The Cheshire Ring

[estwdjhn]

Assuming its not sunk beforehand , I'm planning on taking my old crate round the Cheshire ring at Easter.

Intention is to go Anticlockwise, starting from Macclesfield.

 

Any advice is welcome, particularly with regard to the best apoach to timing the dodgy bits through Clayton.

I belive the normal aproach envisages overnight mooring at Portland Basin, followed by an early morning run into Central Manchester.

 

What is the situation with the Bridgewater - I've a normal Canal and River BW licence, and only intend on spending a couple of days on the Bridgewater at most - do I need anything extra for doing that?

[mayalld]

Assuming its not sunk beforehand , I'm planning on taking my old crate round the Cheshire ring at Easter.

Intention is to go Anticlockwise, starting from Macclesfield.

 

Any advice is welcome, particularly with regard to the best apoach to timing the dodgy bits through Clayton.

I belive the normal aproach envisages overnight mooring at Portland Basin, followed by an early morning run into Central Manchester.

 

What is the situation with the Bridgewater - I've a normal Canal and River BW licence, and only intend on spending a couple of days on the Bridgewater at most - do I need anything extra for doing that?

 

Overnight at PB (or rather between bridges 1 and "A" on the PF) is the best bet, and a nice early start (no later than 8am from PB)

 

Bridgewater canal is free of charge for up to 7 consecutive days.

 

You need to consider timing for getting to PB from your home mooring.

 

Allow 2.5-3.5 hours for Marple Locks, and 2.5 hours from Marple to PB, which is 5-6 hours from Marple Top to PB.

 

Macc to Marple Junction is 4.5 - 5 hours.

 

Total from your home mooring to PB is 9.5 - 11 hours, which is a potentially very long day, or two overly short days, which could be a bit of a bind if you only have a week to do the journey.

 

It might be advisable to put in a couple of hours the evening before your cruise really start, and get to Poynton that night, which would leave a 7-8 hour day on the first real day of the trip.

 

Also, keep in mind that once you have passed Marple sanitary station, taps and elsan points are less than plentiful.

 

(and don't forget your anti-vandal key. You will need it!)

Edited February 10, 2009 by mayalld

[Steve3]

Assuming its not sunk beforehand , I'm planning on taking my old crate round the Cheshire ring at Easter.

Intention is to go Anticlockwise, starting from Macclesfield.

 

Any advice is welcome, particularly with regard to the best apoach to timing the dodgy bits through Clayton.

I belive the normal aproach envisages overnight mooring at Portland Basin, followed by an early morning run into Central Manchester.

 

What is the situation with the Bridgewater - I've a normal Canal and River BW licence, and only intend on spending a couple of days on the Bridgewater at most - do I need anything extra for doing that?

 

Hi We did exactly as you propose a couple of years ago i.e. anticlockwise and overnight at Portland basin.

Most of the locks down to Manchester had the bottom gate or gates open and therefore required closing then filling for us to enter (bear in mind the paddle gear is locked) this made it very hard work. We left Portland basin at 6.00a.m.and had no trouble. If we were to do it again i would do it clockwise and overnight at Dulcie street after doing the Rochdale 9 which are hard work, but again whilst i have not done this feel it would be easier going up.

With a B.W. license i think you can have a week on the Bridgewater free.

 

Hope you enjoy whichever way you descide to do it, at least it wont be busy.

 

Regards Steve

[david and julie]

What is the situation with the Bridgewater - I've a normal Canal and River BW licence, and only intend on spending a couple of days on the Bridgewater at most - do I need anything extra for doing that?

Yes, leave Ashton first light and at least make Piccadilly, better still Castlefield if you can. Usual precautions on the Ashton are like any inner city area, valuables out of site and doors closed etc, you may meet some bored kids, but its not as bad as some would have you believe.

 

I would try and pair up for the section through the city centre (Rochdale 9) the locks are quite heavy and you may also have to drain some water to get some of the gates open.

 

Your OK once on the Bridgewater, but I wouldn't really moor before Sale and even at Sale I wouldn't moor on the towpath side (the Kings Ransom is OK). After that the next best is Dunham and then everywhere else is fine after that.

 

Sorry, I thought you were going Ashton first.

Edited February 10, 2009 by david and julie

[Nb Unity]

Whats wrong with mooring in sale ? thats where our mooring is ! Youl be ok mooring up in sale as loads of others have done without encountering any trouble , theres a good tesco 5 mins walk to replenish stocks and other shops also

[david and julie]

Whats wrong with mooring in sale ? thats where our mooring is ! Youl be ok mooring up in sale as loads of others have done without encountering any trouble , theres a good tesco 5 mins walk to replenish stocks and other shops also

Are you telling me off?

