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Todmorden to Lancaster


narrowboatmike

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Hi, my partner and I would like to travel from Todmorden to Lancaster in summer 2020.

Any suggestions to how many days it may take. We will be moving 8 hours each day.

Also, we've seen a couple of videos on crossing the Ribble link. One was towed the other 

not. Has anyone had experience of being towed and the cost involved.

'To be brave or not to be brave' , is the question my wife keeps reminding me of, especially after

watching some of the videos on the internet. many thanks for reading, Mike

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You can use canalplan.org.uk to plan the time taken.  You will need to book the Ribble link, and if you have specific dates in mind then you should get it booked now.  Due to the tides there are only a couple of blocks of 3 or 4 days each way every month.  I would suggest that you you plan to have a month on the Lancaster if you can.
 

We did the Ribble Link last summer, don’t believe all the drama that you see in the videos, it is not hard, and lots of boats cross easily every summer.

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You could probably do that in about 12 days. I suggest you plan an early start and a longish day from The Rose of Lancaster at Chatterton to Castlefield in Manchester. You can break the descent at Islington Marina but I have just kept going all the way down. The Ribble Link is straightforward I've done it in both flat calm and high winds never been a problem other than steering against a side wind. It is a bit slow coming out of Tarleton Lock into a big tide. You may need to give it some motor to make headway for a few hundred yards after that it's plain sailing, but don't cut the corners into the Ribble or into Link. 

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CanalPlan is quite good for general route timings but will not factor in weedhatch visits and other delays going through Manchester, and you will also need to avoid overnight stops in not-so-good places, and maybe you will want overnight stops at good to visit places.

So, from memory,

Day 1 Tod to Summit

Day 2 Down to Littleborough (be prepared for possible empty pounds which can waste a lot of time)

Day 3 Through Rochdale to the top of Slattocks flight  (nice little pub, the Ship, one lock down)  but if you are doing really well carry on down to Slattocks flight.

Day 4 Down Slattocks flight, past the Rose of Lancaster and moor outside the Boat and Horses (quite a good cheese pie).

Day 5 The long hard day down lots of locks through Newton Heath etc. Start at or just before first light, especially in school holidays (though I am not sure the local bad kids even go to school ?) Overnight in New Islington, but if its gone really well then carry on down into Manchester

Day 6 Rochdale 9 down into Manchester, eat and drink at the Wharf

Day 7 Bridgewater canal to Dover Bridge (sad pub, probably now closed). Its quite a long way but a fast canal, could maybe split this into two days.

Day 8 Through Wigan, maybe stop at  Crooke Hall or go on a bit further if you prefer.

Day 9 Easy day to Parbold, very pretty bit of canal canal

Day 10 To Rufford Arm, my knowledge ends here as they made the locks too short for a proper boat!

 

..................Dave

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1 hour ago, Jim Riley said:

In essence, once you get past the Summit Wolves, the bible study group sharing communion wine at Oldham Rd lock 54 and the feral beasts of Newton Heath it's easy. 

I still haven't met this infamous Rochdale gentlemans club, I am starting to think its an urban myth, in fact as we went through this year there was not even the usual evidence (empty cans and bottles). There was a bunch of very faded flowers at the lock side, I wonder if if they have been taken by a lock devil?

 

..............Dave

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50 minutes ago, dmr said:

I still haven't met this infamous Rochdale gentlemans club, I am starting to think its an urban myth, in fact as we went through this year there was not even the usual evidence (empty cans and bottles). There was a bunch of very faded flowers at the lock side, I wonder if if they have been taken by a lock devil?

 

..............Dave

 

Well there was at least one lady amongst them when I went through, but they behaved like gentlemen even when I tried to educate them about drinking proper beer and gave them a bottle.

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54 minutes ago, dmr said:

I still haven't met this infamous Rochdale gentlemans club, I am starting to think its an urban myth, in fact as we went through this year there was not even the usual evidence (empty cans and bottles). There was a bunch of very faded flowers at the lock side, I wonder if if they have been taken by a lock devil?

