2010 my third year on Almyne
Wed, 19 May 2010
There are two other boats waiting to go up the Rochdale 18, one of them a 45ft boat, manned by a nice couple called Les and Ray. Had a chat with them and they kindly agreed to tow Foxy Lady through the flight tomorrow while I tow Almyne. Makes sense as it will save a whole lockful of water.
Thu, 20 May 2010 7 ¼ miles 20 locks 1 lift bridge.
Early morning we hitched up Almyne Too to Morgana le Fay (Lez and Rays boat), Foxy Lady to Almyne and set off. Kath
is following along with a couple on another, longer boat.
At the first lock I was more intent on finding out a little about our new travelling companions than watching what I was doing and as a result got the button on the front of Almyne caught under the lock beam. Only noticed when the propeller was out of the water and the front nearly under water. Got that sorted out.
Got into a good routine working the locks. I must put in here that when the Rochdale was being restored they rushed it. The canal had been filled with rubble and then concreted over. In great sections they simply chiselled out the concrete for the middle 15 feet and dug out the rubble. What this means is that the canal is little more than a gap, just wide enough for a wide beam boat edged by sharp concrete edges. Not nice.
Anyway, during the course of the flight I managed to get a sofa cushion wrapped around my propeller. Ray managed to break the tow bar for Almyne Too, get a leather jacket wrapped around his propeller and get his water intake blocked. I seem to remember that there were one or two other incidents, but we got through in one piece, and Ray seemed to enjoy it.
The canal is shallow, so much so that at one point I got grounded in one of the locks. Almyne stopped a bit quicker than expected and Ray bumped into Almyne Too, breaking the tow bar. Did some 'running repairs' in the lock and off we went again.
At one lock we had to clear a wheelie bin from the lock entrance so we could close the gates.
Arriving at the top of the flight we exited the lock and then spotted the floating pontoon that stretched right across the canal. It was to enable the railway crew to work on a railway bridge (an extension of the Manchester Metro). Found out that they would be moving it out of the way by four o'clock, so settled down for a bite to eat, a more permanent repair to the tow bar and to wait for Kath and crew.
Kath and 'Mr and Mrs Happy' arrived as the pontoon was being moved, so we all carried on to Chadderton, another couple of miles, another lock and a swing bridge.
The swing bridge was over a busy road and with all four boats going through it took quite a while. The locals rarely see a boat going through it, so to see four at once was quite an event for them.
Moored up relaxed and had dinner and then we all took a stroll to the local pub for a couple of beers and then back to the boats for a good nights rest, I think we all both needed and deserved it.
Fri, 21 May 2010
A day of rest, in fact we will probably stay here a few days soaking up the sunshine.
Mon, 24 May 2010 2 ¼ miles 10 locks
After a very enjoyable weekend being busy doing nothing we carried on up the Rochdale towards Littleborough where there is reputed to be a launderette. Beats the hell out of trying to wash bedding in the tiny twin tub.
Aiming to cross the summit towards the end of the week but a boat coming in the other direction tells us that water levels are low, very low.
Tue, 25 May 2010 6 ¼ miles 5 locks, 2 swing bridges 1 tunnel
Too windy yesterday to travel, the wind makes it such hard work.
So far, since Manchester we have been double breasting Almyne and Morgna le Fay. It makes life easier as it releases me to help with the locks. Ray takes both boats into and out of each lock (and in between) while Lez and I do the lock wheeling.
Some of the locks on this stretch are too narrow for two boats so we were having to separate Almyne and Morgana le Fay for those making three fills of those locks to get all of us through.
Beginning to get worried about getting Destiny through the Leeds and Liverpool, some people have told us the a 62 footer will go through and we are not entirely sure if Destiny is 62 or 64 foot long.
Thu, 27 May 2010 1/2 mile and 2 locks
Up through the two locks at Littleborough to go to fill up with water, empty our loos and dump the rubbish.
Fri, 28 May 2010 1/2 mile and 4 locks
Washing done, Kathy and Lez went and stocked up with food at the Co-op. Booked in for passage across the summit on Sunday morning, so the plan is to go up to Lock 37 today.
Sweet and sour for dinner, really nice.
Beautiful sunrise this morning, and then the rain set in.
Spoke to a BW man who was walking past and he told us to wait below Lock 42 for them to come and get us in the morning. Not moving in this rain unless we have to but about three o'clock the rain had eased off and we started to make our way up, Ray led the way with Morgana le Fay as they have the shallowest draught. she still got grounded but Lez let water down from the next lock and got her re-floated.
Repeated the process to get Kath and me through the lock and we all made it up to Lock 42 by about half five.
Let some more water down from Lock 42 to make sure the boats all remained afloat overnight, we didn't want to wake up on a slope!
