Just when I decide..

Just when I decide to change my mobile broadband provider things start looking up. I am currently with T-Mobile and Joe has a 3 dongle...now, now, calm down. It seems Joe is likely to be able to continue his contract with 3 for the current £7.50pcm so keeping that is a no brainer. We have had good service from 3 for the most part and at that price it is worth hanging on to. On the other hand (I won't say, 'four fingers and a thumb') T-Mobile at £15pcm is, or rather has, been disappointing and I have been looking about for an alternative supplier. My mobile phone contract is with Vodaphone and it seems I could get mobile broadband for £10pcm as an existing customer which is very, very tempting.

Now, however my T-Mobile broadband is working just fine!

What do I do?

Leaving Town

We stayed overnight in Marple on Wednesday. Having turned onto The Macclesfield Canal and serviced Caxton at the Wharf we found moorings just past the second bridge. Long hot showers had been taken whilst we filled with water so as soon as we were moored up we were off to find a much deserved pint - the pint of choice in Marple is Wags to Witches by the way.. A take-away Chinese meal, a VERY good Chinese meal, and that was us sorted.


At lunchtime on Thursday we winded and returned to the Wharf to top up the water tank. Moored across from the BW services was Nb Sanity, Bruce and Sheila's boat and a fellow blogger.

We headed off after watering, back onto the Peak Forest canal towards Bugsworth Basin. We will hang around hereabouts for a couple of weeks now the stoppages are about to start before we venture back down the Marple flight and take a trip up the Huddersfield Narrow.

Above, the old transfer warehouse on the town wharf.

Turning back onto to Peak Forest. When I had sorted washing and transferred some into the tumble dryer I decamped at the first available bridge hole, along with the two dogs, and walked the towpath towards our destination just below Disley village.

Coming UP

Sixteen locks, one mile, two hundred and ten foot rise and three and a quarter hours to complete. A wonderful late autumn day, sunshine all the way up the flight with numerous families taking a walk and watching the boats work up the locks - God was in his heaven and smiling on Wednesday when we came up into Marple.

The locks on this flight take the lower Peak Forest Canal up into Marple, completing the link the Upper Peak Forest and the Macclesfield Canal with the Ashton Canal and the markets of Manchester. The locks are all thirteen feet deep, roughing double the depth of most locks elsewhere and take 44000 gallons of water each time they are filled.

Above is Lockside Mill, just above lock nine. Now converted into offices but originally built to allow the transfer of raw and manufactured cotton between canal and road. The boats could enter the warehouse and load/unload under cover.

Above, the horse tunnel at Posset bridge and locks. Apparently the supply of 'possets' of ale from the nearby Navigation Inn, paid for by Samuel Oldknow the local mill owner, encouraged the prompt completion of the locks - hence the name Posset Bridge.

The locks cost £27000 in 1803. The building of the Peak Forest Canal had commenced in 1794 but financial constraints meant that there was no money for the proposed flight of locks until nine years later. Goods were transferred from boat to tramway and back onto boat at the bottom/top of the hill.

The locks are well maintained and pass through a route lined with mature beech trees. Marple associates itself with its canals, describing itself as a 'historic canal town' and this is reflected in the condition of the towpath and immediate environs.

The additional bonus was that only one lock turned against us by a holidaying family - not bad considering it is half term....

Yes, yes, yes, its an Autumn Aqueduct

We set off from our mooring at Romiley this morning at about nine. It had rained heavily overnight so things were a bit mucky underfoot but we only planned to move a mile and a half if we could find a suitable mooring below the flight of locks at Marple. Once started up the flight you are unable to moor up so its do the sixteen locks or leave well alone - the consensus was 'leave well alone' and enjoy this glorious setting.
Above the entrance to the Hyde Bank tunnel, at 308yds. The towpath goes up over the top and through Hyde Bank Farm yard where we met the pair below. In the field opposite was another Shetland pony and her foal who was galloping about showing off to the dogs. We came down to the tunnel just as Matilda Rose emerged - timing, timing!
Here we are moored up and almost ready to go exploring.

Above, the Marple Viaduct from the top of the Marple Aqueduct.

