9th and 10th of August 2016. Goodbye to the docks.

On Tuesday we explored some of the museums and galleries inland. We had a drink in the Philharmonic pub, which has the only listed mens loo in the country!

The Gents in the Philly.

Robin went paddle-boarding, this time getting through the bridge into Albert dock, despite the wind threatening to blow him straight back out again.

Robin paddles under the bridge, just.

In the evening we went for a meal and a last look at the Mersey. After a night of heavy rain, Wednesday was dry but overcast and cold. We set off before eight with two other boats and, after doing a circuit of Albert dock while waiting for the barrier to be lowered, we set off.

Following our friends in Iris (leading) out of Albert dock.

Looking back at the CRT guys closing up the tidal lock.

Looking up at 'The Three Graces' as we pass.

and the museum of Liverpool - well worth a visit!

Making our way round the buoys and looking towards the container port.

The huge old tobacco warehouse by the lock flight which marks the end of our passage.

It was once the largest brick building in the world.

After that it was thanks to the CRT staff and back up the canal to Litherland visitor moorings. Back to ducks and lilies in the water rather than jellyfish and seagulls. The seagulls annoyed Robin by banging mussels on the roof to break them open.

We'll go to Tesco's this afternoon and set off South tomorrow, when we've decided which way to go. Our visit to Liverpool has been brilliant and we will come back.

4th - 8th of August 2016. Liverpool.

We extended our stay in Liverpool (having found a good grassy place to walk Scooby) to the full week and will leave early Wednesday morning. We've loved our stay here, having a proper sightseeing holiday. There have been some windy moments; Sunday night in particular when the winds howled around the dock and waves lapped around the bow. But there's also been lots of sunshine and, marvellously, hardly any rain. The docks are noisy and busy, but full of life. Its been sociable; we went for drinks with the crew of Iris and caught up with the crew of Chance (who we first met in Leeds) when they arrived on Sunday.
Here are some photos from our stay so far:

Jo did a walking tour of cathedrals; this is the Anglican Cathedral. It's huge, the biggest in the country.

And this is the Catholic cathedral, known as Paddy's Wigwam.

Robin chose a less breezy afternoon to go paddle-boarding in the dock.

We went on an open topped bus tour.

You can just see Harold in the foreground and the Albert dock buildings in the background.

This is the Poke-stop on the Mersey riverside!

Activity on the river was fun to watch. Two battleships moored for a few days

and then were replaced by a cruise liner. The boat in the foreground is the ferry to the Isle of Man.  

We went across the river on this Mersey ferry.

This is the Liverpool skyline, taken from the ferry.

The Albert docks from the river.

One sunny evening, we walked as far as we could up the route of the Liverpool Link we had sailed down to get here:

3rd of August 2016. Its a breezy passage into Salthouse Dock, Liverpool.

Our passage down the Liverpool link was booked for today. The link joins the canal to the Salthouse and Albert docks in the centre of Liverpool and was only opened for pleasure craft a few years ago. It goes along the side of the Mersey, through and under the riverside buildings. We set off from our mooring shortly after narrow boat Iris which had been moored next to us. An hour later we arrived at the first of the four Eldonian locks which mark the start of the link and which are operated by CRT staff. We shared these locks and the rest of the journey with Iris and her friendly crew.

Harold and Iris in the top lock.

It was windy and there was some doubt about whether we would be able to make the passage but the CRT chaps said we would be ok and issued their instructions. Harold, with Robin at the helm, led the way out of the bottom lock, across the first two very exposed and windy docks and into the start of the link, called here Sid's Ditch. Harold's engine was needed at full pelt to keep on track and there was some splashing of the crew in the front well deck.

Choppy waters in Salisbury docks.

In the link.

After Sid's Ditch there were more dock areas and the Liver Building appeared in front of us.

We went through the Princes Dock lock with Iris and then through the three link tunnels. Each time we came up for air we felt the carnival atmosphere, with bunting and a funfair and sightseers.

And we sailed right past the Liver Building.

After CRT got us through the last lock we were almost there; two right turns through Canning Dock and into Albert Dock and then two left into Salthouse.

The captain expertly steers us through Canning Dock.

The entrance to the famous Albert Dock and the Tate Gallery.

 There were some big boats about.

After a breezy and rather crashy manoeuvre we managed to get moored on our designated pontoon and then fended off the next two boats to come in as they crashed into us! With extra ropes (all creaking) we were secure and Robin went off to find some grass for Scooby to poo on. We are right in the centre of Liverpool with museums, Tate gallery, shopping centre and River Mersey all within spitting distance. Its wet, windy and choppy here in the dock, but we won't be short of things to do and see. We'll be here until early Sunday morning when our return passage out is booked.

Harold in Salthouse Dock, Liverpool.

The 1st and 2nd of August. A year afloat and we get within touching distance of Liverpool.

