End of the Road.

Today was the end of the road for our time on the River Weaver. We had booked to go up the lift at 1130 so had a nice late start as we were moored just by it.

Last night on the River Weaver.

When we moved from our overnight mooring to the waiting berth we had a visitor with us.

Our stowaway.

In a previous blog I mentioned that the drive gears for the electrically operated wire and pulley system were designed by Andre Gustav Citroen and that their shape was the basis for the cars that he built later in his career. The photograph below will show you what I meant.

The drive teeth on the cogs on the upper right of the photo look just like the Citroen car badge.

The original lift was really only the upright cast iron girders. The angled side buttresses and the heavy box structure with the drive wheels were added when the lift was converted from hydraulic ram to winch and pulley design.

Leaving the caisson and entering the aqueduct in front of a crowd of onlookers demands concentration.

After leaving the Lift the angle on to the Trent and Mersey canal is such that you can't turn left so you turn right and then a short distance further on wind and head back again. We were soon on the way to the three tunnels. We were straight through Barnton Tunnel but had to wait a while for our timed entrance to Saltersford Tunnel,

Whilst waiting for the tunnel passage a photo of three folk on a boat!

We couldn't get to the Preston Brook Tunnel in time to catch the North bound convoy so, once through Dutton Stop Lock, we again had a little wait before entering at the head of a three boat convoy. Once through it was soon under the M56 and turning to port into the Runcorn Arm of the Bridgewater Canal as we leave the Trent and Mersey Canal just before leaving the tunnel at the north end. The junction is definitely not Fradley Junction but the arm was a surprise to me as it was very rural and green. There were house etc but they didn't intrude on the canal at all. It isn't until right at the end that it becomes built up. I would recommend a diversion down to Runcorn if anybody is passing as it is nice and clean too.

Norton Water Tower near the eastern end of the Runcorn Arm

Water lilies and trees line the canal virtually all the way down to the end.

The present terminus is at Waterloo Bridge but a little further on were two branches that each descended 10 locks, one to the Manchester Ship Canal and the other to Weston Dock where we were yesterday, just over a mile away. This is another end of the road.

Waterloo Bridge is now the end of the road for the Runcorn Arm.

The final end of the road is for the week with our guest Chris who has had to leave us. We winded at Waterloo Bridge and returned a little way back to the Brindley Place Arts Centre where we had arranged to meet Hazel, Joan and Andrew who were going to pick him up. We were five minutes late arriving so that wasn't too bad. It has been a great week and we have ticked off a few firsts together. I expect that now Chris has gone it will rain!