Pump Out

The southern end of the aqueduct works. This pump maintains the water levels in the canal south of the aqueduct.

(Northern end of damned section)

Water level dropping fast. The pump will drain 18 million litres of water at 250 litres per second so total pump running time will be about 20hrs. Tomorrow they will begin moving the fish out of the partly drained section.

(Southern end of damned section)

 (Sun & Shadow)

 (Across the aqueduct at about 3.45pm today)

Boatdate: 04112019
Canal: Lancaster
Location: Beaumont Hall Bridge (Br109)

Today the draining of the 300 metre section of the canal begins. Rock damns have been built either side of the works and huge pipes run along the canal bank to maintain water flow between the north and south sides of the works. At the northern end mobile generators have been installed to provide power to the pumps.

 (Rigging the pumping pipes)

The canal's main water supply comes from Killington Reservoir, about 8km north of the current end of the navigation. It supplies 77,300 cubic metres of water per day into the Canal via Peasey Beck. It seems an awful lot but then there are no locks on the canal so I guess the flow of water is greater than a lot of other canals. Next job will be to take out all the fish and move them out of harms way!

 (Pipework across the aqueduct)

From the turning point at Belmont Bridge (Br114) to the end of the navigable part of the canal at Tewitfield that limits our winter time movements to roughly an 8.5 mile section of the canal. Not a lot to play with, but enough.

Boatdate: 08112019
Locations: Garstang, Galgate, Lancaster, Hest Bank, Bolton le Sands
Canal: Lancaster
Heading: N

A series of day long hops take us into central Lancaster where we moor up outside the Waterwitch pub and load the car with stuff we can store at home or dispose of. Our next deadline is to move Pan north of the Lune aqueduct before the canal is closed on 4th November for repairs to the aqueduct and embankments. These are major works which will run through to the middle of March 2020 and our preference is to be in the northern reaches of the canal during this time. Necessarily this means our movements over the winter months will be limited but on the plus side the canal is in beautiful countryside from north of Carnforth up to its termination at Tewitfield. Maybe the CRT won't be that fussed about continuous cruise requirements during this time and it's not going to be difficult to get to it along any of that section.

(Tidy up Time)

Boatdate: 16092019
Location: Salwick, Billsborrow
Canal: Lancaster
Heading: N
Weather: Pretty darn good for a homecoming

 (The Road Home)

The Ribble Link was a pretty tiring day all in all and so we chugged up the canal a bit in the evening to find a pretty mooring spot between Salwick Hall Bridge and Wilsons Bridge (Br 24/25). It feels a lot like we're finally home, even though there is a bit over 20 miles to go, but there's no time pressure on those remaining miles and we can take a break and relax at home and have much needed baths, a luxury we don't have aboard Pan, and then return at our leisure to chug the final leg/s of our 200 + mile journey up from Worcester. The Ribble Link will close for the season in a week or so anyway and that will be us for the winter apart from the regular visits to move Pan along a bit as our cruising license requires.

Boatdate: 15092019
Location: Tarleton
Rivers: Douglas and Ribble
Canal: Lancaster
Heading: North
Weather: Grismal drizzle and fog
Visibility: Poor

I walked up to the river lock gates and gazed over at the muddy banks of the River Douglas. It looked like it was going to be a while before the tide came in enough to let boats out onto it. Sure enough our departure was delayed an hour or more from the stated time and we were told to be ready to go at 11.30. Probably just as well as the weather cleared during the morning and by departure time the rain had stopped and the visibility had improved dramatically and there was only a light breeze so the crossing shouldn't be too choppy.  The lock gates opened and we were out onto the Douglas. The tide was quite strong but the river relatively calm so we made good progress over the 4 mile distance to the Ribble whose broad waters opened before us as we made the turn at the Asland Lamp aka The Five Mile Perch. Do NOT cut the corner, you will hit a submerged wall! Do NOT turn left, you will end up in New York!

 (Round the Asland Lamp)

If you don't turn left and go to New York there's another 3 mile to chugg up the Ribble before the turn into Savick Brook which is marked by a lamp. If it's shining green you can proceed into the brook but if red then you will have to carry on towards Preston dock. You are still against time and tide until you're through Ribble Link Rotating Sea Lock 9, so best not hang about as the water level in the Brook is dropping fast by the time you get to the lock. Once through it's champagne time as you've made it safely to the Lancaster Canal and you musn't forget to give your engine a nice drink of oil and a pat on its rocker cover for not blowing up during the crossing. Also give the crew an extra tot of rum or three.

Boatdate: 14092019
Location: Rufford, Tarleton
Canal: Leeds Liverpool
Heading: NW
Weather: Warm, even hot, lovely autumn day.