 

..............Dave

To be fair (arrgh I've just slapped myself around the head for saying that) I've been mildly troubled a couple of times, I know a fellow boater who had a bit more grief and hassle, but I think it's rare, unlike Newton Heath. 

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3 hours ago, dmr said:

CanalPlan is quite good for general route timings but will not factor in weedhatch visits and other delays going through Manchester, and you will also need to avoid overnight stops in not-so-good places, and maybe you will want overnight stops at good to visit places.

So, from memory,

Day 1 Tod to Summit

Day 2 Down to Littleborough (be prepared for possible empty pounds which can waste a lot of time)

Day 3 Through Rochdale to the top of Slattocks flight  (nice little pub, the Ship, one lock down)  but if you are doing really well carry on down to Slattocks flight.

Day 4 Down Slattocks flight, past the Rose of Lancaster and moor outside the Boat and Horses (quite a good cheese pie).

Day 5 The long hard day down lots of locks through Newton Heath etc. Start at or just before first light, especially in school holidays (though I am not sure the local bad kids even go to school ?) Overnight in New Islington, but if its gone really well then carry on down into Manchester

Day 6 Rochdale 9 down into Manchester, eat and drink at the Wharf

Day 7 Bridgewater canal to Dover Bridge (sad pub, probably now closed). Its quite a long way but a fast canal, could maybe split this into two days.

Day 8 Through Wigan, maybe stop at  Crooke Hall or go on a bit further if you prefer.

Day 9 Easy day to Parbold, very pretty bit of canal canal

Day 10 To Rufford Arm, my knowledge ends here as they made the locks too short for a proper boat!

 

..................Dave

Parbold to Tarleton is easily done in a day, you would need to do that the day before the Ribble link crossing.  You can break it and stop overnight at Rufford, good pub for food there.  For shops you need to do that at Tarleton, which also has a decent pub.

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1 hour ago, dmr said:

I still haven't met this infamous Rochdale gentlemans club, I am starting to think its an urban myth, in fact as we went through this year there was not even the usual evidence (empty cans and bottles). There was a bunch of very faded flowers at the lock side, I wonder if if they have been taken by a lock devil?

 

..............Dave

No myth, a jolly bunch of helpful chaps who clean up after their meetings.

Edited by Midnight
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1 hour ago, Jim Riley said:

 I think it's rare, unlike Newton Heath. 

And what's wrong with Newton on the Heath? Except, don't stop, keep counting the fenders etc etc

 

ETA: that was tongue in cheek. The Rochdale down to Manchester is a lovely ribbon of water and nature. I shop and occasionally drink down in Newton Heath. Would be good to see a bit more traffic on the Rochdale

Edited by BilgePump
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52 minutes ago, BilgePump said:

And what's wrong with Newton on the Heath? Except, don't stop, keep counting the fenders etc etc

 

ETA: that was tongue in cheek. The Rochdale down to Manchester is a lovely ribbon of water and nature. I shop and occasionally drink down in Newton Heath. Would be good to see a bit more traffic on the Rochdale

It worries me that the fence round the pub gets higher and more ambitious each time we pass, but I'm not sure if its to keep the locals in or us boaters out. Like everywhere its just a smallish number of bad lads (and an adult or two) who get a bad reputation for an area, and Newton Heath does have a bit more than its fair share.

 

A few more boats on the Rochdale would be great and I think a bit more honest information would help. I have recently met quite a few boats heading down that way with not a clue about what its going to be like and then they get all upset and say never again. A little bit of planning really helps, as does help from the volunteer lockies.

 

.................Dave

 

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Having done the Rochdale 3 times this year, I had one or two problems with depth (lack of) on the first trip, but the boat did draw over 3 ft, and after removing some excess ballast from the stern the second and third trips were fine. Plenty of locals about on the towpath, some interested and chatty, some who ignored us, but no adverse reactions at all.

