Not a Bridge Too Far.

After a lovely day yesterday that was a bit of a surprise we were woken up in the night with the rain and when we got up it was raining and blowing in the morning. It was hissing it down. Once or twice we nearly set off but it just kept back from the brink as the rain started again. However it did give us the opportunity to get some housework done.

The falling rain that kept us lying low until 1045!

Once we set off though we only had to don the wet weather gear for about 5 minutes as the edge of a shower brushed past us. Today was the day of bridges. There are a variety of bridges. There are the ones for farmers access and most of these are left open permanently. Some are for footpaths and these are normally hand operated. You have to take a key and unlock them, then lift the securing pin and then push the bar to swing the bridge open. Helen does this task as I dash through and wait for her at the other side whilst she closes it. The 'fun' really starts when the bridge is for road traffic. There is a variety of mechanisms for working these and some of the roads are very busy. Some have just barriers that you push across and then swing the bridge like a footpath one. Most of them are mechanised to some degree. You have to puzzle out what you actually have to do by hand and what the electricity/hydraulics does for you. First off Helen has to find a break in the traffic and then start the operation. Most have a set of lights like at a level crossing. Then some have the barriers come down and then some have to be brought across manually. It is surprising how impatient people get. As we went through one yesterday we let another boat through and he told me that when he came through in the other direction he activated the lights and a female driver carried on to beat them but the barrier at the other end shut and then the one behind. He didn't want to press the emergency button as notoriously this means that the bridge doesn't break again. Therefore the car stayed on as the bridge was swung and then returned. They are usually quite quick and I try to be just there waiting as the bridge swings but it isn't so easy in the wind. We have been having a bit of trouble with the new key we have but normally the old, more worn one, works if the other doesn't. In total today we have done 5 bridges and another two were permanently open. There are a load of bridges tomorrow but we are hoping that the Canal and River Trust guys will be working them. We have one more to do in the morning and then all those who are going down have to muster at Bridge 9 so that they can 'escort' us down into Liverpool.

Helen puzzling out the instruction for this particular bridge.

Lights flashing and barriers down Helen keeps her finger on the button to set the lifting jacks and swing motion into action.

This bridge was very quiet but we have had over a dozen cars and pedestrians waiting.

Still waiting for the rain.

We have been sitting out reading and supping tea at the end of the day under a clear blue sky. Lets hope that this is a portent for the summer as it doesn't sound as though it will be for the weekend.

It was overcast when we set out but we could see the blue sky on the horizon. Macy again enjoyed roaming on the tow path. She is very good as she just goes until she can still see us then comes back.

Macy walking the plank.

Old canal workers cottages at the Rufford Arm junction.

It is a heritage weekend at Burscough and we passed through with the wide beam 'Ribble' in pride of place. The warehouse has been well converted into a little centre for crafts and a courtyard with cafes and restaurants. Some of the wide beams we have passed are monsters with the after canopy nearly as big as a 6 man tent! I'm not sure how two would pass in a large part of the canal.

Passing through Burscough with the warehouse and the wide beam 'Ribble'.

After talking about the secret project to make rocket fuel out of sewage during WWII we passed a two storey pill box a little further up the cut. I haven't seen a two storey one before so wondered whether it was part of the secret.

Two storey pillbox north of Burscough.

We stopped at Scarisbrick Marina to see if they had a chandlers so we could buy another handcuff key. It is a fairly new marina and has plenty of room in it still, but no chandlers. How ever they had a very busy cafe/restaurant so we had a a latte instead. We then had a bit of lunch back at the boat and then set off again. Not long afterwards we arrived at a nice spot and tied up. The weather was so nice and it was nice and early we went for a walk around the area. We had passed through a shallow cutting and on our walk we saw that this cutting was the site of the cutting of the first sod of the Leeds Liverpool Canal in this area. That was 5th November 1770. The sandstone cut out was used to build the bridges in the area.

Cutting that was the site of the commencement of building the Leeds Liverpool Canal near Halsall.