The River Douglas meanders close by on the starboard side. Tomorrow we will be sailing on her tidal waters which is a somewhat daunting prospect. Today however we have time to pootle up the cut through Rufford canal lock No 7 and stop shortly after to visit Rufford Old Hall which, as it happens, has a heritage open day so is free to visit. Lucky us. It's a bit of a gem and I'm glad we stopped. Late in the afternoon we carry on to Tarleton and moor up after Town End swing bridge and do a spot of shopping. In the morning we will be joined by the 2nd Mate and some friends who are familiar with the Ribble Link crossing and who will stop us biting our nails too much. We have bought good crewsaver jackets for the trip across, just in case. No choice anyway: they won't let you go on the river without them.

Boatdate: 13092019
Location: Rufford 
Canal: Leeds Liverpool-Rufford Branch
Heading:North
Weather: Windy sun and showers

Friday 13th lives up to its name: engine won't start. Spend ages wondering why till 1st Mate points to the engine pull stop in the wrong position. Der. Finally set off and soon onto the Rufford Branch and have a fairly gruesome time with the swing bridge and first two locks which are all a nightmare to work. I believe some maintenance has since been done so maybe they will be better to work next time. The boat ahead of us (Golden Girl) was having trouble too so we paired up to work them which probably saved a hernia or two. Moored up for the evening by Prescott Bridge (Br5) as no need to push on much more that afternoon and fixed a puncture on the push bike front wheel as the sun set over the flat fields.

Boatdate: 12092019
Location: Appley Bridge
Canal: Leeds Liverpool
Heading: NW
Weather: Biscay Grey.

Set off early for the remaining 4 miles to Appley Bridge and as luck would have it there was a mooring available right outside The Boathouse Pub. There was an hour wait before 1st Mate's train arrived so time for a bit of shopping to tide us over the next few days. After lunch it's on towards the Rufford Branch of the Leeds Liverpool but we stopped just short of the turn mooring next to a vast pumpkin field in very windy conditions.

Boatdate: 11092019
Location: Nr Crooke Marina
Canal: Leeds Liverpool
Heading: NW
Distance Remaining: 46 miles
Weather: Not bad all things considered.

Day off here tinkering on the boat and getting acquainted with the River Douglas just a few meters away. At this point it looks tame enough but in four days time I might change my opinion on that, it being the first leg of the Millenium Ribble Link which joins the Lancaster canal up to the main canal network via the rivers Douglas and Ribble and Savick Brook. Until its opening in 2002, (first bit of canal construction in 100yrs!), Lancaster was an isolated stretch of canal as it was never completed. The original idea was a canal linking Westhaughton in Lancashire to Kendal in Cumbria, but they never finished the aqueduct crossing of the Ribble to the south, and then, to add insult to injury, at the northern end, they fucked it all up by throttling the canal building the M6 motorway on its neck. Bastards!

Anyway, the Link cost £6.54 million pounds and costs a small fortune in dredging and other maintenance costs to keep open for the 200 or so boats that use it every year. I hope it stays open, but you never know these days.

After my lazy and mucky day, (I cleaned bilge pumps), I will push on to Appely Bridge to pick up 1st mate who is rejoining Pan 91 tomorrow for the final push up the Rufford branch of the Leeds Liverpool to Tarleton and the start of the Ribble link. EEK!

Boatdate: 10092019
Location: Wigan Pier
Canal: Leeds Liverpool main line
Heading: Go west old fart
Weather: Surprisingly nice really. Bit on the breezy side.

 (Wigan Pier)

Of course there is a pier in Wigan, stupid, there's even a road to it as well as a canal. It's where all the cruise liners and roll-on roll-off ferries dock. But it's nearly 8 miles away and we need to get there so 1st mate can get a choo choo home for an appointment. So we set off from Leigh on the early side and chug along the cut to the Park Lane lift bridge. I have to fess up to a perverse satisfaction in stopping all the traffic on the highway to let our little boat through. We steam on in a pleasant fashion till we get to the flashers - no this is not grubby blokes in raincoats displaying their privates from the towpath, this is a series of bodies of water on the approaches to Wigan which, in order, are Horrocks Flash, Turners Flash, Scotsman's Flash and Pearson's Flash. No idea who the best flasher was, probably the Scotsman.

Passing Poolstock locks we are told there has been an issue with the water levels between here and the Leeds Liverpool main line in Wigan. Probably vandalism, there's a lot if it about round here. Anyway the CRT guys are on hand and are helping people through locks and whatnot and they've been working throughout the morning to bring water levels back up so it doesn't look to bad. At one point we are told there is a grounded CRT barge ahead of us and are asked to proceed past it at full throttle in the hope the wash from our boat will help lift it off, so we do, but it doesn't.

We pause at Wigan Pier so 1st mate can walk to the station for the train home. I hang about for a tea and sandwich but don't plan to stay in Wigan for the night and get vandalised so will continue after munchies through three or four more locks and stop for the night somewhere out of town.

