Is Wigan worth a look?

[ditchcrawler]

17 hours ago, john6767 said:

Not so sure about that.  This is how it looked on the 26 July 2019.  That whole area is basically derelict, and I would not fancy mooring overnight there.

 

Well thats better when I saw it

[DRP]

16 hours ago, Pagefield said:

I was being generous with 'somewhat'.  And no, not a place to moor.  Either go beyond Ell Meadow  Lock 89 into Crooke Village, or stay in the Wigan Pound, as has been suggested.

Oh come on,chaps, get a grip!

Alright, it may not be Solihull, or the Home Counties, but Wigan is OK.

As has been said, tie up in the dry dock pound; you can cross the bridge at the end of the lock and walk about 100yds to the end of the street where there is a handy convenience store and a nice local pub called the Honeysuckle. If you like a huge selection of real ales, walk up to Wigan Central as suggested by The Biscuits. You could even visit the Uncle Joe's factory and buy some mint balls.

Granted it's not a destination for a fortnight's holiday, but a perfectly pleasant overnight stop.

 

[john6767]

12 minutes ago, DRP said:

Oh come on,chaps, get a grip!

Alright, it may not be Solihull, or the Home Counties, but Wigan is OK.

As has been said, tie up in the dry dock pound; you can cross the bridge at the end of the lock and walk about 100yds to the end of the street where there is a handy convenience store and a nice local pub called the Honeysuckle. If you like a huge selection of real ales, walk up to Wigan Central as suggested by The Biscuits. You could even visit the Uncle Joe's factory and buy some mint balls.

Granted it's not a destination for a fortnight's holiday, but a perfectly pleasant overnight stop.

 

I don't think anyone is saying don't stop in Wigan, just there are places there, as with most urban areas, that don't feel good.  Among those I would say round the corner by the "pier" is one, and by the new CRT pontoon is another.  The pond above by the dry dock seemed fine, and was full of boats when we went through, the other two areas mentioned had no moored boats at all.

[DRP]

I think the pontoon you mention is something to do with being hospitable to canoes - unless they've installed another one!

 

The pound with the coal tippler that they wrongly label "Wigan Pier" is just a very exposed and uncomfortable place to tie up, and there's nowhere even remotely ok after that, but you can get stuck in the middle of nowhere if it's afternoon and you miss the locking the locks deadline.But I'd say it was more miserable than threatening or dangerous.

[john6767]

1 minute ago, DRP said:

I think the pontoon you mention is something to do with being hospitable to canoes - unless they've installed another one!

 

The pound with the coal tippler that they wrongly label "Wigan Pier" is just a very exposed and uncomfortable place to tie up, and there's nowhere even remotely ok after that, but you can get stuck in the middle of nowhere if it's afternoon and you miss the locking the locks deadline.But I'd say it was more miserable than threatening or dangerous.

I don't think the pontoon is for canoes, it has gates that are locked with a BW key, but they are just railings basically so offer no security over mooring against the wall.  I had a good look at it while we were using the water point there.

 

We went on to a just after you go under the moterway, there is a very nice mooring spot there where we spent two days while it poured with rain.

[Pagefield]

If arriving or departing Wigan on a Saturday afternoon, worth checking football fixtures.  DW stadium is by Lock 88.  Many people join the towpath at Seven Stars bridge (50) to walk to the ground.  Others take a different route but cross the nearby footbridge over the canal. (49b).  ie, worth avoiding just before, or after a match.

[Mike Todd]

1 hour ago, Pagefield said:

If arriving or departing Wigan on a Saturday afternoon, worth checking football fixtures.  DW stadium is by Lock 88.  Many people join the towpath at Seven Stars bridge (50) to walk to the ground.  Others take a different route but cross the nearby footbridge over the canal. (49b).  ie, worth avoiding just before, or after a match.

But if no match then just above the lock has been good for us on two or three occasions. It is also a shortish walk to Asda - a bit further than it looks. 'Twas very quiet.

[restlessnomad]

23 hours ago, larrysanders said:

Hi we're passing through Wigan later in the week travelling from the Leigh branch and heading towards Liverpool.   Is Wigan worth a look and where's best to moor up?  Can you moor up near Wigan Pier and if so is it safe?

 

Thanks! 

the place around wigan dry dock is fine, there are offices and apartments on canal side. It looks pretty safe,  always some boats moored up.

[ditchcrawler]

3 hours ago, john6767 said:

I don't think the pontoon is for canoes, it has gates that are locked with a BW key, but they are just railings basically so offer no security over mooring against the wall.  I had a good look at it while we were using the water point there.

 

It is https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/news/new-pontoon-launched-in-wigan 

[john6767]

6 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

It is https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/news/new-pontoon-launched-in-wigan 

Interesting, but it does say for boaters as well, so I think the comment is still valid in that it does not buy you anything in terms of security.

[PeterCr]

We moored in the pound above the dry dock a couple of weeks ago, no problems. We did look at the pontoon but didn't like the look of it.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, PeterCr said:

We moored in the pound above the dry dock a couple of weeks ago, no problems. We did look at the pontoon but didn't like the look of it.

I have moored right at the bottom of the Wigan flight, by the dry dock, and also a little higher up. The one by the dry dock was busiest with people crossing the bridge to and from Trenchenfield 

[Nightwatch]

Don't forget the meat and tattie pies. Yummy.

Saw a van with a sign, hadn't seen a sign like it before, plenty of them now, the sign,

 

"NO PIES LEFT IN VAN OVERNIGHT". Oh how we giggled.