We had decided it would be nice to take a different route south, turning off through Manchester on the Rochdale Canal then via the Ashton, Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canals to rejoin the Trent and Mersey Canal at Kidsgrove. This route is known as part of the 'Cheshire Ring'. Snag is it is 'bandit country' not considered safe by boaters. The advice is to avoid school holidays and travel certain sections very early in the morning. Our problem is that we would be doing the trickiest bit this weekend - not recommended. We have therefore decided to slow down and not approach Manchester until after the weekend and make a decision then. If there are other boats going that way, then we will travel with them. Kids stoning boats are the norm. David and Kay got shot at with a pellet gun and had eggs thrown - not enough to put us off you understand but we are looking to minimise any risks.
It wasnt helped by having things thrown at the boat last night by a gang of lads. No damage done.
We came through Plank Lane lift bridge just as two boats came the other way, breasted up as one had broken down. Once through the bridge we moored up to take on water. Tank full we moved on and resolved to have lunch at Pennington Flash, where the canal overlooks the lovely lake and sailing club. Arriving at the Flash there we pulled in behind "Devon Maid" with whom we had shared a pontoon for a week in Liverpool. Needless to say we spent quite a bit of time discussing Liverpool and catching up. So we never did leave! Annie watched the tennis with excellent reception (we can see the mast!). Have decided to stay here for the weekend to catch the Wimbledon mens final and German GP rather than risk moving on and finding no TV signal.
 |
| Filling with water at Plank Lane lift bridge |
No comments:
Post a Comment