Off out for a walk with the dogs and Daisy cat decides to come too.

Above, the River Goyt - perfect for a little doggie swimming.

Portland Basin to Romiley

We left our moorings close to Portland basin this morning and headed off towards Marple. Our aim was to pick up a supply of cut timber we had spotted whilst walking the dogs and get ourselves closer to the start of lock flight that will get us up to Marple.

Our first bridge, a lift bridge opened by yours truly with the help of four supervising dogs and closed by Jill.

Here a rather attractively renovated canalside warehouse...

Graham at the helm of Matilda Rose as she comes through a turnover bridge.

Interesting stern on that boat on the left, could it be a cut and shut perhaps? Caxton looming into view in the background.

The four dogs heading up and over yet another turnover bridge.

Alone again, Jill has been summoned back aboard Matilda Rose to 'get the bread out of the oven' whilst I continue alone the towpath with Floyd and Fletcher.

Here we are three hours later moored at Romiley. The plan was to stop for lunch at a pub and move on after lunch to the bottom of the locks. The heavens opened, the Friendship Inn was doing Sunday lunches for a fiver so plans to continue our cruise were put to bed - another day tomorrow....

Birthday BOY

Floyd is four years old today - that is fours years going on eight months. Happy little chap that he is...

Oh Yes, the Ashton Canal

The Ashton Canal links the Rochdale Canal in the heart of Manchester with the Peak Forest and Huddersfield Narrow Canal to the east and is an integral part of the Cheshire Ring. It has the unenviable reputation of being a no-go area. British Waterways advice is to start early and just keep going, lock everything up, don't offer lifts to anyone and don't moor up. So with this in mind we set off at 7.50am in a state of some trepidation - some were more 'trepped' than others you understand but whatever, it was going to be a dirty dash, eyes front, no fraternising with the locals...

Here is Caxton slipping out of our overnight mooring at Ducie Street Basin and wending our way through the newly developed Piccadilly Village - very nice too. Lots of private moorings in little basins along here - no boats moored on them though which was a bit of a waste because opening the moorings to visitors would encourage more usage.

Here we are at the first lock, Nb Matilda Rose had already gone through and I was getting calls from Graham to tell the BW guys that the next couple of pounds were very low on water and there was an obstruction at the next lock entrance. I sorted the lock for Caxton and hared off down the tow path to relay the message - then I hared back again.

BW got on the phone and Caxton slipped carefully onward - the water levels were very low over the next couple of pounds but Joe brought Caxton through OK. Leaving the new development of Piccadilly Village we were soon into a mix of building sites, derelict or semi-derelict buildings and housing.

We were amidst industry or at least the remains of some industries and that after all was what brought about the investment and development of canals - and I was enjoying the variety.

However, things were going so well for Matilda Rose. Graham spent a goodly part of the cruise with a lot of his bodily parts down the weed hatch. Five times MR had to stop to clear, carpets, wire, tyres and assorted debris from around the propeller. Caxton following, picked up so many carrier bags we could have started a recycling business.

At the final lock, 18, we had to bow haul Matilda Rose into the lock - the propeller was jammed yet again. Joe removed the bicycle frame below from the entrance to the lock whilst I flushed more water down into the pound to stop MR going aground.

MR on the move again.

But not for long....more carpet Vicar?

With the locks behind us we head off to safe moorings a 45min cruise away at Portland Basin.

Lovely tree lined cuttings

Above a preserved Mill chimney adjacent to new housing development at Ashton.

Portland Basin with its renovated Warehouse which is now an interesting industrial and social museum - well worth a visit.

Turning onto the Peak Forest Canal.

Looking back at the entrance to the PF and the Portland warehouse. We had expected the 'dash' up the Ashton to take four and a half hours or thereabouts - it took eight and a half. The locks were in good repair but the amount of rubbish in the canal is no joke. As a lock-wheeler on a glorious autumn day I was enjoying the Ashton but five times down a weed hatch and going aground because of lack of water and underwater obstacles was extremely tiresome for the helmsmen.

