Mossley

Nothing happened yesterday, hence no post!  Today started with some manoeuvring at Dukingfield Junction.  We needed to have the toilet tank pumped out at Portland Basin Marina which is located in a short arm off  the Peak Forest Canal.  Reaching it involved some reversing and turning.  The stern was a couple of inches higher after the tank contents had been removed.  We then retraced our steps before heading up the Huddersfield Narrow Canal (HNC).  The Asda Tunnel is obviously new and runs directly under the car park.  I couldn’t identify if the date was 1988 or 89.

This part of the canal has the remnants' of its industrial past along with the ‘backdoor’ to light commercial premises.

The scenery stayed this way until we reached Stalybridge.  The aqueduct over the River Tame seemed to be very narrow, but then that might have been due to the lack of a safety rail on the offside.

The river and canal will be in proximity until we reach Standedge Tunnel.  Stalybridge is an attractive looking town with good moorings.  There Is an Aldi and Tesco supermarket nearby. 

Tesco shoppers must have difficulty in finding a trolley because I ran over most of them in the boat above Lock 6.  You could hear the baseplate grinding and squeaking as the boat slowly squashed the trolleys into the silt.

Paul (of The Manly Ferry) had mentioned the pub at Stalybridge.  I guess he didn’t mean The Mill Pond adjacent to the canal; unless he was responsible for drinking all the profits?

Our cupboards and pantry are stocked so there was no requirement to stop.  On the NE outskirts of Stalybridge was a boatyard, but it didn’t appear to be offering any services to passing boaters.  Then I had a closer look at the sign and realised why.

The vinyl really could do with a scrub.  But then who am I to comment as the same applies to the inside of our pram and cratch covers.

From this point onwards the vista became rural and far more pleasant.

We had problems in the three pounds between Lock’s 8 to 11.  The water level wasn’t low because the bywashes were all running.  However the bottom of the canal is very close to the top meaning we gingerly slithered along doing tickover.  Even the lock landings were shallow and at one point out son had to disembark from the bow.

Things go slightly better after Lock 11 and we made better time to Mossley.  First impressions were very positive with rows of terraced houses made of stone and a church spire in the distance.

The canal edges were very shallow so we pressed on to the NE side of Mossley where our map showed moorings.  Four boats were already moored and I did wonder whether they were occupying the only four spots where you can get against the bank.  We tried each vacant mooring and failed to get against the edge.  Eventually we settled for the best of a bad bunch.

Not many boats on the move so hopefully we won’t grind against the rubble all night.  It’s only for one night!