Leeds and Liverpool canal – Narrowboat Firecrest

to Wigan and beyond

Making progress means working through locks again, so out came the tools of my trade as we worked our way into and out of Wigan. The past 3 or 4 months have been a nightmare for anyone trying to cruise through this junction. With restrictions due to water levels and the Wigan flight being closed for several weeks for both a sinkhole and a blown cill. But the end was in sight and passages were up and running again. But after months without water, we got caught in a monsoon and had to halt our progress. We pulled in at the first available mooring outside Wigan Athletic FC. A bit of a mistake, lots of families out walking, one who thought it was acceptable to encourage their kids to climb on to the roof of our boat for a photo opportunity. I wish they’d fallen in when I stuck my head out to yell at them, and why is it that we only think of witty and wise comments after the event, like for instance, “how would you like it if we climbed on the roof of your car, and potentially scratch the paint or break the windscreen wipers” ah well perhaps there won’t be a next time.

we didn’t waste any time the next day moving on through Wigan, past the pier

there are some fabulous old mill buildings in Wigan,

and onto the flashes, we moored up at Scotsmans Flash

the Scotsmans Flash, a wildlife parkland created after the mining industry collapsed

it was close enough for me catch a train to spend the day with my family celebrating Aunties birthday

And with Mum and Mike having driven down from the Lakes, I took the opportunity to go back with then for a few days amongst the mountains

We even found a pretty waterfall, not on quite the grand scale of the ones I saw in Iceland but never or less, it made me smile.

Just as beautiful, just not quite so awesome as the Iceland waterfalls

Almost as much as seeing this reserved parking space

Sadly they had packed up for the day just as we arrived

And as always lots of laughter around

And I was soon back on the flashes ready to continue our journey

Never a dull moment

It’s all go on board the little ship Firecrest, as we cruised on to Burscough. I was just putting the kettle on after we’d moored up, when I saw our first visitor arriving

Turns out this fella, who lives locally, has a liking for passing narrowboats,

Ey’up what’s for tea.

Burscough has some interesting wildlife,

But not all is what it seems, this duck had made her nest in Tesco carpark, right in centre of town.

Burscough is great place to be, cause its got excellent public transport, and i was able to hop on a train to Ormskirk to see Martina and the Ormskirk spinning group. We’re taking every opportunity to spin right now because as every good spinner knows, July is the TdF month, no not Tour de France, but Tour de Fleece, an epic 23 day Spinathon, where we tune in the TV coverage of that little european bike ride, and we take part in daily challenges, endurance spinning, speed spinning, fine spinning or challenging spinning, and if we’re not part of a local spinning community, encouraged on social media by spinners all around the world

I managed to spin 500g of fibre and made approximately 1.5km of yarn.

it’ll be hand-knits for Christmas again folks

I missed a trick and should have entered my spinning into one of the creative categories at the Parbold Village show, our friends Paul and Sharon who are local boaters suggested we all go together, and as village shows go, it was a good one, the funniest competition was for the ugliest house plant.

that would be a lovely photo of Paul and Sharon, if it weren’t for that monstrosity behind them

Although there were some others that made us smile as well

I think I’d fit in quite well in Parbold

After all that excitement, we pushed on for some rural tranquility, there’s a nice stretch just beyond Appley Bridge

Where the sunsets are usually pretty good

And the field next to the towpath is full of blue linseed.

Back to calmer waters and my little boat

Fortunately not all good things must come to an end and it was lovely to see my little boat and Eric again. Eric had cruised out of Liverpool the day after Amanda and I set off on our epic Iceland adventure, so once we picked up the car, she dropped me off back at our little boat.

I think my hand looks like it’s missing a cocktail glass

Eric had had a good 10 days, but was complaining bitterly about how hot it had been so he hadn’t been able to complete any of the chores he had planned to do…..but he had gone to town preparing some fine dining for me, I decided to dress for dinner

Just so I could show off my sparkley toes

And I was treated to a magnificent salad served with a cocktail and a chocolate dessert for afters

I think he had missed me but is in no doubt I’d like to go again. That said we set off to cruise into Lancashire instead. The canal is full of a yellow waterlily -which is all well and good until you meet a boat coming the other way.

Occassionally there are more ornate lilie

They might look, beautiful they they have stems like rubber under the water that wrap around your prop if you’re not careful. But who knows what’s going on underneath, we got to one of favourite mooring spots next to the Halsall Navvie.

We love this guy and all he represents, building the canals back in the late 1700s was hard hard work, and we shall always be grateful to them and the engineers ingenuity for devising our network.

Almost there

Getting through Wigan was proving to be a game of chance, will there or won’t there be water in the locks, or inbetween the locks for that matter. So we formed a queue at Scotsmans Flash with several others to await the go-ahead.

At the time the Wigan Flight was just about still open, with daily updates and horror stories about boaters reaching the top few locks only to have to reverse all the way back down. As I write this, I fear the maintenance of the system is just so overwhelming that the powers that be will just give up and close sections like the Wigan flight permanently. But it’s not a black and white issue and I’m glad I’m not the one making the big decisions. And to get back to our journey, we made it through at the second attempt. Past the iconic Wigan Pier

I have to say, I’ve seen bigger and better, but this one always makes me smile

We do like the section between Wigan and Burscough, there’s some nice peaceful moorings.

