Tarleton

Rufford Arm

Another bright and sunny day was forecast - although when we awoke it was somewhat overcast. This soon cleared.

This photo make it look as if the boat was moored amongst surrounding plants but, when seen from Spark Bridge, it is possible to see the convenient mooring which was our home for about a week last month.

We set off at 10 - we believed that the boats leaving Tarleton today would be away by 11 so that we should find space on the visitor mooring which doubles up as the waiting area for the Ribble Crossing.

We soon reached Fearns swing bridge which, like the others at this end of the Rufford Arm, is remarkably easy to operate.

Sollom Lock was originally the point at which the canal entered the River Douglas but is only now recognisable as a narrowing in the canal.

After passing under the bridge below the former lock the navigation feels much more like a river, but without the flow. It is somewhat wider and deeper. Even so, compared with a month ago when we came down here, progress is a little slowed by the amount of growth floating on the surface, mainly water lilies. There are more bends as well.

Last time, we turned around just above the final swing bridge. As we approached it this time we could see that the waiting boats were only just making a start on the short run down to the lock. However, this meant that we had a free ride through the bridge and a choice of mooring spots.

After we had tied up, Mike walked swiftly down to the lock to watch the boats going out onto to the river. We have only done this once before in 2013 and it was useful to be reminded of how to tackle the exit. Boats are sent out as the tide is still flooding and it was running quite swiftly so that plenty of power and a counter-intuitive direction are needed to keep as close to the centre of the channel as possible. Even so, some eased up as soon as they left the lock and quickly found themselves going towards the far bank! Also, the speed of the tide meant that the boats very quickly came to what looked almost like a standstill. Around the next bend it will become a little easier and boats can pick up a better speed. This is quite common on locks between a river and a canal.

The large gates at the bottom of the lock - more visible here as they are being closed up after all the boats had left - are flood gates and can protect the canal in the event that the river rises to a higher level.

Christine noticed that there was quite a substantial factory to been seen from our mooring through the side window. She discovered that it is a dry pet food manufacturer with quite an interesting history that can be seen here. GA Pet Food make their products for a number of 'partners' who market under a variety of their own brands. It is surprising to read just how the business has evolved from its almost accidental beginning in 1992. Packaging and distribution has now moved to Chorley to allow expanded production here and, overall, they now employ over 800 people.

After lunch the lock keeper called to confirm a start time for tomorrow morning - 11:45, quite a bit later than we expected. There are two others booked in but so far have not been seen. the other boats that came down are turning around here. Time for the others to arrive.

After lunch we walked up into Tarleton to look at the shops. We did not need much (if anything, really!) but wanted to check out what was available should we need it on the way back.

2.8 Miles - 0 Locks

Spark Bridge

Rufford Arm

Before leaving thew visitor moorings we needed to make one further trip into Burscough. We had hoped that the mouse that we ordered would arrive at the shop in time for Mike to pick it up as he returned from the car shuffle. However, at the time he needed to make a decision it had not arrived and by the time an email arrived to say that it was now in, it was too late to catch a bus  before they closed.

So, this morning we caught the 10:12 bus from opposite Hesketh Arms - the earliest service that our bus pass would allow. Even though the route is quite circuitous - at one point returning back almost to where we started - we were alighting at tesco only 12 minutes later.

We took the opportunity to stock up again on bread and milk (and some peppers - more than planned had gone in to the mixture last night) before collecting the mouse. All credit to K C Computers - they are proud to be a shop for the village over quite some years.

We still had nearly 25 minutes before the return bus so we opted for a coffee from a small shop near the bus stop. Christine chose take away mugs with lids in case we had not drunk it all when the bus arrived.  In fact it was ab out 10 minutes late. We did not find out what was the problem and traffic in the opposite direction was also starting to build up - all very similar to what happened two days ago. Felt as if there were some unexpected road works.

We were back at the boat around 90 minutes after setting out - not bad really! After a quite sort out we prepared to leave the mooring. We had already overstayed - it is really only 24 hours - but there was room for all the boats who wanted to moor. The next Ribble crossing is tomorrow so perhaps some will come by . . . 

Managed to include the village church spire in the background of this winding hole close to Old Rufford Hall.

In times past, we would have had two swing bridges today.

But we did have this one. A passing walker was very keen to push it for us - but Mike still had to do the Chinese Puzzle, aka anti vandal lock.

