We came up the Marple flight on Saturday, not without incident however. BW had turned the water off at the summit - reminiscent of the Standegde trip of only a few days ago? - and the water in the pounds was getting very, very low. NB Matilda Rose was leading the way and they managed to flag down a passing BW truck and its crew because the gate paddles on one of the locks were not engaging. The gate sorted, the BW boys arranged for the water to be turned back on and we soon saw the side washes bubbling with water once again.
Once up and in Marple we found that the water point was only accessible to a small rowing boat because BW working boats were occupying most of the wharf. Work is due to start on the towpath on Monday but it was already underway as we passed through bridge number two. When the work of repairing the collapsed canalside here is complete it will mean that there are another stretch of good moorings once more available in Marple. However, having spent best part of the last five months passing in and out of Marple in one direction on another I don't anticipate seeing this part of the world for a number of years....
Sunday morning we moved on to Higher Poynton - pouring with rain again - filled with diesel, bought more coal and an oil filter and watered Caxton. Lunch in the Boars Head and a doze in the chair by the fire in the afternoon - part of our membership commitment for being middle aged...
3 comments:
The winter's a lean time for boaters with these unanticipated stoppages and the entirely anticipated weather! Glad to hear that you're safely moored up and snoozing. What with these bursts of frantic activity followed by little naps you're sounding more like greyhounds every day!
Sue, Indigo Dream
Ah, if only we could have the greyhound figure to go with it Sue?
Lesley
I'd say you're closer to it than the crew of the Indigo Dream :-)
Sue, Indigo Dream
Post a Comment