As we turned round the Astland Light the heavens opened and the River Ribble looked to stretch off in to the murky distance. The alteration of course had brough the slanted rain from at our back to in my right ear!
'Allessandra's' crew were fine under cover, but our conversations with them revealed that they secretly liked the idea of a floating caravan, rather than a floating tent, as was Marjorie put it.
As we sped up the Ribble the tide turned and was just starting to pick up pace a little when ahead I saw a gush of bubbles rising to the surface. I had visions of a submarine surfacing. However I think it was more to do with the nearby sewage farm now that the tide was ebbing!
The green light at the mouth of the Savick Brook was very bright and could be seen right up the reach, despite the murky rain. There is a mud bank to the west of the mouth of so you need to be aware that you will be set down on to it by the ebbing tide. As we made our approach and got close to the entrance the strength of the tide was deceptive. Just so long as you make sure your transits are opening there is no problem. (Eh, that sounds good, doesn't it!). The white truck is the C&RT man waiting for us. When we were safely in he went to turn the light off.
Looking up the Ribble towards the city of Preston, (it became a city in 2002). There was an enclosed dock up that way from 1892. Coal was exported that came via the Lancaster Canal from The Leeds and Liverpool and a tramway over a wooden bridge over the Ribble. A massive aqueduct to carry the canal over the estuary was shelved as too expensive. In later years vast quantities of wood pulp were imported as a raw material for the Courtauld's Rayon works north of the city, but that closed in 1981. The docks also closed in that year as the cost of dredging made them uneconomic.
You can see the green light bu the sign on the right hand side. the entrance is well marked with perches on both sides. I wonder if a transit line of lights or shapes would be a good idea, but then I'm not sure how many people would know what they were for, or how to use them.
Almost there, and you can tell how wet it was too.
There is about half a mile of winding tidal creel to follow at the start of the brook.
After a few bends and banks y7ou come to the rotating sea lock. Once we were through we were told to moor up on a pontoon, that was only long enough for one and a half boats. This green light may be the one in the literature that states that it can be difficult to see from the Ribble, because it is!
I wondered why we would have to sit and wait on the pontoon when the tide was falling all the time. I think getting on from 2 foot of water was lost as we waited for the twenty minutes or so. Thye reason for the wait can be seen just to the right of the right hand pile, a low stone bridge. I think we would haqve been okay almost straight away but 'Alessandra' with her canopy would not have made it.
With the tide ebbing quite strongly, although this was pretty much an ebb tide, you had to approach the bends with car so that the current didn't drive you into the bank!
As you navigate the bends this sculpture can be seen. When we first saw it from a distance it looked like a pine cone, than a crow, then a kingfisher, and when we passed I thought a sparrow.
As you can see the Savick Brook is well named a brook! as the tide fell, more of the mud can be seen. I'm not sure how deep it is but after severe flooding the year after it opened in 2002 and again in 2006 the link was closed as there wasn't enough water due to silt. I think they dredge it every year. The whole link cost about £6.5 million to build.
We were still looking fore the first lock as we trickled up the Brook, not knowing what was round the corner.
When we were at Crooke on the Leeds Liverpool Canal we spotted these daffodils and I wondered what they were. Well, Barbara, my mother in law has supplied the answer. It seems they 'Rip Van Winkle'. She also tells me that Hever Castle has many different varieties. Is it the National Collection I wonder?
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