A bit of graffiti under a bridge
Our first stop of the day was at Thorn Marine at Stockton Heath for a pump out. No luck - the big sucker was broken.
Stop lock beams ready to go in case of a breach. The Science and Innovation Campus is in the background.
Quiz Question: what is this tower for?
Next stop was Claymore Boats at Preston Brook for a pump out, fuel and water. Unfortunately we got there only a few minutes after the 'lads' had left for lunch. So we filled in the time having lunch ourselves, then L. showered and I finished washing his jeans. The 'lads' returned and we had to wait some more as there were two boats ahead of us awaiting pump outs.
Preston Brook is one of the major points on the inland waterway system, in its heyday it was one of the busiest canal centres in the Northwest. The Preston Brook Tunnel marks the end of the board Bridgewater Canal and the start of the narrow Trent and Mersey canal (in case you don't remember, we started this journey at the other end of the Trent and Mersey). So Preston Brook was an inland port where cargoes were transshipped between the wide beam Mersey Flats and narrowboats.
The tunnel is 1239 yards long and one way working. Due to our hold up at Claymore we just missed a southbound time slot and had another hours wait.
Old brickwork in the tunnel
Exiting Preston Brook Tunnel
We were immediately hit with a bit of canal width shock having been on broad canals and rovers so far this trip.
Just round the bend in the above photo was Dutton Stop Lock where I got bitten on the palm of my hand by a European wasp (and it is still hurting!)
Onwards we cruised. Ducks landing ahead of us
A mooring hotspot up ahead - caused by a breach in the canal in 2012 - gives far reaching views down across the countryside to a viaduct spanning the River Weaver. The farther boat was moored in front of us in Lymm.
And part of the view
The canal is very picturesque now the sun is out
Looking into the trees
And the. We startled a heron
Saltersford Tunnel, only 424 yards long, but along with Barnton Tunnel, are among the earliest tunnels built on the inland waterways and they are far from straight. Saltersford has two kinks in it.
This time we only had to wait 10mins before we could enter. L. having to duck.
So short, but you can't see the end
We moored up a couple of hundred metres after the tunnel, at 5.00pm.
The River Weaver is below us and I walked down to have a look at where we will hopefully be tomorrow. I say hopefully because the Anderton Boat Lift has been having hydraulic problems and was closed today. I walked upstream for awhile
And then returned and went downstream to check out Saltersford Lock
Which looked a bit complicated to operate so I was relieved to read on the notice board that all the locks on the Weaver are manned.
I then returned to the boat and discovered that we are not moored on a towpath, we are moored on a road, albeit a quiet one and the posts we tied to are not here for boaters convenience, they are guide posts to stop cars driving off the road into the canal. It's a bit disconcerting when a car goes past two feet from the window. I cooked the pork medallions for dinner, and we're not dead yet Tim!
16 miles, 1 lock, 2 tunnels in 6 1/2 hours
Lovely pics Margy, and enjoying the graffiti too. Great shot of the Heron in flight!
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