FAO the people of Blackburn....

[Guest]

Ah you have the best bit coming up then. You're making ever such good time. are you going to slack off a bit now you've got to the lovely bit?

 

'tis indeed the best bit and we are indeed making good time, but we have to be back home by a given date so the plan is to press on in case of breakdown.

 

We can always come back up here after we establish our new base...which we will.

[mrsmelly]

We were expecting truck from some of the locals but they were friendly in the main... including the two guys at 11am well tanked up at the mooring for ASDA

 

It's not ear plugs or eye patches we need but bloody big bin bags

 

- they really should be ashamed....

 

Wait till you get to Lemonroyd its far worse there, not as posh as us Woodlesfordians

[Guest]

Wait till you get to Lemonroyd its far worse there, not as posh as us Woodlesfordians

 

We'll find out around Wednesday or Thursday at the latest - we'll give you a wave as we pass - assuming we can pass your wide beam (Have you got it yet???)

[Matthew Dowson]

They do have a clean up from time to time, when we went through in 2008 it had obviously just had one and I hardly saw any rubbish on Burley or Blackburn, but it ain't the prettiest. You should stop a day at east Marton, just after the winding hole before the famous double bridge - a lovely quiet spot for a days rest. Its the Gargrave Show on Saturday if you want some 'excitement', enjoy the trip.

[Janet S]

I'll be handing a boat over at Lower Park Marina today, taking them down to Greenberfield and through the locks, so it looks as though I've missed you! You're certainly making good time.

 

Try and slow down a bit today whilst the weather is so nice...you're now on one of the finest bits of canal in the entire country!

 

Have fun!

 

Janet

[muddywaters]

Fair points, I think - being from the other side of the pennines I'm quite happy to accept lancashire bloody mindedness as an explanation, after all, it's usually levelled at us yorkshiremen...

Well I am tbh and bear in mind I am one of the Liverpool should be Lancashire brigade lol.

Can only speak for the Rochdale and have only done the Yorkshire bit, but your side of the hills is on my favourite canals list, worth the effort of the locks (anyone who has done the Rochdale will know what I mean about the locks lol)

 

Oh and good point about the OP would have been sending it to the local press instead of posting on here.

I have copied it and posted on Granada reports facebook page lol.

We shall see lol

[CanalWalker]

the towpath around Blackburn has been upgraded recently and was in good condition last time I was there.

[STIG]

Anyone who lives alongside a canal that`s so full of sh** should be ashamed of themselves. If they all got together and put some sort of working party together to clean their area up the world would be a better place. But as we have recently seen - whoo f******* cares.

 

[Guest]

I'll be handing a boat over at Lower Park Marina today, taking them down to Greenberfield and through the locks, so it looks as though I've missed you! You're certainly making good time.

 

Try and slow down a bit today whilst the weather is so nice...you're now on one of the finest bits of canal in the entire country!

 

Have fun!

 

Janet

 

Unfortunately a deadline at home has crept up meaning we are on a bit less of free reign than we were when we set off.

 

But we are getting up early and putting in 8 and 9 hour days and actually enjoying it - we normally do a max of 4-5 hours a day. So yes we have made good progress - now past Skipton.

 

Weather was indeed brill today till about 4 - and the Barnoldswick to Skipton bit of the L&L is indeed superb.

[mrsmelly]

We'll find out around Wednesday or Thursday at the latest - we'll give you a wave as we pass - assuming we can pass your wide beam (Have you got it yet???)

 

Certainly have got it and am busy spending loadsa money buying stuff I new it needed for instance it has 26 Halogen lights fitted which each draw about 2 amps each You couldnt make it up could you its bloody bright in here but not for very long

[Janet S]

Anyone who lives alongside a canal that`s so full of sh** should be ashamed of themselves. If they all got together and put some sort of working party together to clean their area up the world would be a better place. But as we have recently seen - whoo f******* cares.

 

...and that's exactly why MJG found his passage through Burnley better than he expected. Groups of boaters from Reedley Marina have been out on regular working parties recently, using a borrowed BW boat, cleaning the crap out of the canal.

