We moved from Dobcross to Diggle this morning getting through the nine locks in the flight in under 90 minutes. These locks are very quick to fill.
Looking back at the first lock of the day (Wool Road Lock). This one has to be left empty to prevent water seeping into the adjacent homes.
From this point the sides of the valley we have been following open out allowing us to see the summit hills.
As a teenager in NZ I remember reading about the Moors Murders along with the conviction of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley for which they each received a life sentence. The only moor I knew in England was Dartmoor and I’d always assumed this is where the bodies of the victims had been concealed. It’s come as a slight revelation to discover we are near Saddleworth Moors which is where a number of the bodies have been discovered.
Looking back. You can see the Trans-Pennine rail line beside and slightly higher than the canal. TV reception here is good. Probably because the TV transmitter mast is on the high hill in the distance.
The pub, cafe and ice cream shop are located beside Lock 31. Jan and son walked back later in the day returning with a melting mint-choc cone for me.
This is the grubby side of Waiouru which was washed and polished whilst we were in Liverpool. Yesterday I washed and polished the other side. I know I did it yesterday because my back and arms constantly remind me!
Lock 32 is the top lock and there are good moorings to the left just above.
Looking back to Lock 31
We didn’t cruise the final section to the tunnel opting to stay on the concrete edge near the park. Instead we walked forward to check the location of the water point and tunnel portal.
In the afternoon I did some pre-tunnel checks. The weed hatch was clean and the sat-dome removed. Engine fluid levels checked along the headlight and navigation lights. The damned horn wouldn’t work! I plugged the laptop into the boat computer and ran a few tests on the system. The wiring looked good so I removed the horn from the front and rigged some temporary wiring so I could connect it to the battery in the stern. It worked (twice). That had me scratching my head, so I checked the boat computer system log. That suggested the canbus system was working correctly. I then retested the horn using the temporary wiring and it made a slightly mournful sound before dying. Heart massage and mouth to mouth couldn’t resuscitate it. This is a most inconvenient location to have the horn fail. Hopefully CRT will be able to loan us one for our tunnel passage tomorrow. I’ve never been particularly happy with the horn provided by the boatyard during the fit out. It’s my fault as I didn’t specify a make/model and therefore had to take what they gave me. On a happier note, I’m pleased the boat computer system made it easy to find the fault.
6 comments :
Great photos Tom really get a feel of what it's like up there. Looks a sunny warm day to? Waiouru looking smart a worthwhile effort.
Looking forward to the next instalment . I'm trying to think of the last blogger I follow who went through got a feeling it was Pip & Mick.
Thanks for sharing.
Ade
Hi Tom. We took our nav lights off for that tunnel. Also removed cratch and pram covers. We came through completely unscathed. I don't think CRT tested the horn.
Enjoy, it's a great experience.
Mick
Rather you than me going through Standedge Tunnel, Tom and Jan. I already knew I didn't want to do it, and that was confirmed when I watched the sped up video that nb Oakfield posted on their FB page - made me feel ill just watching!
I am SO pleased that Waka Huia is too long for the L&L. One day, we will go up to Undermill and then happily turn to return without venturing into that hellhole.
Re the horn - maybe you need what we have on Waka Huia - we have a fabulous airhorn that sounds like the ones Mack trucks have. I love to use it when I hear cars beep beeping as they cross the little humped bridges over the cut. Of course I can only legitimately do that when said bridge is on a corner, so I am always on the look out for that happy accident of timing and contoured navigation ...
Our horn was hopeless when we bought the boat though - sounded like a strangled goose. The issue then was voltage drop between the horn and the switchboard. It is now using a 24v line so has heaps of grunt. Very macho indeed!
Cheers, Marilyn
Hi Ade,
The weather has been very kind to us over the last couple of days and one consequence has been we've stopped running the stove. It's certainly lovely up this way.
Hi Mick & Pip
We are also removing the cratch and pram covers, along with the sat-dome. I'm looking at the removal of the nav lights but it will only be the chrome frame and glass as the wiring is crimped.
Marilyn,
You have no sense of adventure! :-) It's only paintwork [which will take hours of effort to fix :-( ] I've been meaning to get a better horn and now I have no excuse.
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