We could see why they didn't want us going any further, you could see the bottom above lock 41. It was the sort of journey that made us all glad we were in company because we were able to laugh about it.
Sat, 29 May 2010 1.6 miles 8 locks 1 swing bridge
EmptyLock
NoWater
Now sometimes when you wake up you just know that something is wrong, don't know what, or why, but something is wrong.
As soon as I got outside I found out what it was, no rocking. We were aground, well and truly.
Overnight the lock below us had leaked all the water from our pound, while the lock above was watertight.
Walked up to lock 42 and let some water down not a lot though as there wasn't a lot to let through.
The white topped posts on the left are the mooring bollards to tie the boats to while preparing the lock! The problem isn't so much lack of water for the canal, although the reservoir is a bit low, it is that mining subsidence means this section leaks like a sieve. It didn't take BW very long to let the water through for us but it was a bit scary seeing all the junk we take our boats over. It was very windy today which added to the fun but we were fairly quickly (by narrow boating standards) up and across the summit. The views make it all worthwhile.
After crossing the border into Yorkshire we moored up for a well deserved cuppa and biscuits then decided, in view of the wind that we would stop here for the night.
Mon, 31 May 2010 3 ¼ miles 17 locks
The plan for today was to head down to Walsden and Grandma Pollard's Chippy as recommended by brother Gordon and most other available sources. It is right by the canal and you can moor virtually outside. We had the usual problems of stiff paddle gear with the locks but made fairly good time. If I hadn't known it was a bank holiday and half-term week I would have guessed, we met three hire boats that were going up towards the summit. We made it to Walsden by about one o'clock and decided that we would have fish and chips for lunch and then carry on to Todmorden. The weather forecast for tomorrow isn't very good so getting as much cruising in today as we could seemed like a good idea. The chippy lived up to it's reputation, excellent fish and chips, it also sells cakes and Lez treated everyone to a cake each. The kids managed to eat theirs but the rest of us saved ours to have with a cuppa later.
Ray and I set off together leaving everyone else to follow on behind. Between us we had to get both boats into each lock, climb the ladders to get up to operate the lock and then repeat the process at the next lock, while going back to close the gates on the previous lock and set it for Kath and co.
Eventually moored up by The Golden Lion in Todmorden, went for a walk, then spent much of the evening playing cards.
Todmorden looks quite interesting, not sure what the weather is going to do tomorrow. We have decided to have a bit of a wander and then if it isn't raining we may carry on a bit further.
There are two other boats waiting to go up the Rochdale 18, one of them a 45ft boat, manned by a nice couple called Les and Ray. Had a chat with them and they kindly agreed to tow Foxy Lady through the flight tomorrow while I tow Almyne. Makes sense as it will save a whole lockful of water.
Thu, 20 May 2010 7 ¼ miles 20 locks 1 lift bridge.
Early morning we hitched up Almyne Too to Morgana le Fay (Lez and Rays boat), Foxy Lady to Almyne and set off. Kath
is following along with a couple on another, longer boat.At the first lock I was more intent on finding out a little about our new travelling companions than watching what I was doing and as a result got the button on the front of Almyne caught under the lock beam. Only noticed when the propeller was out of the water and the front nearly under water. Got that sorted out.
Got into a good routine working the locks. I must put in here that when the Rochdale was being restored they rushed it. The canal had been filled with rubble and then concreted over. In great sections they simply chiselled out the concrete for the middle 15 feet and dug out the rubble. What this means is that the canal is little more than a gap, just wide enough for a wide beam boat edged by sharp concrete edges. Not nice.
Anyway, during the course of the flight I managed to get a sofa cushion wrapped around my propeller. Ray managed to break the tow bar for Almyne Too, get a leather jacket wrapped around his propeller and get his water intake blocked. I seem to remember that there were one or two other incidents, but we got through in one piece, and Ray seemed to enjoy it.
The canal is shallow, so much so that at one point I got grounded in one of the locks. Almyne stopped a bit quicker than expected and Ray bumped into Almyne Too, breaking the tow bar. Did some 'running repairs' in the lock and off we went again.
At one lock we had to clear a wheelie bin from the lock entrance so we could close the gates.
Arriving at the top of the flight we exited the lock and then spotted the floating pontoon that stretched right across the canal. It was to enable the railway crew to work on a railway bridge (an extension of the Manchester Metro). Found out that they would be moving it out of the way by four o'clock, so settled down for a bite to eat, a more permanent repair to the tow bar and to wait for Kath and crew.
Kath and 'Mr and Mrs Happy' arrived as the pontoon was being moved, so we all carried on to Chadderton, another couple of miles, another lock and a swing bridge.
The swing bridge was over a busy road and with all four boats going through it took quite a while. The locals rarely see a boat going through it, so to see four at once was quite an event for them.
