Trafford Centre

Today's Canal - Bridgewater (Main Line and Leigh Branch)

It was a bright and sunny morning as we awoke - a tad later than most days!

Before setting off, Mike took a look at the underbridge (short aqueduct) close to whe3re we stayed overnight. It seemed a long way down to the road but even so the height clearance for vehicles is restricted to just over 9 m.

It seem

s that the bridge has an unusual device to set the height. If an oversize vehicle does attempt to pass under it will catch on the large horizontal beams that are suspended over each side. However, they can be lifted and potentially release the trapped vehicle rather more easily with less damage to the structure.

The fashion for wide beam boats, many for permanent occupation, seems to have come to the Bridgewater and we have seem many moored up. We have not had to pass any on the move, fortunately although it is wide enough in most places (there are exceptions) not to cause a difficulty. Currently there is a growing problem on the north Oxford where such boats use a marina on a canal that is otherwise only really suitable for narrowboats. There are now restrictions on how they can navigate but not everyone abides by them. We have seen three moored gto the towpath including this one which has a much more distinctive design and marks it out from those that all seem to come from a factory that produces very square sterns.

Over the past decade (see here for example) we have seen the former Linotype factory be abandoned and then the site gradually redeveloped and just a few iconic parts of the factory incorporated. 

It looks now as if the only piece left to be used  is the part with the original name. As it is now shrouded in scaffolding we hope that in another year we will see what is finally to become of it.

The stretch before Sale is very straight - as can be seen looking back under Sale Bridge - and a hint of the number of people using the towpath, walking, cycling, dog walking, jogging, babies looking after Granny and almost everyone is happy, if not keen, to engage in a fleeting exchange - sometimes just a nod but often, particularly with the little children, a furious wave, positively encouraged by parent or grand parent. It may be trite, but it does seem if walking by water makes life seem just that bit brighte - or perhaps the blue skies also helped!

We tied up and walked the short distance to the shops. It does seem if Trafford Borough make a positive attempt to promote this town centre as the place for small independent traders.

The main street was pedestrianised a while ago but recently another square has been renovated, opened out and given a new lease of life. The finishing touches are just being made.

We continued after lunch.

Just before Waters Meeting we stopped at Stretford Marina to top up our diesel tank - only 50 litres but as we are heading next onto the Lancaster, with limited suppliers, we want to keep the level right up. As we have commented before they are very helpful and cheerful here - a good place to stop if in need of any of their services. After talking about our last visit in 2019 when the lady dropped our fuel cap into the water (which they very graciously agreed to replace) she remembered that they had some time later recovered it and kept on a shelf. As they did not have a key (not sure that we can find ours either!) she handed it back to us. Now that is called service!

At the junction we turned left onto the Leigh Branch - left in the photo is towards the centre of Manchester.

Shortly afterwards we passed the substantial Kelloggs factory busily producing tomorrow's breakfasts for millions of homes across the country. Perhaps just as well that most do not know why Corn Flakes was invented!

Last time we came along here the bridge carrying the Metro railway extension to the Trafford Park Shopping Centre was still be worked on. The line is now open and feeds the traders and economists insatiable demand for shoppers.

We moored for the night - as we were doing so a profoundly deaf young man doing a photo project on 'barges', along with his carer and interpreter took and interest in what we were doing. So we spent]y some time explaining how the canals came to be built and the extent of the network. We also explained that our craft was a narrowboat, not a barge . . .

Christine wandered around the shopping malls for about an hour and a half but despite the myriad of 'stuff' on offer, she returned as empty-handed as she entered!

9.3 Miles - 0 Locks

Dunham Massey

 Today's Canal - Bridgewater

A slightly slower start to the day as we had moored immediately opposite the parish church of Grappenhall. We knew that their main service was at 10 and it was barely five minutes walk.

The church has a long history and much of the building  dates back centuries. Like many others, it was extensively renovated (or vandalised, depending on your tastes!) in the Victorian period when, unusually, the pews were removed and replaced by chairs.

Structurally, little has changed since then except to introduce good quality amplification and video displays for the words of the service.

When we arrived the church was already quite full and altogether there were over 100 with a good number of small children (the picture earlier was taken after everyone had left). One of the screens was showing live pictures of the bells, which were repaired and renovated quite recently.

The service was led by the rector who had a friendly as well as well organised style. It followed a standard pattern and the music combined both traditional hymns and modern music. Beforehand, a violinist and pianist were playing very effectively. Overall we found it to be a relaxing and supportive occasion.

Afterwards we were invited to join almost everyone else for a cup of coffee (and a biscuit!) in the very new hall attached to the side of the old building. There was a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

We then walked back to the boat moored a shirt distance from the bridge.