And if I’m lucky I’ll see my favourite trade boat – the wool boat

For most of the way there’s also the railway within walking distance of the canal, so I took the opportunity to hop on a train and head up to the Lakes to see Mum,, actually it’s where my dentist is, but don’t tell him about the icecream

Whilst I was there, the Westmorland County Fest show was on, I was expecting to see sheep

But we got giant Madagascar tortoises as well, who live on a farm in westmorland

From Burscough through to the Stanley Flight is a bit more tedious, the canal ploughs through the cottage garden of the North, but instead of bridges, the fields are crossed by swing bridges. It’s not too bad working through these with a crew, but I feel for the single handed boaters, negotiating overgrown landings and inconsiderate boaters who tie up on the bollards is hard work.

But we made it through to Litherland, staging post for the Liverpool link

The Leigh Arm

We weren’t sure what to expect from the Leigh Arm of the Leeds and Liverpool canal. It’s only 7.5 miles long and was built to connect the end of the Bridgewater canal at Leigh with the Leeds and Liverpool canal at Wigan. Moving coal and cotton, it was crucial for trading links to Manchester. It’s celebrating its 200th birthday this year as It was completed in 1820 at the cost of £61,419. There’s still the occasional working boat to be seen although this beauty is not a local boat and not trading.

We had a few jobs needed doing on the boat so we spent a week mooring in various spots along its route.

Waking up in the morning to perfect peace.

This area was rich with coal deposits and consequently was mined heavily. There were several huge collieries within the Wigan coal field each capable of producing a million tonnes per year. Over the years as the seams were exhausted and economics changed, the land suffered from subsidence, and what with the abandoned slag heaps, the countryside was really a no go area until a serious attempt at land reclamation in the 70s and 80s. Apart from the info boards along the Towpath there’s no mining in sight now.

The rivers and canal overflow filled the depressions and created several lakes known as the flashes and along with new houses for the people, wildlife habitat was also created.

The whole area is now a diverse and thriving environment, with nature reserves, outdoor activities and water sports . Much of the area is designated an SSSI with rare flora and fauna to be found in the reedbeds, I think July is the season of pink flowers.

We moored along side the Scotsman’s flash. Fortunately it wasn’t too windy, and whilst I can safely say we weren’t treated to the most spectacular canal scenery, we did see a lot of yellow ragwort, also known as stinking willy…..

some of the local youngsters took advantage of the sunshine and water and held their equivalent to a beach party. And away from their gettoblasters, it is a peaceful place to be.

The canal here is long and straight. The banks are wide and the towpaths are very well maintained,

but we chose to walk a little way off the beaten track.

All in all I’d be happy to cruise this way again.

Reaching for pastures new

With only another 5 miles to Wigan, we were almost upon pastures new for us. We had last cruised this way 10 months ago in September 2019, travelling westward intending to enjoy just one week in Liverpool. Little did we know what was to come. The day promised some sunshine, but we’ve heard that before. So we set off in a spirit of adventure. Passing the Baby Elephant, an Indian Restaurant which closed down some time ago.

It’s sad to see so many canalside venues closed down especially when we see so many people walking the Towpath.

It’s thirsty work seeing a boat through a lock

But this area is coal mining country, so although there’s lots of new development there’s also a lot of run down property. One thing that has made us ~~grimmace~~ chuckle is CRT’s love of signs, including portage notices advising canoes to be taken out of the water at swing bridges and carried through. There might be logic if the bridges were closed but so many swing bridges are permenantly open and completely inoperable. It just strikes us as a complete and utter waste of money and lack of any intelligence.

However not to spend too long being grumpy, we passed the impressive Wigan pier

We wondered what George Orwell would have made of the fancy redevelopment opposite around the wharfs, warehouses and mills.

After a stop to fill up with water we rounded the corner and there it was, the Leigh Branch. It’s still technically part of the Leeds and Liverpool canal, but for us, we’re breaking new ground and it feels good.

During this section of our journey, we passed by two historic boats, Ambush and Viktoria. Most canals have a specific style to maximise the efficiency and profit of their specific routes. Above Wigan the Liverpool Shortboats, dominated. Ambush and Viktoria were built for the H &R Ainscough Mill in Burscough, they are Liverpool Longboats to carry grain and flour. They are 60’long and 14’wide. nowadays Ambush is still a working boat delivering fuel to boaters between Burscough and Leigh. Canal Junction writes and intersting article about these boats

Fairies as far as the eye can see

We haven’t seen hills for months, so now that we have one on our doorstep I thought it time to stretch some dormant muscles. There are two significant local beauty spots with in walking distance of Appley Deep Lock, both involve a climb, Parbold Hill rewards with views for miles and we’d chosen a good day.