 

All we have to do now is to try and educate the local residents who think that it's OK to fly tip into the canal...why they do it, when there's a tip so close by, is a mystery to me!

 

Janet

[Dalesman]

Unfortunately a deadline at home has crept up meaning we are on a bit less of free reign than we were when we set off.

 

But we are getting up early and putting in 8 and 9 hour days and actually enjoying it - we normally do a max of 4-5 hours a day. So yes we have made good progress - now past Skipton.

 

Weather was indeed brill today till about 4 - and the Barnoldswick to Skipton bit of the L&L is indeed superb.

Your deep in swing bridge country now..enjoy your trip down the 5 Rise too

[Jim Riley]

Your deep in swing bridge country now..enjoy your trip down the 5 Rise too

 

you get 50 points for every white van that has to queue at the light controlled swing bridges.

[soldthehouse]

nooooo! Nuneaton is saved by the marvellous Boot Wharf

and it's not that bad anyway

it's a 3.

 

 

 

I must say i'm enjoying these complaint of the day/observation of the bleedin obvious threads so much i'm wondering what's next; Burnley mile covered in dogshit shocker? the recycling point at Nelson (great idea, why aren't there more)? an incident in Foulridge perhaps... only tomorrow will tell..

[Guest]

you get 50 points for every white van that has to queue at the light controlled swing bridges.

 

I love the L&L light controlled swing bridges - especially the fully automated electric ones..

 

tempted to leave the barriers down and boat off but you can't get your key out if you do....

[Janet S]

you get 50 points for every white van that has to queue at the light controlled swing bridges.

 

Double it if you manage to catch an Eddie Stobart truck!

 

Great sport....

 

Janet

[Didger]

Some people of East Lancashire do take pride in and care about their canal.....

 

See below from the Lancashire evening Telegraph, 26 July(sorry couldnt get hyperlink to work)

 

East Lancashire team pulls 14 tonnes of rubbish from canal....

A TEAM of volunteers has removed a staggering 14 tonnes of rubbish from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

 

 

litter boat Lee Shepherd with some of the rubbish

Sofas, shopping trollies, fencing, office chairs, household waste and tyres were among items pulled from the water during the huge spring clean.

 

The six-week operation, led by hire boat operator Lee Shepherd, of Hapton Valley Boats, has seen a 15-strong team of volunteers cleaning up grotspot areas along a 23-mile stretch of the canal.

 

Mr Shepherd, of Simpson Street, Hapton, said: “Everyone had been complaining about the state of the water for months but no one was doing anything about it.

 

“My home backs on to the canal and I wanted to improve the appearance of the area as well as improve the safety.

 

“If someone fell in the water they could easily get trapped under a trolley or a farmer’s fence and drown.

 

“People who dump rubbish in the canal need to be prosecuted and handed large fines.”

 

Working with British Waterways, which has provided a litter boat, the volunteers targeted hotspots between Barrowford and Blackburn.

 

So far they have collected a large skip full of rubbish.

 

The volunteers plan to continue the spring clean throughout the summer and are encouraging local residents to adopt parts of the canal.

 

Mr Shepherd added: “It cost British Waterways £200,000 each year to clean up the canals.

 

“If local residents take ownership of small stretches of the canal we will be able to prevent people using it as a dumping ground.

 

“By working together we can keep the British waterways clean.”

 

Anyone wishing to get adopt part of the canal can visit www.waterscape.com.

 

 

El G

[Tiny]

I love the L&L light controlled swing bridges - especially the fully automated electric ones..

 

tempted to leave the barriers down and boat off but you can't get your key out if you do....

Some were more fun when you just swung them by hand and the stop sign was on the side of the bridge when open. Then as now bus drivers would switch off and read a paper but car and van drivers would get impatient. If you knoe the rules of the Trogs in cars organisation who are devoted to causing long queues of traffic or conkers behind them by driving in road centre commanding there is a scoring system of 1 point per car, 3 for a van or lorry, 5 for a bus, 5 for an abulence or fire engine or police car not in a hurry and 10 points for any of these 3 if they arrive with lights and bells flashing. If you can manage a conker with 50 points in it you may take a salute as they finally pass but always not to be too hasty in your actions - take your time - your own them. And if any get out to fim you take a tea break. (We have never had one try to help though many hoot encouragement.

