The Liverpool Link

The day I had booked to go into Liverpool had finally arrived.  I left Melling, which was noisier now a young family had moved in next door

Once around the loop in the canal at Aintree, it was now only a couple of miles into Liverpool

 The last stretch to the top of Stanley dock





down the last flight of locks next to the huge tobacco warehouse all the way down to sea level

and then I was out of the canal, and into the huge sea port

 Turning left, the Liver buildings came into sight

and I passed right underneath it

and past the historic boats in Canning Dock

and finished at my reserved mooring in Salthouse dock

 As soon as I moored up I had the nosy neighbours peeking through the window.

I was really impressed by the moorings at the docks

The following day I had a wander around Liverpool.  I had not been here for about 25 years, and the city has undergone a transformation.  Some places I still remember, like Lime Street station.  Nobody makes buildings like this any more.

with St Georges Hall opposite.

I went around to the Museum as I wanted to see the Egyptology exhibition, but it was closed for the week I was here!

I called in at the Baltic Fleet, which is now a brew-pub.

Once the sun had gone down, the lights were turned on transforming Salthouse dock.

Another great discovery during my week in Liverpool was the Grapes, now renamed the dispensary.

Titanic Plum porter was their regular beer, which just hit the spot nicely!

Beers and Piers

I was off down to Newton Abbot judging the South West beer competition.  The train fares were ridiculous, so I decided to drive.  Suprisingly I missed most of the traffic, and getting towards the Devon coast, I vaguely remembered somewhere from a family holiday in 1979 I think.

This was worth a small detour.
I also stopped at the seafront at Sidmouth, where we spent the holiday, to see if it jogged any memories...

Nope, don't remember a thing!
Judging at Newton Abbot was good, and we ended up drinking funny coloured liquids in one of the many cider houses

I had booked the Liverpool link for the beginning of May, so when I got home it was time to leave Wigan.

Passing Gathurst, this is a place where the canal locks and the river are crossed by both the railway and the motorway, one over the other.

 Sailing through great sunshine, I stopped just outside Burscough

 And in the evening sunshine, I polished the diesel to remove the last traces of water.

 

The following morning I passed through Burscough and the junction with the Rufford branch, heading off to the Ribble. I think the Ribble crossing is a trip for next year.

There is the old working boat Viktoria (odd spelling) at Burscough. 

Last time I was here, the Packet house was a superb pub - Now sadly boarded up.

After a windy trip down past Scarisbrick, and having passed through Maghull, I found a great peaceful mooring just outside the village of Melling

Wombling through Wigan

The Wigan locks are now open, so I can leave Chorley. I have my new exhaust, and partly finished engine room, so it is time to have a trip down to Liverpool.
Firstly my new workshop arrives at Chorley.

Now I somewhere to put all the accumulated tools and detritus so I am not tripping over them on my boat all the time!

I filled up with diesel at White Bear, at £1.00 a litre!  they were the only people who had diesel though.
I reached Wigan locks, and shared down with another boat. 

 Quite lucky really because half way down, my engine died, and I had to clean all the water out of the injectors.  Not only had White Bear Marina charged me £1 a litre, but their diesel was full of water!

 There was a wheelbarrow in one of the locks, so I fished it out (wombling)

The Wigan flight took 4 hours, and we finished off with a few beers in Wigan Central.

 Monday night, Sam was leaving the brewery after three years to get a proper job, so we all went out for a meal to celebrate at the Budda Lounge

Back top the boat, and I went down to Plank lane for a pump-out.  On the way back I noticed this great sculpture at the junction of the Leeds Liverpool and the Bridgewater Canals.

Raw Steak and Fat Cats

I was due to go down to Norwich for a couple of days for a training course, when the electronics on my car decided to have a nervous breakdown.  I took it to a local garage who specialise in Volvo and got the train to Norwich.

  I hadn't been to Norwich for about 20 years, and I couldn't remember any of it. I walked out to the training venue, about two miles, and everyone else couldn't believe that I had walked that far.  Does everyone drive everywhere down here ?  I was just happy to be able to walk two miles, twice a day - this was a great improvement as I was still a bit crippled from falling off some stupid mountain in August.

I found the Fat Cat Brewery Tap en route, which was great when I popped in for a pint or three on the way back.

The second morning the weather was misty, and there were superb views over the river.




I was told that I shouldn't visit Norwich without paying a visit to Edith Cavells Steak House, so on the last night I did.  When I ordered, the waitress disappeared quickly without asking how I would like my steak cooked.

Five minutes later, a tray appears with chips and white sauce pepper and salt, a large stone slab with a chunk of raw steak on it!

"This steak is raw!"
"You have to cook it yourself however you like it on the hot stone"
"I like my steak well done"
"You'll just have to cut it up into little bits to cook it"

Not only am I paying £25 for a steak that I have to cook myself, the chips will be cold and soggy by the time I've finished cooking the steak - which is proving difficult as the cheap and nasty steak knife they provide wont cook the tough raw steak.

And sitting in the cold draught by the door, pretty soon all I have is a hacked about cold bloody mess on the table.

The best recommendation I can give about Edith Cavells in Norwich is avoid the place - it is crap and the service is terrible. I can't get a cooked steak, I can't get a knife, I cant get out of the cold draught, and nobody gives a toss that I have a terrible inedible meal.

My last day in Norwich and I took a few photos of the great shops and other buildings in Norwich.




There is a lot of history about the place and some very old buildings.

 It is a shame to see so many closed shops and pubs though

Good Game, Good Game!

Back at the boatyard, Seamer looks smaller now it is on the floor and off the stands

 A bit of welding, to shut off the old exhaust outlet,

and then the new smaller silencer get a trial fit

Luke is a brilliant cook, but he has always been a bit squeamish about chopping up animals.  So I took him down to the Talbot at Knightwick for a Game preparation and cooking course.
Steve, the head chef at theTalbot was superb.  Their kitchens work on fresh food,  and the dishes change daily.  He evcen showed us how to make Black Pudding!

This is the game - Before

 and After






The bunny was still eating his dinner!








When we got back to the brewery, we had received our "Hop Clock" from Farams, so we needed a hoppy picture to go with it!

New year and Apple Pie

New year at the old had some people climbing up the wall

   ..and some people were hairier than usual.

 In the clear skies venus (I think) was in plain sight.

 Back at Botany Bay, as I was stuck between locks until March, and it was too cold to move too far.

 

It was time to do some essential work on the boat.  As I have been sailing for six months now, I have found some things that don't work as well as I thought, and some things that just need changing.  Firstly the exhaust from the engine is only just above water level.  I have been close on occasion to flooding the engine when the waves have reached the exhaust.

The current hospital silencer is huge, and there is simply not room to move it...

So out it goes.

 The control panel is too close to the door, and I am forever catching things when I go in and out.  The cheap and nasty GS controls fuse banks don't work, and GS controls ignore all attempts to get them working, so I have some new Blue Sea ones as a replacement

The fuel pipe for the eberspacher needs  fitting properly

 And the wooden engine room floor doesn't work

 Having stripped out the engine room, it was time to go over to Luke's for one of his meals.  Proper Apple pie for pudding!

Superb!









Even Timo was getting stuck in to the pie!