Itinerary

Last day

Thu, 11 Sep 2014 16:39:24 -0400

Although this was our last day on the canals and, as such, it was bitter sweet, it was yet another gorgeous day. Perfect weather once the morning fog burned off and, to everyone’s surprise, the scenery remained attractive for most of the way even though we were out of the hills.
We left last night's mooring at 9:00 sharp, descended through the last two locks on the Huddersfield Broad canal and entered the River Calder, part of the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The river was calm, quiet and very pretty, making that section of the trip back to Sowerby Bridge very enjoyable and almost effortless. The canal section of the route was mostly rural, the canal itself quite wide and the locks relatively few and not too difficult to operate.
We stopped for a water fill-up in Brighouse, for a brew or two at the Barge and Barrel brewery in Elland and passed through the last of the locks at about 5:30.
The last 2 miles to Sowerby Bridge presented a fitting end to a perfect canal holiday. The sun was getting low and filtering through the trees and we moved along at just tick-over speed - about 1.5 mph - enjoying the peaceful countryside. There was no other boat traffic to contend with and no more locks. We arrived at Shire Cruisers’ boatyard at about 6:50, backed into our mooring spaces, spent some time packing and then went to the Moorings Restaurant and Pub for one last evening meal in England.
Totals for the day: 16 locks (the 17th that we had expected turned out to be a flood lock and was not in operation), 9.5 miles in almost 10 hours (longest day of the entire trip).
Totals for the trip: 82 locks during week #1, 114 locks during week #2, for a total of 196. 32.4 miles during week #1, 40.7 miles during week #2, for a total of 73.1.

Leaving the hills

Wed, 10 Sep 2014 02:38:06 -0400

Yet another fantastic weather and scenery day. We started off at about 8:50 with the hope of working through at least 23 of the remaining 45 locks. With almost no traffic on the canal - as has been the case throughout the trip - and with good water levels, we moved along well, with Hereford in front and Buckingham not too far behind.
We reached Huddersfield, the junction of the Huddersfield Narrow and the Huddersfield Broad canals, at 2:00. We stopped there for about an hour while we got rid of trash and Christy took a shower at the CRT facilities there and the Buckingham crew ate a nice formal lunch aboard.
We decided to continue on for another 7 locks in order to 1) reduce the number of locks required on Thursday (our last day) and 2) to go to the Royal and Ancient pub outside the village of Colne. We tied up just before lock #2 on the Huddersfield Broad at 5:20, making for a long 8-1/2 hour day. But we achieved the goal of knocking off more than half of the remaining locks. The last 7 were two boats wide (hence the canal’s name) but because our boats were both 57 feet long and the lock chamber is only 58 feet long, putting both boats in together would have made it impossible to open the lower gates to get out. So we achieved no benefit from the larger locks. Rather, they slowed us down because they took longer to fill and drain than most narrow locks.
The Royal and Ancient was a nice pub with good beers and good, but not spectacular, food. The best part of the visit there was the incredible laugh fest that we all shared. Hilarious time, with Marshall and Olin leading the parade (Marshal trying to figure out what “Beef au Pok” was for a style of meat and Olin dancing the “Sprinkler,” among much other foolishness.
Returned to the boats for some lock-side chatter beneath a full moon before retiring around 10:00.
Totals for the day: 28 locks (17 left for tomorrow), one lift bridge and 8.7 miles.

Downhill

Tue, 9 Sep 2014 09:26:02 -0400

We have 66 locks left to transit before we return the boats, 42 of them on the downhill side of the summit. And a decision has been made to be back at the boatyard on Thursday evening rather than by 9:00 AM on Friday as required (since 6 of us have to catch a 9:18 train to London). So the plan as of the moment is to work 22 locks per day - or as close thereto as convenient overnight mooring locations permit. Since that’s a lot of work, we departed this morning earlier than usual, at 8:15. Hereford lead the way, with Buckingham following by about 15 or 20 minutes again, in order to keep an extra lock between us in case any of the pounds were low.
The scenery was as spectacular and the weather as perfect today as it was yesterday and as it was on the uphill climb out of Sowerby Bridge last week. We moved along at a healthy pace and reached Slaithwaite (pronounced “Slawit”; can’t figure out the British penchant for putting so many letters that don’t get pronounced into their place names, e.g. Leicester and Worchester) by 1:10, much earlier than expected. We could have kept on going but folks were tired, Slaithwaite is a nice little town and the next suitable stopping place was too far away. Rather than completing 22 locks as hoped, we did only 21, due to the location of the moorings in Slaithwaite, thus leaving 45 to be completed in the next two days.
Various crew members went off in various directions, or hung out on the boat relaxing, for the next couple of hours or so. The Buckingham crew did laundry, Debbie worked on ARC stuff, Olin and Christy went shopping etc. Later in the afternoon, everyone assembled at the Commercial pub for a round and then, with the help of a member of the local constabulary, found a great riverside restaurant called the “Little Bridge.” Long story short: despite a very long wait for our meals (the place was small, crowded and has a kitchen smaller that the Straightaway’s), most everyone agreed that it was the best restaurant meal of the trip or - Debbie and Brian agreed - the best ever experienced in England. Due to the delay in receiving our meals, we didn’t get back to the boats until 9:30 or so, so right to bed for most.

