From kmidgley@lineone.net Mon May 3 18:55:01 1999 Date: Mon, 03 Aug 1998 22:08:25 GMT From: Keith Midgley Reply-To: canals@blacksheep.org To: canals@blacksheep.org Subject: Trip Report - Tarleton to Castlefield Day 1 (Saturday 1 August 1998) Tarleton - Parbold. I was going to clean the karavan out this last weekend! Here is why I didn't. 09:00 Saturday - the phone rings my mother answers it and tells me it is Ruth for me. "Are you doing anything this weekend?" I explain about the karavan needing a little cleaning out - we are using it at a fund raising event in Blackburn this coming weekend. "Would you rather go boating instead? You can always clean out the karavan one evening". To shorten the rest of the tale. "Windwhistle II" needed moving to Castlefield and the crew that were going to do it had to cancel because of illness - could I help - of course I could! So a quick pack of a few essentials and off down the motorway to meet Ruth and Mary (Ruth's sister) in Burscough. R & M and Ben the dog plus food for the weekend transferred to my car and then down to Tarleton arriving just after mid-day. After transferring all our goods and chattels to the boat we set off back towards Burscough - this time by boat. A pleasant and reasonably weed free afternoon followed and we arrived at Burscough sooner than anticipated. Ruth left us at the junction to go and collect her car - arranging to meet us in or near Parbold. Mary and I (with Ben) head east with only slight delays at the two swing bridges we had to negotiate (one old style push it, the other 20th century electronics and push buttons). Having picked up the skipper en-route we arrive and moor in Parbold. After an excellent chicken casserole for tea, the two car shuffle continues. We all pile into Ruth's car for the trip back to Tarleton, where I rejoin my vehicle. Ruth then took Mary home to Preston and I set off for Manchester. Arriving in Castlefield we arrange that I may leave my car overnight at a local boat yard and Ruth then takes me back to the boat. I am in charge overnight as Ruth already has an appointment in Blackburn for the evening. Day 2 (Sunday 2 August 1998) Parbold - Castlefield Ruth arrived back at the boat just after 08:30 and we set off for Wigan. The usual mix of fortunes with the locks - some set for us, some against - the only swing bridge actually closed as we approach swings open and we are waved through. Ruth and I think "Hell Meadow" lock well named - when we arrived the lock was empty and both bottom gates wide open. We put the boat inside and I closed the gates, whilst I was undoing the anti-vandal lock on the top paddle one of the bottom gates swung completely open again! I shut it - keeping my language as moderate as I could (lady present!) and ensured there was no unnecessary delay in getting the first few turns of the windlass on the top paddle to put some water pressure behind the gates. We passed through Wigan around noon and set off south towards Leigh, taking our lunch on the move. The weather was definitely "shorts and T-shirt" and sitting out steering the boat was very pleasant. We paused for a while at Worsley to treat ourselves to an ice cream and then continued our journey over Barton swing Aqueduct and on to Waters Meeting and the left turn to Manchester. Our arrival at Castlefield being somewhere around 18:30 (or 6.30 p.m. if you prefer). -- Keith the Karavanning Kanal lover.