Monday 29th August
Today we ended up travelling a lot further than we thought we would have to due to a severe lack of moorings on the Peak Forest Canal between the bottom of the Marple flight and Dukinfield Junction (and beyond).
We set off about 9-30 am and started the first lock on the Marple Flight about 9-45am. We were following B and B again and Barbara was back filling for me if I didn’t get to the next lock before she left it. These locks have a rather strange configuration whereby the balance beams of the bottom gates pass over the bridge at the end of the lock and to close them you have to stand in the ‘alley way’ and reach up to them (see photo). You also have to walk underneath them to get from one side of the lock to the other. There is a lot of going up and down steps and ducking under beams involved in doing these locks!
That said we made good time and completed the flight in 2 and a half hours. We then thought we would soon find somewhere to moor up – wrong! As B and B were in front they went off to find somewhere while we did the last lock. We soon followed on behind and passing some nice spots we at first wondered why they hadn’t stopped. Then we realised it was because it was too shallow to get in to the bank, of course!
We kept going and going passing through 2 small but quite low tunnels (I had to get the satellite dish off the roof while we were going along, just in case) and still we didn’t catch them up. Eventually we came round the corner to see them trying to moor. We tried to get in behind but got grounded! Once we had got off the bottom on we went again. It soon became apparent that we would probably have to carry on to Dukinfield Junction and moor at Portland Basin. Just after the lift bridge before the junction is a bit of a park and we were going to moor up there but a chap on a boat who was also going through the lift bridge advised us against it. He also advised against mooring at Portland basin and told us to turn on to the Huddersfield, go through a couple of locks and moor in Stalybridge town centre.
By this time it was raining quite hard and we were all getting cold and wet. We did as this chap suggested, a ‘couple of locks’ turned out to be another 5 locks and it was gone 6 pm by the time we had moored up. However it isn’t a bad spot, on the off side, right next to a Chinese restaurant. Well, we are next to the restaurant, B and B are a bit further back in the bushes.
Obviously the first thing we wanted to do was go to the pub! We had spoken to a bloke walking his dog at the lock and he said the Wharf Tavern was ok. We could see it from the mooring so we went there. Unfortunately the Bombardier tasted like vinegar so I had to have a Guinness which I could have had indoors! B and B came to the pub too, Barbara was hoping for pie and chips but they didn’t do food. There was a chippy next door to the pub but it was closed so it was all a bit of a disaster!
So after a marathon day of 10 miles, 21 locks and 8.5 hours travelling we are knackered!