Moored up relaxed and had dinner and then we all took a stroll to the local pub for a couple of beers and then back to the boats for a good nights rest, I think we all both needed and deserved it.
Fri, 21 May 2010
A day of rest, in fact we will probably stay here a few days soaking up the sunshine.
Mon, 24 May 2010 2 ¼ miles 10 locks
After a very enjoyable weekend being busy doing nothing we carried on up the Rochdale towards Littleborough where there is reputed to be a launderette. Beats the hell out of trying to wash bedding in the tiny twin tub.
Aiming to cross the summit towards the end of the week but a boat coming in the other direction tells us that water levels are low, very low.
Tue, 25 May 2010 6 ¼ miles 5 locks, 2 swing bridges 1 tunnel
Too windy yesterday to travel, the wind makes it such hard work.
So far, since Manchester we have been double breasting Almyne and Morgna le Fay. It makes life easier as it releases me to help with the locks. Ray takes both boats into and out of each lock (and in between) while Lez and I do the lock wheeling.
Some of the locks on this stretch are too narrow for two boats so we were having to separate Almyne and Morgana le Fay for those making three fills of those locks to get all of us through.
Beginning to get worried about getting Destiny through the Leeds and Liverpool, some people have told us the a 62 footer will go through and we are not entirely sure if Destiny is 62 or 64 foot long.
Thu, 27 May 2010 1/2 mile and 2 locks
Up through the two locks at Littleborough to go to fill up with water, empty our loos and dump the rubbish.
Fri, 28 May 2010 1/2 mile and 4 locks
Washing done, Kathy and Lez went and stocked up with food at the Co-op. Booked in for passage across the summit on Sunday morning, so the plan is to go up to Lock 37 today.
Sweet and sour for dinner, really nice.
Beautiful sunrise this morning, and then the rain set in.
Spoke to a BW man who was walking past and he told us to wait below Lock 42 for them to come and get us in the morning. Not moving in this rain unless we have to but about three o'clock the rain had eased off and we started to make our way up, Ray led the way with Morgana le Fay as they have the shallowest draught. she still got grounded but Lez let water down from the next lock and got her re-floated.
Repeated the process to get Kath
and me through the lock and we all made it up to Lock 42 by about half five. Let some more water down from Lock 42 to make sure the boats all remained afloat overnight, we didn't want to wake up on a slope!
We could see why they didn't want us going any further, you could see the bottom above lock 41. It was the sort of journey that made us all glad we were in company because we were able to laugh about it.
Sat, 29 May 2010 1.6 miles 8 locks 1 swing bridge
EmptyLock
NoWater
Now sometimes when you wake up you just know that something is wrong, don't know what, or why, but something is wrong.
As soon as I got outside I found out what it was, no rocking. We were aground, well and truly.
Overnight the lock below us had leaked all the water from our pound, while the lock above was watertight.
Walked up to lock 42 and let some water down not a lot though as there wasn't a lot to let through.
The white topped posts on the left are the mooring bollards to tie the boats to while preparing the lock! The problem isn't so much lack of water for the canal, although the reservoir is a bit low, it is that mining subsidence means this section leaks like a sieve. It didn't take BW very long to let the water through for us but it was a bit scary seeing all the junk we take our boats over. It was very windy today which added to the fun but we were fairly quickly (by narrow boating standards) up and across the summit. The views make it all worthwhile.
After crossing the border into Yorkshire we moored up for a well deserved cuppa and biscuits then decided, in view of the wind that we would stop here for the night.
Mon, 31 May 2010 3 ¼ miles 17 locks
The plan for today was to head down to Walsden and Grandma Pollard's Chippy as recommended by brother Gordon and most other available sources. It is right by the canal and you can moor virtually outside. We had the usual problems of stiff paddle gear with the locks but made fairly good time. If I hadn't known it was a bank holiday and half-term week I would have guessed, we met three hire boats that were going up towards the summit. We made it to Walsden by about one o'clock and decided that we would have fish and chips for lunch and then carry on to Todmorden. The weather forecast for tomorrow isn't very good so getting as much cruising in today as we could seemed like a good idea. The chippy lived up to it's reputation, excellent fish and chips, it also sells cakes and Lez treated everyone to a cake each. The kids managed to eat theirs but the rest of us saved ours to have with a cuppa later.
Ray and I set off together leaving everyone else to follow on behind. Between us we had to get both boats into each lock, climb the ladders to get up to operate the lock and then repeat the process at the next lock, while going back to close the gates on the previous lock and set it for Kath
and co.Eventually moored up by The Golden Lion in Todmorden, went for a walk, then spent much of the evening playing cards.
Todmorden looks quite interesting, not sure what the weather is going to do tomorrow. We have decided to have a bit of a wander and then if it isn't raining we may carry on a bit further.
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