("So if you are told there's a Pier in Wigan town somewhere, don't laugh it off like others do, look round, you'll see it there" - The Ballad of Wigan Pier)

Boatdate: 09092019
Location: Astley Green and Leigh
Canals: Bridgewater and Leeds Liverpool
Heading: NW
Weather: Intermittent wetness and then permanent, ongoing, no-let-up, fuck you and the boat you sailed in on wetness.

Left Worsley in a misty moisty morning and steamed up the cut to Astley Green with the 100ft high wrought iron girders of Astley Green colliery visible from a long way away but looming ever larger as we approach. We will pass within a few hundred meters of it so can't resist stopping to go take a closer look. It's quite a unique site, preserving, or attempting to preserve, (it's underfunded to death), some of the heritage of the South Lancashire coal mining industry. Opening in 1908, the colliery had a relatively short lifespan of only 62 years finally calling time in 1970 and would have been demolished like all the rest had it not been for the efforts of plucky locals. The headgear and engine house with its 3,300 hp twin tandem compound steam winding engine have been saved as well as many of the colliery locomotives and much else besides. It's well worth a visit. We spent a happy hour talking to Eric, an ex miner, now a volunteer on the site, who's reminiscences of the working mine were at once funny, nostalgic, bitter, happy and deeply sad all mashed up together.

 (The engine house and pit headgear at Astley Green Mining Museum)

Didn't get to tear ourselves away from this wonderful museum until 4pm. Better get going though: the Leeds Liverpool canal is calling to us and the sky is darkening. We set of and made it to Leigh where the Bridgewater canal suddenly becomes the Leeds Liverpool. The skies opened and meant to stay open and it's gone 5 so moor up and that'll do for the day.

Boatdate: 07092019
Location: 53°28'04.4"N 2°16'16.2"W ish
Canal: Ashton/Bridgewater
Heading: West
Weather: Actually quite bloody hot
Burrito: Actually quite bloody hot
Water Status: Actually too bloody much of it altogether
Toilet Status: Actually, you don't want to know

A quiet night moored by the National Cycling Centre but I do not see my hero Laura Trott. Shame.

Anyway, we wake to a sunny day and cast off to head into central Manchester. Meanwhile the 2nd Mate gets the tram and walks up from Piccadilly along the towpath to meet us at lock 6. Now we have some serious muscle on board the sail through the city doesn't seem so daunting.  It's a curious mix of post-industrial debris, gentrified (but unaffordable housing), and the ruined lives of druggies, (I lost count), many of whom seem to inhabit and trade in a chemical and alcoholic haze along the more run down sections of the towpath. Through the final lock, Ancoats lock 1, we proceed on passed Piccadilly Village and through the short tunnel under Ducie Street to the sharp left onto the Rochdale canal. There are another 9 locks to get through before we can join the Bridgewater canal, all of them difficult. This becomes apparent as we moor in the Ducie Street basin and watch the massive amounts of water coming down the Rochdale canal and over-topping the lock gates.

(Overtopping at Dale Street Lock 84 in Manchester. Picure taken by Cathy as boat descending lock) 

I contemplate riding up the canal on my bike to see what is going on but the 1st mate rings the CRT to tell them what is happening. They say they will ring back but never did. We look at the lock for a long while wondering if it is even possible to get through it with that quantity of water coming over and the pressure on the lock gates. If it doesn't empty faster than the over-topping water then there is no chance. We decide to give it a go and it is slow going and requires all the muscle we have to get the gates open once the level has dropped. Perhaps after this first one it might get a little easier. Not much, maybe a little. We go passed the Alan Turing memorial in Sackville Park, under Princess St and Oxford Rd, where the 2nd Mate hops off to raid Chango's Burrito Bar for some lunch. Curious, I walk up onto Oxford Road to look at this strange, busy, frenetic world, but it seems like a different universe and not one that I belong in much. We continue on passed Deansgate with its fantastic bridges and through Dukes lock 92 after which the 2nd Mate is to jump ship and meet up with friends. It is doubtful, no...certain, that we could not have made it through that bit of Manchester without his help so we signed his discharge papers with 'Excellent' and with much gratitude bid him farewell until next time.

 (By the bridge that carries Oxford Rd over the canal a sculpted fox and horse quietly chat. The milling crowds above never see them. It's a beautiful though poignant sculpture)

After the battle of Manchester we didn't go a lot further and moored up for the night by Pomona Island, which isn't really an island at all, but is next to the mighty Manchester Shit Canal right next to us. It would be interesting to do that, one day.

Boatdate: 06092019
Canal: Ashton
Heading: In
Weather: Wet, Windy.

