And the winner is.......

Wigan. It was strange how this came about, really. We had decided to go back to Burscough to empty the cassettes, after which we were going to get Tesco to do a delivery to us at the Ring O' Bells pub in  Lathom. (This is a very useful system, by the way! They won't deliver to a business, i.e. The pub, so you pick a nearby house as the delivery address, then tell them in the special comments section not to deliver to the house, but to look out for your boat on the canal and park in the pub car park - simple! Last time we did it, the delivery man simply arrived at the side of the boat with all of our groceries (mostly wine!) on a hand cart. What a gent!)
However, as soon as we got under way we both felt the folly of heading all the way back there and made a joint decision to carry on to Wigan and wait for the lock repair to be completed. Why take so long to come to what appears to be the obvious conclusion, you may ask? The answer is that mooring in Wigan has heretofore been regarded as distinctly risky. There are secure moorings outside the C&RT HQ building (always occupied), with the implication that to moor on the rings opposite is, by default, insecure. Indeed, you didn't ever see too many boats moored in this vicinity in previous years. All I can say is that the stoppage has changed that!

Wigan's canal community

We had to go to the front of the queue as there were no other spaces (the boat behind us subsequently moved on and is currently in third place on the grid immediately in front of the temporary dam at Lock 1). It has so far been a fine place to stop, even though we usually choose a more rural location. There has been no unruly element and, in fact, the first person who spoke to me said, "I hope you enjoy your stay in Wigan"! It was a nice thing to say, even if she was old enough to be my mother....
It's interesting to note that we are still thinking like road users at times. We were hunting supermarkets on the Net when Elaine asked, "How far are we from Ince? There's a Lidl there."
I immediately began planning the route in my head but was thinking like a motorist. From Trencherfield Mill, back past the train stations, then the baths, then the ex police station, etc.
"It's quite a way", I said, before my slowly calcifying brain realised that all we had to do was follow the canal round to the start of the Wigan Flight and we were virtually there! A one kilometre walk each way saw us provisioned for the night and next morning.
After this, I headed for the dam and a quick recce. Well, here's the dam, and the junk revealed on the bed of the pound beneath....

Hopefully, all fixed up soon.

Towards Gathurst on Monday

So, carrying on...

The lock keeper's cottage at Dean Lock

This shows me what I am missing as a retiree, watching the traffic zoom along the motorway... That's right, absolutely nothing! I have swapped 80mph for around 3mph and am convinced I have done the right thing.
Once through this lock and our next stopping point is almost upon us, just beyond Bridge 46 at Gathurst.

This is an old shot and we are facing the wrong way!

Gathurst is a brilliant place to stop, for reasons related and not related to the canal. There's the canal side Indian restaurant (if you can't cope with really slow service, get a takeaway) plus the rail station is only a short walk away. There are lots of walks to do plus shops up the valley heading left as you look at the picture. Using the train, Wigan is one stop away at a couple of pounds for a return ticket, and we have availed ourselves of this service (plus the services of the very quaint pub on the station!) more than once.

Wigan bound by train

No sooner had we arrived than I received an email notification of the continued closure of Lock 1 of the Leigh Branch, with subsequent updates revealing the branch wouldn't be open before the weekend. This gave us a couple of days to kill (some exterior jobs were done and, internally, Lottie D is sparkling!) but we would be forced to move by Thursday at the latest to empty our cassettes. The choice was, either back to Burscough or risk a night or two in Wigan waiting for the lock repair to be completed.

Catching up from Monday

We left Spencer's Bridge on Monday, heading for Gathurst. In all that time our router has had no signal and I tried to add an update via iPhone since my iPad is sans SIM. The fact that I am catching up today is ample demonstration of that particular failure! Here is a pictorial of the trip:-

Leaving Spencer's Bridge

This is a great spot to spend a few days, though the bridge is surprisingly busy for a country back lane. The view over the fields during the day is good for the soul, whilst at night it is all swooping bats and hooting owls - perfect!

Don't mention the war!

One of the many machine gun posts along this stretch. A sobering reminder of the perceived strategic 

importance of the canal during WW2.

Parbold Windmill

Douglas Valley beyond Appley Bridge

For some reason I'm having difficulty when the post gets beyond a certain size. Perhaps it's an iPad thing. I'll continue with a separate entry.

Google came up trumps!

It's a reconstruction of an Iron Age roundhouse. The site at Dutton's Farm has been excavated extensively by archeologists who have uncovered artefacts dating up to the medieval period apparently.

Misty morning on the L&L

Eyeing up a couple of birds

We had these guys as neighbours at Burscough recently. I've been through my bird book looking for a match but have drawn a blank.

Where does the time go?

I don't think there's much point in even attempting the blog on a daily basis as this is the first time I've had free since Tuesday. Alright, that is mostly due to Logan staying with us plus I don't want to spend my evenings doing this. Whatever the reason, I shall simply write what I want, when I want. After all, I'm not expecting anyone to read my musings other than Elaine and, possibly, the odd friend (quiz question, which of you is the "odd" one 😉).
We returned to the marina as planned and have sorted out what we are doing over the winter. The trip down is one we have made many times but that doesn't mean you non boaters have seen the sights, so here's a few pics :-

Big blue tits around here!

Any ideas?

I would love to know the story behind this partially completed building. I think it's between Moss Bridge and Ring O Bells bridge and has looked like this since we first saw it 5 years ago. Perhaps a bit of Googling will bear fruit (speaking of fruit, more later).

I never promised Elaine one of these.....

Latham Junction in the sunshine.

Spencer's Bridge, Newburgh

Any idea what this is? Pretty easy to guess, really.....

It's drying day! I set our new washing line up on the rear deck and Elaine had no sooner loaded it up than it started to rain. Thankfully, it was only the tiniest of showers. Everything will be dry soon then it's off to Burscough Services to empty cassettes and fill the water tank.





We will be heading back to the marina for a diesel fill then it will be back out again, probably only returning in November. We have no destination in mind, merely moving on or staying put as the whim takes us. Actually, this is a lovely spot and we could quite happily stay here for a day or two, full cassettes and empty water tank notwithstanding.
Yesterday, having feasted (there's no other word for it) on an Elaine Burger (add beef tomato, bacon and fried egg, then give your doctor a dumbfounded look when your cholesterol figure nosedives) we strolled via the back lanes to the Ring O' Bells for a quiet pint before returning via the towpath as the sun was setting.

I could easily get used to this....

Both retired at last!

With me finally joining Elaine in retirement perhaps I will give this blog another shot. I must admit that 5 years of rust (me rather than the boat!) has left me struggling to remember what to do....

OK, I've managed to update the blog site, which was all about us getting the boat built, planning retirement and awaiting the birth of a grandson. Well, over the last 5 years all three events came to pass. In fact the last one came to pass again 2 years ago, so let me proudly introduce 5yr old Logan

 Here seen proudly displaying his MOM trophy from soccer school!

And, last but not least, 2yr old Wilson