Passed the Safety Examination

I made my way to Braunston for the safety examination and all we needed were two replacement fire extinguishers and a dab or two of mastic to stabilise the gas pipe battens. I was pleased with that and even more pleased that Rick came over to do the mastic. Several friends are currently moored nearby so on Tuesday I was off to the Plough for a meal with Linda. It was good catching up even though we were fighting to hear each other every time England got anywhere near the goal! It will soon be time to put Olivia to bed for the winter so I doubt there will be many more posts. I'll have my head in the books planning next year's trips :-).

Brinklow

I was last here on 23rd April when it was warm and sunny, 18º, and I was setting out on this year's adventures. Now it is mild, sunny periods, 18º, and I am almost back from my travels! Quite sobering to think that Olivia will soon be put to bed, so to speak, but on the other hand it is getting dark by 7pm meaning that I have to shut up shop too early. Good news from my friends that I had to abandon in Blackburn on 23rd August. They have had their boat fixed and are on the move again.

Considerate rain

This is because it did not materialise until I had almost reached my planned mooring. I had ascended the last seven Atherstone locks by midday, stopped to take on water and empty the Elsan and then pressed on for another few miles. Up until then it was a mild and calm day. There is not much boat traffic today. I think a lot of boats are being tucked up at their moorings ready for winter. Talking of which it was getting dark at 6.30 last night! Just to lower the tone for a second, where I have moored there is lots of dog mess. It really annoys me that dog owners can be so selfish. I have to closely watch where I step each time I leave the boat. I imagine it is the detritus of a previously moored boat and that makes it all the worse. Hopefully the rain will disappear by the morning so I can be on my way. I'm only 3 or 4 cruising days from home and the end of my fabulous first "retirement" season.

A quick update

I have got as far as Atherstone locks and have taken a few days rest from cruising. I am nearly back to my winter cruising area so can take it easy for a day or two. I need to sort out the boat ready for her safety examination next week. I have spent the time updating some of my old posts with photos. I went back as far as 15th August so do feel free to revisit some of those entries.

Busy with boats on the Coventry canal

It was raining when I awoke this morning but it soon passed. I started off from Fradley but made slow progress due to the number of moored boats and also the amount of boats travelling north, almost all of which I met at a bridge or in a narrow place. Having spent the year on a number of barely used canals it seems strange to now find myself in the opposite situation. What really strikes me is that I have travelled this section of canal in 2008, 2010, 2012 and again now and it is much busier this year. It makes me wonder what it might be like in a couple more years.

I walked into Tamworth for a look around. It has a very nice park bordered by the rivers Tame and Anker as well as the castle gardens.

It's true that things do happen in threes

Firstly there was the rope round the prop, then one of my solar lights went overboard and now one of my fender brackets has snapped. Three things over three consecutive days! However they are only minor niggles. I had another good cruising day and I'm now moored opposite a pig farm which has lots of cute piglets. Even better there is no significant piggy smell. Lots more boats moored here than when I last stopped here.

What a lovely late summer day

I had a really nice quiet mooring at Gailey last night and I seem to have found another nice quiet mooring tonight.

I did ten locks today getting help on about half of them. Only one strange happening today which makes me despair of the male gender. There is a stretch of road which runs alongside the canal and in one passing car I spied a guy aged maybe twenties or thirties who pointed his hand at me in a gun shape, like young children do. Why would you do that? Oh well.

Much better signal today

What a beautiful day we had today. I hope it lasts. I cruised down to Autherley junction onto the Staffs and Worcs canal.

There are a couple of very narrow cuttings and I had to sit tight in a passing place so an oncoming boat could get through. Shortly after that Olivia's engine cut out and I had to bow haul her to a wider part of the canal to moor up. I quickly assessed that the most likely cause was a fouled prop so I dived down the weedhatch to find that I'd picked up some rope. It was so tightly wound that it took an hour to cut it free. Thank goodness for the knife I bought for this eventuality for £2.99 from Wilkos. The rest of my day went well, the only other excitement being when I met a working boat in a bridge 'ole, calling for a quick reverse manoeuvre.

