Rite of passage

We are back at Plank Lane now having made the short but pleasant trip from The Boat House at Astley. We need our car to get to hospital later today so Charlotte and Wilson came to pick us up. Now that Wilson is old enough I put him to work on the centre rope

It's almost exactly three years since this picture was taken

Good to see Wilson following in his big brother's footsteps!

Homeward bound

We've turned around at Lymm and are aiming to get back to Leigh by Wednesday morning. After Elaine's check up we will probably wait a week or so then do this all again, but this time no turning back for a couple of months! Is there a better way of life than this?
After Friday's post I snapped this pic through our rain spattered window

Who is that trimming his bush? None other than Matthew Corbett! He has a nice house right by the canal in Lymm where he lives with his wife and dog Alf who we were stroking later. The way Alf runs about its safe to assume he doesn't do to Alf what he did to Sooty and Sweep!

We got visited by the family on Saturday and walked up to and around Lymm dam.

 The kids loved it of course but were becoming a little disobedient, climbing trees at the dam and the Lymm Cross

Sick of chasing them around, we decided it was time to take action!

We called in at The Golden Fleece

Best beer garden ever!

before heading back to the boat where all 3 of them combined to make my stash of Magnums disappear from the freezer! After that it was a quick bye bye to the ducklings and off they went to leave us in peace again.

Got to go now as some people have decided to sit on our bow for a photo opportunity and need to be chased off! Grr, I feel an Alf Garnett moment coming on!

What a difference a day makes

Wednesday it was t shirt and shorts, Thursday it was back to the jeans and 3 layers up top!

Selfie, all wrapped up!

Still, it wasn't too bad as well made our way to Sale, though I did have hat and gloves on at one stage. Here are what I think are flood defences installed over the winter, resulting in the canal being closed from November until some time in February. This just before you approach Worsley

I must say that looks mighty tight for a full width boat! If that was tight, then this is shallow

Lunch time

Obviously it pays to stay away from the far side at Worsley. As we went through Trafford Park we saw the first of this year's goslings

and there was plenty of territorial scrapping going on in Stretford between geese and swans. Swans get real aggressive at this time of the year. Anyhow, we made it to Sale yesterday afternoon and found a good spot, Sky dish aligned, short walk to the pub - perfect!

Highlight of the day was the local tramp who took a shine to Elaine. She couldn't get rid of him! He told her he was a survivalist but it looked like he was surviving on roll ups and super strength lager to me.
Leaving Sale this morning all we had to avoid were the rowers

and the walkers had to watch out for low flying branches

All safe and sound in Lymm now though we won't outstay our welcome. We've already been photographed on the visitor mooring by a Peel Holding nazi. 48 hrs only here and the clock is ticking!

Someone's been busy this winter

And that someone is Peel Holdings by the looks of things. We needed to use Elsan facilities so headed towards the Bridgewater Canal with a view to spending a week on the move. As we arrived at Butts Bridge we saw the first evidence of spending, and very welcome it is too!

Luxury!

Previously, the grassy bank on the left ran down straight to the canal bank and stopping here was awkward, particularly in the rain. But not any more! This is a huge improvement and much appreciated.
Just beyond the services we saw the first duckling (sadly, singular) of the year but surely more will follow

Look closely!

Through Astley the towpath was very muddy indeed but as we approached Boothstown you could see the difference.

You may remember last year I ranted about this when we saw the work been carried out around Broadheath but I think I've changed my mind. We are moored on the towpath just past The Moorings and I think the new path works well. People will stay on it so are less likely to trip over our mooring lines and cleaner boots on the boat makes Elaine happy. Of course, the new path makes this ideal cycling territory despite the No Cycling signs but I can't envisage anyone other than anglers being inconvenienced so who cares 😉

Charlotte and the boys called on us after the school pickup and it was good to sit in the sun watching them play hide and seek with another boy, though Wilson hasn't grasped it totally. "Logan, he's coming!" bellowed at top voice is probably not to best way to avoid detection!
Well it's raining at the moment so we will probably head towards Sale this afternoon. More later.

Lazy day...

...at Plank Lane, or should I now be calling it Pennington Wharf after the housing development and proposed marina? My brother Dave lives in Doncaster now and only has memories of this area as it used to be when the pit was still here. He can't believe that we could enjoy living here!
We had a pretty uneventful run from Gathurst to here on Sunday, though we did spot a deer in the woods just past Parbold on Saturday as we made our way to Gathurst. Sadly, no pic so you will just have to take our word for it.
The trip was made much easier as we paired up with Colin and Shiela with their granddaughter Amelia through all the locks on their boat Ascot. They saw us approaching Appley Lock and kindly waited for us to join them. I didn't want to keep them waiting so went straight in with Elaine on board. Now, Elaine does not like sitting in an empty lock and at 12' 6" deep and 14' wide Appley is one of the biggest and most forbidding locks on the system. When I suggested she take to the ladder to help Ascot's crew she didn't need asking twice!

Look at her go!

Colin's crew were very inexperienced but Elaine took them through everything and we made good time. 

Two boats, half the water!

As we passed through Crook you could see where the canal edging stones had been uncovered, no wonder I could never knock a pin in there!

However, there was no excuse for what this boat did

You probably can't see unless you have a bigger screen, but their mooring lines ran across the towpath to the trees and the banks of the River Douglas. Heaven help a speeding cyclist!

We passed working boat Ambush who sells fuel between Wigan and Haskayne

but had nothing else to report until the rubbish in the water at Scotsman's Flash. Why do people do this?

Finally, just for brother Dave here are some shots of our base for the next week or so. Told you it had changed Dave!

What a difference s day makes

Wow, Saturday's weather couldn't have been more different. But we'd arranged to meet the gang in Parbold so off we went, stopping at the Rufford branch for water on the way

Drink up Lottie

We then crawled at tickover speed behind Arthur manning the little trip boat until he let us through after inexplicably ploughing into an old work boat that was tied up. Must have shook his passengers up!

Charlotte and the kids arrived just as we did

only for her to reveal she had left their footwear at home so the planned walk was off. So, we improvised and came up with a less muddy route.

We gave the kids a hearty, nutritious snack and set off

Making just one pit stop for Logan's call of nature

Not much point being a Grandad if you can't embarrass your grandkids! 

Here we go again

Well, having had Lottie out for a blacking and new anodes whilst we were in Gran Canaria we are on the cut again.

On the cradle ready to come out

We couldn't have asked for a better start weather wise, even if all we did was head to Burscough a mere hour and a half away

We are staying here until Saturday as we are getting the train into Wigan tonight to watch Wigan v Warrington with friends Tony and Louise. Saturday, we are heading to Parbold where we will meet Charlotte and the grandkids for a walk along the canal and Wood Lane on the north side of the Douglas Valley.

It's great to be out again! With only vague plans in place we will meander hither and yon as the muse takes us. For the moment we are enjoying full speed internet and mobile service for the first time since summer as the coverage in the marina was very poor indeed. I'll keep this updated as and when
I have coverage and if you want to comment, please do! I've added a note to the comments facility to
help you out so we look forward to hearing from you.

Having tied up here we went for a quick walk, shop and pint before sitting out. We'd only just settled down when our neighbour's dog introduced himself

Say hello to our little friend!

So we've been out for one night and Elaine's phone and tablet are both dead by the early afternoon. She's going to have to relearn all about saving power again! In fact, she's started to recharge herself as I write this, i.e she is having a snooze. It's a hard life....