Dave Dobbin wrote: > The usual advice is to stop out near Ashton under Lyne (Portland Basin?) > overnight and get a fairly early start to get to the lock flight by about > 10am. > There is, or used to be, an escorted passage down the locks.
Sorry, Dave, but you have just proved what I sometimes say - that the misleading advice and tales of horror about the Ashton Canal are usually spread about by people who have not been there for years. It is more than ten years since BW did escorted passages of the Ashton. It has improved enormously since your last visit. There is no longer any need for escorted passage or for early starts. I was at Portland Basin on Monday and there were boats doing the Cheshire Ring heading off towards Manchester at 4.00 pm, so they would probably have reached Piccadilly at around 8.00 pm and had no trouble en route. The usual advice now is to treat it in the same way as you would treat boating through any other urban area - a few sensible precautions but no big deal. -- Martin Clark Pennine Waterways Website http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk
