Not that tunnel!

heading towards Standedge Tunnel

last views over 1 hour later minutes before turning around

lovely views as we lock back down

The weather was lovely when we got up but the forecast said rain was on the way. The Captain's back and legs still ached so he decided we should turn round at the next winding hole four locks higher as the canal is so narrow our 40 foot boat will only turn at the designated winding holes. He felt we couldn’t do the last three miles to the last turning point before the Standedge tunnel with me tackling all the remaining nine locks then having to come all the way back again. He had also heard from our fellow moorers that the locks get harder to work as you climb and some pounds get shallower.

“Enjoy the tunnel,” one boater called as we set off.

“What is there to enjoy?” the Captain muttered back. “No way am I spending three hours underground searching for jagged rocks in the tunnel.”

remains of canal-side industry

He had always said no way would he drive through Standedge. Not only was it the highest tunnel above sea level the deepest underground and the longest it was also know to dent boats as it was roughly hewn out and huge boulders stuck out into the boats path. One boater told me that he had two windows smashed when the current sent his boat against the rocky tunnel side.

back where we started 3 hours later

We climbed four more locks, and a couple were stiff. One pound was very low and the sill warning depth was on amber. If the pound dropped any further we would be unable to go back through.

Amazingly by the time we turned above lock twelve after passing though Scout Tunnel (205 yards instead of Standedge’s 5686 yards) lock 12 had emptied. That is some leak! The plus side was that the pound below rose an inch from the leakage and lock use so we managed not to run aground.

back through the Martian's legs

It took three hours to go to Scout Tunnel and return and it was four hours before we moored right beside the supermarket. We only had two rings as the other boat that filled with water last night was in the centre of the mooring. The Captain thought it was a good time to stock up on heavier items such as beer.

The other boat headed off just before us so we will follow them back to the Peak Forest Canal. We enjoyed a super sunny afternoon with no sign of the weather changing for the worse.

reflected blossom

We managed the locks out of Stalybridge fine. As I approached the lock with a self opening lower gate a man looked up from a bench and said “Great I’ve often wondered how these things work.”

nature versus industry

Cheekily I asked him to shut and hold the open gate until I had some water flowing into the lock, grateful for the help. Well it beats running up and down the lock trying to do both things at once! He obliged leaving his sandwich half eaten. Lottie kept her eye on it until he reclaimed it and I explained how the lock worked to him. As the boat sank down he got a call from work and set off in a hurry.



keeping her eye on the ball

As we turned onto the Peak Forest Canal we passed the boat we had been following moored up in front of the marina. They seemed settled in with drinks in their hands. By the time I worked the lift bridge which seemed to take a hundred or more turns to open and the same to shut I was aching. The boat from Huddersfield appeared as I walked back to the boat. However by the time we had gone a mile they had caught us up and appeared to want to cruise much faster than us. At a wide stretch we let them past and found they cruised slowly when in the lead. How can that be when they caught us so quickly?

There where several geese nesting, spaced out evenly along the canal but one lonely goose sat on a shallow nest with only a deflated football for a companion.  

impressive church

At the first tunnel the boat we were following stopped for the crew to put extra fenders on the front corners of the roof. I can understand the need to do that in a tunnel like Standedge but not the167 yard Woodley tunnel. We went past and held the lead until they moored up. We carried on through Rose Hill tunnel (another short affair)and moored up before the Marple aqueduct, joining one other boat.