Todays Canals - Bridgewater, Leeds and Liverpool, Leigh Branch
The day started bright and sunny and remained that way throughout. At times there was a gentle cooling breeze but, sheltered and it could be hot for the season.
The sunshine even made the otherwise rather gaudy and deliberately ostentatious Trafford Park Shopping Centre look quite attractive - in its own way!
We had to wait a couple of minutes whilst a boat already crossing the Barton Swing Aqueduct completed its crossing. This gave us chance to notice this derelict building close to the canal. We have not discovered its purpose (it looks like a house or perhaps a couple of semis, but it only appeared on the OS maps early in the twentieth century, after 1907 and before 1927.
Once the way was clear we could make our own crossing.
On the other side the area has had, and still is having, extensive redevelopment of former industrial land. Occasional small moorings are some times the only indication of where a wharf once loaded goods onto boats. One former silk mill (ceased production in 1933) remains here - it survives only just and is part occupied with a gym and a yoga school and a very small number of other units.
The obligatory photo of the quirky Monton Lighthouse. It is owned by a local called Phil Austin who restored a narrowboat in which Queen Victoria had travelled which he moored here. He bought a small parcel of and and then wondered hat to do with it and the lighthouse is the result!
Worsley Dry Dock has a couple of former Leeds and Liverpool fly boats moored here.
The docks themselves, still a family run business, remain in demand for repair and maintenance of all types of canal boats.
The iconic Customs House at the junction with the entrance to the former coal mines (which was the reason for building the Canal in the first place) seems to be undergoing some extensive maintenance.
On the approach to Leigh there are several large former mill buildings that have been preserved and found new uses. This one, completed in 1913, was one of the last of this sort of industrial building. Not long after, the industry rapidly fell into decline, creating problems for much of Lancashire. A preservation trust has converted it into quality offices for a n umber of small local businesses.
Also on the site are Leigh Spinners who started manufacturing commercial carpet in 1967, They later shifted into other non-woven materials especially synthetic turf for landscape, leisure and sport applications, such as bowls.
Several more follow - some in better condition than others. They stand as a reminder of the scale and grandeur of late 19C industrial architecture.
We moored just after Leigh Bridge (which marks the boundary between the Bridgewater Canal and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal) When we have been here before the Waterside Inn has seemed popular and thriving. Sadly, perhaps as the result of COVID, it is currently closed and boarded up.
Pennington Flash was created at the start of the 20C from subsidence caused by the huge Bickershaw Coal Mine just the other side of Plank Lane. That is where the surface works were built but, of course, the underground mining stretched a considerable distance.
This area around Pennington Flash is now a very popular country park. The visitor facilities, cafe etc, are on the other side from the canal but we could see some of the extensive walks and paths that have been created, generally very accessible.
Down at the water level is is possible to watch the wild life from a hide.
This view emphasises just how much the level has fallen and the canal banks have had to be built up. This shot was taken still well above the flash itself.
Looking across the canal, with the moors in the distance, the modern houses are also at a much lower level.
Several more follow - some in better condition than others. They stand as a reminder of the scale and grandeur of late 19C industrial architecture.
We moored just after Leigh Bridge (which marks the boundary between the Bridgewater Canal and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal) When we have been here before the Waterside Inn has seemed popular and thriving. Sadly, perhaps as the result of COVID, it is currently closed and boarded up.
After lunch we walked into town for a small amount of shopping. In the covered market we saw a small display by the local council who are applying for a Levelling Up grant to improve the market hall. We chatted to a couple of stallholders who had come to see the proposals - we guess that the exhibit is very new. We were led to believe that, perhaps inevitably, there are mixed feelings, not least because it may well involve a lengthy closure, just after they have started to recover from a long shutdown during the pandemic.
We carried on a little further but then realised that we would just have hit the rush hour closure of the lift bridge at Plank Lane and would not be able to go through there until 6 o'clock. It was a pleasant spot close to Pennington Flash so we opted to stay the night here.
Pennington Flash was created at the start of the 20C from subsidence caused by the huge Bickershaw Coal Mine just the other side of Plank Lane. That is where the surface works were built but, of course, the underground mining stretched a considerable distance.
This area around Pennington Flash is now a very popular country park. The visitor facilities, cafe etc, are on the other side from the canal but we could see some of the extensive walks and paths that have been created, generally very accessible.
Down at the water level is is possible to watch the wild life from a hide.
This view emphasises just how much the level has fallen and the canal banks have had to be built up. This shot was taken still well above the flash itself.
Looking across the canal, with the moors in the distance, the modern houses are also at a much lower level.
10.3 Miles - 0 Lock
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