 

I didn't say don't moor in Sale, only that the Kings Ransom moorings are preferrable to the towpath side.

 

If I thought Sale was that bad I wouldn't have lived here for 50 years.

 

btw, I walked past your moorings earlier, what the new building for?

[Nb Unity]

New toilet block with showers- well overdue ...lol

Its the clubs 50th year this year

[estwdjhn]

I was planning to run up to Marple Junction before hand - I've done that stretch before, so I know what to anticipate. I'll be solo locking down the first part of the Marple 16, which will be slow going (family are driving up to meet me that day). So probably it will be nearer 7-8 hours from the top of Marple to Portland.

 

Is it likely that there will be anyone to pair up with to do the Rochdale 9 - I'm not sure how busy the canals are at Easter?

Saying that, there will be three adults avalable by then, so we should manage.

 

I'm not too stressed about timing - worst case senario is that I end up finishing the week towards the T&M end of the Macc, which will just mean longer commutes for a few days, and doing an hour or two crusing / towpath walking in the evenings to get the boat and car back to Macc.

[david and julie]

there will be three adults avalable by then, so we should manage.

You'll be fine, it appeared from your first post that you were on your own.

 

Have a nice trip.

[journeyperson]

If we were to do it again i would do it clockwise and overnight at Dulcie street after doing the Rochdale 9 which are hard work, but again whilst i have not done this feel it would be easier going up.

 

 

Yes, we did it clockwise last year and found a lot of the bottom lock gates open on the Ashton, which made things easier. The Rochdale 9 are very hard, particularly after heavy rain, which was our experience, and although we left Castlefield at 8.00am it was mid-day before we reached Piccadilly Basin, despite assistance from BW and we decided to do the Ashton the following day which was a Saturday. The trip up to Portland basin was fine - and enjoyable. We did encounter locals with Stella in hand as early as 10.00am but everyone was amiable. It was a week after the school girl had lost her legs on the swing bridge so that may have had a sobering effect on people.

[sidewaysid]

I live near ish to the Ashton Canal and one of my best mates is the 'lock keeper' at fairfield (well he works for BW and lives in the old keepers house) if he is around he will give you advise, his name is Shaun.

I hope you have a great time and find some of the history of this part of the cut interesting

[Night Hawk]

Bit of advice regarding the Rochdale Nine - firstly you really should pair up - those gates are heavy, the tow path is dangerous - extremely slippy due to being always under a little muddly water...I've seen even carefull crew members slip and badly cut heads on numerous occasions....can be tricky getting off your boat to set the next locks around the Canal Street area - my crew stopped for a pint and a dance there last year!!

 

Good luck!

[journeyperson]

Just to show that the Ashton isn't as terrible as it is sometimes painted:

 

 

This was taken approaching the last lock at Droylesden

[adam1uk]

We're going to be doing this later in the year. Is it too tall an order to get from Castlefields to the junction with the Peak Forest? Is there somewhere to stay the night halfway -- perhaps after the Rochdale 9?

[journeyperson]

We're going to be doing this later in the year. Is it too tall an order to get from Castlefields to the junction with the Peak Forest? Is there somewhere to stay the night halfway -- perhaps after the Rochdale 9?

 

 

Piccadilly Basin is at the top of the Rochdale 9 and we stayed overnight just around the corner on The Ashton. We moored on the towpath side and our bow rope was cast off during the night but that's all that happened. A bit further along on the offside there is a basin surrounded by newish apartments. There is a "Private" notice but I've heard that it is ok to moor overnight there and it is secure.

 

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sour...mp;t=h&z=18

 

You can see the basin just north of the "A" in this link

Edited February 15, 2009 by journeyperson

[Jim]

Any advice is welcome, particularly with regard to the best apoach to timing the dodgy bits through Clayton.

I belive the normal aproach envisages overnight mooring at Portland Basin, followed by an early morning run into Central Manchester.

 

I'm a bit disappointed to see all the negative comments and that the general view is that an early start is necessary. I've come down from Mossley to Piccadilly and following a delay due to a drained pound we had to do the "dodgy bits" on a hot summer's afternoon. Even the BW guys sid that "every idiot in town will be out there today" but we had no trouble at all - and passed a safe and peaceful night at the top of "the nine"

 

The Ashton really isn't as bad as its made out to be.