[gaggle]

I cleaned over 50 plastic drink bottles out of henhurst lock in wigan ,also cut a few trees back that were growing out of the stone bank of towpath , laid cut branches down in adjoining hedge , pulled 2 bread delivery trays and roadworks barrier from water and put on bw wharf , many people are complaining about rubbish in the cut and not enough are pulling some of it out.

[journeyperson]

Thanks Janet - yes expecting Burnley to be as bad....

 

We'll be there in the morning and will make Barnoldswick by Saturday so we'll watch out indeed..not sure what time though.

 

We know Morrisons in Nelson by the cut, we've moored there as hirers before but thanks for the tip...

 

I was listening to John Cooper Clarke talking on 6 Music and he recited his poem Burnley, which reminded me of this thread:

 

I'll tell you now and I'll tell you firmly

I don't never want to go to Burnley

What they do there don't concern me

Why would anybody make the journey?

I'll tell you know and I'll tell you flatly

I don't never want to go to Gatley

I don't even want to go to Batley

Where is that place exactly

 

Do I wanna to go to Redditch?

I wouldn't visit in a souped-up sheddish

what am I some kind of Nebbish?

No I don't want to go to Reddish

 

I'll tell you now and I'll tell you briefley

I don't never want to go to Keighley

I'll tell you now, just like I told Elsa Lanchester...

I don't ever want to go to... Cumbernauld

 

 

[nbfiresprite]

Is it not the case that the reason that Burnley and Blackburn have a bad rep is down to the

fact that over the past few years, The people of these town have a elected members of

the 'Bigot Nasty Party (BNP)' on to the local councils.

 

Firesprite

 

In the Fens where a 'Yorkshire' wind is blowing (As they say in Lancashire)

Edited February 1, 2012 by nbfiresprite

[RichardH]

Is it not the case that the reason that Burnley and Blackburn have a bad rep is down to the

fact that over the past few years, The people of these town have a elected members of

the 'Bigot Nasty Party (BNP)' on to the local councils.

 

Firesprite

 

In the Fens where a 'Yorkshire' wind is blowing (As they say in Lancashire)

 

I am not sure that the good boating folks who are busy clearing mattresses off their props give 2 hoots about the politics of the area.

 

I think the reputation is unfair and the towns are no worse than other industrial areas around the network - I wonder how many pontificate about them who have never actually visited.

[Guest]

I am not sure that the good boating folks who are busy clearing mattresses off their props give 2 hoots about the politics of the area.

 

I think the reputation is unfair and the towns are no worse than other industrial areas around the network - I wonder how many pontificate about them who have never actually visited.

 

Indeed - as this has been raised on the back of a post I started last year, and I'm pretty sure I followed it up with a post about how pleasant the cruise through Burnley actually in the end turned out to be.

 

Blackburn though when we passed was grim....

[Titus]

Does your local council not operate a refuse collection service???...

 

most do and I guess yours does too.. so why do some of you insist on dumping your crap in copious amounts in the local canal...

 

Oh and shopping trolleys, they belong in ASDA and Morrisons not in the cut resulting in us have to 'ride' our boat over them.

 

Thankfully you are behind us and it will a while before we come back until we need to pass through to get to the nicer bits.

 

Your canal is an asset not a free rubbish tip.... respect it...

 

 

Thanks very much for reminding me !!!! We're bringing our boat back to Skipton in April/May and I was looking forward to it until you reminded me of some of the wonderful scenery !!!

 

Dave

[MartinClark]

I think the reputation is unfair and the towns are no worse than other industrial areas around the network - I wonder how many pontificate about them who have never actually visited.

 

Indeed. I believe it is called Ashton Canal Syndrome.