The weatherman said it was going to piss down all morning and he was right. Oh well, on the plus side that gives me a doodly morning and on the plusser side that gives Dave enough time to cook his latest victim in his Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber (don't ask), and to come and join me for the afternoon. I should explain that I had given Dave and Donna a short ride on the boat, much to their glee the other day. and Dave was so taken with it he rang in the evening and asked to come and crew for me for the afternoon. Music to my ears as it means I get help dealing with the next shed load of locks and Dave gets some hands on experience of handling a narrowboat which he very much wants as he is thinking of buying one. Update: He since has!!

                      (Pan's new crew member Dave on umberella duty)

So, we have a very pleasant afternoon working our way down the locks into Manchester and I give Dave lots of advice on boat handling, lock management and the like and he turns out to be a natural, and a very entertaining shipmate. He would be a great asset to the boating community so I hope he does get a boat.

By 5pm we have worked our way through a dozen or so of the locks when Dave has to jump ship to do his dog feeding duty. He has been great to have aboard and I hope we can meet up with our boats side by side one day, somewhere or other and have a few beers.  I carry on and do a few more locks solo and then moor up for the night right outside the National Cycling Centre. Tonight the 1st mate signs on again and 2nd Mate will join us in the morning to crew through all the heavy duty locks in central Manchester and see us on our way out the other side heading towards Waters Meet and the Bridgewater canal and ever closer to home.

Boatdate: 04092019
Canal:  Peak Forest & Ashton canals
Location: Fairfield Junction
Heading: Into central Manchester
Weather: Sun and showers
Distance Remaining: 70 miles

Spent a couple of nights in Romily resting up and tinkering with the boat and then on through the Hyde Bank tunnel to Woodley where the plan was to get the train home the following morning to sort out the roofer coming to do some work on our house. That all go thrown into touch when I got a text from him saying he couldn't do the work till early October. Still and all, on consideration that may not be a bad thing as if makes it possible now to make the final crossing of the Ribble Link before it shuts down for the season at the end of September. It would certainly be more convenient to us to have Pan on the Lancaster canal for the winter months rather than somewhere on the Leeds Liverpool necessitating fortnightly trips to move it. Hey ho, we will press on then up passed Hyde to Portland basin. I would have moored there but choc-a-bloc with boats so not much choice but to turn left onto the Ashton canal. I'm reluctant to take on the next 18 locks that will take me into the heart of Manchester so I moor up for the night at Fairfield Junction just outside the marina entrance.

Boatdate: 08092019
Location: Pomona Island and Worsley
Canal: Bridgewater Canal Stafford and Leigh Branch
Heading: West to Worseley
Weather: Lovely

From the mooring on the offside you walk through some shrub onto a little used road overgrown with weeds and whatnot with not a soul in evidence. This surely must be post apocalypse? But no, there are the lights of Manchester in the distance twinkling that all is yet well A short walk up the road and the broad sweep of the Manchester ship canal opens up before you. It's impressive this close up and personal. We stand and look at the big lock gates that join it up to the Bridgewater imagining taking our little Pan onto the broad expanse of water. Of course we can't, you need a license to go on that canal.

In the evening 3 disco boats decked out with flashing neon colour sail by full of jiggling girls who all wave at me in an excited sort of way. That doesn't happen often: they're not really my type anyway, though I do, of course, wave back. It's only polite. Three hours later they sail back in the pitch dark and some of them will clearly be a little the worse for wear in the morning.

Today we sail for Worseley to rendevous with big sis and family at one of the clock (hopefully). We sail through Trafford passing the footy grounds and industrial conglomerations and the Barton Swing Aqueduct across the ship canal and on through Barton on Irewell to Worsley where we arrive bang of the time.  Sis has bought a boat picnic which we munch and then go for a jaunt up to Boothstown Marina a little further up the cut where we stop to turn around and bunker 55ltrs of diesel. We head back to Worsley and moor up there for the night and go to the pub, as you do. A jolly time had by all me hearties.

As you approach Worsley the canal turns orange. This is all the Duke of Bridgewater's fault and his engineer John Gilbert who figured out that he could connect the coal mines of Worsley Delph directly to the canal They constructed 47 miles of underground canal tunnels on four different levels to service the mines and shifted a million tons of coal a year out on 4.5ft wide boats called 'Starvationers'. The orange colour is caused by the iron oxide leaching out of the bedrock and draining out of the the mine. Worsley, once a bustling hive of industry, is now a rather quiet and pleasant burb of Manchester.

