and 2 foot down
in the next. Others were fuller. A local girl treated us to an egg by
throwing it at Sonny, and Dale wondered how far we were going to have to walk.
At bridge 78 we met an inebriated woman who lived under the arches who
graphically described the flooding a few days previously when the pounds had
been emptied. Retracing our steps, we checked a marker on the long pound above
lock 82 to compare heights in the morning. Big Jamie, Andrew and James then
prepared a superb Ham Pasta for dinner after which the musicians
entertained us, themselves, people on the flats balconies and passers-by of
all ilks into the evening. Surrounded by flats, offices, scaffold covered
buildings, we had lights out at 11.00 sleeping to the sounds of a modern city
centre (sirens, shouting, loud people stumbling past, alarms
).
Tuesday 11th July, 2006
Up early on Tuesday Morning to be ready for the British Waterways men and an
update on the Rochdale. Checking the pound above 82, to our dismay it had
dropped a couple of inches, which did not bode well. Our own water supplies
were also drastically low first tried a car park café, who were willing to
help but were physically unable to fill our containers. However, Seb, to the
rescue, managed to chat-up a security guard at a block of flats who filled
one container. Sending the little-uns over to plead for more and we managed to
get a couple more filled. The BW men arrived at 8.30. First pessimistic then
a phone call to say they were running water down and we may be able to go up at
10 a.m. So we all settled down to another full breakfast. Terry, the BW foreman
arrived at 10.15, very apologetic, but no boats today. Wednesday possibly but
doubtful when pushed. So to plan B and up the Ashton. (The Rochdale canal
eventually re-opened the following Monday). Just one
problem with the Ashton the butty Ash is too high. It also meant that
everyone would now have to get used to bowhauling the butty through the narrow
locks. The canal was surprisingly busy, 5 boats up and 4 down. The two waiting
boats from last night were both singlehanded so we also helped them.
About 3 locks up, a factory was being demolished and so we helped by
chain-ganging large lumps of concrete from the site to the front of the butty
Ash, , gradually getting it lower into the water. Hard and hot work followed
locking and bowhauling past the Commonwealth Games stadiums. At one lock the
Ash stuck but luckily some young tattooed men, well lubricated at the
nearside pub, thought it was so kool that we were camping on the boats as a
school party gave their weight and muscles to the ropes and helped us
through. As the logbooks were no longer showing the correct route I managed
to talk to the staff of the Fairfield Junior School, who happily photocopied 60
pages of the new route maps for us all. At the top of the locks we emptied the
toilets and chatted to the local lads for some time, eventually leaving
Fairfield Junction at 17.10. Very carefully as this was the low bridge but
with our load of concrete and everyone on the front of the Ash we managed
to get the cratch through unscathed under the bridge. An hour later we moored
at Dukinfield Junction at Ashton Under Lyne, then set off for ASDA for the next
big shop (and real toilets). The large pile of concrete blocks were carefully
piled in the woods ready for the Ash to use on her return. On our return James,
Little Jamie and Kevin had prepared a huge curry followed by fruit crumble.
Afterwards, exchanges were made with some local girls. Later then the sounds of
the guitars and sax drifted across the water, whilst others grappled out bikes,
trolleys and other unmentionables.
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