Moving onward at last.

After our walk round the Weaver's Triangle we stopped for a chat with the lady who was asking people about their use of the tow path for C&RT and then some lunch aboard before heading off to the west.

This is a rare sight as Edward VIII was only King for less than twelve months before he abdicated. I'm not sure what the building was but it had this great scroll work gate over the door.

Just by the Burley Wharf you can see the toll house on the left. This was originally only one storey that was on the tow path level but when they built the Canal Agent's House, on the right, they added a level to the toll house too. The hosue is now the Visitor Centre for the Weaver's Triangle.

Just past our moorings after we left you can see the characteristic weaving shed buildings of the Thorney Bank Mill that was started in the 1860's.

The canal passes under the old Yorkshire and Lancashire Railway several times and here you can easily see how deep the grooves caused by boat horse tow lines have been made.

After leaving Burnley the canal become quite intimate with the M65 as we pass over it and under it several times in the next few miles. A case of all transport modes making use of the lack of gradient taken by canals in the first place.

The engine shed, boiler house and chimney of another mill are surviving and the chimney's make good points for the mobile phone networks and prettier than the normal masts.

Gannow Tunnel took five years to build and has now towpath. It was pretty dry when we passed through. They started at both ends to build the 511 m tunnel. The boats had to be legged through until the early 1900's when a tug was provided. Richard Draper was the tug master in the tunnel for 40 years and also manged to save several lives with him being on hand to fish them out of the cut.

Apparently the tunnel is a known roost for pipistrelle bats but we didn't see any or anything else as we passed through.

The warehouse at Rose Grove is quite unusual to me as it has cargo doors on two side of the building. Coal was loaded into boats in the 1960's brought down from Hapton Valley Mine by lorry. I'm not sure what the history of the wharf is but the building is substantial.

The swinging rigid crane on the corner of the building is able to reach both sides of the building and the cargo doors, so minimising  work and using the most of the space. I liked the wooden stops to prevent the boom hitting the eaves. The wooden crane is very simple in design and looks as though it was mainly used for one product of a standard size?

Behind the warehouse is the lovely wharf managers house. Rose Grove became known as a railway town and had the last steam shed of British Railways before it was flattened to build the M65.

The Ormerod family were tanners from Hapton. Richard Ormerod had a son, also Richard who lived in Burnley Wood, dies aged 26 but not before marrying in 1778 and having a son, Peter. His widow buys the estate of Lower House in 1789. He lived in Ormerod House that later became overshadowed by the Globe Iron Works and the engine shed and was later demolished. Peter's son Richard built a house close to the canal in 1842 and this is the plaque on the gable. Behind this house is another dated 1739 and each are the best examples of their kind in the area.

When the M65 was built the canal was on the route. They kindly diverted the canal a little and this section is the new section.and makes moorings fro the Knotts Bridge Moorings.

We decided to call it a day when we got to Hapton. Hapton had a castle and a tower that survived until after the Cromwell years and produced coal cotton and chemicals and had a large Tudor deer park. It was the first village in England to be lit by electricity. It was turned off in the homes though at 1030 to ensure they got plenty of sleep for work!