(An example of a 'Starvationer Boat' used to bring out the coal from the tunnels in Worsley Delph. This one is in the boat museum at Ellesmere Port)

(Helen opposite the Packet House (a scheduled stop for passenger boats plying the Bridgewater Canal) with the entrance to Worsley Delph and the disused mines in the background)

Boatdate: 01092019
Canal: Macclesfield
Heading: Up
Weather: Storm coming

Back to Macclesfield. 1st mate got train home leaving Capt Maddock to solo it to the top of the Macclesfield canal. There was nowhere convenient to moor at the junction with the Peak Forest canal so reluctantly made a start on the 16 locks of the Marple flight and did 4 of them before the rain came down. Next day was much brighter and made an early start on the remaining 12 locks. They are hard work solo as very deep and much care needs to be taken climbing the slippery lock ladders. As working solo I wore a life jacket and promised to get myself a fall restraint to clip onto the lock ladders when working them on my own. Worked slow and steady through each lock and met nothing coming up until the very last lock no 16, a father and son going to Worcester, the son was going to study there and live in the boat to save money, a fine idea.


I crossed the river Goyt on the Marple aqueduct and as a break was very much in order after a tiring morning I moored up in a pretty wooded spot where the canal runs parallel to the river with the small town of Romily nearby. 

Boatdate: 31082019
Canal: Yup

1st mate to silk museum. Captain Maddock to Tescos and a bike ride down the Middlewood cycle way which follows the old railway line. Figured out a better system for raising and lowering the heavy stainless steel engine cover. This is hard work solo so I've attached ropes to the lifting lugs which are then looped round the boats roof rails and it can be raised and lowered with those reasonably easily. Then back to winding point at bridge 45 to turn north again.  Stopped in beautiful countryside by Gurnett aqueduct and went for a pint in the Kings Head.

Boatdate: 30082019
Canal: Macclesfield
Location: Macclesfield

Sailed right on through Macclesfield. 1st mate mutinied and turned the boat round because a visit to the silk museum is compulsory. Who knew?

Boatdate: 29082019
Canal: Macclesfield
Location: Bosley top lock

 (River Dane Valley)

The canal passes over the picturesque river Dane and then immediately into the 12 lock rise to Bosley top lock where the CRT services have hot showers and washinging machines and other such goodness. Stopped there. Why would we not?

Boat date: 28082019
Canal: Macclesfield
Weather: Pissing down

On to Congleton after rain abated in the afternoon. Besieged by a billion ducks. Went to Spa shop. Oh, the excitement! Stopped after bridge 70.

Boat date: 27082019
Canal:Trent & Mersey
Location: Middlewood & Longport Wharf

Bunkered £68 of diesel at Longport wharf. Their pump out machine was bust so crossing of legs is in order.

The 1.5 mile long Harecastle Tunnel running 640ft below Harefield Hill was engineered by Telford and opened in the late 1820's. The first tunnel under that hill was designed by Brindley but is now shut as it has subsided and is no longer navigable. It takes about 40 mins to sail through. I rigged extra side lights so I could see the tunnel sides more clearly and they proved very helpful. Once in the tunnel the doors are shut behind you and huge powerful fans are switched on to provide ventilation. It's quite spooky. In places the roof of the tunnel is more or less at head height so it pays to be attentive. I've heard that one poor soul wasn't and paid with his life and his family were sitting up front and didn't know he'd gone till the boat chugged out the other end of the tunnel.

Out into daylight again and squiggled and wiggled our way onto the Macclesfield canal and moored up just after the stop lock where some gardening was required to get the lock gate open.

Boat date: 25082019
Canal: T&M
Location: Middleport Pottery

Waved at 'Tits Magee' aka Terry Darlington, (author of the entertaining Narrow Dog series of books of his adventures on the canals), as we passed through Stone though too hot to wave energetically. Sent an email though and glad to hear back that he is doing OK though missing his beloved boat 'Phyllis May'. Stopped mid cut to fetch out a garden chair floating there. Cleaned the poop of it and put it on the poop deck where I will sit on it and not poop. Salvage rights and all that. Moored up at Middleport pottery for the night. In the sunset a million starlings settled on the roof and chimney of the pottery and it was fun to watch their antics but the beer was funner.

Tits Magee

Boatdate: 24082019
Canal: T&M
Stardate: Same as boatdate, relatively speaking
Gas Status: Bottle change. What, already!
Weather: Schorchio

Great Heywood. The man at the water point was cross because the man before him at the water point had locked the water point up thus requiring him to go get his CRT key to open up the water point again when the first man at the water point was sure to have known that the second man at the water point was going to use the water point so what was the point of locking the water point? Still with me? Anyway we were the Third Man at the water point and could get away with murder. What did happen in that film? I can't remember.

Beautiful, it is, between Rugeley and Stone; a feast for the eyeballs. Stopped shy of Stone just after Sandon lock. Went to explore odd whip cracking noises coming from further up the cut. Was a young girl, nine or so, sitting in a chair on the bank shooting an air pistol at God knows what. Dad on the boat looked like a survivalist freak. Probably training up his little darling to survive the coming Armageddon by shooting at sparrows. I stood and stared at her. She got up and handed the gun to her dad who put it away. We might survive the night or we might not. Never can tell with these survivalist freaks.