The section from New Islington to The Boat and Horses is a slog but can be done in a day. Beyond that, the centre of Rochdale is a bit gritty, but the rest is no worse than other urban and semi-urban canals, and even between Chaderton and Rochdale there are some surprisingly rural lengths.

 

Don't plan on eating at the Rose of Lancaster - they shut the kitchen when they feel like it, regardless of the food hours stated on their website. But I can recommend the Modhubon Indian takeaway just over the bridge.

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On 04/01/2020 at 21:32, john6767 said:


 

We did the Ribble Link last summer, don’t believe all the drama that you see in the videos, it is not hard, and lots of boats cross easily every summer.

I echo those comments. We did the return journey in June following behind the Silver Fox Vloggers. Admittedly they did have one slightly scary ,moment when emerging from Savick Brook. The incoming tidal current was very strong and, in their anxiousness to clear the sandbanks at the entrance to the brook they made the mistake of heading straight for the middle of the estuary where the current is at its strongest, instead of turning sooner. This resulted in them being briefly swept sideways towards Preston but within a matter of seconds they were able to straighten up and begin heading in the right direction. They were first out and we were behind them so we made sure we didn't make the same mistake :) .

 

All those vloggers are understandably going to make things look more dramatic so as to attract viewers. Yes it must have been a bit scary for the Foxes but at no time were they in any real danger. Provided you're boat is well maintained and prepared, and your boat is capable of being on high(ish) revs for 2 hours you shouldn't have any problems. 

 

I've been on a lot more dodgy tidal waters than these are.

 

 

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When moving a boat from the Lancaster to the main system last year I followed a very experienced local out from the link.  He told me to follow him on tick-over down Savick Brook to wait for the tide to slack off. Thinking about a previous trip that way when I was delayed leaving the sea lock due to rope fouling the prop, when I turned into the Ribble the boats that had set off by some 20 minutes beforehand still hadn't reached the first perch and I soon caught them up. Maybe the lock keepers have a tendency to let boats out a little bit too early.

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On 04/01/2020 at 21:12, narrowboatmike said:

Hi, my partner and I would like to travel from Todmorden to Lancaster in summer 2020.

Any suggestions to how many days it may take. We will be moving 8 hours each day.

Also, we've seen a couple of videos on crossing the Ribble link. One was towed the other 

not. Has anyone had experience of being towed and the cost involved.

'To be brave or not to be brave' , is the question my wife keeps reminding me of, especially after

watching some of the videos on the internet. many thanks for reading, Mike

You can do this trip in 8 x 8 hr (average) days, although you will end up doing some longer than others due to location stops. As for the Ribble Link, as long as you're confident of your engine's capability, navigation is relatively straight forward.

 

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When coming down into Manchester last year we booked the very helpful CRT volunteer lock keeper, I think his name was Ian but I might be wrong. You do that by ringing the main CRT phone number 0303 0404 040. We set off from the Rose of Lancaster at about 07:30 and met the lockie an hour and a half later at lock 65. New Islington Marina was closed last summer (I don't know if it still is) so we went down two more locks and headed up the Ashton Canal about 1/2 a mile and moored in Piccadilly Basin, very quiet secure moorings. We did the Rochdale 9 early the next day down to Castlefield. Be prepared for unseamly goings on at the sub-terainian lock 85. You won't get bothered but there may be people there who are more interested in other things.

As others have said the Ribble link is not too bad but I would change/clean your fuel filter a couple of days beforehand just to be safe and you need confidence in your cooling system as you could be running the engine hard for a couple of hours. Some suggest making sure your water tank is full so you can run off a calorifier of hot water to help with the cooling.

 

 

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New Islington was open when we came up late September. It now has a pub, a strange place in the style of an old student bar, beer is expensive but was very good.