After a few days at home we arrived back at Harold on Monday evening, the first of August. It was exactly a year since we set off on our watery adventure, so in the evening a toast was made to Harold and his crew. On Tuesday morning we set off early towards Liverpool. There are some swing bridges as you get nearer the city centre which CRT need to open for you and the timings are prescribed. We arrived at the first one in perfect time for it's 1.30pm opening slot.

The CRT guys closing the Handcock's swing bridge behind us.

The canal was clear enough to see all the plastic bags on the bottom. We didn't see so many fish here, but for much of the way, waterlilies made a stunning yellow border along the canal sides.

Waterlillies on the way into Liverpool.

We saw newly hatched coots (a second brood probably), moorhens and this young heron which didn't seem to mind us coming past his floating roost. He wasn't moving anyway.

Initially, the countryside is flat and a bit uninspiring. The canal curves around the north of the City and enters from the north west. After a while the suburbs of Liverpool appeared, with the huge cranes of the Mersey in the distance. It was mostly housing and the edges of Aintree racecourse. After a total of 15 miles, we moored at the Litherland visitor moorings, as recommended by the CRT staff. There we met a couple of the other boats which will be travelling into the Liverpool docks with us tomorrow.

22nd to 25th of July. Chilling out at Parbold.

On Friday we left Crooke and cruised the 4 and half miles to Parbold. At Dean lock, the motorway goes over the canal at a great height, above a railway bridge.

We saw Meandrine again at Applebury lock where they had found a lovely quiet mooring in the old lock entrance. Pete and Brenda helped us though the lock and we were grateful for their presence once again. We moored in the rather posh village of Parbold. It has an old windmill, a big church and a tea shop. House prices here are not that different from at home; Liverpool commuter belt.

Parbold windmill - now an art gallery (of course!)

Parbold church.

We stayed a few days and as it was dry and the bank was low, Robin painted some of the dents and scratches along the starboard side. The other side will have to wait until we come back the other way! The rather nice (and posh!) pub restaurant will also need to wait till then.  Jo had a bad reaction to a horsefly bite causing a painful and swollen leg so she didn't paint, just moped about :(

By Monday we really had overstayed at the visitor moorings and we moved on to Burscough. We passed the junction with the Rufford branch, which goes up to the Lancaster canal via the Ribble link. Burscough has a proper sized Tesco as well as general facililities. Tomorrow we take Harold to the Marina at Scarisbrick for a few days at home before we go to Liverpool.

21st of July. The Wigan locks are better with help.

We set off early and arrived at the top of the Wigan flight at 8.30am. There were two boats there already, who said they were going down together when one had finished on the water point. We resigned ourselves to going down after them and on our own and put the kettle on. However, just then another boat came past. We hailed it and we agreed to go down together. They headed straight for the first lock, bypassing the waterers, and we scrambled to join them. Our heros turned out to be experienced and lovely boaters Pete and Brenda from narrow boat Meandrine. We got into a good routine and got down the main 21 lock flight in four and a half hours.

Harold and Meandrine going into the bottom lock.

We stopped at the bottom to walk Scooby. Robin cycled into Wigan town centre, a rather sad place, for milk and crisps. He also got hot sausage rolls by way of breakfast which we hadn't had time for at the top! Then we continued on out of Wigan, passing the pier on the way. Its basically old wharf buildings, now renovated and containing a pub.

Wigan Pier

After a further 4 locks, we arrived at Crooke moorings, next to a nice pub. We went there to eat (very tasty and good value) where we ran into Pete and Brenda again, finishing off the evening very sociably. It felt very good to have got the flight over and done with just a bit of a sore back and two new friends.

20th of July 2016. To Red Rock Bridge.

Our evening meal in the pub was cheap and surprisingly nice. It was very scruffy but also very popular. Patrons in various shades of sunburn sat around the lock and on plastic chairs by the road enjoying the evening sun.

Patrons of the Top Lock pub enjoying a sunny evening.

On Wednesday the day started with the seven romantically named Johnson's Hillock locks. We followed converted flyboat Dee down the flight so it took a while. It was still very hot still and half way down we heard thunder which was followed by a dramatic hail storm. Jo was in shorts and sun-top preparing a lock and Robin on the boat between locks so we just got wet!

The hailstorm.

We met flyboat Dee again later untangling a plastic sack from her propeller. She is 84 years old and before conversion was one of the cargo boats made for and working this canal. We sneaked past and reached the mooring just ahead of her.

Flyboat Dee stuck while her prop is cleared.

After 8 miles and safely though Chorley, we moored at the Red Rock bridge, the short and inadequate visitor moorings which is the last safe place before the Wigan flight. We'll do the flight tomorrow; hopefully getting there before flyboat Dee. There's no other narrow boats going our way though, so it looks like we'll be on our own again. Friends and family are too far away to help and when we phoned Wigan CRT they said tough, ring this number if you get into trouble. The lock-keepers at Bingley five rise might have won an award for being the best in the country, but we reckon the Wigan team deserve one for being the worst. Maybe they'll prove us wrong tomorrow....

Harold moored at Red Rock with Flyboat Dee coming in to moor on the bank behind us.