We will wave in the general direction of Terry Darlington aka Tits Magee as we pass through Stone tomorrow.

Sheepstroke

Boatdate: 23082019
Canal: Trent & Mersey
Location: Rugeley
Weather: Yes
Toilet status: Don't mind if I do
Fuel status: Haven't looked
Battery Status: 12.5 ish, depends which battery I look at
Water status: Still wet
Duck status: 5 - all hungry

Came across a dead sheep in the cut. Knew it was dead because it wasn't doing the sheep stroke and it was upside down and full of gas and it smelled a bit. Didn't want it wrapped round my prop, or anyone else's for that matter. Got my long wooden pole thingy, (technical term), and pushed it into a reedy niche from whence it should not move and informed the CRT about it. I don't know if they are responsible for dead sheep or if they will remove it or if they will just let it explode and sink. Who knows? I suppose the fish may prefer the latter.

The ducks are making eyes at me. I succumbed and gave them some pitta bread. I know I shouldn't

Tyrants - No Mersey

BOATDATE: 07082019
CANAL: Trent and Mersey
LOCATION: Rugeley

Turned onto the Trent and Mersey canal at Fradley junction and continued up to Rugeley mooring up between bridges 67 and 67A. This must be pronounced Rougeley, like lipstick, and they look at you funny if you don't. A long line of trad boats came passed with their roses and their castles and their chuggy engines and whatnot. The Trad Brigade {TM] can be a funny lot sometimes. Some of them look down their noses at mere leisure craft.

The problem with living with both feet in the past is that it's not balanced and you tend to fall over: also you are nowhere near the past and the harsh and often brutal existence led by the men, women and children from the era when working narrowboats on our inland waterways were a vital part of the country's commercial infrastructure. Hey ho. We are stopping here for a bit so I can replace the dilithium crystals and the warp coils. Aye Aye.

Rugeley has a 12th Century Church, now known as The Old Chancel which I visited briefly. Mostly derelict, it has a tomb of two sisters......

"Elizabeth Cuting, who died in 1695, and Emma Hollinhurst, who died in 1696. On its top are carved effigies of two figures, each tied at the top and bottom in a shroud. These curious effigies are behind a local legend that the sisters were buried alive in sacks by Oliver Cromwell – despite Cromwell having died earlier, in 1658.

The true story of the tomb is connected to a Parliamentary Act of 17 years earlier, which required corpses to be buried in wool. These ladies, among others, preferred to be buried in linen, and defied the Act, as the burial register shows.

Fazed Junction

BOATDATE: 06082019
CANAL: Coventry Canal
HEADING: To Fradley Junction and the Trent and Mersey
WEATHER: Sun and Showers again

     Cathy pilots Pan up the locks from Fazeley

Got the bike out to go get milk. Skies opened up and got soaked in 5 mins flat. The bilges are drier than me.  Went for a pint in the The Swan aka The Mucky Duck yesterday evening. Got chatting with the owner of the boat parked downstream from us. He has five, yes FIVE, domestic batteries and this is because the wife likes to use the washing machine, have a shower, curl her hair, watch telly, and use the microwave and brew coffee all at more or less the same time. I told him to get a new wife.

Someone passed us fast and our bow mooring pin pulled out. Thanks buddy, we were leaving anyway, idiot. Now onto the windy and windy route  through beautiful countryside up towards the junction with the Tyrant and Mercy aka the Trent and Mersey canal at Fradley. We are bound for Rugeley where we will stop for a break.

Stern Gland - Like an adrenal gland, just sterner

BOATDATE: 05082019
CANAL: Birmingham and Fazeley
HEADING: To Fazeley Junction
WEATHER: Hot and Sticky
GAS STATUS: One empty, one full

We continued on through the rest of the Curdworth locks in somewhat steamy heat. Only one paddle working on the upside gate so slow going. Stopped for a rest and some lunch overlooking Kingsbury Water Park. A line of 15 Canada geese crossed from the edge of the lake to the island in the middle in a perfectly straight line and an exactly spaced distance apart: almost like they had been trained at Sandhurst. They climbed up onto the island and sat sunbathing. It was tempting to rip all my clothes off and swim over to the island to join them. I opted for the hot shower instead, what a whimp!

Refreshed we sailed on to Fazeley Junction and stopped ostensibly to pick up a new gas bottle and ended up there for an hour or two with Mark, a marine engineer and a total gent. We went through the problem with our stern gland leak and as it turned out it was because the flange that seats up to the stern gland packing wasn't seated properly and this was because the engine alignment was out. Mark adjusted the alignment and also rotated the flange 180 degrees to get it to fit correctly. We also changed the engine oil and the gearbox oil because we were not sure when this had last been done. No harm anyway. and to my ears the engine sounds better. Also we might have less soggy bilges tomorrow. That would be nice.