Once we had changed back into 'boat' clothes there was still about an hour before it would be time for lunch so we set off. The weather was still quite grey and lacking in summer temperature!

The Bridgewater does not have many visitor moorings where it is possible to tie up without hammering in pins but we knew that there were several in the centre of Lymm. As we arrived we could see that there was a small Artisan Market alongside the canal and in the adjacent community hall. We spotted a space and there were rings (not all the spaces did have them) and grabbed it whilst it was available. Mike took a quick look at all of the stalls but was not persuaded to take out his wallet!

We did not stay over long as music being played on one of the stalls rather disturbed the peace of a Sunday afternoon.

At Lymm  Cruising Club a man was painting the hull of his boat that had been hauled up the slipway. No doubt he was hoping to finish quickly as we could feel drops of rain arriving. In fact did noit come to much but it was wet enough for a little while to don wet weather gear.

We paused at Oughtrington to use the elsan point - we had to wait a short while as someone was having to solve a problem with it. Fortunately they succeeded - there are not than many alternative facilities on this canal. 

On a straight stretch passing Hesford Marine there is a number of former warehouses, some have found new uses, including a pub. This one, however is still waiting - "Only one previous owner, needs a little TLC".

We had to wait until Little Bollington for a water tap to fill up our tank. As it reached he top, another boat arrived and so we made a swift departure to let them in.

Our maps indicated a mooring just after passing over the River Bollin, the last before reaching the start of the busy Altrincham and Sale area. However, there was only one ring and that was already occupied so we still had to resort to hammering in pins. At least it is possible to bring the boat close to side on most of the Bridgewater.

7.4 Miles - 0 Locks

Grappenhall

Today's Canal - Bridgewater

Today was generally cool, cloudy but without the rain that was forecast for us last night.

We had moored last night facing the way we came so before going anywhere we had to turn around. This gave us even better views of the splendid Waterloo Bridge.

After about half a mile we passed two short arms close together. There is no immediate obvious purpose for them but looking at old maps it seems that the canal was originally built with a large loop at this point and these arms are all that is left. At the apex of the loop (the bit that no longer exists) the canal linked to a large lake known as the Big Pool (see here for a photo). Around 1900, a new section of canal was created to cut off the loop and gradually the pool was infilled and roads built over it.

Just after the next bridge stands this imposing building with the inscription Runcorn Co-Operative Society Limited and the date 1893. Above the row of houses adjoining to the left is the name Co-Operative Terrace. We have not been able to discover what the origins of the building were but it does look as if the terrace was housing right from the start and the right hand end, perhaps once a store or an office, was converted much later. There is a reference to a book on the history of the Society but is is long out of print and no articles come up on a Google search,

Another basin, this one is call Tannery. This part of Runcorn was at one time one of the most important producers of shoe leather (see here for some history) which was then to sent other places who specialised in making footwear. There were at least four major factories near here - this one is called Royal Oak on the maps from the late 19C. One of the reasons was access to suitable water but also because they had the right to discharge their waste into the Mersey. In the 1960s legislation was introduced to bar this practice and the firms here all soon collapsed - but the environment was much improved, if in the short term employment opportunities!

As the above photo shows, for a brief period we did have some welcome sunshine but it not last and the afternoon gradually became distinctly cool (cold). Some boaters even resorted to lighting their stoves.

We moored for a while the other side of Old Norton Townfield Bridge for a quick trip to a Co-Op store only five minutes walk up the hill (actually, about 10 up and 5 down!) A little to our surprise we did get almost all of the items on our shortish list, save for white cabbage (they were out) and the bread was not to Mike's liking - but we have enough in the freezer for few days.

A little further and we stopped at the water and elsan point alongside Preston Brook marina (just to left of the photo)

On the opposite bank is a quite large basin, now used for permanent moorings, that we expected might have been associated with some significant industry. However, our searches suggest that it was a transhipment basin and the buildings were warehouses - some have since been demolished.

At the junction we turned left onto the main part of the Bridgewater Canal and continued to Moore where we stopped for lunch on some of the all too rare mooring rings (most stops involve hammering in pins)`

The surroundings along this first part are often rural on one side and urban housing on the other. The canal itself is often insulated from the context by the vegetation.

It was now not really comfortable to be on the rear deck so when we set off we investigated a place to stop this near side of Lymm, rather than beyond as we had originally intended.We were also looking for a nearby church for tomorrow morning and ended up at Grappenhall with the parish church on the opposite bank (easily accessible we hope!