The BW men I spoke to tell me that where there were once seven men responsible for the Ashton there are now only two and to make matters worse those two men now also have to spend half their day tending the Huddersfield Narrow.

I feel an email may be winging its way to BW quite soon. As for no-go areas we experienced no issues at all but we have met other boaters who have. I don't see why anywhere in the UK should be a no-go area, its not Baghdad or Beirut, but perhaps I am being naive..

N N Nine...

The first part of our eastward journey out of Manchester had us climbing up the Rochdale Nine. These locks have taken on a bit of a reputation in their own right despite the fact that they are only part of what is an arduous canal anyway, one that climbs up the Pennine Hills at three locks per mile! We needed to pass up the first nine locks on the Rochdale to the Ducie Street Junction with the Ashton Canal. We left Castlefield Basin at noon and serviced the boats as best we could. There is a BW Sanitary station without water just opposite the Castlefield Basin entrance and water in the Giants Basin on the other side of the Bridgewater Canal.

Above, Nb Matilda Rose at the San station - aided and abetted by the careful positioning of a working barge...

Above, the entrance to the Rochdale Canal. We arrived at the first lock at one o'clock as planned just in time to see a single boat start up ahead of us - that's life though isn't it? Sodus Lawrus as Cicero would say - well he might say that if he was going up the Rochdale with a boat in front of him...

I loved these new steel gate grips - it was just a pity that most were not positioned at the end of the beam arc for maximum leverage.

Of the nine locks only one was in our favour as we passed a couple of Viking Afloat boats half way up. Every lock had to be turned and as a consequence our mile and a half and nine locks journey took us three and a half hours. Gipsy Rover and Epithany had completed the downward journey on the same stretch in two and a half hours a few days prior to us.

In safely at lock 92, the first of the day.

Our initial view of the Rochdale from the first lock (92).

Dreaming of the next eight Jill?

We are starting to weave our way through and UNDER the City - Deansgate tunnel above.

Smart apartments encroaching on the canal.

A Millennium Bridge - very smart indeed.

We meet a couple boats on the way down. Apart from the cascade over the top of the gates see the side stream from the right.

Above, a glimpse of Canal street, Manchester's Gay Village. There is no towpath here so you have to hike along canal street and climb over a wall back to the canal and the next lock. A number of bodies have been fished out of the cut here and that has prompted the Coroner to insist that barriers are erected along the walls here to stop drunks falling into the canal to their demise. Well done the Coroner but you might end up with a lock wheeler losing out by falling over the wall - steps please..

Above and below, Piccadilly Lock.

The view as you leave Piccadilly - that is a very large building above your heads!

Done at last and starting the turn on to the Ashton.

I am back aboard Caxton as we leave the last of our nine locks - severe lack of towpath hereabouts.

Above, Ducie Street Basin where we are to moor for the night.

There are pontoons here and the place is so secure that some clever boater has removed a few bolts from the railings to allow access.

The illuminated converted warehouse that overlooks the basin.

Verdict - I loved it. I loved the variety of the locks and their locations. However, not one of the locks was fully operational. You could guarantee that a paddle would be out or a chain pulley (for opening and closing some gates) would be broken. The paddles are tired and in some cases VERY heavy but I am only five foot nothing and I did it so not that much of a challenge. For the centre of a major city though I think BW have let themselves and boaters down though. This stretch of locks should be pristine - no excuse.

Night Time Visitors

A lovely mooring last night for Caxton and Matilda Rose. We came up the Ashton Canal, more of which later, turned into the Peak Forest Canal and moored up. Here we found lots of open space, ideal for Daisy the demon cat, and the four dogs to rummage about in and close to Ashton-under-Lyme town for the four humans to 'rummage' in. The humans dealt with the needs of the livestock before heading into Ashton for urgently needed sustainance; 18 locks on neither breakfast or lunch meant that we all had FOOD on our minds. It was only five in the evening so the food options were going to be limited - A Whetherspoons would fit the bill and there just happened to be such an establishment to hand. Curry Night no less! Four meals, four desserts, eight drinks, ten pound a head!! Result!
So this morning when I glanced out of the side hatch I found that our peaceful night had not been so peaceful after all - visitors had dropped in unannounced....

