Back on the Main Line

Another of those “do we, don’t we” sorts of days. Heavy showers and strong winds through the morning, but it looked to be drying up a bit by noon so we decided to make a move. We might have stopped had it not been for the grass cutters mowing the towpath this morning. We’d have had grass clippings right through the boat by this evening. One drawback of a hairy dog. She’s a bit of a “muck magnet”!

So we got under way just after 12, with 4 locks to do to take us up onto the Leeds and Liverpool Main Line.

Lock 1, with the Junction Bridge in the background and cottages either side.

A left turn under the bridge, heading towards Leeds.

We’ll be turning onto the Leigh Branch at Wigan rather than going over to Leeds.

We’d had a few spits and spots of rain as we came up the locks, and thought we’d got away with it.

No such luck. As we came through Spencers Swing Bridge the rain  started and just got heavier and heavier.

Spencers Swing Bridge. Prepare for the deluge.

We had about 20 minutes of torrential rain, driven by the wind dead astern. It actually wasn’t too bad. I closed the rear doors, slid the hatch up to my chest, put my hood up and weathered the storm. An advantage of a trad stern.

Approaching Parbold we came up behind a BW work boat, the wide-beam ALT.

Following Alt

With his breadth and draught he couldn’t make any speed, and I had to keep dropping out of gear to keep clear of him. In fact he beckoned us past at one point, but I waved him on, knowing that we’d be pulling in at Parbold in a few minutes anyway.

The rain had stopped by this time, and we’ve had a few fleeting glimpses of the sun since we stopped. But we’ve more of the same tomorrow, according to the weatherman.

Thanks for the responses to my post yesterday. It looks like the new blogger interface has had a mixed reception, judging by the comments. I‘m glad it’s not just me, then. Now I know I’ll send a message to the development team.

Locks 4, miles 4   

I’m running The Great North Run to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.