11.4 Miles - 0 Locks

Car Shuffle

Today's Canal - Bridgewater

The rail strikes next week look increasingly likely and, as a result, it would be very difficult to guarantee completing a car shuffle as planned on Thursday or Friday - any time next week is high risk. The question then was where to catch a train? Only two possibilities seemed available - Runcorn or somewhere close to Manchester. Based on our previous visit we were uncertain about being able to moor at the Runcorn end of the canal so to hedge our bets we set off from Preston Brook much earlier than usual (not long after 8!) so that if necessary we could turn around and continue on to Timperley or Sale, the first places where there is a train connection. If Runcorn was OK the the car shuffle could be done today otherwise it would have to be tomorrow.

The other uncertainty was where we would be able to leave the boat for a week. Yesterday we tried email to Scarisbrick but with no response and a phone call offered a call back that never materialised. Mike's travel plan was to leave Runcorn station (fortunately just five minutes away from the canal end if we could moor there) at 10:26. 

We had a good and pleasant run from Waters Meeting where the Runcorn Branch begins. 

The canal itself is tree lined almost all of the way although we could see that in many places just beyond new housing has sprung up.

There were more and more bridges the closer to the town we got - mainly the result of building ever more capacity for vehicles to cross the Mersey. 

We were pleasantly surprised that the basin was free of any moored boats - there is really only space for two or three - but we did notice more a short way back outside the theatre. On the offside of the canal basin is a small boat club with a few pontoons.

We were moored up by Waterloo  Bridge (the end of the present navigation but the top of the locks that originally linked down to the Mersey (there are visionary plans to restore the locks)  by 10:00. Mike quickly changed and set off with no clear idea or where he would  be going!

The first phase of the car shuffle was to get back to the car at Swanley Bridge. The involved a train to Crewe and then to Nantwich. He had failed to contact the taxi he used earlier in the year and no others responded either, At least he could leave a voice mail message. Failing all else it would be a long walk!

As he waited at Crewe for the connection he had a call - the driver had been on the way back from taking passengers to Heathrow but had arranged for her colleagues to pick him up. That's service (Haightons for reference!)

As soon as he was dropped off next to the car, he prepared to jump in and set off. By now Christine had established contact with another marina, Fettlers Wharf, at Rufford and they were able to provide us with a mooring. Destination into the satnav and on the way.

Most of the journey was on the M6 which was exceedingly busy. A broken down car in the no-hard-shoulder section caused the first delay and then a long section of road works, replacing the central barrier with a new concrete design that seems to be the current preferred option.

Only ten minutes later than a 'standard' prediction, Mike arrived at the marina and headed to the office to collect the gate key and generally to check in.

There was enough time to compete this, park the car at the far end and return to the entrance and walk the very short distance to the little Rufford station. There was even enough time to have a wrestle with the ticket machine which eventually, after several refusals, was prepared to issue him with a ticket for the final leg of the shuffle.

The first train took Mike to Preston (in the wrong direction - away from where he wanted to go!) where the electrified main line has excellent services. He had just enough time to pick up a sandwich before boarding the fast train inti Liverpool Lime Street. Google had offered a schedule which included a six minute change time at Liverpool whereas National Rail proposed a later train. Helped  by a one minute early arrival he was able to make it across from Platform 1 to Platform 9 with a few minutes to spare. Although this was a mainline grain into London, Runcorn was the first stop just a quarter of an hour away. As the train pulled into the station he espied the boat and could see that Christine must be on board (she had suggested earlier that she might go into town to the shops) He was back at the boat by a quarter past four, ready for a much f teas. He was relieved (but not necessarily ready instantly to admit, that he was rather relieved that Christine had decided to take over his catering slot for the evening. All this travelling is more tiring than it ought to be, especially when there were so many uncertainties and potentials for things to go awry. It was somewhat remarkable that he arrived back exactly on the schedule he set with!

Somewhat later, with the temperature a little cooler, we walked down to The Promenade (the river bank) and around to return via the town centre and a quick foray into the Co-Op store (a 'proper' weekend shop is planned for tomorrow).

At the riverside we could see the iconic Silver Jubilee Bridge that replaced the much older transporter bridge. The older design completed in 1905 was mandated by then need to allow naval ships of the period to pass underneath.

As well as the River Mersey, still tidal here, the bridge crosses the Manchester Ship Canal.

A little further upstream is the newer Mersey Gateway bridge, opened in 2017.

A small dock off the canal has the only remaining signs of a former shipbuilding works - the launch ramp. Unlike the more common launch stern first, these would be sent into the water sideways - with a tremendous splash!

We then walked back through what the signs called the Town Centre. Is really hard to see how this area can be rejuvenated, It comprises entirely small shop buildings with many unused and some derelict. The range of uses is restricted with few operating as retail outlets - plenty of hair, beauty and massages places.

The preferred architecture seems to have used very dark red brick with an austere feel (here the former Constabulary and a couple of banks). No doubt at the time this represented the kind of solidity that the institutions and investors of the day wanted but it adds to a claustrophobic atmosphere. 

