Rochdale Nine and Ashton in February

[stripey]

Just moved a boat up to Ashton from Hurleston. Had to go up via the Bridgewater (great) rather than the Macc, with Malkin's Bank locks being shut, so this gave us the challenge of the Rochdale Nine. Unbelievably hard work, with some of the gate paddles needing two windlasses on to open, and the same with the mechanised balance beam mechanisms. Met no other boats beyond the MUFC stadium. Some paddles were jammed, and the top lock was the hardest of the lot. An exciting journey, as we went through at night, but almost impossibly difficult. Surely someone from BW could shift the paddles up and down once every week or so just to help keep them moving?

 

Then the Ashton. Lock mechanisms much better, but when we got to the bottom of Clayton Locks, one of the crew went up to check the first one and found the pound above almost dry. We had seen a few shoping trolleys in the cut before then, as this is right by ASDA, but the sight of the canal when almost dry was horrific, almost like a bombsite, with the bed full of builders' rubbish and large chunks of metal. We flushed water down from the pound above and telephoned BW to sort us out To their credit, they were there within an hour and we got through - just! - only by dint of fullthrottling it into the locks just to ride over the junk.

 

An enjoyable trip, but be prepared for a tough struggle...

[Night Hawk]

We did it last year...and it was utterly dreadful...utterly....I recall posting on this CWF that they should have filled the whole thing in!

[Pie Eater]

We have been through a few times over the years, the Rochdale nine have always been hard work and as for rubbish in the canal I think it is the same in most towns.

 

BW have this week drained the pound below lock 72 on the L&L Wigan flight and yes there is a shopping trolley in the very short pound despite the fact that there is no supermarket nearby.

 

Also in the pound were a wheelbarrow & cycle and numerous large lumps of masonry, some of the largest directly in the lock mouth.

 

I wonder if the items will be removed before refilling?

 

Steve

[Smelly]

The Ashton goes through some of the most deprived bits of Manc and social problems such a flytipping are bound to be more apparent there. Also enough kids have inherited windlassess off their dads who nicked them a couple of years ago that one dry pound is a godsend, we once got held up for a day while they refilled the flight.

 

I was astounded in the change between pre and post Millenium stadium though, made a real difference to that stretch.

[journeyperson]

Unbelievably hard work, with some of the gate paddles needing two windlasses on to open, and the same with the mechanised balance beam mechanisms.

 

I bent a windlass on the bottom lock bottom gates, the lock was filling faster than it could empty, with water coming over the top of the top gates.

 

On the Ashton it was often difficult to open gates fully for all the junk getting wedged behind them.

 

But after all the hard work and the anti vandal devices are behind you the Marple flight is probably the best experience on the Cheshire Ring, which is why it's good to do it clockwise.

[Night Hawk]

We have been through a few times over the years, the Rochdale nine have always been hard work and as for rubbish in the canal I think it is the same in most towns.

 

BW have this week drained the pound below lock 72 on the L&L Wigan flight and yes there is a shopping trolley in the very short pound despite the fact that there is no supermarket nearby.

 

Also in the pound were a wheelbarrow & cycle and numerous large lumps of masonry, some of the largest directly in the lock mouth.

 

I wonder if the items will be removed before refilling?

 

Steve

 

Oooops..I've been discovered...since no one else was gonna bother, I thought I'd start filling in the wretched thing myself..took hours to get that trolley from Marks n Spencer!

 

The Ashton goes through some of the most deprived bits of Manc and social problems such a flytipping are bound to be more apparent there. Also enough kids have inherited windlassess off their dads who nicked them a couple of years ago that one dry pound is a godsend, we once got held up for a day while they refilled the flight.

 

I was astounded in the change between pre and post Millenium stadium though, made a real difference to that stretch.

 

We encountered a lot of daft American hire boaters on the Ashton Flight that hadn't a clue....really..they hadn't a clue...we watched as they drained two pounds...with one of their convoy in the empty pound! Don't blame the 'wildlife', blame the tourists I say!!!

[stripey]

The Ashton goes through some of the most deprived bits of Manc and social problems such a flytipping are bound to be more apparent there. Also enough kids have inherited windlassess off their dads who nicked them a couple of years ago that one dry pound is a godsend, we once got held up for a day while they refilled the flight.

 

I was astounded in the change between pre and post Millenium stadium though, made a real difference to that stretch.

 

I've been through a good number of towns, and this was by the worst. It didn't stop the journey being invigorating and exciting, but I get depressed by mindless vandalism.

 

And in the midst of so much poverty, I had mixed feelings about multi-million quid football stadiums. (Mind you, I support a League One team that hasn't even got its own proper ground, so maybe it's just jealousy on my part. )

[Cheshire cat]

I've been through a good number of towns, and this was by the worst. It didn't stop the journey being invigorating and exciting, but I get depressed by mindless vandalism.

 

And in the midst of so much poverty, I had mixed feelings about multi-million quid football stadiums. (Mind you, I support a League One team that hasn't even got its own proper ground, so maybe it's just jealousy on my part. )

 

 

Been there done that. February is a bad time to do the Ashton. You have to stop every lock to unwrap the boiler suit, nightie, mattress from the prop. It is getting better though. As has already been observed the fun really starts above the City of Manchester stadium and its all over by top lock (where there is to be a new basin if the developer hasn't gone belly up). Stick with it, I'm sure over the next few years it is going to become a lot better.

 

I met some guys in June by the stadium in an Anglo Welsh boat unwrapping something from their prop. I assured them it was much more fun in February

 

Chesh