I called the North West British Waterways office when they opened and informed them that we had a car in the cut. An hour later a truck appeared and the rescue began.

Someone's pride and joy recovered and no damage to the canal.

Walkabout around Castlefield Basin

Above - the Merchants Bridge across the Castlefield basin.

Wednesday I went walkabout after our night's stay in Castlefield Basin. I must say I am very impressed with Manchester and how it has regenerated itself. There is evidence of many millions of pounds being spent here and the planning authorities have obviously kept a close rein on how things have been done; a pretty good amalgam of old, preserved and new.

Caxton on her Castlefield mooring.

A view across the junction at Castlefield from the Merchants Bridge.

The Museum of Science and Technology utilising one of the Campfield Market Halls. We will come back in to the City and spend some time here no doubt.

Above - the remains of Roman settlement in Manchester. In the background you can just glimpse a reconstruction of part of a Roman fort.

Frontage of the Grocers Warehouse in the Castlefield Basin.

A Victorian up-an-over solution for the Railway...

The home of Corrie etc.

The Hilton Tower.

Renovated warehouses in Castlefield Basin. These are full of Clubs and the like so perhaps Friday and Saturday night is not the time for us to be moored here?

Quiet Night

We have had a very quiet and comfortable night moored here in the centre of Manchester at Castlefield Basin, a bit surprising really. Things are renovated and landscaped and the traffic is so far away that it is barely heard! We are off to explore the local environs later before tackling the Rochfield Nine this afternoon. As we are going to be spending November and December on the Peak Forest and Macclesfield canals we are not busting a gut to see the sights over the next couple of days. Both Joe and I came here quite regularly when we were working, particularly me, and a hop on a local train will get us into the City from our winter wanderings anyway. Rather impressed all the same...

Manchester here we come

Off we set this morning at 9.30 in grey and blustery conditions, what a change in the weather! Tea shirts and sunshine yesterday contrasting with wet weather gear and rain today.

I walked the dogs and was soon joined by Jill and the mutts from NB Matilda Rose (MR). Within a couple of miles we encountered a fellow rowing a 'stick' along the cut. Graham on MR had passed the rower and warned that there was another boat following. Joe had moved Caxton to the right and slowed to almost a standstill when the rower shot through the bridge hole heading for Caxton. Jill and I starting yelled like banshees, "Mind the boat, there's a BOAT, MIND THE BOAT!!!" but on he came and cracked his blade into Caxton's bow. Now the interesting thing was that it was Joe's fault apparently. If Joe had only realised that he had a levitation button aboard the boat he could have used it, or at least run Caxton into the bank. Going backwards at speed unsighted and oblivious to shouted warnings was nowt to do with it - men!!!

Here area series of images from our journey into Manchester.

Here we are entering the Castlefield Basin, our mooring in the heart of the City tonight.

A Walk on the Wild Side

Yesterday afternoon a took the dogs for a wander around the Deer park a Dunham Massey and look what we found....

Annual Report

Well there you go, a year under our belts as boaters and what have we learnt? Did we make the right decisions, has it all been a terrible mistake? Well I think you know from the blog that we are as happy as pigs in the proverbial. We adore the nomadic lifestyle and it truly feels as if we are on holiday every day.

We had a very good start in that we were lucky to chose the right boat builder in Stuart Harper of Barn Owl Narrowboats. The build went smoothly and Caxton was delivered on time and to price. As for what we specified for Caxton, some things are absolutely spot on and others, in hindsight, we would do differently.

So what works well for us and what doesn't?
Caxton is a Reeves 63' semi-trad with a reverse layout. From the stern: galley, pullman dinette, saloon, bathroom and then cabin with a 5' cross bed. The well deck is 4'.

The galley is larger than most boats with a Belling fan oven, a full size dishwasher and plenty of work surface/cupboards. Forget the fan in an oven, it uses power and things still only really cook on the top shelf anyway. The dishwasher works beautifully however and uses less water than the usual frequent washing up.

