Chirk Castle

Towards the end of our long day climbing out of Manchester on 3rd August we passed Chirk Castle heading into Manchester as they started along the Ashton Canal.

It was 16:36 and I wondered how far they would get that evening.  We had spent all day climbing the Rochdale 9 and the locks on the Ashton Canal to get us out of Manchester.

I didn’t envy them starting that journey in reverse at such a late time in the day and cautioned them to think about how far they would get and where they could safely moor.

I didn’t take any still pictures of them as I was busy with the video cameras and filming for the Cheshire Ring DVD but looking back through the video I’ve been able to extract some reasonable still pictures .

It’s not the same quality as original stills, but still recognisable and that’s one of the advantages of filming in High Definition.

The first (taken from our boat) shows them leaving the lock with someone on the bank, enthusiastically running ahead to the swing bridge.  It also shows me with the second camera on the tripod near the lock gates taking the remaining footage.

The second shows them passing our boat, while the third shows an adult (Dad?) running after the younger ones towards the swing bridge.

The ducks just ahead have seen (or heard) them coming and are taking to the water quickly.

I wondered how far they would get and if they would be safe.

Now, from the comment below, I know that they arrived safely.  Well done to the Chirk Castle Mob.

Posted on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 14:13
Comments (3) Category(s): Ashton , Rochdale

Cheshire Ring

We’ve been busy making the most of the fine sunny weather recently with the filming for the Four Counties and Cheshire Ring DVDs.

We headed up the Trent and Mersey to Preston Brook where it turns into the Bridgewater Canal.  The junction where the canals meet end on is inside Preston Brook Tunnel.  Is this the only instance of canals meeting within a tunnel?

Then we did the whole of the Bridgewater Canal, including the branches to Runcorn and to Leigh and spent Thursday night moored at Castlefield Basin in Manchester.

Our son, Andrew, turned up on his way to work on Friday morning.  This was his first week in his new job and he seemed to be enjoying it.

Friday saw us climb the Rochdale 9 - the broad locks through the centre of Manchester - and they were hard work. Three and a half very tiring hours to do these locks, before turning right onto the Ashton Canal for another 18 locks to Dukinfield Junction.

Then, today, we climbed the Marple flight on the Peak Forest Canal which is, I think, the second steepest flight of locks in Britain (after Caen Hill).  A rise of 214 feet in 16 locks in just under a mile.

Tonight we are moored at Strines on the Peak Forest Canal.

Tomorrow we will be heading for Marple via Whaley Bridge and Bugsworth.

Posted on Saturday, August 4, 2007 at 19:42
Comments (0) Category(s): Ashton , Bridgewater , Cheshire Ring , Peak Forest , Rochdale , Trent & Mersey