James also took the opportunity to become a fully fledged boater - he fell in. It is said you are not a 'proper' boater until you have been in the 'cut'. He was off the lead, on the towpath, and unusually behind, rather than ahead of, me. When I looked round he was nowhere to be seen. At least I have discovered he can swim. His harness was invaluable in being able to haul him out, given the steep sides. I had been thinking of giving him a shower but this settled it, as just where he fell in there was the remains of a sheep carcase in the water - no doubt one of the attractions that led to the immersion.
I decide it is time to move on and make an 0630 start to travel in the cooler temperature of the morning.
Into Burnley and it is rather sad to see one after another derelict
buildings and wonder what it must have been like in its heyday. There
is one very large development going on which looks like it is going to
be a shopping complex. You can read about the history of the town and
the importance of the canal here Cotton mills were the main industry.
Burnley Wharf c1910. The last of
the cotton-based industries closed in 1990.
This area has already been redeveloped into what is known as the "Weaver's Triangle". I am kicking myself for not stopping but was well past it before I read my guide and realised what it was.
What was no doubt considered luxury accommodation for the workers, when they were built, one of these 2 bedroomed terrace houses can be yours for £12k.
I moor up at the remarkable embankment. Almost a mile long it was a fantastic engineering feat and demonstrates the importance of the Burnley cotton trade.
The aqueduct carrying the canal across one of the main roads. I walk to the town centre to stock up at the home-brew shop and refresh myself with a pint at Wetherspoons for a remarkable £1.87.
I travel on to Nelson and Morrison's, which has secure canal-side moorings where I can get the trolley right down to the boat - I bought far too much!
It is now late afternoon and very hot and I hope to find a decent mooring before the 7 lock Barrowford flight. Unfortunately nothing that I fancy so I start up and encounter problems straight away - the first two locks take me over an hour and a lot of sweat! At the third lock there are a crowd of teenagers lounging about and jumping in the lock. They seem OK so while this lock is emptying, I walk the short distance to the next to set it in my favour. I open the sluices but, before I can open a gate, I notice two of the lads walking down in the direction of the boat, which I cannot see from where I am. I hastily walk back and, sure enough, there they are on the stern of the boat. Hopefully James (he was inside the boat) has put up a good defence of my possessions! I need not have worried - the lads were only in search of somewhere out of the wind to snort a line of cocaine. They even apologised!
As I am about to fill the fourth lock I hear a shout - another boat has caught up with me and I am so pleased to wait and share the lock with them. I had intended to moor up after the fourth lock (it is a long enough pound) but take the opportunity to travel with them to the top of the flight.
And I am glad I did. Not only did we work the locks well together, it is a lovely spot and lots of good walks for James.
The reservoir, which I am told feeds the bottom 3 locks, is quite a bit down. Locks are being restricted to 10am until 8pm from Monday but from the amount of water going down the by-washes, I am not sure why.
I think I will be here a couple of days. No hurry as my cousin, Margaret, is coming down from Scotland next Friday and I know she would not want to miss the experience of the 1640 yard Foulridge Tunnel - if she thought I meant that I would have no hope of seeing her!
14 miles; 7 locks
TOTAL: 462 miles (163 miles broad, 40 miles river); 223 locks (90 broad); 37 moveable bridges
No comments:
Post a Comment