We cut short the planned River Weaver cruise and headed back to the Anderton Boat Lift managing to share a caisson with Rog & Jan on nb Kookaburra. They had the booking and CRT kindly let us tag along.
We’re going back up there…
A CRT tug went past going upstream as we waited for the lower gates to close.
Almost at the top…
Both caisson and aqueduct gates have been raised and we head onto the aqueduct
The view was better on Rog & Jan;s side….
This would have to be one of our more memorable canal moments
We led the way off the aqueduct
The first task was to head back to the CRT services beside Uplands Marina and empty the toilet tank before topping up the water tank. It was then a case of winding (turning) and heading towards Preston Brook where we moored a kilometre before the site of the Dutton Breach. Son and I then went off exploring. The route took us back to the Weaver at Acton Swing Bridge where we took the riverbank road downstream heading towards Dutton Locks.
CRT had a crane and some contractors working beside the bridge. However the actual worksite was further downstream. We passed this worksite and it appeared CRT were repairing the bank piling and removing trees. After a short walk we reached Dutton Locks.
From this point to Sutton Swing Bridge there is a towpath on both banks. We stayed on the northern bank crossing a timber footbridge over the weir by-pass before turning north to walk back to the canal.
The construction of the arches are interesting. They are made from laminated timber planks bolted together. Most of the footbridges have either been cast iron or concrete. I think this is the first laminated timber footbridge I’ve seen since we started cruising the inland waterways.
The public footpath took us back up to the site of the Dutton Breach where we decided to walk to Preston Brook Tunnel passing the Dutton Stop Lock. I couldn’t help noticing the two boats mooring on the lock landings either side of the lock.
We returned to Waiouru along a very wet and muddy towpath reaching the boat as the light started to fade. There was a small surprise at 10pm when a boat passed us in the dark. Particularly as they didn’t have a headlight! It must have been an interesting trip through the tunnel….. 
4 comments :
The night cruiser reminds me of the night we were moored just before Manchester. It was pitch black and I heard a boat. When I lifted the blind to look I got a real shock. Their headlight was pointing staight at us and a couple of seconds later came the crash. I opened the kitchen window and yelled out to them.... or maybe at them. They had a headlight but their rudder was stuck so they had no steering! Perhaps a better idea to stay stopped then?! They thought there'd be less boats on the move at night! Stupidity. Elly
It gets hard planning for others stupidity!
Not everyone cruising at night is stupid.
We often have to cruise into the night or very early in the day to catch early morning or late evening tides.
Yes, I wasn't stating everyone who cruises at night is stupid. However cruising at night and hitting other boats or cruising without lights is!
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