The walk was over flat land that was a big reminder of Holderness as it was mainly flat and with little habitation. It seems that the area had been low lying, some of it below sea level, and marshy. just like Sunk Island in Holderness. It was called Martin Mere and was the flood plain of the River Douglas. It was drained in the 1780's. Unlike Sunk Island where the regular inundation of the Humber added to the fertility of the soil on this land they used the canal to ship 'night soil' from Liverpool and Wigan to spread on the new fields and now it seems to be largely vegetable crops with a rotation of wheat and barley. We wended out way back to the towpath and lo and behold there was the Ship Pub. It is said to be the first pub built on the canal! In the interests of research we went in to for a drink. The weather was so nice we sat out to drink it. After a search for a post box we got back to the boat and we are back to us sitting out with a cup of tea and a book in the sun.

Helen on Rosemary Lane, near Haskayne.

Waiting for the rain.

Just as we were preparing to let go I heard the lock working astern of us. It was a GRP cruiser going our way. As they passed I asked if they would mind sharing the lock with us. They were a little reluctant, understandably as they would be a little faster than us and plastic and steel don't really mix in a lock! However it did make it much easier for both of us.

Terminal Warehouse with the two arches for boats to dealt with undercover. Built in 1777 and rebuilt in 1984.

The Orwell Pub on the left is the converted Gibson's Warehouse built 1777 and rebuilt 1984. The tower on the right is the Trencherfield Mill. It was built in 1907 and was a cotton mill. It was powered by a 2500HP triple expansion steam engine built by J&E Wood of Bolton. It drove a 26' wheel at 68 rpm and had 56 ropes on it to drive the machinery. The mill closed in 1968. The steam engine was saved and is run every Sunday. The mill was converted into apartments in 1990's.

We did two locks with the cruiser and then they stopped for a cup of tea. We pottered on to Dean Lock and found a boat taking water at the foot of the lock. They very kindly helped Helen with the gate. The lock is very close to the M6. Two locks have been replaced by a single lock. The elevated M6 seemed to set off the locks and lock keepers house.

Dean Lock with the M6 in the background. To the left are the old pair of locks and to the right the clock in use today with the Keepers cottage.

We had one more lock to do at Appley but once again Helen had help as there was a community broad beam vessel coming up in the lock. It was the Rose of Parbold with 12 passengers aboard. They were very friendly and even when they had left there was another boat waiting to come up who also gave a had. They had often been to Kilnsea so new out boat name and port of registry.

Parbold Village with old mill.

After Parbold we passed a sewage farm. On the canal before and after were pill boxes from WWII. In the canal guide it said that they were positioned to protect a top secret base that was the sewage farm! It was the scene of experiments to convert sewage into rocket fuel! A quick look in Google didn't show anything up.

WWII pill box 'protecting' the sewage farm.

We had heard that there was a Heritage Weekend at Burscough where we had thought to moor so instead of risking there being no room we stopped earlier out in the country. Once moored we had lunch and then decided to walk the couple of miles into Burscough to by some stuff and have a look about. We passed the junction where the branch to Rufford leaves. This is the way to the Ribble Link where you can get on to the Lancaster Canal. You have to book well in advance so we will have to try again next year.

Rufford Junction with three locks close by and canal workers cottages taken from the bridge. There is also a dry dock here that is covered but doesn't look as though it has been used for a long time. 

As we walked down the tow path we came across Aiscough Mill. It was a flour mill that was built in 1855. It finished work in the 1980's and has been lucky not to have been knocked down. It is currently being converted into 56 apartments and 66 houses on the land.

Aiscough Mill with the covered unloading wharf where wheat from Liverpool was discharged. The railway was used also. The bridge was built in 1848 Joseph Butler Ltd of Stanningley near Leeds.

There was a narrow boat at Burscough for the festival that sold wool. Helen bought a couple of hanks of wool for her crocheting. On the way back we collected heads of elder flower as we are going to make elder flower cordial. I hope it works and tastes okay.

