Photo Gallery

September 08 https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/ September 08 Leaving Whilton Negotiating the Marina! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12203278 12203278 Cratch fitters Men at work! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12207403 12207403 Cratch fitters Men at work, with supervisor! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12207389 12207389 Capn! At the helm. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12640652 12640652 Norton Junction Where the Oxford canal splits from the Leicester arm of the Grand Union https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12207402 12207402 Norton Junction Going left onto the Oxford.. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12207404 12207404 Percy - Cyril Percy Trothvoskey A great character https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12637761 12637761 Percy Showing Clive a few tricks! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12637748 12637748 Percy Percy's cottage at Bridge 31 https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12637749 12637749 Final fit Dave Bassett fitting the cratch board in place ready for the cover. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12640633 12640633 Mel at work! Working hard on the Atherstone Flight! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12730697 12730697 Sunset Stormy sunset from our mooring on the 9th! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12730698 12730698 Shepherd's delight! It finally turned pink as the sun set. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12843602 12843602 Approaching aquaduct This is where the Coventry canal crosses the River Tame just before Tamworth. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12843586 12843586 Waterways crossing Coventry canal crossing the aquaduct over the River Tame https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12843603 12843603 Naked cratch board! A beautiful piece of work by Dave Bassett, shame it has to be covered up really! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12852921 12852921 Start of fitting the cover Bas (Sebastian) arrived promptly and started fitting the cover. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12852922 12852922 Its all coming together Bas putting the final fasteners in. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12852892 12852892 Final wash and brush up Bas gives the cratch cover a clean up, getting rid of all the chalk marks etc https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12852923 12852923 Clive gives his seal of approval! Clive inspection our gorgeous new cratch cover. Bas did a good job. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12852924 12852924 Huddlesford Junction Clive's beard is getting longer, have you noticed! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12938567 12938567 Cows in the canal! Its amazing the things you find in a canal! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12938566 12938566 Its still raining! Its not all plain sailing on a narrow boat! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=12938549 12938549 Early morning balloons Three hot air balloons enjoying a fine early morning. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13075580 13075580 Buzzard He was soaring over us whilst we were in Great Haywood Marina. What a wonderful sight! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13075596 13075596 Canalside fishermen Peace and tranquility along the canal and best of all.....no rain! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13075579 13075579 First sign of Autumn? So far all the trees are still very green but this tree is just starting to show that Autumn is round the corner. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13075601 13075601 One beautiful day! Just a lovely picture of peace, tranquility, blue sky and sunshine - makes a welcome change! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13075602 13075602 Sandon Lock Our mooring for Saturday night. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13075597 13075597 Captain Clive! Just to show whose boss! Hat courtesy of Shirley and Barry Collings. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13178604 13178604 Queer folk round here! Just had to take a photo of this sign, its so bizarre! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13178600 13178600 Pot kiln A sign of a bygone age - an old pot kiln left over from the heyday of the Staffordshire potteries. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13178605 13178605 Wedgewood craftsmanship Hand painting of fine Wedgewood china - the brushes they use are about 2 hairs!! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13178606 13178606 Entrance to Harecastle Tunnel Oh well, here we go again! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13243163 13243163 Light at the end of the tunnel! Phew we made it from the cold, damp bowels of the Earth! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13243164 13243164 Kidsgrove "Red Bull" Junction This is where we turned left onto the Macclesfield Canal from the Trent and Mersey. We are in the North! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13288099 13288099 Junction signpost Yes, we have signposts on the canals, just like you do on the roads! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13288123 13288123 Wilbraham's Folly on Mow Cop This distant folly dates from 1754. The hill is called Mow (pronounced as cow) Cop and the folly is named after a local squire from Rode Hall. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13361834 13361834 Pretty Macc Pretty, otherworldly and narrow! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13361863 13361863 Hall Green Lock Wolfgang (named after Mozart!) and his mummy helped with the lock https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13361835 13361835 Ramsdell Hall Our mooring for the night! Built around 1760. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13361864 13361864 Little Moreton Hall and moat An absolutely amazing place and to think it was still inhabited until 1937! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13427566 13427566 The Knot Garden and Hall This beautiful garden has been recreated to match the patterns in the hall. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13427567 13427567 Little Moreton Hall This was the sight that greeted us as we came round the corner from the farmyard. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13427568 13427568 Medlar Tree Medlars are an ancient fruit and at one time were only eaten by the gentry! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13427569 13427569 Clive communing with the locals! He always did have an affinity with animals - the cow was very nervous but couldn't resist a sniff! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13427570 13427570 The ultimate fish pond! The hall has a moat going all the way around it and it is full of huge koi! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13427571 13427571 The kids! Vicki, Gareth and Indeia (our granddaughter) enjoying cruising aboard Lady Arwen https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13652848 13652848 Four hands make light work! It was great to have Vicki helping with the locks, it makes it so much quicker and easier. Indy helped to open the gates too! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13652847 13652847 I see no ships! Gareth looking at Jodderel Bank in the distance. I never relaxed with him on a boat when he was a child - its no different now! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13652819 13652819 The Swing Bridge! Vicki and Indy crossing the bridge to see why the swing bridge wasn't opening! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13652849 13652849 In the North at last! For those of our Cambridgeshire friends and colleagues, the thing in the background is called a hill! (albeit a small one - you aint seen nothing yet! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13652850 13652850 The Cage A strange little edifice, evidently built in Elizabethan times - thought to be for viewing deer hunting! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13652851 13652851 A heron We see many of these magnificent birds watching for fish - how they spot them in the murky canal waters is a mystery! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13652852 13652852 Sign of bygone days If you look closely on the right hand wall you can see the grooves worn by the ropes as the horses pulled the boats along. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13652853 13652853 Marple Junction This is where we left the Macclesfield Canal and turned onto the Lower Peak Forest Canal https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13687957 13687957 Another watery signpost! Look - only 28 miles to go to Huddersfield! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13687954 13687954 Lock No 7 of 16! Half way down only another 9 to go! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13687956 13687956 Where's the plane! Crossing the Marple aqueduct with the railway viaduct alongside. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13687959 13687959 Crossing the aqueduct This was a very narrow strip of water with a towpath, Clive had to go very slowly so I got chance to hop off and take some photos! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13687955 13687955 The Marple Railway Viaduct This spectacular viaduct crosses over the River Goyt alongside the aqueduct we were crossing. As you can see it was very high up! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13687960 13687960 Strange narrows! The Lower Peak Forest Canal is riddled with very narrow passages and this was one of the strangest! There were about two inches on either side of the boat! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13687928 13687928 Portland Basin This is where the Lower Peak Forest Canal meets the Ashton and Huddersfield Narrow Canals - we turned right! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13833368 13833368 Strange section!! This is bloody narrow! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13833353 13833353 Stalybridge town centre Curious onlookers! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13833366 13833366 The Culprit! The lock gate that wouldn't shut! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13833367 13833367 Mary Moffat's plaque She was the mother-in-law of David Livingstone and a great inspiration to him! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13849770 13849770 My first lift bridge! This was exciting! The first time I had used my "anti-vandal" key!! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13849771 13849771 Oh my goodness! I have to confess I hadn't a clue what to do when I encountered this! The big box on the right turned out to be the hydrolic controls which opened the gates using my windlass! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13849748 13849748 The Asda Tunnel This tunnel was built solely to accommodate and Asda Superstore above - the new embracing the old! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13849772 13849772 Mills and Hills! We really do feel to be nearing home as the architecture and the scenery changes dramatically - its very exciting! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13849773 13849773 The don't make it easy up North! I had to leap(!) up these big stone steps from the boat in order to get up to the lock! Thank goodness I was bred up North - we're made of stern stuff! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13849774 13849774 Another piece of sculpture! This one depicts the shuttle - reflects the textile industry which was huge in this area - my father was a Textile Mill Furnisher and shuttles were one of his products. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13849775 13849775 Crossing Old Sag Aqueduct We came under the magnificent Saddleworth railway viaduct, through the lock and here we are crossing the Old Sag Aqueduct which crosses the River https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13849776 13849776 Whirlpool! The locks in the flight up to Standedge all have double paddles and as the second one is opened a huge whirlpool forms - it also causes a really bad undertow in the lock which dragged the boat forward! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13849777 13849777 Yet another strange sculpture! Evident the Canal societies were all given Millenium money, some of which had to be spent on art - hence the sculpture in Stalybridge, the Shuttle and now this - the globular things represent heather buds and the thing at the back is a sort of game for children to play! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13849749 13849749 The Western Portal This is what is waiting for us on Friday lunchtime - PANIC! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=13833354 13833354 Clive and Alan with Verity We met Alan and Jayne with their friends Steve and Marie at Diggle as we were waiting to go through the tunnel. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150401 14150401 Preparing for the tunnel! The BW guys arrived on Friday late morning to prepare the boats for passage through the tunnel. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150387 14150387 Adding protection Yet more protection being added to the boat in the hope that she wouldn't get too much damage on the way through. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150403 14150403 Fred! Fred was a great guy who was in charge of the tunnel trip. He got us all organised and gave us our instructions. He is very knowledgable about the tunnel and gave us a lot of its fascinating history in a very humorous manner. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150402 14150402 Coming through! You can just see Lady Arwen behind the module which guided her through the tunnel. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150406 14150406 Old neighbours! Great to see Chris and John waiting for us as we emerged from the tunnel - long time no see! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150388 14150388 Reception committee! Soon more familiar faces arrived - James and Carmen and their baby daughter Ella. Clive's parents, my sister Thelma and our very good friend Pat. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150404 14150404 Oh dear! Yes I am afraid Lady Arwen took a terrible bashing on the way through the tunnel! The paint was knocked off to the bare metal in several places. Going to need to work on her to make her shipshape again! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150405 14150405 The Mousehole! You can see from this picture just how small the entrance to the tunnel is, the tunnel itself is smaller than this in parts! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150389 14150389 Assisted by Daniel British Waterways provided us with an escort to help us down through the first ten locks from Tunnel End - Daniel was much appreciated. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150407 14150407 https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150390 14150390 https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150408 14150408 https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150391 14150391 Chasing Verity! Alan and Jayne on Verity were ahead of us all the way. Some of the locks were very difficult and slow and Clive had his work cut out trying to keep Lady Arwen from drifting and getting beached! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150409 14150409 Ivan the Brilliant! Ivan, our brother-in-law, was absoloutely marvellous helping me with the locks, in fact we wouldn't have got through without him. Some of the lock paddles were very, very stiff and I couldn't budge them myself - Ivan managed! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150411 14150411 Niagara Falls! So that is where all the water had gone! https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150412 14150412 Overnight mooring! Roger and Helen on board Eastrop very kindly allowed us to tie up to their boat for the night as there were no free moorings in the marina. Very is in front of them. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150413 14150413 Aspley Marina We will be staying here for ten days or so whilst we have some work done on the boat. https://clivenmel1.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoID=14150392 14150392