Two short moves and a sociable weekend.

On Sunday morning we left our mooring near Lower Park Marina, going through Bridge 153 to turn around, then heading to Salterforth to moor outside the Anchor Inn.
We met visitors there; George and Margaret, Arthur and Wendy came for lunch. A good afternoon catching up, but then they had a rough trip back over to York in the heavy rain and strong winds. George and Margaret are from Ingleton but had gone over to spend a few days with Arthur and Wendy. Yesterday they came again on their way back home.

A very pleasant supper at the Anchor Inn…
…and no, George didn’t finish that huge mixed grill!

They left this morning, but we’ll see them again while we’re up here.

It’s been pretty grim weather for the last couple of days, but this morning brightened up after early rain. Meg and I went for a walk and stayed dry for the first time in what seems like ages! The wind was still brisk, though, making a nuisance of itself as we reversed through the bridge behind us and pulled onto Salterforth Wharf. There’s water a rubbish disposal here, but unfortunately no sluice.

I’d just got the hose on and had a quick chat to Denise from C&RT, trying to get passers-by to sign up as Friends of the Canal and River Trust, when our Tesco delivery arrived. 

It was past noon by the time we’d got everything away, so I invited Denise to join us for lunch, giving her a chance to get out of the wind. Over soup and cheese-topped buns Mags and Denise discovered that they were brought up not far away from each other, so the conversation centred around growing up in Manchester, places they’d been and people they’d met. i finally had to pry them apart so we could get away, else they’d still have been nattering!
It really is a splendid bit of canal, up here on the summit level between Greenberfield and
Barrowford.






Crossing the county boundary at Mill Bridge 

We tried to get in to the bank in a couple of spots, intending to stop before reaching Foulridge for a couple of nights, but the bottom was too near the top, a situation all too common on the L&L. We finally got close enough only a few hundred yards short of Foulridge Wharf, pins in on the grassy bank.

In the distance can be seen the fine pair, motor Ultima and butty Thule.
Ultima Thule is a term referring to any distant place beyond the known world.

A walk up towards the wharf after we’d moored revealed that we should have gone a bit further. A long length of pontoon mooring with only one boat on beckons…

I’ve just had to go and slacken the ropes, pushing the stern out off the bottom. Up here on the summit there’s a lot of feeders coming in, supplying the water needed for the downhill locks either side. During the heavy rain the level came up at least 6 inches, now it’s dropping again. It’s still got a couple of inches to go, I reckon, so we’ll be better off on the pontoon than on the shallow edge here.

We’ll be here for a bit, I reckon, before pushing off through Foulridge Tunnel towards Barrowford.

Oh, and I got the lifting ring fitted in the wine cellar lid, so that’s another job done…

Locks 0, miles 3