The road home

The water road, that is. I've been on board since Tuesday but very poor signal in this area. The same was true last time I passed this way five years ago. Had some rain Tuesday and Thursday but good cruising for most of the time. Also found good moorings each evening (although I got the last space last night). A beautiful kingfisher stayed in view for a while yesterday. Flying along ahead of me and then waiting while I caught up. It was in an area with lots of moored boats which I thought was unusual. I haven't met any characters yet this week but I was a bit fed up last night. I saw that the local pub was advertising free wifi so off I went to update the blog. Firstly, they were out of draught cider and they didn't have decaf coffee. I settled for a bottled cider. I ordered veggie sausage and mash and that was what I got. Was it wrong of me to expect that it might come with a vegetable of some description? To top it all I couldn't get a connection to their wifi. Very frustrating. I've booked my Safety Examination for mid October so I have a new target to meet. Bye for now. I'll be back when I next get a signal.

Still at Audlem

I cruised for four hours today and yet I am still in Audlem. How did that happen? Well that's how long it takes a single hander to get through the locks ;-). Here is a picture taken from my boat at 6.30am just after the first boat had left. I love the eerie mist:

No news today other than the fact that I still don't have a signal on my so called smart phone which gives me a good excuse to go to the pub to use their free wifi. I'll be going home midweek so this might be the last post for a while.

Busy at Nantwich

I moored at Barbridge after the towpath telegraph mentioned a beer festival at Nantwich. Mind you Barbridge was busy enough. The clincher was that I could get the bus to Chester from close by. Saturday came and the predicted rain held off. I spent the day in Chester walking the city walls and looking in all the unique shops. There was one shop that was an outlet for artists and makers. It's an Aladdin's cave and definitely worth a browse.

Today I cruised down to Nantwich and it really was jammed with boats. I didn't need to stop so continued on to Audlem. A highlight of today was the little water vole swimming across the canal. It was so sweet. The Mill at Audlem sells all sorts of sewing paraphernalia and it was fun to look around. They also have lots of canal related books. Several nice little shops here: a deli, butchers, gift shops, etc. Also a Co-op for the necessities. We didn't get much rain today either. Hurrah. Mind you it is getting colder at night now.

Middlewich

Back to narrow locks although not many. Did 4 yesterday and two more today. I'd forgotten how fickle the narrows are so that you have to nose up to the top gates and stay in gear. It works though (mostly) and if it doesn't then both boat and gates take a bashing. I bought a new bow fender this morning and it's long overdue. Now I need to buy new "stretchers" for it as the present ones are pretty rusty. One thing always leads to another. I popped into the new Aqueduct marina to see what they were charging for abovementioned stretchers and that led to a coffee in their cafe. Then I was able to take advantage of their free wifi! I'm hoping to get to Nantwich tomorrow so that when the weather deteriorates I can get a bus into Chester for a good old mooch.

Anderton Boat Lift

Yesterday I just cruised for two hours and found a mooring very close to the boat lift. I needed to go through two tunnels which are one way traffic. I was pleased to see that the Saltersford car tunnel had timed entry as it is crooked and you can't see the other end. When I reached the southern portal two Northbound boats asked if I was the last boat and started through. I think they must have missed the notice showing times of entry as they went in ten minutes early. I wonder if they met a boat coming through? Perhaps more notices are needed.

I took a trip on the River Weaver and the boat then brought us up in the lift. I was surprised that you can't feel it moving. It's an interesting piece of engineering which was brought back into service in 2002 thanks to some tenacious sponsors and boat enthusiasts.

Maybe next time I come this way I'll take Olivia down to the Weaver. Later I went for a walk as I'll soon be back in the industrial area of Middlewich.

The magic tunnel?

It was a cold, grey, mizzling day when I entered Preston Brook tunnel and twenty minutes later I emerged to a warm, bright and sunny one. I was also on a different canal as the Bridgewater becomes the Trent and Mersey within the tunnel. I only cruised for a couple of hours as I was told of a good mooring where the canal was breached last year. It has an open aspect and felt like a suntrap. I went for a walk alongside the River Weaver with John, another single hander who moored behind me. He and Chris, off the boat moored in front of me, were trying to encourage me to go down the Anderton lift onto the river but that will have to wait for another time. I will visit the lift but will not take the boat down it.

