The leaving of Liverpool

My time in Liverpool was soon at an end, but I decided, as it is the 200th year of the Leeds Liverpool canal, and 9 years since Luke and I walked the full length of the canal to raise money for RNLI, that I would now travel the full length of the canal to Leeds.

Back up the flight of locks and along the canal out of Liverpool.  I have no photos of this great journey through the locks, as will be explained below.





Once through Maghull, I stopped at the Ship Inn at Haskayne, where the Dragon boats had also stopped for a break

The next leg of the journey was back through Burscough

and past the Rufford branch again

There are some quite remote stretches of the canal running past Parbold

Unfortunately due to spending too much of the morning car shuffling, I was too late to get into Wigan.  The locks were closed at 8:00, so I stopped at Crooke Hall, which seemed a decent spot, opposite the Crooke Hall Inn, an Allgates Brewery Pub.

That time of Year again, I went back up to the Old, for the SARDA/Mountain Rescue Folk Festival.
It is now eight months since I fell off Tarn Crag, and my legs seemed to be working again, so I thought I would have a stroll up Mickleden

The weather was great, not too warm as I continued up the valley

I got as far as Angle Tarn, and was surprised to still see some snow on Hanging Knotts.  This was my first climbing since last year, so it would be daft to go for the snow...

But I couldn't resist building snowmen in May!

My leg was still fine, so I continued on over hanging Knotts, and on to the top of Bowfell

I felt great, no problems with the tendons in my knee, no problems with my Quads!

Then I came down the Bands.  Downhill was a completely different matter.  By the time I had got down to the valley floor, I was having to stop every few hundred yards.  Ow!  It took me three hours to get back to the Old for some anaesthetic.




Monday morning came and I was completely seized up!  I hobbled back to the car and headed back to the boat.  However when I got there, I found that the doors had been forced open, and the interior of the boat had been trashed.

They had taken a rucksack, some power tools and my crappy little digital camera, which had most of my Liverpool photos on.  Bastards!

The police turned up, and it seems it was a professional job, they were wearing gloves, and even polished a few surfaces on the boat as they left. I was not going to leave the boat here, so sailed straight up to Wigan, where Yorks Rob met me and fitted some high security bolts to the front doors.


I then headed back to the aptly named Crooke, to collect the car.  when I got there I found that the car window had been smashed.  My phone charger was gone, but nothing else.  It seems that people sit in the pub beer garden watching boats arrive, and people leave, so they know when a boat or car is unattended.  There is a clue in the name.

I got back to Wigan, as I was supposed to be going down to Ludlow judging beer, instead I waited all day for Autoglass to show up and replace the window.

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.