To the southeast we could see way beyond Wigan towards Manchester and the peak district beyond. My photo doesn’t do it justice, we could see the M6 crossing the river Douglas and the Heinz factory

To the southwest we could see the tall cranes along the Mersey docks

That’s where we have come from, Liverpool in the distance

And to the northwest Blackpool tower and a hint of the Lakeland fells behind

If you squint you can see Blackpool tower

Parbold hill has special memories for me as a child. Mum and Dad would lift me and my brother from our beds, wrap us in blankets and put us into to boot of the VWCombi at 6 am on a Saturday morning and we’d drive from our home in Crosby up to the Lake District in time to make Bacon butties in Ambleside for breakfast. Ok I know that would never be allowed to happen now, but just in case you were worried, it was more of a parcel rack than a closed in boot, and I don’t think seatbelts had been invented back in the early 70s. The combi must have chugged and splutterd to get to the top of Parbold Hill, cause we always greeted it with a fanfare.
Those carefree days must have really nurtured my inner hippy and my love of outdoor living. Half a mile down the hill is a trail that leads to the Fairy Glen. A woodland walk that follows the path of Sprodley Brook almost back down to the canal. I did search high and low for the fairies but I think they were practicing social distancing.

The path became steeper and more of a scramble, perfect for little waterfalls

I wanted to skip back to the boat filled with the joy of the day, but oh boy did we ache. 8 months in Liverpool didn’t do our fitness levels any good. Time for tea and cake back on Firecrest

Fairweather cruising

One distinct advantage of being continual cruisers is that we don’t have to cruise continually, (with the proviso that we move on every 14 days in accordance with the rules) So when it rains we stay put, but when the sun shines we make the most of it and enjoy hearing the frequently used phrase “nice day for it”. And we agree, “it’s a hard life but someone’s got to do it”
So onward we meander. Past the bridge that traverses the junction of the Rufford branch of the L&L. Our plans back in April were to have cruised this way so we could cross over the Ribble link onto the Lancaster, however with all the uncertainties we’ve decided to do it another year.

And through Parbold with its lovely old mill, now transformed into James Bartholomew’s art gallery,

I even saw my very first black blackberry of the season, but as it was below knee level, it stayed put.

We settled for a few nights with a view of the hills near Appley deep lock.

And moored up with view of cow parsley

This is what we see through the round window today

Living by the canal

Once the navvies had built the canals, lots of hands were needed to maintain and work them. So rows of canal cottages were built along side the Cut for the workers and their families. This part of Lancashire, around Burscough has some very des-res cottages. I’m never sure if it’s the cottages or the gardens that appeal to me the most.

Beautiful they may be, I don’t think I could ever imagine raising a family living in a traditional boatsmans cabin on an old working boat

Of course not everyone needs a house….

And where you have canals and wharfs you also need watering holes. This Burscough Pub is the “old Packet House” and it has an interesting information board outside, (no, not the one about social distancing etc). Originally called the Bridge Inn, built in 1775 it became a staging post for passengers travelling to and from Liverpool and Wigan, who wanted to use the stage coach, (known as the Union Machine) to get between Ormskirk and Preston. Passengers travelled by Packetboats, (Union Packets) which carried small parcels as opposed to the Flyboats that carried merchandise. It cost 2/- to travel first class from Liverpool and 1/3d second class. They were allowed up to 14lbs luggage. These packet boats were over 60′ long and 9’wide and were drawn by 2 horses, one of which was ridden. They used a bugle to warn waiting passengers of their approach. Sadly we were a day too early to be allowed in.

Sadly not all canal side pubs thrive even in a good year, as we found when we moored up outside the Ring o Bells.

However the pub car park is still accessible and it made a perfect for mum to drive down from the Lakes for our first post lockdown “hug”

The Halsall Navvy

A little bit of history.
What were you doing on 5th November 1770, Col Charles Mordaunt was cutting the first turf of the Leeds and Liverpool canal. This was in Halsall, West Lancs. Somewhere, by the bridge, there’s a plaque marking the spot, but I couldn’t find it. However there is a fine stone sculpture known as the Halsall Navvie here. I doubt old Charlie did much more of the hard work, but the information board set me thinking about the Navvies who toiled along the cut.

It’s hard to imagine that these canals were all build by hard manual labour. Originally the workers were known as Cutters. But they soon became known as Navvies abbreviated from Navigator. The canal is still often referred to as the Cut.Contrary to general belief only 30% of the navies were Irish. Over 500 men were involved in building the Leeds and Liverpool canal. Local farm labourers often supplemented their income by joining the workforce until they were needed at harvest time.

The Halsall Navvy by Thomas Dagnall 2004

In 1770 it cost £5048 to build a mile of canal equivalent to around £275 000 today. Locks cost extra. And the total financial cost of the Leeds and Liverpool was £1 250 000, around £50 000 000 today.
I’ve read that an experienced navvy could shift 12 cubic yards of earth a day: that’s the same as digging a trench 3ft wide, 3ft deep and 36ft long every day. Canal boat and Tillergraph magazine have a fascinating piece giving a better insight

We’ve got a lot to be grateful for, cause I doubt Halsall looked as lovely as this 250 years ago