Dunham Massey

Yesterday I went to Dunham Massey Hall. I can get in using my Art Pass which always makes me think that I'm getting in free. The house is mostly C18th although a house has been on the site since the days of the War of the Roses. The land and house was passed down through the family until 1976 when it was handed to the National Trust. The family hardly ever threw anything out and they were great collectors so lots to see. The house is dressed in Edwardian style which I particularly like. Nice gardens including a packed rose garden AND much parkland including the most tame deer I've ever seen.

Today was cold and windy. I had to wrap up in three layers and employ my trusty wool hat. Stockton Heath has moorings handy to the shops and has three supermarkets plus banks and some unusual shops. I walked up to the Manchester Ship Canal to see how big it was here. There are still no ships on it. Might have to go to Liverpool to see any. Soon I'll be heading South and won't have the opportunity to see the MSC again.

Heading for Cheshire

I'm now moored between Sale, Greater Manchester, and Lymm, Cheshire. I had one more day in Manchester and whiled away a couple of hours in the People's History museum and found it very informative. After that I walked up to the cathedral and was disappointed to find it closed for renovation. I had a stroll around the Northern Quarter and enjoyed a coffee in the craft centre. The only place I would've liked to go to but didn't have time for was MOSI, the science museum. When I got back to my mooring at Worsley it was really busy (unlike when I arrived there on Tuesday). I walked down to the Barton swing bridge which takes the Bridgewater Canal over the Ship Canal. Here are a couple of pictures of it, one taken from each of the canals:

Mooching around Manchester

I can hop on a bus 100 metres from my mooring and less than forty minutes later I am in the centre of Manchester. Here's Olivia on her mooring:

I went to the art gallery and was still there at 2pm. There is a lot of good art there alongside some wacky ideas for "art". I walked down to look at the Castlefield moorings but they were quite busy so I have decided that I don't need to move on to them. I walked along the canal to Salford Quays. It's good to see them being used by water skiers and swimmers. I didn't have much time to have a good look at the Lowry gallery but I did think that some of his sketches were excellent and his early work is much different to that for which he is famous. As usual I am always exasperated when everything closes at five or five thirty leaving two or three empty hours before the need to eat. I watched the swimmers for a while before getting the return bus.

In Worsley Woods

Salford Quays

The Lowry Centre

Now on the Bridgewater canal

I'm having a short day today to balance out my ten hours of cruising yesterday. I did 23 locks, most of them on my own and several of them very heavy or problematic. Luckily there were usually some dog walkers around that offered help. I then had to travel a few miles to find a decent mooring. I was absolutely k***kered at the end of the day. Now I have quite a few days of lock free canal to look forward to. While I'm in the area I am considering going into Manchester for a couple of days.

Wigan 21 tomorrow

I'm gearing myself up to go down the Wigan flight tomorrow. Anyone want to help? Looks like I'll be up early in any case. There are two boats heading this way that I have shared with before so I'm hoping to catch one of them. Yesterday I only did a short cruise and then walked down to Chorley. Visited Botany Bay which is an old mill rejigged to house retail units. It's worth a browse and the coffee was good. Chorley itself has a big market and again worth a browse. Apparently they have interesting markets on other days of the week. I promised myself that I wouldn't buy any more coats BUT one of the charity shops had a Jasper Conran jacket so I had to have it. I also got some fluorescent tent pegs! I'm sure that they will be useful. I had a go at splicing my snapped rope. It's not the prettiest but should do as a spare rope. Today I went down the Johnson Hillock locks with a young couple from Leeds who are having a year travelling the canals. Then I just plodded on until I arrived here. There's a nice country park here.

