Burscough Bridge

Today's Canals - Rufford Branch, Leeds and Liverpool

Another beautiful morning and we were away well before 10. Even so, another of our crossing companion  boats had already crept away. (Another left late last night - they have a tight timetable to meet)

Kev, our Ribble Link companion, offered to work the swing bridge for us as he was staying put for a day or so. This made our departure even smoother.

Initially we had to forge our way through dense pennywort which had visibly grown in the last two weeks.

Fortunately it did not give us any problems and lasted mainly until the upper end of the former canalised river section at the old Sollom Lock.

A few more swing bridges along the Rufford Arm - all easy to work. The next one was used  by a couple of horses returning from their morning stroll.

On our way out we were puzzled by the crop in this field. It is not corn or grass for energy, so if anyone recognised it, please let us know! They were much taller plants now and we wondered if they were willow but that is an awful lot of willow saplings and who would use so many?

Past the entrance to Fettlars Wharf Marina who had been so helpful to us earlier in the year.

It seemed strange to have to work locks ourselves and those on this branch are far from easy, starting with Rufford Lock, number 7.

A kindly moored boater opened and closed the next swing bridge for us.

Intrigued by this motto inscribed on a balance beam at Lock 6: Embrace the Hardship.

We paused for lunch after three locks and then continued through the final four. We had some assistance from passing walkers as well as a CaRT person who had been painting one of the lock gates. He was a bit sheepish at being caught doing this as he said it is normally delegated to Volunteers!

The footbridge at Lock 2 is still out of action which means that only paddles and gates on the towpath side can be used.

Out of the Top Lock, with its associated swing bridge and under the towpath bridge at the junction, and we were back on the main Leeds and Liverpool canal. We turned right as we wanted to go the short distance to Burscough Bridge for weekend shopping tomorrow. We have a hopefully fairly slack few days until our booking for passage through Poolstock Locks on Tuesday - normally about a day's travel away. We were fortunate in finding just one space free closest to the shops. The next nearest, back the way we had come would have almost doubled the carrying distance.

7.2 Miles - 7 Locks