Halsall

 Today's Canals - Rufford Arm, Leeds and Liverpool Main Line

As we had our breakfast there were several very heavy showers but the forecast was that these should clear by 10 with plenty of sunny spells later.

Before leaving we had to make contact with the marina staff (Colin) with the upshot that we had to move our car from the far end (mainly long term storage for camper vans) to near the entrance. We also wanted to book in again at the end of the trip to the Lancaster Canal as we have to take a break to return home once again for yet another visit to the dentist and hairdresser!

Almost on schedule the rain cleared away and our departure from the marina very much easier than our arrival.

Almost immediately we had Lock 7 - as with all the locks on this arm, not at all easy.

Marsh Meadow Lock 6 is a swing bridge. A group of four youngsters were about to cross over as we readied to open it. They were very puzzled about which way to go (from a later conversation with another group we suspect the first group had taken a wrong turning earlier and were now compounding the error. At least they were heading in roughly the right direction!)

Just above Lock 6 a pair of swans with their very late brood of cygnets were bathing in the shallow water above the bywash. The parents were by no means aggressive but clearly very protective!

Above Lock 5 a boat set off as we passed - it turned out that they were quite new to boating apart from a holiday on a hire boat some time ago. This boat belongs to some friends and they were being lent it for a weekend up to Burscough and back. They were keen to share the locks with us but had never done this before. (guessing that their previous holiday was on a narrow canal!) We shared the rest of the flight and they made very pleasant lock companions.

By the time we came out of the top lock and closed the pedestrian swing bridge it was very late for lunch.

We turned out onto the Leeds and Liverpool main line under the substantial stricture that carries the towpath over the junction.

We wanted to pop to the shops in Burscough for a couple of items whilst we completed the usual servicing. So we took a gamble on their being space on the service mooring just before the water point. It turned out that they were all empty apart from a wide beam already taking on water. This gave us the perfect excuse to tie up at the other bollards. No-one else wanted the services so it was no problem to continue having our delayed lunch!

On the wall of the old warehouse is an interesting display panel using a number of old photographs of the canal in this area. One shows the graving dock at the top lock that we mentioned in the blog for the downward trip a week ago (here)

It was nearly half past three by the time we set off once more. At the first swing bridge we encountered a trip boat moored right in the middle the bridge landing. The space they left before the bridge was not long enough for us to get in but a kind boater moored by the pub came to our rescue with his 'key of power'. We were not impressed by the trip boat staff who seemed to think that it was OK not to apologise but treat it as a joke, not needing any sort of apology. Since he had left his passengers without any other staff we did not feel that H&S was a priority either.

Our luck changed completely at the next bridge where two boats were in the process of coming though in the opposite direction and happily held off closing it to let us through.

The third bridge gave us no problem either!

We continued past Scarisbrick and down the final straight for today. At a couple of bridges there are spaces to park one or two cars well away from the main road. They are especially popular with anglers as well as walkers - we have used both on past trips.

We moored just before the bridge closest to Halsall Church. Our plan is to go to the morning service there tomorrow - whether the plan works out you will have to wait until the next blog!

After the heavy rain first thing, the evening was a complete contrast - a relaxing sunny, almost cloudless end to a sometimes heavy day.

9 Miles - 7 Locks