Riley Green

I had to bid a fond farewell to my friends Phil and Michelle as their boat has broken down. We were setting off but they could not get any propulsion. They called an engineer who predicts gearbox trouble but could not visit until after the Bank Holiday. I started off down the flight of six locks and the first two were nice and easy. However I then got stuck on rocks at the entrance to the third lock. I had to let water down from the previous lock. In the meantime I got chatting to a "little old lady" who tried helping to free up the boat, warned me not to stay overnight in Blackburn and advised me that the "ne'er do wells" at the bottom lock were alright (I.e. not on drugs and would help me with locks). At the fifth lock I managed to snap one of my ropes. It was sheer thoughtlessness my part. Luckily I carry spare ropes. True to my friend's advice there were several blokes at the bottom lock. I got talking to Denver, a Canadian, and Mick, a local. Denver had followed a girl back to England but it hadn't worked out. He still had hope but at the present time had got stuck in Blackburn. Mick was unemployed and both seemed lost. Very sad. Last night I moored at Riley Green, a nice, quiet rural mooring with a marina and pub the other side of the bridge. I had a good and long overdue walk down to the next flight of locks. I got talking to a chap who was walking the whole canal (not all in one go) and it was reassuring to find that some people find little projects to do in contrast to the guys I'd met earlier.

Blackburn

We moored at Rishton last night and had a wander round the town. It has several shops, cafes and takeaways. The smell of curry infiltrating the boat was almost irresistible. This morning Phil had an enormous full English at the little Canal View cafe. It cost him all of £2.50! Michelle and I joined him for tea and toast at virtually no cost. A lovely man runs it and I hope he is able to make a living. Had a fabulous cruise down to Blackburn where we moored at Eanam Wharf. I popped into town and had a look around the cathedral which is light and modern. Then I found the museum/art gallery. It had some interesting areas including the ubiquitous mill machinery, illuminated manuscripts, an Egyptology section with a mummy and some paintings which I thought were nothing special. Perhaps they would be of interest to the locals. I am moored close to a Caribbean pub/restaurant which plays reggae all day and in particular, Bob Marley. Luckily I like reggae. There is some anomaly about whether these are "official" moorings. The guide books and the pub say that they are but a community boat came along and told Dream Angus that they were moored on their private mooring and made them move. I am moored within a secure area that is accessed by the anti vandal key, so when the guy came to lock them up I asked him and he said we are welcome to moor there, so someone is confused and Dream Angus are not happy. I'm still of the opinion that visitors are not embraced by the powers that be on the Leeds and Liverpool canal.

West of Burnley

Once through Barrowford locks the rural landscape disappears as we enter the towns surrounding Burnley. I'm travelling with Phil and Michelle (who are on Dream Angus) for a few days and we moored on a wharf in Nelson. It meant we could take advantage of the Morrisons to stock up on provisions. P&M have three large dogs on board including an Afghan hound. He attracts attention wherever he goes.

We should pass through some more rural country before reaching Blackburn. Lots of blue-green algae in the canal here along with several footballs, drinks bottles and such urban detritus. These horses were in a field at Nelson:

I hear that the locks have reopened

I spent my time getting acquainted with the local area. Firstly I went to Colne which next weekend has a big Rhythm and Blues festival. Oh that it had been this weekend. Then I went to Pendle Heritage Centre where I found out a bit about the witch trials. Yesterday I got a bus and train into Bradford to visit the media museum. It has seven very busy floors. I didn't go into the interactive kid's areas and still had plenty to see. Today I'm saying cheerio to Barlick and will see what the rest of the Leeds and Liverpool canal has to offer. The past 24 hours have been wet and windy here but it's forecast to improve.

Now in Lancashire but stuck for a few days

I had my week of grandchildcare which involved Ikea, a zoo, an assault course, kayaking and Monsters university! Back on board for R&R. Day 1 went really well covering 9 locks and 6 miles with a lovely family of grandparents with 11 year old granddaughter and 14 year old grandson. Our competent crew:

Next day I did three more locks and only two miles, then I heard that the next set of locks, Barrowford, are closed until at least Monday. Well there could be worse places to be marooned. I've just walked up Weets Hill which has views for miles. May go for a mystery bus tour tomorrow.