 

Jim

[mayalld]

I'm a bit disappointed to see all the negative comments and that the general view is that an early start is necessary. I've come down from Mossley to Piccadilly and following a delay due to a drained pound we had to do the "dodgy bits" on a hot summer's afternoon. Even the BW guys sid that "every idiot in town will be out there today" but we had no trouble at all - and passed a safe and peaceful night at the top of "the nine"

 

The Ashton really isn't as bad as its made out to be.

 

Jim

 

Nine times out of ten, you will be fine even with a later start.

 

999 times out of a thousand you will be fine with an early start.

 

Nobody is saying that a late start will mean that you get attacked. People are saying that there is a small chance of trouble, and that you can make that chance even smaller with an early start.

 

There is also the question of mooring for the night. Apart from Picadilly Village, there is nowhere to moor before Castlefield. If you are going to be at Castlefield for tea time, you need an early start!

 

We're going to be doing this later in the year. Is it too tall an order to get from Castlefields to the junction with the Peak Forest? Is there somewhere to stay the night halfway -- perhaps after the Rochdale 9?

 

In my opinion, yes it is a tall order.

 

Whilst we rightly play down the possibility of coming under attack on the canal, it does exist as a possibility.

 

The good news is that whilst most of the canal is not safe enough for overnight mooring (although I have heard of cases recently where people have safely moored for the night on the canal), the vast majority of it is perfectly safe all day.

 

The one bit of the canal where probems are possible is Clayton. Given that Clayton is closer to Ashton than to Castlefield, it is relatively easy to get though there early when travelling anti-clockwise, pause for lunch at Wal-Mart, and make your way to Castlefield.

 

Travelling clockwise, getting to the Strawberry Duck before mid-afternoon is a much taller order from Castlefield, and would need a seriously early start. It would be much easier from Picadilly Village.

[MartinClark]

Nine times out of ten, you will be fine even with a later start.

 

999 times out of a thousand you will be fine with an early start.

 

Nobody is saying that a late start will mean that you get attacked. People are saying that there is a small chance of trouble, and that you can make that chance even smaller with an early start.

 

There is also the question of mooring for the night. Apart from Picadilly Village, there is nowhere to moor before Castlefield. If you are going to be at Castlefield for tea time, you need an early start!

 

I am going to disagree with you on one point here, Dave. To say that you'll be fine nine times out of ten, even with a later start, is being unfair. That implies that one journey in ten is affected by trouble, which is certainly not true! I would have thought a truer figure would be much fewer than 1 in 100.

 

It is one of those things that the very rare occasion when there is a spot of bother is the one that we hear about, as it gets spread along the grapevine and embellished on its way, making it more difficult to shake off the poor reputation that the canal had 20 years ago.

 

I would agree with most of the rest of what Dave says, apart from his spelling of Piccadilly!

 

Castlefield to Ashton is possible in a day if you have a fit and with-it crew, but the Rochdale Nine are hard work. There are usually other boats mooring in the Ducie Street area, at the junction of the Rochdale and Ashton, especially if there are boats waiting to go on up the Rochdale towards Failsworth, and there are no real problems mooring here. The link given earlier showed the location of Telford's Basin, off the main line of the Ashton in Piccadilly Village (on the east side of Store Street Aqueduct). I have heard of many people finding this to be a good and welcoming place to overnight, but there may be a problem if you want to get in and out on foot. There have been plenty of boats that have moored overnight at Walmart, between Locks 7 and 8 on the Ashton, but this is not really to be recommended.

 

I have travelled on the Ashton at various times of day, including on a sunny Sunday afternoon when there were youngsters hanging around, and never had any trouble. There are enough boats using the canal these days for them not to be a novelty. Talking of the Strawberry Duck, I have always found the clientele of that establishment to be friendly!

[Pie Eater]

We have moored at Piccadilly Village overnight on a number of occasions without any problems. Moor on the non towpath side as only the residents have a key to the gate.

 

Steve

[mayalld]

I am going to disagree with you on one point here, Dave. To say that you'll be fine nine times out of ten, even with a later start, is being unfair. That implies that one journey in ten is affected by trouble, which is certainly not true! I would have thought a truer figure would be much fewer than 1 in 100.

 

OK, I'll go for that!

 

99 times out of a hundred, you will be fine whenever you start.

If you start early, you'll be fine 999 times out of a thousand.

