September 2017 by bridge and lock, Part 2.

After a week away we headed back to the boats and continued our exploration of darkest Lancashire and headed even more down hill.

After Nelson we headed over the Straight Mile Burnley Embankment and moored up at the Weavers Triangle. We were just up from the covered warehouse seen here. In the distance can be seen the old bridge that has the two story toll house built on it. There is a little museum open in the toll house that is periodically opened by volunteers and it is well worth a visit to see some of the old photos to compare with the scene today.

The building to the right with the pub sign was originally a warehouse but has been for a while. Unfortunately they had just recently closed and were looking for a new tenant. The covered berths were a couple of warehouse where thousands of cotton bales must have been handled. It was alovely area and well preserved. At one time they would have knocked it all down and built nondescript flats in their place!

I love this footbridge that was put in after the mills were built in the Weavers Triangle to facilitate the workers getting too and from work. It goes through the corner of the Trafalgar Mill and you can look into the weaving sheds as you pass. There is a leaflet for a walk round the Weavers Triangle that can be obtained from the old Toll House and is well wort the time to go around to see the history and design of this unique area which has largely been saved.

I find these old accommodation bridge quite bewitching as they are left open and disused indicate that they are no longer required, even as a footpath. However in the past they canal company had to go to the expense of building a bridge as they route was in use. There were several mines and chemical works in the area of Clayton Le Moors but much has disappeared and returned to pasture. A landscape much changed over a relatively short period of history.

We had a night at the half way distance of the canal near Church and then carried on, past the wonderfully evocative Enfield Wharf, where all the warehouse, toll house, workshops and managers house are all empty and stayed a coupl of day at the top of Blackburn Locks. There was no room at the covered warehouses at Eanam Wharf. Blackburn is another place that deserves exploration there is much to see despite the local tourist information office making it difficult to get any information. You would have thought they were trying to put of wanderers from the east. After our R n R we headed down the locks. (A few days later we would have been stuck as there was a massive fire close to where we had moored and the can was closed for several days. In the distance can be seen the buildings of Nova Scotia Wharf where there were stables for boat horses. There is rubbish and water where we loaded one and ditched the other. I love these old quadrant arms on the locks. I would expect that it may well be the original gear and works perfectly smoothly still.

We moored just by this bridge on the visitor moorings at Withnell Ford and had a walk into the little settlement that was made for the workers of the paper mill here that was opened in 1883 by one who went under the glorious name of Thomas Blinkhorn Peake. He built houses and a school etc for his workers. Not quite on the scale of Sir Titus Salt but a creditable attempt anyway that makes a lovely little community to this day. Not much sun, but the lack of wind gave a great reflection of Bridge 88.

The next day we were at the Johnson's Hillock Lock and still little sun but no wind so good to go. E were hopeful of a lock buddy as we were waiting at the top lock to see if anybody would happen along, and fill up with water, but they pulled in to a berth. So we set off alone. Here we are half way down just coming to the fourth lock of the day and the next four are all nice and close together to work.

By the time we got to the bottom lock the sun had made it out and we had a nice group had just arrived at the bottom lock in a day boat asking us all sorts of questions. It seems they weren't allowed up the locks in their boat so they were just looking to see how it was done.

To the right is the bottom lock chambver and to the left the bridge is over the Lancaster Canal. This is where the canal originally went towards the Ribble Valley. The plan was to build a massive aqueduct over the river and connect it to what we now know as the Lancaster Canal. Instead they transshipped cargoes and reloaded them at Preston Basin. That aqueduct would have been a great feature to cross but now the Ribble Link is open you can access the Lancaster via a trip out on the Ribble itself.