Finished with swing bridges for the time being :-)

I spent Sunday looking around Skipton. Had a walk towards Skipton Woods and found this:

The museum was closed but I went to the castle and had a very nice couple of hours. The castle has devised a self-guided tour with lots of interesting information about the life and times. In addition a twelve century enactment group were around so I watched some archery, swordsmanship and the cooks preparing food in the kitchen. The "queen" was also present and haranging the crowd to pay their taxes.

Caroline came to join me again last Monday to help me with the last few swing bridges. Here are the sorts of views we are surrounded by:

Spent the next two days walking parts of the Pennine Way - headed South on the first day and North the next. Got soaked during the second half of the second walk and got soaked again later when I walked to the pub with Phil and Michelle off nb Dream Angus. The next day I took the bus to Settle for a mooch around. Would have loved to have a trip on the Settle-Carlisle railway but just didn't have the time. I'll add that trip to my "to do" list. No blogs from me for the next week as I do a stint of childcare with the boy. No doubt he will be keeping me busy entertaining him (or vice versa).

Riddlesden to Skipton

It started raining at 10pm last night and persisted for a good eight hours. I have to admit that it is much needed and what better time to rain than overnight. Caroline had joined me again so that we could progress through many of the remaining swing bridges. In fact we covered nine miles and fifteen bridges! We stopped at Kildwick for a quick lunch and walked up to the Jubilee Tower known locally as the bottle because it looks rather like a bottle.

I made it to Snaygill Boats about two minutes before closing time to get diesel. Looking ahead there do not seem to be many boatyards so this was a relief. After mooring up, we had a mooch around the town of Skipton and found a very nice Italian restaurant. My risotto was more than acceptable and the house red was "moreish" :-). I walked with Caroline to the station and then home to bed.

To Haworth

Just as I had decided that I was going to have to moor by the swing bridge for the night, not one but two boats turned up so I was able to get help through two more bridges and reach my planned stop at Riddlesden. Today I got the Keighley and Worth Valley railway to Haworth where I visited the Parsonage. Haworth has lots of unusual shops aimed at the visitor. In particular there are vintage shops and second hand book shops.

The KWVR platform at Keighley and the very comfortable seats in the train:

Slow progress, fun and games

Had a good day yesterday, stopping at Saltaire for a mooch around the Mill shops and gallery and then finding a nice mooring at Dowley gap. I had paired up with a very nice family for the locks and I began to feel that I might like the L&L after all. But today's another day and a very different one. Actually going through the two sets of staircase locks was okay but we had over an hour's wait between them. It was the swing bridges that are causing bother! They have been quite busy roads with barriers, etc. They are always difficult for a single hander but these are impossible. I asked my lock buddies whether I could nip through with them and they said Of course. They needed to take on water so we had another half hour break and then through the first bridge.Guess what? It got stuck open! I had already moved on but heard the news from a towpath walker. In the meantime I had got stuck on rocks and took half an hour to extricate Olivia. Now I'm moored by the bridge hoping that a boat might come my way but time is getting on so this might become tonight's mooring. This life always has something to offer. No two days are ever alike.

Are boaters wanted on the L&L?

The title of this post is a result of the last few days cruising. There have been few moorings over 48 hours so the visitor cannot visit all the places that they would like. Those that do exist are full because they only have space for two or three boats. The mooring I am on tonight appears to be a favourite place for the mature drinking fraternity! They are friendly enough but I do hope they have homes to go to.

I had lots of swing bridges to do today and was not looking forward to it but I paired up with a couple who were on their first day of cruising ever, so Michelle was able to work the bridges while I could be the (ahem) fountain of all knowledge. I will have another thirty or so bridges to do on this canal so I'd better find a strategy for dealing with them which doesn't involve commandeering passers by.

Mooching about today

In the end, last night, I was able to cancel the cab and catch the last bus because the performance finished earlier than stated. After all, cab fare versus bus pass is a no brainer.Today I caught the bus again to visit Kirkstall Abbey. Although it is a ruin there is enough of it left for you to get a feel of what it would have been like.

