From suevbutler@compuserve.com Sat May 1 11:30:07 1999 Date: Sat, 17 Oct 1998 11:28:55 -0400 From: sue butler Reply-To: canals@blacksheep.org To: Messages for newsgroup Subject: Trip Report - Consall Forge to Wigan - Day 3 [The following text is in the "ISO-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] Trip report - Jemima D on the Canal to Wigan Pier. Day 3 - 21st Sept 98 - Longport to Rode Heath 6 miles, 13 locks, 1 tunnel, 5 hours Journey to the Centre of the Earth After yesterday's exertions we have a welcome lie in and are away for 11. No problems with the batteries - although the alternator light still glows intermittently. Today is a quiet day on our own before my sister joins us this evening, and we gently chugg to Harecastle Tunnel. We moor up and wait behind another boat. Now, Neil has never liked tunnels, and tunnels with doors look even more intimidating, so he decides to walk over. I am quite happy about this - tunnels have never held any terrors for me! Little do I know what is in store! A couple of boats emerge, and soon it is my turn to enter. I am intrigued to find that the tunnel attendant wants to know how many people there are on board... do they check the other end to make sure that no murders and dumping of bodies have taken place? We checked the light last night, and I nonchalantly slip away from the mooring and enter the doors into the underworld. The doors close behind me, and apart from a rapidly disappearing light ahead I find myself in the pitch dark. I reach for the control panel and frantically wiggle the light switch - nothing! Leaving Jemima on tickover I go into the cabin and try to find the interior light switches! Once I have some light I can see that we are crabbing gently along the tunnel, so I go up to the bow and thump and swear at the tunnel light - nothing! Returning to the tiller, I stop and think about my predicament. I can wait here, someone will come looking for me eventually, I can try to reverse back to the doors, but am not sure how I would be able to get out again, or I can progress slowly by the cabin lights. I decide to continue - albeit slowly - as this seems the least embarrassing option. It is a strange thing to steer a narrow boat without being able to see further than half way along the cabin, but I eventually get the knack of adjusting my course to avoid hitting the walls. It is a bit like driving a car in thick fog, and took a great deal of concentration, but at least I knew nothing was likely to be coming the other way! (And I didn't see any bats). My main concern was the roof, which I knew was low in places, and I found I couldn't see how high it was at all, so spent most of the time with my head well down just in case. Every so often the tunnel would bend, and I would scrape along the side, but I was soon making reasonable progress, and as my eyes adjusted to the lack of light started looking for the arrows on the slope of the roof. When they eventually changed direction I was much relieved, and began to look for the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. After what seems like several hours I emerge blinking into the daylight, taking Neil completely by surprise as he has been watching for a light and hadn't seen me coming! I am a gibbering wreck by now - ready to hand the tiller over to Neil and sit and recover my composure! Needless to say, two minutes with a screw driver and Neil has found and restored the loose connection which has caused all the angst! And, of course there is no peace for the wicked, as we are soon approaching Kidsgrove and the start of Heartbreak Hill. Neil's injury means that he is not able to wield a windlass, and the day's exercise begins in earnest for me. We are also back in familiar waters now, and have already planned our lunchtime stop at the very excellent Red Bull. Lunch and a drop of Robinsons is just the tonic I need and we set off up the rest of the flight with gusto. We settle into a steady rhythm and really begin to wind down into our holiday. We have arranged to meet Heather, my sister, at Rode Heath, so we can afford to take our time. At Lawton Treble Locks, just as I am tiring, she appears walking up the towpath, and after all the usual greetings we find her a windlass and I welcome the extra muscle power! But today holds another surprise for us. Just as we rise out of the top of Lawton Treble, Neil hands Heather the tiller, and she starts steering us straight into the bank, while we wonder what has got into her. Just then, my mother steps out onto the towpath - and all becomes clear - we have extra crew for the week! My mother has a boat on the Tamar, and is happy sailing, but has never been on the canals before, we wonder how she will adapt to narrower waters. We haven't seen her for several months, and this visit has been a closely guarded secret! Neil puts the kettle on and we are soon mooring up opposite the Broughton Arms at Rode Heath. We retrieve my car from Consall Forge, and then go for a meal in the pub. This is a chain pub, but the food is good, and we have a great evening catching up on gossip. Sue and Neil Surprised were we on Jemima D