The volunteer lock keeper is an occasional poster on this forum and has extensive knowledge of the workings and restoration history of the Rochdale so if you can get him then do take the opportunity to learn lots of interesting stuff.

 

................Dave

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1 hour ago, Midnight said:

When moving a boat from the Lancaster to the main system last year I followed a very experienced local out from the link.  He told me to follow him on tick-over down Savick Brook to wait for the tide to slack off. Thinking about a previous trip that way when I was delayed leaving the sea lock due to rope fouling the prop, when I turned into the Ribble the boats that had set off by some 20 minutes beforehand still hadn't reached the first perch and I soon caught them up. Maybe the lock keepers have a tendency to let boats out a little bit too early.

It may well be that the 'letting out' depends on depth at the sea lock - what you do after that is up to you!

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53 minutes ago, Midnight said:

When moving a boat from the Lancaster to the main system last year I followed a very experienced local out from the link.  He told me to follow him on tick-over down Savick Brook to wait for the tide to slack off. Thinking about a previous trip that way when I was delayed leaving the sea lock due to rope fouling the prop, when I turned into the Ribble the boats that had set off by some 20 minutes beforehand still hadn't reached the first perch and I soon caught them up. Maybe the lock keepers have a tendency to let boats out a little bit too early.

I think they send you off as soon as there is enough depth in Savick Brook to get down, so that you have the max time available to do the crossing.  I was the first boat on our crossing, and having done the research I was ready for the cross flow when entering the Ribble, so as we approached the mouth of Savick Brook I put some power on and as we got to the mouth angled the bow into the flow and pilled on the power to push us into the incoming tide without cutting the corner.  I think waiting or being last would probably make this easier and we crossed in plenty of time and had to hover in the Douglas at Tarleton waiting for the tide to go out so that the river made a level with the canal and we could all just go straight through the lock with both ends open.  However, I guess if you were later you would be against the tide going up the Douglas, where we were at the lock at about high tide, so it was easy going.

 

13 minutes ago, Alway Swilby said:

When coming down into Manchester last year we booked the very helpful CRT volunteer lock keeper, I think his name was Ian but I might be wrong. You do that by ringing the main CRT phone number 0303 0404 040. We set off from the Rose of Lancaster at about 07:30 and met the lockie an hour and a half later at lock 65. New Islington Marina was closed last summer (I don't know if it still is) so we went down two more locks and headed up the Ashton Canal about 1/2 a mile and moored in Piccadilly Basin, very quiet secure moorings. We did the Rochdale 9 early the next day down to Castlefield. Be prepared for unseamly goings on at the sub-terainian lock 85. You won't get bothered but there may be people there who are more interested in other things.

As others have said the Ribble link is not too bad but I would change/clean your fuel filter a couple of days beforehand just to be safe and you need confidence in your cooling system as you could be running the engine hard for a couple of hours. Some suggest making sure your water tank is full so you can run off a calorifier of hot water to help with the cooling.

 

 

I think the running the engine hard for a long time is a bit over stated, apart from the places where you are manoeuvring, then I only used the revs (2000rpm, Beta 35) that I would have used if I wanted to make good progress on say the Thames.  On the way up we were first and led all the way by a long gap from the boat we came out of Tarleton with.  On the way down we were first but were overtaken on the Ribble, but the boats ahead only waited longer outside Tarleton lock, so it gained them nothing, although one was rushing as he wanted to get to Rufford for deisel before they closed.

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On 08/01/2020 at 18:22, Alway Swilby said:

 New Islington Marina was closed last summer (I don't know if it still is) so we went down two more locks and headed up the Ashton Canal about 1/2 a mile and moored in Piccadilly Basin, very quiet secure moorings.

 

I have moored at Dale St junction overnight, without needing to go up to Piccadilly Basin.  Plenty of people about in the early evening, including a chap sat on one of the benches who seemed to be selling substances to various passers by, but no trouble to us, and once it was properly dark the place was completely quiet.

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