The Standedge Tunnel

Mon, 8 Sep 2014 01:42:31 -0400

Our passage through the Standedge Tunnel - the longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel in the UK - had been booked for today, and we were asked to be at the tunnel entrance by 11:30, even though the passage itself would not begin until around 1:00. Since that meant we had to climb through the 9 remaining locks to the summit of the Huddersfield canal by that time, and since we anticipated some issues with low water levels that might delay us, Hereford departed Dobcross at 9:00 under cool, foggy skies. Buckingham followed about 15 or 20 minutes later.
As we moved along, we started to see glimpses of blue in the sky. Although there were some minor water level issues, they didn’t slow us down much, and Hereford arrived at the summit by about 10:30, just as the skies were clearing. One of the Canal and River Trust (CRT) guys - Terry - that would accompany the boats through the tunnel was already there, having just arrived on a boat that had come through in the other direction. He provided us with a lot of information about the canal, its history and, of course, the process and procedures that we would follow during our passage. We learned, for example, that only three boats are allowed through in each direction on those days when passage is permitted. Furthermore, they must be separated by 45 minutes (to allow the air in the tunnel to clear of any exhaust fumes). And each boat is accompanied by a CRT employee to provide guidance, to monitor air quality and to assist in an emergency (but not to do the driving).
As Hereford was topping off the water tank, Buckingham arrived. All 8 crew members went to the Diggle Hotel for a round of drinks (they graciously opened a few minutes early for us; they recognized a revenue opportunity) while waiting for the revised 12:45 departure time.
Hereford was first in line, so after taking a crew photo at the tunnel mouth and after suiting up Brian - who would be taking the first turn at the helm - with reflective vest, inflatable life jacket and a hard hat, Hereford started through at 12:52.
The tunnel was both imposing and fascinating (and cold!), and the guide aboard Hereford, Terry, maintained a running commentary of facts and figures for the entire hour and fifty three minutes it took to traverse the 3.12 miles of its length. Brian handed the tiller off to Olin a little over half way through, and Hereford came out the other end at 2:45, followed by Buckingham at 3:27.
We moved along about another half mile and moored near the center of Marsden, across from the train station and just before the first downhill lock which we would attack in the morning. After tying up, we went to the adjacent Railway pub. Bad choice; bad beer and wouldn’t take a credit card that didn’t have the “chip and PIN” function. Didn’t discover the latter limitation until the first beers were poured, so we paid cash for those and got the hell out of there. We went next to the Riverhead Brewery Tap, which had a wide variety of their own cask ales, even a Porter for Debbie. But the restaurant, which has rave reviews, stopped serving meals on Mondays starting September 1. So after a round of drinks there, we went across the street to a very nice Italian restaurant, Mozzarellas, for dinner; everyone seemed pleased with the fare. Afterwards, we went back to the Riverhead for another round, then off to bed.

Climbing back uphill

Sun, 7 Sep 2014 02:30:35 -0400

When we moored last night, the water was very shallow close to the moorings embankment, so we had to stand off a couple of feet and use the gangplank to get off the boats, which we moored alongside each other. When we awoke in this morning, we found that there had been a significant loss of water in the pound overnight and Hereford, moored closest to the tow path, had not only been grounded, but was listing rather dramatically. Brian walked back about 1/3 mile to the closest downhill lock to see if perhaps someone had left a paddle open, resulting in the water loss. But the lock was properly secured, so we never did figure out where all the water went. Brian opened the paddles on the lock above for about 20 minutes, resulting in a reduction in the angle of list. A little later, a CRT guy came by and helped push Hereford back into deeper water.
The Hereford crew got underway shortly thereafter - at about 9:50 - in order to get at least one lock between boats, in anticipation of low water in the pounds. Buckingham followed about 45 minutes later. The expectation about water levels was correct, and special care had to be exercised throughout the day’s journey; we scraped bottom many times and ran aground a couple.
The weather turned out to be spectacular as promised, and the views got better and better as the day progressed and the elevation increased. The two boats remained about two locks apart for the short day.
We arrived at out destination - Dobcross - at 2:00. After a short 3.7 mile, 8 lock trip, we moored for the day. Another boat from Shire Cruisers arrived and tied up with us. As it turned out, these three boats are the only ones scheduled to transit the Standedge Tunnel tomorrow.
The 8 members of the Views and Brews Pennine Cruise then went to the Navigation Inn, just a short walk uphill from the canal. The Navigation is a very popular pub - on a Sunday afternoon, at least - and we sat outside in the sun since all inside tables were booked. But sitting outside was lovely, and we all engaged in a lively conversation with some of the locals and had some of the best food yet encountered on the trip.
Retired early, as has become the norm since nightly card games ceased once Ray and Caroline left.