We only went as far as Spark Bridge as we wanted to use the services there - water and elsan especially. There was a boat already on the service landing (only room for one) so we tied up on the opposite bank to have lunch.

And so here is the splendid new mouse in operation - just in case you have never seen one before! Mike is much happier now - he found just a touch pad very frustrating, especially not knowing the equivalents for all the usual short cuts - such as zooming and right clicks. (But the mouse does not help with his erratic tiping!)

Later we pushed across and carried out the usual servicing. We may well top water before leaving here tomorrow as this is advised for the crossing. Then, back across to where we had come from - we knew that this is about the last place to moor before the Visitor Mooring in Tarleton, but this is really an overnight waiting place for the crossing

0.9 Miles - 0 Locks

Car Shuffle Day

We took the opportunity of moving the car today to Swanley Bridge Marina where we have booked in for a few days after our return from the Lancaster and, hopefully, passage through the mostly closed Poolstock Locks.

Mike set off around 10:15 and drove back down to the M6 and then to Junction 16 where he turned off onto the A500 to bypass Nantwich and arrive at the marina. Apart from the expected slow sections of road works, he arrived onto the Nantwich bypass only two minutes behind the original ETA. However he then unexpectedly found himself joining what turned out to be a rather long queue of traffic held up by temporary traffic lights of some new road works. Luckily he had left time for such eventualities but by the time he had checked in at the marina office, parked the car and walked to the entrance gate, he had only a few minutes before the taxi was due. As he was texting Christine an update on his position he spotted the taxi coming down the long farm drive to the marina.

Once again it is good to report that Haightons Private Hire, based in Nantwich, provided an excellent service. They dropped Mike outside the station with plenty of time to pick up a sandwich for lunch on the train - even long enough to drink a cup of latte!

The train was a few minutes late - eventually arriving into Preston 7 overdue but as the service from there to Rufford is only one an hour, there was almost half an hour schedule changeover.

The short local train from Preston to Ormskirk trundled its way down to Rufford, dropping Mike off right on schedule! It was only a couple of minutes walk from there to the boat where Christine already had the kettle boiling.

Whilst the shuffle was in progress, Christine took time to clean over inside the boat - we did so before leaving it so it was a bit of a surprise to see how much had collected in our month's absence. Later she also gave the windows a good wipe over.

The Other Side of the Bridge

 Rufford Arm

Today was scheduled as a shopping day so that we did not have to bring too much fresh food in the car. After a rather laid back start to the day it was well into the mid to late morning when we set off into Burscough.

Before hitting the supermarket we had three shops to visit. Firstly, we called at the village computer shop to see if we could pick up a bluetooth mouse - Mike having left both his and a spare on his desk back home! Alas, none in stock but they can order one that should arrive whilst we are still nearby. It will, however, mean a bus ride.

Then to the hardware shop for a replacement Carbon Monoxide alarm. Whilst we were at home we had a message from the marina that neighbours had reported an alarm inside our boat. We were able to give the staff instructions on getting in and they soon identified the problem as the CO monitor. When we arrived yesterday we replaced the batteries but that was not the issue as it was still dead. Downloading the manual from the internet we learned that the same sound can also indicate an 'end of life' condition. These device usually do have a 5 - 7 year life. Of course we could not get the same model (in fact the shop only had one!) so new holes will have to be made to fix it in place.

After a quick visit to the pharmacy, we embarked on a large shop at Tesco. So large that we had to buy a new shopping bag to add the collection we already have on board!

Back at the boat it took some time to find enough cubby holes to stow everything away and by then it was lunch time.

After lunch - we a short wait whilst two other boats were served - we moved around to the diesel point to fill up. We were not especially down but when we were here last we could not completely fill has we drained the marina tanks! (They were awaiting a delivery and at that time we were in the middle of the price panic and deliveries to everyone were erratic) Our turn came and we then bade farewell to the marina staff - they have been especially helpful and friendly.

Once out of the marina we turned right, went under the next bridge and found a space on the moorings just beyond. Altogether, perhaps a third of a mile including the turn around the marina! We need to be here as tomorrow is car shuffle day.

