Four Counties Ring

We released the successful Llangollen Canal DVDs towards the end of last year and that was very popular before Christmas.

Our cruising programme last summer also included the Four Counties Ring and, despite some heavy rain along the Staffs & Worcester Canal, we captured all the film for the ring.

Now we’re busy editing the video footage to produce the Four Counties Ring DVD.  We went anti-clockwise around the ring so that sets out which direction the video will travel - but where should we start from.

There are so many potential starting points - Autherley Junction, Great Heywood Junction, Etruria Junction etc.

As well as the vide footage there are the other items to complete everything.  The DVD Cover is ready, with the Harecastle Tunnel South Portal on the front, and the usual map on the back.

Inside the Information Booklet is almost finished, as is the fold-out map.  So the hold up seems to be someone busy blogging instead of editing the DVD!

Posted on Thursday, January 10, 2008 at 18:15
Comments (0) Category(s): Four Counties Ring

Four Counties Navigated

We’ve completed our southerly journey along the Shropshire Union Canal which also completes our journey around the Four Counties Ring, travelling anti-clockwise from Autherley Junction. We made the most of the excellent weather throughout the Bank Holiday weekend, although the canals were the busiest we’ve seen them all year. We headed up the Wolverhampton 21 (flight of locks) onto the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) as we headed back to our home moorings at Sherborne Wharf. We initially followed the old main line towards Birmingham before descending the only staircase on the BCN on the Gower Branch, and completed our journey along the New Main Line. Back home now, it’s time to work on editing the Llangollen Canal DVD, filmed during our previous expedition.

Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 at 21:14
Comments (0) Category(s): BCN , Four Counties Ring , Shropshire Union

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