The other side of Leeds

I was going to moor close to the cinema that is screening Macbeth tonight but I partnered up with a local couple who advised me not to! We, therefore, did a six hour cruise to somewhere safer. However, although I could catch a bus to the cinema, there is not a late bus. Book a cab, I hear you say. Well I have booked one but the fact that they asked me about three times where I wanted to be picked up from has not filled me with confidence! You'll find out tomorrow how I got on. Lots of feral kids swimming in the locks today and the language, Timothy. Enjoy the Shakespeare those of you who are joining me in the virtual space known as NT live.

Last day in Leeds

I had another good day in Leeds today. I met up with Caroline and we went to the Stanley and Audrey Burton gallery at the university. A good variety of works some of which were very good. We also discovered that the School of Music had some Peter Blake album artwork so we went to view those . After all that culture we needed to eat and found the Brasserie Blanc where we had a tasty 3 course menu which was very good value. Friendly staff too. We then had to rush to the Carriageworks theatre for a play about Churchill and Hitler meeting in the afterlife.

Immersing myself in Leeds

Had a really nice cruise into Leeds this morning. I think these automated locks could catch on. Will spend a couple of days doing museums, etc. I've already done the gallery and it's really good. Full of nooks and crannies. I have a ticket for the Manchester version of the Scottish play with Kenneth Branagh. Alas I am not going to Manchester but the cinema via NT live.

Here is a photo of my mooring at Clarence Dock with the Royal Armouries museum as backdrop:

I took a week's break

I've been back down South to catch up with my overgrown lawn/hedge; to babysit my little grand daughter (while the parents went to the Stones' concert); to catch up with friends at the Lowry exhibition and the RA summer show; and to spend some time with my grandson, too. On the way home I stopped to visit the National Coalmining Museum which is very worthwhile. We were underground for about one and a half hours and there is plenty to do on the surface, too. Travelling down in the cage and seeing all the machinery brings home exactly what the miners had to do. Our guide was a fountain of knowledge and had a good sense of humour as well. I then managed to squeeze in a visit to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It was a beautiful day for it and I would have liked to spend longer there. I'll visit again if I'm ever that way on a nice warm day with time to spare. The car park is a bit pricey - £5 for two hours; £7.50 all day. Here are some of the exhibits:

Just a few miles shy of Leeds

I've got a nice mooring in a village with 2 pubs and a regular bus into Leeds. Today's trip went well as all the locks are automated because they are huge. Olivia looked lost in them. Into Leeds tomorrow to visit the galleries. Everyone is enjoying the sun.

Seems like a holiday resort today

A little bit of good weather makes a world of difference. Today I am at Stanley Ferry on the Aire and Calder navigation. It is wide and straight and packed with boats of all shapes and sizes. As we are more river than canal up here, there are more cruisers. As it is big there are more barges and widebeams, too.

Here is where I will be heading tomorrow:

I stopped last night on Wakefield waterfront so I was able to visit the Hepworth Gallery. It's in a lovely setting and only needs the townspeople to catch on to it - there is a need for a few more catering outlets and perhaps some more arty type activities in the vicinity. An extension is due to open shortly in one of the old heritage buildings. I didn't take a photo of the Hepworth but I did take this reflection of the waterfront.

This is Olivia when she was moored right outside the Business School at the University of Huddersfield:

This friendly little fella is hanging about near the Hepworth Gallery.

Calder and Hebble wobbles

If I thought the Via Ferrata was a little scary, it was nothing compared to the river sections of this navigation! Actually I think it was because it was a bit windy today, so I couldn't always easily pull in at the locks. The locks themselves were often heavy going with faulty paddles. Luckily there is no wind forecast for the next few days. I have loads of photos and hope to upload them in a day or two.

Adventure weekend

I'm back on board after a weekend in the Lake District. Did a trek up to the summit of Haystacks on Saturday and spent the next morning dangling hundreds of metres up on the Via Ferrata. Nerve racking but such an achievement! Having a rest day today but back to cruising tomorrow.