Leaving the city behind

Sat, 6 Sep 2014 14:49:41 -0400

A late start and a short day today. We didn’t start moving until 10:45 and stopped for the day at 2:00. We covered only 3.2 miles and passed through just 8 locks and one tunnel. But we achieved yesterday’s goal of leaving Manchester and its suburbs behind and entering lovely rural, hill country. The only downside was that it rained (lightly) off and on all day. Tomorrow’s weather, however, promises to be gorgeous (fingers crossed).
Aside from the views, the best part of the day was Brian’s discovery that his £15 pay-as-you-go, “all you can eat” cellular data plan includes “personal hot spot” at no additional cost. So we no longer have to wait to find a pub with WiFi to publish this blog or to get on line for any other purpose with our computers. Unless the cellular signal goes away (very rare), we can get on line anywhere from any WiFi-equipped device via his iPhone, even while underway. Yay.
Somewhere along the way, Bev slipped on the towpath and twisted an ankle quite badly, so she will be incapacitated for a day or so.
We tied up in very shallow water just below the welcoming Roaches Lock pub and went in for a brew or two, followed by yet another fine pub meal. To bed by 9:00.

New crew, new week

Fri, 5 Sep 2014 04:13:05 -0400

As planned, Ray and Caroline got up real early in order to make a 6:10 AM train back to London. Piccadilly station was only about 3 blocks from where we were moored, so they made it with plenty of time. At about 8:30, Olin and Christy showed up, right on time, followed just a few minutes later by Marshall, Suzanne, Bev and Gerry. After Susan, Mike, Daryl and Simon finished cleaning Buckingham and departed the boat, the new crew put their luggage aboard and, after a really quick tutorial about boat basics, we got underway at 9:04.
Brian joined the Buckingham crew for the first several locks in order to provide advice and counsel if/as needed. We turned left under some office buildings onto the Ashton canal and then handed the tiller to Marshall. He had a moment or two of difficulty in grasping its proper operation, e.g. the fact one had to push the tiller to the right in order to make the boat turn to the left. But he got the gist of it quickly and did well thereafter. When Gerry took over after a while, he grasped the concepts right away. So after about an hour or two, having passed through the first few narrow locks with applicable tutorials on their operation, Brian returned to Hereford, which Olin had been captaining alone, and the two boats continued on at a good clip, with the two crews getting into the rhythm of setting the locks ahead to expedite passage.
Since we wanted to leave the industrial suburbs of Manchester behind us during the first day, we continued onward without stopping until we reached our planned destination for the day, Stalybridge. Along the way we left the Ashton canal at its junction with the Peak Forest canal and continued northwards on the Huddersfield Narrow canal.
The Buckingham folks went grocery shopping at the big Tesco right beside the canal, while the Hereford crew went to the recommended Stalybridge Buffet Bar inside the local train station. The good news was that it was a very interesting pub with several good local cask ales. The bad news is that by the time we arrived - about 6:00 - they were pretty much out of food. Brian tried calling Marshall to warn him, since those folks were going to meet us there, but he did not answer. So we headed back toward the boat and luckily met the other four on the street and all 8 of us ducked into another pub - the White House - only to find that they did not serve food at all (so much for the “Good Food” sign on the outside) and did not take credit cards. We did stay for one round of drinks and then moved on and found a very nice Indian restaurant where we all had great meals. Back on the boat by about 9:30, everyone but Olin and Christy crashed immediately from exhaustion. It was, after all, the longest day of the entire trip so far: 8.6 miles, 24 locks (the most so far) and 8-1/4 hours.

