Thursday 19th May
Today we have completed the Rochdale 9 and how hard were they? It took us 2.5 hours to do the 9 locks and travel 1 mile! With some of them it was diabolically difficult (try saying that when you come out of the Wetherspoon’s!) to open the paddles, to open the gates, to close the paddles and to close the gates. In fact they were just generally diabolically difficult. I am a bit stiff already, God knows what I’ll be like in the morning.
We did have a few helpers along the way though, mostly shuffly old men in grubby coats, oh and the drug dealer in the Piccadilly Tunnel helped Barbara with her paddle and shut her gate for her. He was quite a friendly chap and obviously wanted us out of the way as quick as possible because we were bad for business! At one point I had 3 electricians on my side of a lock and they all stopped work to – help? No, to watch me struggling! Gits!
We are now moored below lock 83, at Ducie Street, the junction with the Ashton Canal, in readiness for doing locks 83 to 65 (Failsworth Top Lock) tomorrow, 19 locks in just over 4 miles. We have seen the lock keeper and he will unlock no 83 for us at 8-15am. We may get them done in about 5 hours as they are all set for us because a chap came down them last thing. However, if the water pours over the top gates like it does on the 9 they will all be full again by tomorrow morning and we will have to empty them like we did today!
Barry found the location of the nearest Wetherspoon’s for us on the internet and Ken and I went off for a well earned pint of Abbott! The people watching there was second to none and we had a lovely time.
So roll on tomorrow and the next 19 locks!