Bye Bye Narrow

When your son texts and says "What about a blog update?", one knows one has been remiss. So here it is. I had gone back home for a few days but arrived back last Sunday and took Olivia out of the marina and did just four locks. As I left the marina I was caught up by "Gloria", that had been hired by a Danish family who I later got to know very well. On that first day I think they were probably just a little bit mad that a single hander had got ahead of them because, of course, locks take longer for a solo. I moored at Wool Road services for the night and they moored on the towpath side. Next morning I was up (bright and) early as I had 9 locks to do in order to reach the tunnel mouth. All boats doing the tunnel on their allotted day need to be at the tunnel mouth by 11.30 for measuring.

I had help from the Danes and from the other boat who were doing the tunnel on Monday, which sped things up a lot. I was ready at the tunnel by 9.40 having taken two hours and twenty minutes to get up the locks. I went for lunch at a cafe in the mill near the tunnel mouth and then it was just a matter of waiting. The first boat to go off was "Amy Jane":

In no time at all it was Olivia's turn. Liam turned up carrying a box full of Health and safety gear!

Not the most elegant of looks!! It took 95 minutes to get through the tunnel with Liam giving me as much running commentary as I needed, answering any questions I had regarding the age of the tunnel, its construction and restoration, etc. It's certainly a "different" tunnel with some large cavernous areas and other parts where I could not avoid damaging my paintwork. Liam had to report back a couple of times on our progress and one of his colleagues popped up through a cross tunnel (or adit) every now and then to check that I hadn't pushed Liam overboard or was clinging to him in a claustrophobic panic attack :-). It is three miles in length and I would not have liked to leg it through, which apparently, takes three hours. Liam said I did very well! I moored as soon as I could as by this time I was well and truly done in. Concentrating in a long tunnel does take it out of you. More good news was that Caroline was coming out to join me the next day.

The next morning I found that the water level had dropped and I felt as though I was walking on a hill. I couldn't push Olivia off the ledge by myself but luckily the crew of Gloria were moored in front of me and they were able to push her off the ledge. I was at about the 10th lock of the day when Caroline arrived, having driven to Slaithwaite and walked up from there. She set to work straight away and we did a few more locks before stopping to put the kettle on. There are very few mooring places on this canal as there is only any depth in the very centre channel and it is impossible to pull in at random. We didn't stop for long and were soon on our way through the remaining locks - did 21 locks today. It was so much easier with Caroline to help and she must have walked miles to the next lock and all around each lock. A lot of the lock paddles are very stiff and sometimes we both had to apply our strength to get them to move. We moored in Slawit (Slaithwaite) on a very nice mooring. A chap who is coming up the opposite direction moved his boat to make room for us and the Danes were moored there too. The only downside of this mooring was the factory working 24/7 on some wood worked products. We went for a very nice meal at The Little Bridge accompanied by a large glass of merlot (Well we had earned it).

Here's a picture of Caroline earning her merlot:

Sorry, couldn't resist that.

The next morning we had a quick look around and each bought a pie at the award winning pie shop. We progressed through ten of the day's thirteen locks when CaRT told us they were working on one of the locks and we needed to hold off for two hours. Here we are waiting below lock 12E for the two hours to pass. Luckily the weather was beautiful

It did mean that we quickly got to our destination once we started off again. Caroline gave me a lift back to my car which I'd left near the marina before she set off home. Thanks so much, Caroline, hope to meet up with you again in the near future, perhaps, in deeper water so that we can have a proper cruise.

Today I once again found that Olivia was stuck on a ledge but this time I let some water down the lock and she soon floated free. The locks were not too bad today although several were a bit stiff. I met two boats coming up the canal and bought a Calder and Hebble handspike off one of them! (I'll be needing it shortly). They also helped with the most impossible paddle of the whole canal. The approach to Huddersfield is not bad as the locks are new or well maintained and the water has some depth to it. I soon arrived at the University of Huddersfield and I am moored right outside the Business School. I'm currently in the Aspley pub where I have had a meal and a nice young man has helped me connect to their wifi and, hence, a longer blog than many of late.

Some random photos from the past few days