The dinette is a pullman style but takes up only 5' of boat length, on our insistence. We do prefer to eat our meals at a table but a dinette was going to compromise the space in our saloon so we opted for 5' as opposed to the usual 6' - it works but with two large dogs sprawled about in the saloon and two large dog beds to trip over, space in the saloon is still a bit tight. Without the dogs the proportions would be fine but we are going to do some modifications in the new year to this key area. No, Fletcher and Floyd are not being abandoned...

The stove (wood/coal) is located in the saloon which puts it in the centre of the boat and is really very efficient at keeping the whole boat warm, so tick in the box for that decision.
The central heating is a Hurricane unit and that is excellent.

The bathroom is a cross boat arrangement and that is spacious and convenient to use. We have since seen a boat with a cross bathroom that also included a separate loo cubicle that didn't feel as if you were being squeezed under the gunwales and we think that we would go down that route if there was ever to be a Caxton Mk2. The vacuum flush cassette system aboard Caxton did cause us a few issues in the early days but a minor correction to the installation has righted that and we definitely chose this system again!

Our five wide cross bed in our cabin is just soooo comfortable! However, once a cross bed is 'put up' the space kind of becomes redundant and redundant space on a narrowboat is wasted space. So on reflection maybe a cabin bed has its merits...

Finally, the 4' well deck. 4' is just too tight. We manage of course but we should have specified more out door space/storage. Again this is in part because of the dogs. I feel a remedy coming on for this though....a stretch perhaps?

Oh SO wide..

Well the Bridgewater Canal (BC) is a real gem! Well maintained, wide and deep with no problems mooring. The towpaths are in excellent condition, an important thing for the 'walker' on the boat, and the vegetation is trimmed/mown. Our first night on the BC we moored at Lower Walton and wandered into Stockton Heath for provisions. Day two we moved up five miles to Lymm.Above, the road to Lymm from the Town Bridge and below the ancient town cross.We had lunch here before moving on to the service point a mile further on. The Nicholsons symbol that indicated full services available is incorrect, there is no rubbish disposal and no water. Water is to be had just before Little Bollington however but patience is a must as the flow is VERY slow.

Plenty of boat room here.

Moored near the River Bollin Aqueduct between Little Bollington and Dunham.

A Weaver Retrospective

Looking back at the Anderton lift and the fifty foot we have just been lowered through...

Exiting a Weaver lock and the half a million plus gallons of water they contain...

Bye, bye Mr Helpful lock keeper...

Caxton nestled on the Barnton moorings north (down river) of the Anderton Lift.

A salt works on the river side.

The view from the top of the Anderton on the way down.

Entering the Anderton from the Trent and Mersey.

Railway viaduct across the Weaver. Everything is BIG

The famous Anderton lift bridge from the Weaver.

Caxton moored a Barnton Cut

Sharing with boys that are a bit bigger than us...

Heading Down stream past the Devils Garden moorings. Matilad Rose leading with Critical Point just ahead of Caxton.

Acton Swing Bridge. Adjacent to the Bridge is the Leigh Arms: super food worth a stop here.

Autumn on the Cut

This is my favourite time of year and here we are on the Bridgewater Canal enjoying the season and this lovely location. Caxton is moored overlooking Dunham Massey and its deer park and we intend to be here until Tuesday.
Yesterday was the anniversary of Caxton's launch and our first year aboard Caxton and last night we marked the occasion by having a celebration meal at the village inn, The Swan with Two Nicks. Last February we were in Alrewas with Graham and Jill of Nb Matilda Rose celebrating their first year aboard and now here we are marking our year of this new life! And what a lovely life it is! Joe and I are very happy with this travelling existence and very comfortable aboard Caxton though the New Year will see one or two more modifications, more of which later....

All of a Weaver

Technical problems combined with those moments of incandescent rage that broadband failings bring me to have stopped me from blogging over the last month; I did seriously consider abandoning blogdom altogether but there is something about blogging that draws one back so here I go again.....

For the last three weeks we have been messing about on the River Weaver and what a lovely place to 'mess about'! Being on a wide river is such a contrast to the confines of the canals.

These were taken as we cruised back down river towards Northwich and the Anderton Boat lift. I will publish more shots tomorrow.