Thu, 1 Apr 2010 49½ miles 47 locks 6½ miles
Still playing catch up. From Kidsgrove we are in new territory again. The Macclesfield was fun if a bit narrow and shallow, just like the Llangollen, but fairly uneventful. So much so I can't remember any significant events until we got to Marple Junction where the mooring was appalling.
From there we went along the Peak Forest canal which was marvellous. It was a bit like being on an aqueduct all the way. It was so high up on the hillside that the views were amazing. Ended up at Bugsworth Basin which I found quite delightful. (Well worth clicking on the link)
Kath took the children to see Steve for the weekend leaving me to deal with the boats.
On the Saturday morning a guy asked me if I could move the boats out of the arm we were moored in because thy had some work to do in there. So I did. Molly decided that she wanted to be back at the previous mooring so off she went. When the guys started work they scared her and she ran into a tree, where she appeared to get stuck.
The workmen found a ladder and retrieved her, from which time she was locked in the middle cabin on Destiny.
On the return of the troops we set off to Aston-Under-Lyne.
There we wandered around to the boat yard to see about topping up with diesel. While there Kath got chatting to on of the boat owners and found out about a cruiser that was for sale. After some negotiations Scott now has his own accommodation, called Foxy Lady.
From there we worked our way into Manchester, Ducie Street in preparation for going up the Rochdale canal.
I took Almyne with Almyne Too on the back while Kath took Destiny towing Foxy Lady. Destiny plus Foxy Lady is too long to go into a lock as one, so they have to put Foxy Lady in separately and do each lock twice.
We stopped the night outside a big supermarket and the following day I set off with Almyne and Almyne Too, prepping each lock as I left to make life easier for Kath .
Figuring that Kath had to do each lock twice and I only had to do each lock once I raced through the last five locks on the basis that I could get back to her before she arrived at the fifth lock.
I was wrong. At one of the locks a hire boats asked Scott if they could leapfrog him as they thought he would hold them up. He explained that he was with Destiny and that they would have to wait their turn.
Anyway, this got Kath riled. She got her crew into work mode and they flew through the locks, meeting me walking back to help them at the second lock back. The hire boat was nowhere to be seen.
That evening the skipper of the hire boat came along and chatted to Kath and sort of apologising for asking to leapfrog. He hadn't been held up after all, in fact he arrived about an hour and a half after DestinyKath.