Curdworth Locks

BOATDATE: 04082019
CANAL: Birmingham and Fazeley
HEADING: Up
WEATHER: Sun and Showers all the way

Stopping briefly at Cuckoo Wharf CRT station to take on water and take off rubbish we continued on our way up to Curdworth with the scenery opening out and becoming rural once again. The tractors and harvesters are out in the fields raising dust and that fabulous August harvest smell is in the air everywhere. My back seriously ran out of lock muscle so we stopped for the night in the long stretch between locks 5 and 6. A whiskey or two would be good.

Aston - Sans Villa

Having bunkered up with water and food we set off onto the Birmingham and Fazeley canal at about 3pm. We gave many a gongoozler family a ride down the locks on the way out of Brum; the children especially love it and many visitors from abroad are fascinated by our locks and barges and our canal system in general. After many locks we arrived at Aston in the twilight and discovered our headlight fuse had blown. Sigh. It's fuse 3 on the [unlabelled] fuse bank. Sigh again... because it does all the cabin lights as well. Der.

Post-Raphaelites

BOATDATE: 02082019
STATUS: Beam Me Up Scotty, It's All Over And I'm Too Burned To Walk
HEADING: Into Town
WEATHER: Hot, ice cream weather

Spent most of the day at Birmingham museum and art gallery. Unfortunately they had sent most of their better Pre-Raphaelite paintings off to America thus making them Post-Raphaelites and unavailable for inspection and I had so wanted to advise Lady Godiva about her posture on that horse. Never mind, their extensive and beautiful collection of William De Morgan tiles made up for it.

Brum Brum Brum

BOATDATE: 01082019
ENGINE STATUS: Dead as a Dodo
HEADING: Nowhere, obviously

Doing the usual round of engine and battery checks in the morning I turned on the ignition and zilch, nada, nothing. Spent an hour examining the electrics and eventually found a cable detatched from its spade connector on the starter motor. The connection had not been crimped tightly enough and not soldered either. Don't have crimpers or a soldering iron with me but there's ways round that. Got it fixed and continued on our way to Gas Street Basin in Brum though we ended up mooring just before Deep Cuttings junction and the turn onto the Birmingham and Fazeley canal.

When I get home I'm going to re-wire this boat.

Amal & Zoro

BOATDATE: 31072019
CANAL: Yes
HEADING: Brum
WEATHER: So so

Zoro and Amal were watching us come up the lock near Smethwick new pumping station. They had come to that section of the canal in memory of their teacher who used to come and meditate along that section. We invited them on board for a ride up to the next bridge and made their day. We looped the loop and came back to moor for the night on the lower canal. The Birmingham canal network has about a hundred mile of canals looping all over the place, some with a surprisingly rural feel to them and some very decidedly industrial. Amal had a turn on the tiller and got the idea pretty quickly. Some do, some don'tZoro.

No More Chocolate. Not ever.

BOATDATE: 30072019
CANAL: Worcester and Birmingham
HEADING: Towards Brum
WEATHER: Pissing Down, not up.
FUEL STATUS: Probably
WATER STATUS: Wet, very wet, unspeakably wet
TOILET STATUS:  Empty, mostly
BATTERY STATUS: Have to monitor this throughout the day


Trundled up to the next winding hole and turned round to get a pump out at the marina. We are no longer listing to starboard! Heavy shit. Topped up water tank too. Then set off north. North is good.


Set off and decided to stop at Bournville to take a tour of the Cadbury chocolate factory. Don't get me wrong, I like chocolate, but that much? Felt a bit queezy from the smell of it all after a while. Then it pissed it down and we goat soaking wet on the way back to Pan. Uuugh!

Bilge Yoga

BOATDATE: 29072019
CANAL: Worcester and Birmingham
HEADING: Nowhere
WEATHER: Steamy, again
FUEL STATUS: There is some
WATER STATUS: Wet.
TOILET STATUS:  Full, listing to starboard now
BATTERY STATUS: 11.6v!!!! EEK!

Bilge Yoga is like Goat Yoga but twice as effective and done in bilges and you need special pants. There are various poses: cutting the alternators throat, rewiring the domestics, degreasing the pumps etc etc. It all involves bodily contortions that make the Karma Sutra look amateurish. The resting voltage of the domestics was down at 11.6 volts. This is bad, very bad - see the chart - It means the alternator, although it is outputting the correct voltage to charge the starter battery, it is not sharing this goodliness with the three leisure batteries which means they will die, alone, in a ditch, like dogs.