The end of week #1

Thu, 4 Sep 2014 03:06:13 -0400

Up early today in order to make the long dash into Manchester. We got underway at 7:50 and dropped through a total of 20 locks. Once again, due to the efficiencies associated with sending one or two people ahead to set the next lock, we were able to make it through the first 18 in only 5 hours, an average of about 15 minutes per lock, even though a few filled or drained slowly.
After the 18th lock, we turned into the New Islington marina for a water fill-up and a pump out. That process took about an hour and a half. Then we passed through the remaining two locks and entered Piccadilly Basin in the center of Manchester and moored up for the day exactly where we had planned to months ago.
Via a few exchanges of emails we determined that the Oxfords and the Fishers had all arrived in town and we agreed to meet about 4:00 at the highly recommended Marble Arch pub. The week #1 crew walked the .7 mile to the pub and the Fishers and the Oxfords walked there from their hotel. All 12 were assembled by 5:00 or so. The Arch had several great beers that they brew themselves, and the frivolity began. The only issue with the evening was that, due to a large booking of 60 or so people for dinner, the dining room was unavailable to us and the kitchen was to close at 7:00 so it could concentrate on the larger booking. So we ordered quickly and ate in the pub, but the food was good and the company better; everyone had a good time. We broke up and returned to the boats by 9:30 and went immediately horizontal.
In addition to the 20 locks, the day’s journey covered 7.2 miles.

A very short day

Wed, 3 Sep 2014 01:49:08 -0400

We had beed advised by the boat hire company and by others that we met along the way that the best place to spend the night before making the final push into central Manchester was beside the Rose of Lancaster pub in Chedderton. While that will leave 20 locks to operate and 6 miles of canal to cruise on Thursday, an early start tomorrow should easily allow that. So we started off today with the Rose of Lancaster in today’s sights.
We left our moorings at about 10:30 and immediately encountered the first of 10 locks on the day’s agenda. Luckily, we finally hit our rhythm and were able to send one or two members of the combined crews ahead to the next lock to get it ready. In some cases, two locks ahead were being prepped. So we flew through the first 5 locks in 50 minutes, 10 minutes per lock! We stopped in one lock to pose for the obligatory crew photo and, as luck would have it, a retired photographer happened to be hanging out lock-side so he volunteered to snap the pix, precluding the need to set up a tripod and put the camera on self-timer. Thereafter, we progressed so well that we covered the 1.9 miles and 10 locks to the Rose in just 2 hours and 10 minutes (including the photo op and getting stuck in one lock for a bit), a record of sorts.
After tying up, we went right to the pub. It has a great covered outdoor deck overlooking the canal below. Although it was cloudy (had been all day), it did not rain nor was it cold or windy, so everyone sat there all afternoon having a natter, playing cards, imbibing a brew or two and chowing down on a variety of good pub grub. Later, when it started to cool down, we went inside and had a proper meal and then retired quite early.

Feast or famine

Tue, 2 Sep 2014 14:51:42 -0400

Woke up early for a change - 7:30 - and enjoyed a bright sunrise against a cloudless sky. By 8:00, we started looking for the promised Canal and River Trust guy to address the low water problem. Somewhere around 8:30 he showed up, but before we could get to him for a status report, he left. Not knowing what we should do, we called the Trust again and they advised that someone was, indeed, letting water down to fill the dry pound even though we couldn’t see him anywhere. So a management decision was made to proceed on our own. Since the only way to deal with a dry pound is to add water, and since water runs downhill, the solution was to open the paddles in the lock above and let water out. So we took both boats into the top lock and, once we let the water out to lower them, we were able to proceed to the next lock without a problem (someone had pulled the boat out of that one during the night and tied it up alongside the canal bank). As we were entering the second lock, the Canal and River Trust dude came by and said what we had already suspected: when we let water out of it, the short - currently dry - pound below should fill sufficiently to float both boats, and it did! So we got past the problem area without incident. Beyond that, we had the opposite problem: too much water. The next three or four locks had so much water coming into them - over the top of the gates, even - that draining them was very time-consuming, i.e. water was leaving only a little bit faster than water was entering from above.
Thereafter, we moved down hill at a pretty good clip until we reached Rochdale, the armpit of England. The canal was full of trash, supermarket trolleys and all sorts of other debris. Just after a swing bridge, Buckingham snagged a mattress spring and got it wound around the propeller. Buckingham had been ahead by a bit and its crew didn’t realize the problem until they reached the next lock and waited a long time for Buckingham to show up. Finally, Brian walked back about a half mile and found Buckingham stranded in the middle of the canal, stern against the towpath-side bank and a bunch of folks - including four very helpful passers-by - trying to remove the spring. It took over an hour, but success was finally achieved and we all continued on our way. See video here: http://youtu.be/OG9KPtOGDvA.
After the mattress incident was resolved, we continued on another 3 or 4 miles and 5 more locks to Slattocks and tied up for the night at 7:00 (!) near the Hopwood Arms pub. After yet another great pub meal and a pint or two, we returned to the boat and tried to play another game of cards, but part way through everyone decided that we were too tired from a long day (8.7 miles and 17 locks and 2 swing bridges) and we suspended that activity at 9:30 and went to bed.