[adam1uk]

So it seems that the best thing to do is overnight at Castlefield, Rochdale nine and overnight at Piccadilly Basin or Piccadilly Village (am I right in thinking that this is after the turn onto the Ashton, and that the non-towpath side is best?), then the Ashton to Portland Basin the next day. That would be fine, as it fits the plan OK.

[journeyperson]

So it seems that the best thing to do is overnight at Castlefield, Rochdale nine and overnight at Piccadilly Basin or Piccadilly Village (am I right in thinking that this is after the turn onto the Ashton, and that the non-towpath side is best?), then the Ashton to Portland Basin the next day. That would be fine, as it fits the plan OK.

 

That's what I'll do next time, if it's just the two of us.

[Neil TNC]

I am going to disagree with you on one point here, Dave. To say that you'll be fine nine times out of ten, even with a later start, is being unfair. That implies that one journey in ten is affected by trouble, which is certainly not true! I would have thought a truer figure would be much fewer than 1 in 100.

 

It is one of those things that the very rare occasion when there is a spot of bother is the one that we hear about, as it gets spread along the grapevine and embellished on its way, making it more difficult to shake off the poor reputation that the canal had 20 years ago.

 

I would agree with most of the rest of what Dave says, apart from his spelling of Piccadilly!

 

Castlefield to Ashton is possible in a day if you have a fit and with-it crew, but the Rochdale Nine are hard work. There are usually other boats mooring in the Ducie Street area, at the junction of the Rochdale and Ashton, especially if there are boats waiting to go on up the Rochdale towards Failsworth, and there are no real problems mooring here. The link given earlier showed the location of Telford's Basin, off the main line of the Ashton in Piccadilly Village (on the east side of Store Street Aqueduct). I have heard of many people finding this to be a good and welcoming place to overnight, but there may be a problem if you want to get in and out on foot. There have been plenty of boats that have moored overnight at Walmart, between Locks 7 and 8 on the Ashton, but this is not really to be recommended.

 

I have travelled on the Ashton at various times of day, including on a sunny Sunday afternoon when there were youngsters hanging around, and never had any trouble. There are enough boats using the canal these days for them not to be a novelty. Talking of the Strawberry Duck, I have always found the clientele of that establishment to be friendly!

 

We have on a few occasions started at Castlefield at around 07:00 and ambled up the R9, Ashton and LPF to get to the Ring O'Bells at Marple before they stopped doing food. The last occasion Linda and me we did this, I think you were indisposed???, but Ed Mortimer came out to help on the Ashton and Marple flights. In the old days we on more than one occasion stopped for a liquid lunch at the Strawberry Duck. The Marple flight in the evening is a superb experience as you will more than likely have it all to yourselves.

[MartinClark]

So it seems that the best thing to do is overnight at Castlefield, Rochdale nine and overnight at Piccadilly Basin or Piccadilly Village (am I right in thinking that this is after the turn onto the Ashton, and that the non-towpath side is best?), then the Ashton to Portland Basin the next day. That would be fine, as it fits the plan OK.

Some people would choose to do Castlefield to Portland Basin in one day. If it suits your way of working to do it in two stages, than that is the best thing for you.

 

You are right that Piccadilly Village is after the turn onto the Ashton. It is also after Store Street Aqueduct. Someone gave a link to an aerial view of Telford's Basin, which is off the canal to the right at the old crane in Piccadilly Village, which is even better than mooring on the off-side. There a nice birds-eye view of it on Live Maps:

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...1&encType=1

 

It is confusing that there is now an area that is referred to as "Piccadilly Basin" which is really the bit of the Rochdale Canal between Dale Street, Ducie Street and Tariff Street, as shown on the plan here:

http://www.piccadillybasin.com/about/masterplan.html

(Although the plan shows boats in the little basin, I don't think any boats ever go in there!)

 

Boaters often refer to this as the Ducie Street area, and boats often moor here, usually with no trouble, although it can sometimes be a little noisy.

The Live Maps birds-eye view shows a number of boats moored up here in the day time:

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...1&encType=1

[adam1uk]

Some people would choose to do Castlefield to Portland Basin in one day. If it suits your way of working to do it in two stages, than that is the best thing for you.

 

Well this is what I'm trying to ascertain (apologies to the OP for hijacking the thread, by the way). CanalPlanAC gives Castlefield to Portland Basin as 8 hours, which is fine. But with 27 locks, many of which are said to be difficult, I'm a bit suspicious that the timing might be optimistic. As the plan as it stands has a non-moving day at Castlefield, it doesn't really matter if we decide to do it in two stages -- we just need to decide before we have a non-moving day! As it's not until September, there's plenty of time to ponder.