5.1 Miles - 0 Locks

Preston Brook

 Today's Canals - Trent and Mersey, Bridgewater

When we awoke briefly around 4:30 (AM!) the sun was almost rising over the horizon but mist still lingered over the canal.

With the weather forecast to be much hotter for the next two days, we opted to make an earlier start, just before 8:30, in case we wanted to take a longer break in the middle of the day. By now the sky was a really brilliant blue, the light making everything much clearer.

Near to Whatcroft Hall the bridge is called Lodge Bridge. The hall is almost hidden from the canal but just before the bridge we captured a glimpse of what we thought might be the Lodge. However, just after the bridge there is another candidate for the title! Which was it? Later, looking at old maps we found that om the 1882 edition the smaller building to the north is labelled Lodge but, by 1911, the two buildings are shown either side of the bridge, with the legend Lodges.

The next railway bridge, which we think only carries freight traffic, has been rebuilt since we last came this way. Our photo from 2015 certainly has and older structure.

We were now in an area where lots of planes fly overhead, some using Manchester or Liverpool airports, others much higher in transit to further afield, perhaps east Midlands or who knows? There were two many it capture in a single picture but this one shows a couple of planes that seemed from down here to be on a collision course. We kept a keen eye on them but fortunately they missed each other! No doubt the same illusion that fools the crowds at aerobatic displays.

The day was not always so bright - at times a complete but thin layer of cloud came over but it was generally very pleasant. By the time we moored we were back to cloudy sky for about the third or fourth time.

Orchard Marina was quite an early entrant into the business and the last few years had seen strong competition from both Park Farm and Oakwood marinas, neither very far away  but with much newer facilities, especially the pontoons. Now, Orchard is being extensively refurbished, which is well advanced - but we have not been able to discover its planned re-oping date.

There was some discussion a week or so back on canal social media about this canalside site which had just come on the market. There was surprise that it was thought suitable for even just a single dwelling, The plot is an awkward shape and is immediately alongside a busy road that carries quite a few HGVs. Certainly interesting to see it 'live' not just through the imaginative eyes of the agents!

We received this morning a Notice from CaRT giving advance warning that contractors would shortly be working on the site between bridges 185 and 186 to replace overhead cables and would be erecting safety netting for the duration.  Judging by the size of the parking facility alongside the pylons, this will not be a small job! However, only two pylons have so far been built alongside a long distance supply. Perhaps the work is to create a new junction to supply the nearby Tata works, which we understand uses lots of power!

Extensive new facilities are under construction alongside the long established soda ash works. A £30M future-proofing project was announced in 2019. There was also a serious fire in March 2021 but we could not see any sign of the damage. 

The pipe bridges to the north of the site have been decorated a panels that illustrate the production process - including the key chemical formulae - and the uses to which soda ash is critical.

2NaCl + 2H2O -> 2Cl + H2 + 2NaOH

We stopped at Anderton for a 'full service' - fortunately although this is always a busy facility we did not have to wait today.

Just beyond the lift we reached the site of a bank slip a year or two back. Clearly, a proper repair will be an expensive project and so for the moment a channel and speed restriction is in place. How long this will last is perhaps down to agreeing who will be paying the bill!

Around the corner we came to the first of today's three tunnels. It is just about possible to see through Barnton Tunnel so there are no time restrictions - only check that the tunnel is empty before proceeding. The photo above shows us exiting about 8 minutes after entering. We were nervously watching the clock as the second tunnel is restricted to entry between 00 and 20 minutes past each hour - we reached Saltersford portal at 12:19 (and half!)

As we passed the Black Prince hire base we could see the new livery they are just introducing for their fleet.

Fortunately we do not often pass sunken boats - always a sad moment whatever the craft. We think this one must have been here a while, judging by the tide mark of wee growth along is present waterline. It can sometimes be hard to track down the owner to get them to arrange its removal or agree to CaRT engaging a contractor to do so.

Unfortunately just after passing Bridge 213 our camera battery ran out of juice so we have no pictures of the remainder of the day's landmarks. We were again chasing a deadline for Preston Brook Tunnel which only allows passage in either direction for 10 minutes in each hour. Just before we dropped down the few centimetres of Dutton Stop Lock (to prevent the Bridgewater Canal Company from pinching water from the Trent and Mersey!) A couple of other boats were waiting ahead of us and we entered at 3 minutes past the hour with only a couple of minutes wait!

We went on just a short distance north of the tunnel to find a mooring. `Because of the impending rail strikes next week which will make our planned car shuffle all but impossible, we are trying to plan a way of doing this well in advance but this means that we have to sort out a week's temporary mooring for when we go back home for the next installment of Mike's dental treatment!

15.3 Miles - 1 Lock