Towards the River Ribble........Trent and Mersey and Bridgewater.

Our cruise project for 2014 is the crossing of the 'Ribble Link' across the tidal River Ribble and onto the Lancaster Canal.  We had arranged this crossing a few months ago with Canal and River Trust and our appointed rendezvous with other boats doing the crossing on a suitable tide at 8.30am on the 24th June............

So far so good for the arrangements, all we have to do now is progress via the Macclesfield, Trent and Mersey, Bridgewater and Leeds and Liverpool canals  and keep our finger crossed for good weather.



Reaching Bosley locks on the Macclesfield canal we were pleasantly surprised to descend the flight without actually being well and truly soaked in a downpour which is usually par for the course as we pass through this set of locks which is a precursor for most of our travels.

Descending Bosley Locks. Macclesfield Canal

Capitan Denise is normally chief lock grappler whilst I do the technically demanding job of steering - turning the tiller arm slightly to the left or right as necessary. Damaging her foot recently had required a visit to Macclesfield General Hospital, fortunately nothing was broken but in some considerable pain she volunteered to steer the boat and I became an apprentice lock-operative paying sharp attention to her shouted advice and trying not to sink the boat. I never realised how much your muscles hurt after an afternoon of lock-wheeling. …............. I hope the foot mends soon :)



Joining the Trent and Mersey I had the delight of descending the heavily locked 'Heartbreak Hill' . Most of these locks are in pairs and we had the good fortune to descend most of the locks with another boat for company which made the task pleasant as operating locks is a very social exercise when other boats are with you. Capitan Denise said she preferred doing the locks as being at the bottom of a lock was a lonely occupation.

Negotiating 'Heartbreak Hill' on the Trent and Mersey canal

Stopping for the evening about a mile from the M56 we were far enough away for the traffic noise to be reduced to a low level hum.  Reflecting on the world of difference between the two modes of travel  that are nearly two centuries apart comparing the unhurried peace of the canals with the constant headlong rush of the motorways..... I am still confident that these horseless carriages and lorry thingybobs are just a passing fad and will never catch on.

Sailing into the sunset - Trent and Mersey canal near Wheelock.

The following morning brought s short stop for water at Wheelock services and then we pressed on towards the many delights of Middlewich for an evening stop within a short distance of pubs; supermarkets; Chinese take-aways and all the essential requirements boat-crews would need.

Larder full of goodies we looked at the weather forcast for the following day - it was awful. Rain, followed by rain with a 99% chance of rain in-between. Looking out of the window at a decision time of about 8,30am the following morning we noticed it had actually stopped raining. So against all sound sense we decided to push on - BIG mistake !!

Ready for the weather - ship's dog 'Suzy'

Our journey to Anderton was undertaken in unrelenting torrential rain. This was the stuff of the Amazon rain forests, weapons grade rain that poured off my waterproofs and into my boots. A hot cup of tea on the roof was constantly 'topped-up' with cold rain water. This was not for the faint-hearted type of rain and I reflected that I really should patent windscreen-wipers for spectacles - I am sure there is a big market - certainly in the U.K !!!!!!


Anderton with it's famous boat-lift down onto the River Weaver was our next stop taking advantage of the 48 hour moorings to chill-out for a couple of days. Continuing along the Trent and Mersey to the tunnels of Barnton, Saltersford and Preston Brook remembered from the days when as we used to moor a previous boat at Anderton marina.

Barnton tunnel is not a 'timed' passage like the other three as you can see the opposite exit. All that is required is to nose into the tunnel, have a look and go for it if all is clear with perhaps a warning blast of the horn.  Saltersford and Preston Brook require a wait for the allotted time as illustrated by the green zone on a clock face at the entrances.   Saltersford used to be left to the discretion of the boat crew some years ago and had no time restriction. This naturally caused some alarm and despondency as on occasions boats met each other head-on in the dark tunnel and is now very sensibly a 'timed' passage.

Barnton tunnel.

Are we having fun yet?.......braving the rain as I hold the boat to the tunnel mooring at Saltersford waiting for a timed passage through.

Leaving Preston Brook we were now on the wide Bridgewater and heading towards Lymm - one of our favourite 'watering holes' .  We were very fortunate to find a mooring spot on the 'town side' near to the all the shops, pubs in this delightful village.

Lymm Village

Lymm Village weir

Bridgewater Canal - Lymm

Lymm actually seems to welcome boaters - and there are certainly lots of shops, pubs and restaurants to spend your money which is taken with a smile............

It never ceases to amaze me that with over 2000 miles of canal system that you see the same friendly people time and time again in widely spread locations...... for example we met a couple called Eric and Debbie on their boat 'Georgina' in central London and then a couple of years later on the Llangollen canal and last year the Grand Union. On this occasion they were moored in Middlewich and we spent a boozy afternoon with them in the 'Golden Fleece' in Lymm. It certainly is a great community where the nice people seem to appear more times than the not so nice.......

Eric owner of 'Georgina' keeps a tidy ship.

leaving Lymm after a couple of days we headed towards Castlefield in Central Manchester.  I am going to give an unashamed 'plug' for Stretford Marine services where we stopped for fuel and a toilet tank 'pump out'...... a friendly guy who insisted on doing a thorough job of the 'pump out' which in not always the case.  A water point was also provided in the shape of the traditional standard cast iron 'British Waterways' pipe which is confusing as this is the Bridgewater Canal controlled by Peel Holdings....I am sure somebody will explain.

Clean toilet, fuel and water tanks full and we were on our way towards Castlefield in central Manchester passing MUFC football ground on the way.

'Sir Alex Ferguson' stand viewed from the Bridgewater canal approaching Castlefield.

Approaching Castlefield, Manchester.

ching castlefield

Castlefield's fortunes seems to ebb and flow with the opening and closing of the various pubs and clubs around the perimeter. Last time we visited a couple of years ago some of the bars had closed and things were looking neglected and weary worn with empty buildings.   One major pub/restaurant chain has opened 'The Wharf' pub - a major location near the entrance to the basin and things look better and more 'alive' . We gave this a thorough market research and I can report a full range of guest beers and lagers with friendly staff who seemed pleased to serve - how about that for a novelty.

Castlefield Wharf

A great location for the maximum mooring allowed (72 hours) with the best advice I can give is to moor further up the arm if possible to avoid the late night sound of people enjoying themselves coming from one of the clubs. If you are not old, decrepit and grumpy like us perhaps the best advice is go and join them !!!!

'San Serriffe' moored ( in a quiet spot) for the night. Castlefield, Manchester

On a practical note there is a water-point on the left before reaching Castlefield but no rubbish disposal facilities so make sure you have plenty of black bin bags to store it.


WE are now on the Leeds and Liverpool canal heading towards Wigan and our date with the Ribble crossing....................... more to follow.