Ange

did you bring a spade hmm - can't tell what sort of pizza yet - haven't got all the carpet fluff and treadmarks off it yet Don't forget the curry sauce ...

Hedgehog crisps anyone? Or I've got a slice of pizza that Richard missed earlier - just need to brush off the bits ....

Ah but it would have been mean to tempt you - you were driving don't forget

Mum & dad are out this weekend - give them a wave if you see them! Grumpy people badly tethered seem to be endemic - I know we have boats pass us at a rate of knots which we comment on, then check our pins and blame ourselves if they come out. Back to pump outs - which is becoming important to us! We've always pumped out at marinas / hirers where we pay with cash money. Here we have machines that want different forms of cards. Where do we get these cards from? Dave thinks we need to visit BW offices for them, is that right? What's the difference between BWML cards and BW ones?

I think he choked on the cloud of smoke as we left Tarleton lock Keep an eye out for a little narrowboat called Longford moored at Sale Cruising Club - that's my mum & dad's boat Thanks for that info - we're moored almost opposite the BW sani station at Moss Lane and it was your post that prompted me to investigate it and find the pump out equipment in an unmarked hut! We saw the Barton Grange pump out as we passed - it looked very new

Thanks Sue but SH served me a bottle of Dog before he went - you can share my hedgehog crisps if you want though

Yum - sounds perfect - are you the designated bartender?

Blimey - I've wandered into General Boating and found a scrap - after midnight! I'll have a bottle of Newcastle Brown please - any crisps available?

Thanks for the info. Tis a shame you won't make it to the banter (especially as you're so close). Best wishes for a full recovery As for the weather - hmm - the weather forecast tonight showed the entire region as one big puddle! We visited some caves today to stay indoors! It looked dry tomorrow afternoon though so we should have a chance to put our walking boots on and do some exploring

Hi John Thanks for the pub tip. Unfortunately we're on a tight budge to we can only go out one night a week and apparently there's a free jazz night on at The Old Tithe Barn this weekend which Dave rather fancies. Do you know if they do decent beer? Thanks for the mooring tips We're going to need pump out facilities fairly soon - are they like hens' teeth around here or fairly easy to find? Cheers Ange Edited - if we're in and anyone passes feel free to visit - the kettle is always ready for visitors

:lol: Well done that lady! Next time you'll feel even more confident

Thank you And thanks for your help with the Wigan Flight! Where are you at the moment?

A huge virtual hug from me Jan x

... photos part 2 The River Ribble. The only photo that shows all four boats in front of us (we were number 5 of 6). Preston North End stadium can be seen on the right hand side. Dave was quite impressed with the bow wave - we don't do that very often! Entrance to the Link - one of the BW guys sat in the white van and counted us all in. Turning off the River Ribble onto the Link Rotating sea lock We had to moor up 3 abreast to a floating pontoon and wait for the BW guys to wave us on as the tide had to drop enough for us to get under this bridge. The Link - the right hand bend we are approaching was rather sharp ... ... and we didn't make it! Which led to the boat behind us grounding as well Pass the machete! A disconcerting moment when the Link appeared to dry up ... ... until we looked behind us! A lot of boats go through this staircase backwards, but we had a bit of time to wait for the BW guys to see us through so Dave winded (he didn't fancy reversing through!) Welcome to the Lancaster Canal Did it in two posts after all - back to edit the first one now!

Well here goes.... There are too many photos for one post so I've split them into 3 2 sections Leaving Tarleton sea lock which took us from the Leeds & Liverpool Canal onto the River Douglas. The River was flowing against us, so Dave was warned that the current would pull the front round unless he gunned the engine when we exited the lock. As it turned out it was very smooth. The River Douglas The open sea - this way lie ye dragons! Going round the Asland Lamp More to follow shortly ....

Excellent - our first forum sighting on the Lancaster! The prize is a pint that's waiting for you in the Virtual Pub Dave walked past Guy's Thatched Tavern when he walked up to Bilsborrow to pick the car up - he thought there was something going on there. We're still moored in the same place (two/three feet from the bank - John wasn't joking about the jumping boots!) - it was laundrette day today. I've just spent ages getting the photos in photobucket with an intermittent internet signal - I'll have a try at putting them on the forum now - wish me luck!

Well my dongle has decided to behave itself for a while -it seems to get better late at night, I think there may be a usage issue as well as the cutting. Who knows - it's all dark magic to me whether the damn thing will be good to me or not (I love hanging it out of the window and threatening it with drowning when it misbehaves - you'd be amazed how often that works!) Photos have been uploaded onto Facebook so 133 of them are there for those forum members that are Facebook friends. I'll do the Photobucket / forum stuff tomorrow (not 133 though!)

Just a quick post before my dongle fails again! We're in a bit of a cutting here and I can't get a stable enough internet connection to post pics yet - as soon as I can I will

143 pics to sort and choose from - I chose the scatter gun approach to photography - keep on clicking and hope I'll get a few good'uns Thank you - though you must have missed from another thread that Soldthehouse has awarded us honorary northern status - the certificate is in the post (apparently)! I love the word sandgrownun - I was raised in Southend-on-Sea so I think we share an affinity - a seaside resort that had such a glorious heyday but rather a long time ago

We made it! It was a dream crossing and Dave thoroughly enjoyed finding out what his 58hp engine was capable of (though he did have to slow down when the boat behind us dropped back too much!) We're moored up outside the Hand & Dagger - we found it a bit tricky getting to the side and even outside the pub the back end of the boat is sticking right out into the canal! I'll post a full crossing report with pics tomorrow once I've downloaded then uploaded them. Hello Lancaster Canal