The Road to Wigan.

Another lovely morning saw us set off for the trip to Wigan. We quickly came across the East Lancashire Road (A580). I was surprised to read that it was opened in 1934 by King George V. I had always thought the Hitler building the autobahns was the precursor of the current motorways. The East Lancs. Road was an original joining Manchester and Liverpool. I suppose that they just didn't build them across the country.

We were travelling through a coal  mining area with the derelict wild land to show for it after a few miles we ran into Mill country again. This was at Bedford, now a suburb of Leigh, and it seems that they were silk mills. They were decorated as most Victorian industrial buildings were, but the domes on these made them look like Mosques.

Bedford Mill.

We stopped in Leigh to do some shopping and post some letters after which we had a bite to eat and continued. The mills soon gave way to mining areas again. The land on either side was again just wild land after the demolition of pits, the leveling of waste heaps and associated industries. The land was lower on both sides as the land had subsided so much over the years and the canal banks had been built up. We could motor on at a low revs on the engine and still do a good speed as the the canal is so deep. We were lucky at Plank Lane Lift Bridge as all our guides indicated that it had a keeper who opened it for you. We were just tying up when it opened to a let a boat coming the other way through. We fitted through at the same time and learned that it is  a DIY bridge and it had been lifted by the other boat.

A nice wide and deep canal, Bridgewater Canal.

The bridges on this section have a simple span that will allow the abutments to be built up as the land subsides to bring the level correct again.

The subsidence was so much that at the village of Dover the two locks could be done away with so I would guess that that would be about 20 feet at least!

Scotsman's Flash.

Some of the areas that subsided have filled with water and these are called Flashes. Here there is a sailing club and many have been left for the bird life. When I was doing my nautical training we used to go sailing once a week at a Flash. We couldn't use it in the winter as the water temperature was too cold. We then went and used the boating lake at Hoylake on the Wirral.

Large Leads and Liverpool Poolstock Locks.

Leigh marks the boundary between the Bridgewater and the start of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Leigh Branch. The canal continues to be of broad beam size and the gates are consequently larger and heavier. Helen is muscling up nicely for the challenges ahead but we both miss the narrow locks. We had four locks to do, two up and two down into Wigan. We stopped close to Wigan Pier and got water. After tea we will have a wander about and see what is what.

Milepost at the junction in Wigan. We will be in Liverpool on Sunday 23rd June.

Out of the City at last, EXTRA.

New apartment blocks between Castlefield and Salford Quays.

Old warehouse with very sturdy walls, very little windows and no doors except one. I thought that this must have been a 'fireproof' repository or for high value goods.

Old Trafford, homke of Manchester United. I wonder how long it will be before the photographs of Sir Alex Ferguson will be taken down. The stand name will remain of course.

Waters Meeting Junction. No boats in view but just afterwards there was plenty of action. We turned right.

Barton swing road bridge from the Barton swing aqueduct. The section over the canal is sealed off by hydraulic gates and the whole is swung, canal and all, to allow the passage of vessels too tall to pass under.

Looking towards Salford from the swing aqueduct you can see the green vessel. However this vessel, Arklow Field, probably will not have needed the bridge to swing as it is equipped with a hydraulic wheelhouse to lower down when required.

Munton Lighthouse built by Paul Austin.

Worsley Packet house and boarding steps. The entrance to the network of canal tunnels to the Duke of Bridgewater's mines is just to the right of the Packet House.

Macy enjoying stretching her legs in the countryside near Astley Green.

The winch for Astley Green Mine with the Yates and Thom compound steam engine either side of it.

The head gear of Astley Green Mine through the window of the Winch House.

The Entrance to Astley Green Mine with the wrought iron head gear. The gates closed on production in September 1970. It said in the guide book that they reminded the author of the gates of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. I see what he means.

Out of the City, at last.

