Wigan Flight

[nb Innisfree]

Indeed, they take an age to stop. I have had concerns about some of these locks for years, but they somehow keep going. Ironically one of the worst locks to operate in Wigan, was the one nearest to the posh new office they built a few years back.

 

Still they are bit better than the first time we went up in 1967 when it took us about 9 hours. The leaks were horrendous then, plus half the paddles didn't work.

 

If ever a flight needs lockies it is this one.

One of the other boaters rang CaRT for some assistance but non was forthcoming. Bit scary when our boats came un-jammed, good job I had my brown trousers on.

[kippaxblue]

Can you get assistance going up the flight from CRT if you inform them in advance? as we are having to go up it next weekend to get to our permanent mooring or is it a case of bribing friends with free drink and food to help?

Edited August 30, 2014 by kippaxblue

[cotswoldsman]

Can you get assistance going up the flight from CRT if you inform them in advance? as we are having to go up it next weekend to get to our permanent mooring or is it a case of bribing friends with free drink and food to help?

Bribery your best bet

[frangar]

There was 3 lockies on duty when we came down last week...I don't even think they were volunteers....one of them was helping bring a single handed boat up who wasn't paired and the other two were helping the pair of boats behind our boat.

 

We had two crew on our boat and were sharing with a guy on his own....we still left them way behind tho...it's amazing what three people who work as a team can do....3 3/4 hours top to bottom resetting quite a few of them. It really wasn't as hard as everyone said it would be....the boat with us was 57ft..we are 50ft.

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

Edited August 30, 2014 by frangar

[KennR]

Just read this topic. I wil be going up Wigan locks on monday morning if all goes to plan. Does anyone fancy doubling up --i am single handed but will do my share of padles/gates etc. I came down Marple locks on thursday and a gate paddle had broken so was held up for over an hour. Then yesterday did the Ashton 18 and had to call C&RT out has a gate had jammed and wouldn't open-turned out to be a polystyrene pallet .This morning attacked the Rochdale 9 and what a set of %^&^%$£ locks they are. Luckily there was another boat on the way down with me but still we had to rope the gates to the bow to open them. Hope Wigan locks are a bit friendlier.

[Alway Swilby]

We'll be coming down the flight on Thursday morning if anyone fancies lending a hand. Not sure about sharing as we are 60'. Some locks on the Blackburn and Barrowford flights were a bit tight. It was quite handy being able to go diagonal.

[cotswoldsman]

We'll be coming down the flight on Thursday morning if anyone fancies lending a hand. Not sure about sharing as we are 60'. Some locks on the Blackburn and Barrowford flights were a bit tight. It was quite handy being able to go diagonal.

You won't have a problem on Wigan flight so ok to share but doubt many will be coming down

[RichardH]

60' should be ok. My mate has a 64 on the L&L which is a bit like a 60' on the Calder and Hebble

[Water Rat.]

Yes, but doesn't that beer taste good at the top? ?

[Derek Porteous]

Just revisiting this topic as we went down the Wigan Flight last week. Not a lot has changed. Maintenance (presumably due to the lack of funds) was not great, especially on the top half of the flight. We tried to get assistance on the Wigan Fight Facebook site, but no one was available. There were two of us on board our narrowboat and we went down on our own, following two narrowboats who had manged to pair up. We spoke to three separate CRT employees on our passage down the flight, but as they obviously had other duties to perform, no help was forthcoming. As we had to fill each and every lock before entering, apart from a very brief rest bite halfway when we met a single narrowboat, a widebeam and then two narrowboats tied together coming up it took us five hours this time, which it probably the longest time we have ever had. At the very last lock (on the Leigh Branch) there a nice lady volunteer who helped us through one lock.

Same question really. The Wigan Flight is a real barrier between the wonderful northern canals and the Bridgewater, yet there does not seem to be any inroads to making the passage easier. In about twenty passages we have never had any real help from the full time CRT employees, nor should we as, presumably, they have other duties to perform. The volunteer was charming, and it is her own time, so she can do what she wants, but it was a bit galling to have five hours of hard graft with leaking gates, stiff paddles (when they worked), six anti-vandal locks on each and every lock, to have a token help on the very last lock. Someone preparing the lock ahead would have made all the difference. Moan over for now, but we are returning up the Wigan Flight in August which will set me off again.

[Nightwatch]

This is an email I sent to CRT Wigan office in April.

 

During the past three days I have arrived in Wigan via the Liegh Arm,stayed moored for two nights and climbed the Wigan Flight.

 

Upon arriving at the first of Poolstock locks I dropped my Handcuff key in the cut. Oh! I thought now what do I do. I decided to Walk to your offices to purchase a replacement.

I met Peter at lock87 'Bottom Lock'. He helped me by letting me have a spare key for a fiver that he had in his car. I had a tenner and Peter had four pounds. Reluctantly he gave me the four pounds and a key. I was happy. Later that evening he found me and presented me with the final pound, he really didn't have to.

Yesterday morning we set off in trepidation to conquer the flight. We waited for another boat to share with us, but alas one didn't come along. After three or four locks, and with temptation in our thoughts to turn back, if we could have, we once again met Peter on his way down the flight accompanying two boats nearing the end of their ordeal.

Peter once again excelled by joining my wife and I assisting with our passage. On the way, as we found Peter to be, he was very informative with not only knowledge of the 'quirks' of the lock operation but also thorough knowledge of the surroundings. Pointing out points of interest and landmarks.

He stayed with us to the last lock,forever attentive for our safety, offering advice of good and bad places to moor.

 

The overall experience of Wigan, nostalgic for me as I was dragged up in Chorley and left the area some 47 years ago, was made a much,much better experience by this most pleasant, enthusiastic and knowledgable ambassador to CRT.

 

In Peter you have a goodun! Please pass on my thanks to Peter, we look forward to meeting him on the way back, if we come this way.

[Arthur Marshall]

I was planning to go back to th L&L this year, but the prospect of having to pay Peel 40 quid for a few days on the Bridgewater has put me off somewhat. I'll go to Oxford and dodge hippies instead.

[NickF]

No need to say clough paddles, as a clough is a paddle. Screw or box cloughs are the usual L&LC ground paddles, with jack cloughs the ones operated by gearing of some sort.

They are only difficult if you are being too careful. They need a sharp pull upwards and then to be kept in movement until open. If you stop part way, the force of the water through the half open paddle will cause it to stick against the paddle frame. You just need to be confident, and not to have arthritis in your spine as I do, which makes keeping the paddle moving as you unbend very difficult.

 

L&LC paddle gear is very varied as there were at least four maintenance yards along the canal, and each developed its own style of paddle. This perhaps reflects the forty odd years it took for the canal to be built, with canal engineering developing over that time. The early sections of the L&LC (Leeds to Gargrave and Liverpool to Wigan) are very much contour canals, though there are a couple of deep cuttings at the Liverpool end, which are unusual for an early canal. The later sections across East Lancashire show a much more confident approach to the canal's route and its engineering, and there are eight major embankments between Barrowford and Johnsons Hillock, as well as the cutting at Rishton.

 

I agree entirely, creep up on them so they are not expecting you then surprise them and everything goes well!

[Mac of Cygnet]

I was very gratified 3 years ago to singlehand the Wigan flight (up) in fewer hours than my age in decades, but only just. (6 3/4 hours). I think I'm on losing ground now, though.