There doesn't seem to be a split charge relay so maybe it's a faulty diode in the alternator? I will have to find out. Meanwhile I am re-wiring so that the leisure batteries will receive charge from the alternator but I will have to watch out for overcharging which can be as damaging to the batteries as undercharging them.

Also, I left my loaf of bread in the shop. Dammit!

Engineering Triumph

So that's how you bung a Triumph on the back of a narrowboat. The whole platform can swing to either side courtesy of the steel wires and pulleys. You wouldn't want to catch that platform on the cill in a short lock though and you'd have to really watch your back end while turning. But I do that anyway so that's alright.

Saturday 20th July

Boatdate: 20072019
Canal: Worcester and Birmingham
Heading: North

Tardebigge to Alvechurch. Here Ben has to leave us to go back to work. We are going to take a break here anyway so Cat can attend the funeral of her bestie at University who has died of cancer. Informed the CRT we were going to overstay on our mooring but they cool about it. See you soon.

Friday 19th July TARDEBIGGE!!

Boatdate: 19072019
Canal: Worcester and Birmingham
Heading: North

Soggy start to the day. Arrived at the bottom of the 30 lock rise at Tardebigge at 3.20pm.  Exactly 3hrs and 3mins later we closed the paddles on the top lock. Not bad going...but then we have a secret weapon, don't we?

                                                                           Tardebigge Top Lock

Friday 12 to Wednesday 17 July

Boatdate: 12072019
Canal: Worcester and Birmingham
Heading: Nowhere
Weather: Scorchio
Fuel Status: Let's not go there
Water Status: Full, we filled up.
Toilet Status: Narrow, hard to get your bum seated comfortably
Battery Status: Easy does it

The engineer Jason at Diglis marina, very nice chap btw, said he was off for a dirty weekend with the new gf but would be able to clean out our diesel on Tuesday if we hung about. We hung about. In the meantime we explored bits of Worcester. The cathedral is pretty stunning if you get a chance to visit. The river Severn is beautiful there and I've never seen so many swans in one place. The Anchor pub in Diglis basin is great fun and serves a lovely pint of Boon Doggle.  Turns out the marina doesn't have a diesel pump so we set off back to Hanbury at about 6.30pm

Thursday 18th July

Boatdate: 18072019
Canal: Worcester and Birmingham
Heading: Northish
Weather: Guess
Fuel Status: Less than there was
Water Status: Wet
Toilet Status: Needs work
Battery Status: 12v ish

Arrived back at Hanbury Wharf at 3.30pm for diesel and sundry supplies: new fuel filter, bits and bobs and new mid line ropes, the old ones not quite long enough for our liking. Bunkered up with 150 litres of diesel @£127.52 and now I KNOW there's a full tank. Got a measuring stick too and marked it so I've got a half decent way of knowing how much we're using over a given period. I think the capacity is about 200 litres or 50 gallons in old money. Departed Hanbury at about 5.15pm heading up towards Tardebigge. Sailed for a couple hours and moored up for the night just north of Bridge 41.

Thursday 11th July 2019

Boatdate: 11072019
Canal: Worcester and Birmingham
Heading: Nowhere
Weather: Still Steamy
Fuel Status: Rubbish
Wind: Not really, just a spot of indigestion
Toilet Status: Been
Battery Status: 12v or thereabouts 

Broke down at bridge 28. Awkward spot, reedy banks and narrow. Had to punt her passed the bridge till we found a place we could get the gang plank onto the towpath. Lots of water in the diesel tank. For too long Pan has been used as a weekend boat and not driven much. Water condenses inside the fuel tank if it's not kept full. Changed fuel filter and bled air and water out of the pumps and injectors till something resembling diesel fuel sputtered out. Once going decided to head to Worcester to have fuel tank pumped out and filtered. Should have a water separator fitted really. One day.

Boatdate: 10072019
Canal: Worcester and Birmingham
Heading: Not sure
Weather: Ridiculous, Steamy
Fuel Status: Not the foggiest
Water Status: Wet
Toilet Status: Been
Battery Status: 12v hopefully

So we picked the boat up at Hanbury Wharf and sailed her down to the Fir Tree pub, as you do. We sat on their nice patio furniture celebrating our new adventure with too many pints of Timothy Taylors.

Pushing the boat out, we ordered some pub grub as well and the no nonsense lady that brought it to us suggested we move to "that table over there,' (because), "that way your chins will be a lot closer to your food."
I don't really think she was all that worried about the possibility of rich onion gravy all over her cream patio seat cushions, not really. You never know though, and, once upon a time, the pub had been run by a murderer (allegedly); he got off on a technicality.

The more beer we drank the further we sank down into the cushions. It just happens.

The first mate made some comment about the train going over the level crossing nearby so I asked her how she knew it was level.

It went downhill from there really.