Of we set in lovely sunshine and a last look at the warehouses and viaducts of Castlefield. This is now the Bridgewater Canal and for what ever reason it was a lot cleaner than the Ashton. The first part was edged with new apartment buildings some looked like they may last 15 years and some a little longer, but none will last as long as some of the original warehouses have. They looked to have extremely small windows and no doors so they must have been fireproof stores or for high value goods. We passed one of the new apartment blocks with a couple of blokes abseiling down cleaning the windows.

We passed the old Hulme Lock down into the Manchester Ship Canal (MSC). A little further along was the new Pomona Lock that has taken over this duty. I assume that the several trip boats that were in Castlefield occasionally pen down to go into the Salford docks and the River Irwell. A little further on you come across Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United. Over the years I have seen bits added on to the structure but I would guess the pitch is the same size and actually the capacity will have probably gone down with all seats now instead of terraces.

You soon come to Waters Meeting where the Bridgewater Canal splits. Just as we arrived there was a flurry of boats after it all seeming to be quiet. We took a right and headed north West. You soon come to the big Kelloggs Factory. It is said that a million boxes of breakfast cereal are produced here. We were now passing through Trafford Park. The land belonged to the Trafford family who where dead set against the construction of the MSC as it would render their country seat uninhabitable. The canal opened in 1894 and they sold their holdings in 1896. The purchaser went into partnership with a director of the MSC and they created the worlds first industrial estate. At it's height in the 1950's it is said that 70,000 were employed there. At the the North end of the estate is the Trafford Centre and there were some good moorings to allow boaters to spend their cash.

Very soon after this you actually come to the MSC and the Barton Swing Aqueduct and bridge. As the MSC is actually getting increased traffic these days I would expect the bridge to open more regularly. However ships have become specialised and there are plenty of low air draft vessel about that would probably fit under the bridge now. It was great to see the stop plank cranes still in place and ready for use along this stretch.

Just round the corner at Monton a certain Paul Austin has built a Light house. It doesn't actually have a light but took him three and a half years to build and he is said to have sold his barge to cover the £20,000 costs. It looks very attractive an apparently has three floors.

The next wonder on this stretch is the cause of it all. Worsley. This is where the Duke of Bridgewater had a mine operation. He had been on the 'Grand Tour' and seen canals so decided that it was just what he needed to get his coal to the Manchester markets. It was a great success and set in train the canal mania that had most of the canal system constructed in 50 to 60 years. The mines were all connected by underground canals and the system covered over 40 miles on two levels with an inclined plane and locks! All this after 1761!! At the still existing entrance to this underground system stands the Packet House, a half timbered building. It was built in 1769 and by 1781 there were daily departures to Runcorn that took 8 hours and to Manchester that took 2.5 hours. There were two classes as the trip cost a shilling and sixpence steerage.

We continued on along this wide and deep canal. We passed through an area of apparent countryside but it was an area that was covered in mine workings not so long ago. We stopped near Astley Green and walked over to the Astley Green Colliery Museum. It is open Tuesday afternoons luckily. The wrought iron head or winding gear stands proudly above the flat landscape and is the last set left in Lancashire. The shaft was started in 1908 by forcing steel rings down through the earth and lining the sg=haft as it deepened. This was the first time this method was tried in the area and was a lot safer as no lives were lost in the construction. The mine opened for construction in 1912. It finally closed in 1970. The demolition started immediately and by the time a councilor arrived they had removed one of the winding houses and one set of head gear. Eventually a preservation order was placed and the buildings listed. The winding engine is huge and was made by Yates and Thom of Blackburn. There is a large collection of underground locomotives and rolling stock but no money to display them to full advantage. The place remind me of an early Iron Bridge Blist Hill site when I used to help with the conservation there before it opened to the public. The old fellars that were there working on the place were very proud of their work and the history of the place and eager to pass on their knowledge. They have just had an estimate for the overhaul and painting of the riveted wrought iron head gear and it came in at £350,000. They deserve every penny that they can raise. When we were there they were filming a sequence for the 'Heir Hunters' and the production company were being extremely tight in assisting the Charity. It was a special 90 minutes spent there and in the future I could see spending all day there if plans come to fruition. After a walk back to the boat we sat out side on the bank and read out books as it was very warm and sunny. The wine bottle got opened too. Macy enjoyed getting off the boat for a poke about after so long in a marina and in the city.