Mike volunteered to go back in to Burscough to look for scissors - they broke when opening the CO monitor and surprising how quickly you miss them! This was a BAD MOVE as just before the 30 mph speed sign he came to a stop behind a long queue of traffic. Eventually he arrived at the turn into Tesco but never found the source of the delay as the queue continued over the canal bridge and out of sight into the distance.

Later afternoon, Hotel Boat Lady Teal moored just in front of us.

Back to the Boat

We set off from home about 9:45 and had a straight forward journey up the motorway. There were the usual long term road works ('we are working to improve your journey' . . .) and we arrived almost within a couple of minutes of the original prediction.

We unloaded the car - rather more than we had expected a few days ago but we did have a fairly large box with a replacement door for the fridge as well as a much smaller one with the new door latches, all of which we had been able to source for delivery when  back home. None of them came cheaply!

As soon as there was room to move, Mike set about the fridge door. The original one had come apart during our last trip and Christine had managed to track down a parts supplier - but they could not tell us anything about the fitting. Whilst we were deciding about returning home we managed to take a look at what it might entail and discovered that the retaining screws were not fitted by any of the tools in our box. However, we managed to get a Torx set on our trip out to Fleetwood.

Taking photos at every step along the way, Mike tentatively removed the broken top strip. At this stage it became clear that removing the door only required three more screws to release it. Nervously Mike compared the old and new doors and it seemed that they were 'plug compatible' - the only difference was the brand name which has changed since the original installation - from Waeco to Dometic.

Next came the doors. Gradually the springs inside the latches on the two bathroom doors were failing to hold shut at times. We ordered two new ones for delivery at home but we took the faulty ones home to inspect. It turned out that in both cases at least one of the internal springs had failed. We have replacement springs on order so that we can repair the old ones to keep as spares. However they have to come from the factory in Italy - which shuts down for the whole of August!

We stayed in the marina overnight on hook-up.

Fettlars Wharf Marina

Today's Canal - Rufford Branch

We awoke to a day definitely much cooler than the past two. There was even quite a breeze much of the time. Mike had a Zoom meeting in the morning  - he is now officially a Waterways Chaplain having completed his probationary period. Christine took the time to sort out clothes to take back as by the time we return to the boat it is likely that hot weather clothes will be a minority interest.

Late morning we were ready to leave - but first we pushed across to the service block to empty the elsan and dispose of rubbish. Also, Christine had discovered that she needed a third box to pack  the clothes into!

We set off on the short journey today, back to Fettlars Wharf where the boat will remain for most of the next five weeks.

Half way and we passed through the final swing bridge for this trip - again quite an easy one to operate. Mike later saw a single hander coming through - not a common sight at the moment. 

The final fixed bridge on the canal before the turn into the marina is the back road from Parbold into Rufford - probably the way we return home tomorrow.

This time the marina staff were ready with a pontoon number even before we reached the service mooring. It seems that we have been allocated a space in the posh end!

After lunch while Christine  completed the usual end-of-trip clean through, Mike walked back to Spark bridge to collect the car, just over a mile away. He was really glad that we were not still in yesterday's heatwave! On the way to the marina he went into Burscough (OK, so it is not really 'on the way'!) for some rolls to make our packed lunch for tomorrow. Whilst we have been away the last part of the landscaping of our new garden was completed so that will be good to see - we have been sent photos but that is not the same.

1.0 Miles - 0 Locks

Old Rufford Hall

No navigation today

If today's blog title confused you because it is the same as yesterday's, that is because the day was very similar - mostly differentiated by (a) a few degrees hotter and (b) the chapters of the books we were both reading and (c) Jannock moved a short way up the canal towards Burscough.

Christine took a short walk along the towpath to look at the lilies.

We changed the menu for tonight and tomorrow around, partly as we will be a bit busier tomorrow, with Mike on a Zoom meeting most of the morning and also so that Mike could prepare tonight's meal this morning leaving us rather less to do if washed out in the heat later on!

After a slightly early lunch we went back to Old Rufford Hall, warmly greeted by some of the staff we chatted to yesterday - they have not been very busy at all.

This time we found an even more shaded (nearly wrote shadier but that might be misconstrued!) very much in the shade provided by the canopy of this quite large tree.

After a couple of hours reading we went again to the tea room - just as welcome as yesterday. After finishing our pot of tea and scones there was still time for another shorter time for reading until we realised that everyone else had already left and we were in danger of being locked in for a night in the car park