The Bridgewater Canal





old Linotype works

Crane holding the stop planks

Lottie woke us at a reasonable hour (after 7.00) and we got cruising early as the weather was warm and sunny. We could cruise faster than on the Trent and Mersey and actually maintained 3 miles an hour with Lottie snoozing between the legs of whoever was steering. Normally she keeps to the other side of our fairly generous rear deck.

Although the canal had pretty views at times it felt impersonal and monotonous compared with most we have cruised. If anything I found this canal lacked personality at this end. The first built up areas were sandwiched between the Bridgewater canal and the Manchester Ship Canal and were interesting. Lymm on the other hand was lovely, full of quirky charm. We decided to stop there and explore on the way home.

Floating Pub seating

We stopped for water but so had two other boats so we had to queue although one boat was trying to fix a malfunctioning toilet. By the time it was our turn two more boats were waiting. I made lunch while the Captain filled the water tank. Afterwards we ate as we cruised.

Lottie's City stroll

On entering Manchester the canal was very straight so it seemed to take ages to cruise as we could see bridges far in the distance. It was also clean for such a large city. The reason for the lack of rubbish soon became clear when I met a boat called the Water Womble.

It was a barge with two large compartments, one was partly filled with branches and greenery pulled from the water and the other held rubbish. As they approached me one of the Womble’s crew scooped some plastic out of the canal and dumped it on top of the rubbish. Every city should have a Womble boat.


Approaching Barton Swing Aqueduct

While I was driving the Captain rang CaRT and they confirmed that the Aston flight was closed for at least two weeks while a new lock gate was built.

Unable to go through Manchester and return via the Macclesfield we decided to cruise part of the Leeds and Liverpool canal. Soon we turned onto the Leigh branch (it is called that because it goes through Leigh) and cruised through the massive Trafford business park.




A neat fit

Though the backdrop was urban it felt as if we were cruising across an ornamental pond as the edges of the canal were lined with flowering water irises and swathes of water lilies in bloom. Dog roses and Buddleia adorning disused factories completed the sense of cruising through a vast garden.

The towpath was razor straight but there were bushes to one side  so I walked Lottie on a quiet section.




A light house - the only one inland?

Barton swing aqueduct was an industrial delight though I had to reload the dog onto the boat swiftly when we realised there was no walk way over it. Who ever thought of swinging a piece of canal through ninety degrees so that tall ships could traverse the Manchester Ship Canal? it was narrow with an excellent view over the Manchester Ship Canal.

interesting architecture

A light house was a bizarre sight as boats on the canal are unlikely to need its light to guide them. 





Worsley was interesting partly because Delph was where the canal began with the mine. The ire ore from the mining stains the water a rusty ochre. The strange water colour seemed to have no effect on the swans and ducks. What surprised me was the deep colour seemed to arrive suddenly and left swiftly, I had expected the water to change colour slowly over a much greater distance. 

entering Worsley

Worsley's Delph junction marked a sharp turn in the canal past beautiful buildings. We swiftly caught a hire boat that ran aground on a tight turn in the town. The crew used their boat pole and punted back into deep water. As they were weaving an erratic course they pulled over to let us by. That was very thoughtful of them but maybe they didn’t want us to see them run aground again. 



Worsley Swans and cygnets

After Worsley the canal was surrounded by reclaimed land from industry now wild meadows with overgrown banks but we found a pleasant place to moor. Lottie liked it so much the Captain had to take his chair outside to write his log. He couldn’t leave her to explore as infrequent cyclists whizzed by and Lottie gets cross if they zip too close to her.



 



Moored for the night