Unfortunately photographs aren't loading today so with luck I will include them tomorrow so you can get some idea of what I have been waffling about!

The Rochdale Nine.

The Rochdale 9 is not a group of wrongly convicted victims but the last 9 locks on the Rochdale down from the junction with the Ashton Canal to the Bridgewater Canal. We set off from Piccadilly after a visit to the nearby M&S Outlet. The Rochdale locks are wide beam and are heavy to boot with normally loads of water coming over the top gates so it is filling almost as fast as it is emptying.

Our overnight mooring. The cars are parked on what used to be Piccadilly Basin which was a big transhipment place in the middle of Manchester. The big stone building right of centre is an old warehouse. The white building to the left of that is the Rochdale Canal Company Office, and to the left of that you can just make out the entrance arch to the basin for road traffic.

Top lock of the Rochdale 9. The lock drops you down under Dale Street. You can see the size of the gates compared with yesterdays locks. It is also very difficult to work both sides here as there is no bridge across so we try to only use one gate if possible.

The canal beneath the pillars below Dale Street. It is similar to that on the Farmers Bridge locks in Birmingham. You can see the water coming over the top of the gates.

The canal runs through the centre of Manchester in a chasm of buildings. It seems like you never will see sunlight again as it is very enclosed. As you go past Canal Street there is no towpath. As it was a Monday morning there was no banter from the bars and gardens of the gay quarter overlooking the canal.

I don't suppose I am setting any hearts a fluttering this morning!

The Old and New. Thlock is Dukes Lock, 92 on the Rochdale. and there is Beetham Tower the highest building in Manchester.

Dukes lock is so called as it was actually built by the Bridgewater Canal Company despite it being on the Rochdale Canal. The Beetham Tower is 47 storeys and 168 m tall and is the tallest in Manchester and 9th tallest in UK. The architect, Ian Simpson, always adds in to the design that he must be allowed to have the top floors. He has the top two floors and has a large semi indoor orchard of 4 m olive, lemon and oak trees. It is the highest living space in the UK. I understand that   Phil Neville a footballer lived on two lower floors and that ones had the rooms etc and the other was empty as a play area for his two kids as you couldn't just go out to play in the back garden!

Castelfield Viaducts.

When the railway came to Manchester these viaducts carried the different company railways into the city. The world's first purpose built passenger railway station was close to here (now part of the Science Museum). There was a big fuss as the original Roman fort was largely dug up to allow the construction. However as a sop to the loss of the fort the Steel viaducts have castle motifs atop the columns. You can see how the railway was fitted round the canal system that was already there. We are berthed on the other side of Castlefield Junction just past the Merchants and Middle Warehouse. Teh Merchants warehouse is the oldest surviving at Castlefield, built between 1827 and 1828. Boats went into the building and were discharged/loaded using a crane from the top floor. It currently looks refurbished but empty. The Middle warehouse is massive and seems to have been converted into apartments.

LNER Good Depot off Deansgate.

Once moored up we went into the city and had a look at the interior of the Town Hall. It is very reminiscent of the House of Parliament as it is in neo gothic style. It is on a triangular site and they even have a clock tower but instead of Big Ben they have Great Abel after the Lord Mayor who championed its construction. It was opened by him in 1877. Along Deansgate is this very long goods building that had its own viaduct at Castlefield to direct the trains to the building. The Manchester and Salford Junction Canal also used to run through the site for transhipment.

After working hours we met up with one of our nieces, Kate, who lives and works in Manchester. I told her I wouldn't use the photo of her picking her nose, or of Helen yawning so true to my word here is the best I could do. Thanks for a great catch up evening and look forward to seeing you again next time we pass through.