Chesire Ring

[Sam]

Hi guys,

I'm off tomorrow on the Chesire Ring.. and have a few questions for you..

 

1) I know the website says you can turn up for the Anderton boat lift.. but to take our own boat down.. should we book (just wondering if it gets really busy)

 

2) Does anyone know any good mooring places

 

3) Is there any good features we should look out for on the way around .. when I’m not sleeping ;-)

 

 

Thanks.

[charles123]

The Anderton lift site will tell you the info you need, opening times etc, it is turn up and go but you can book in advance for a certain time £5 each way as I recall. I dont think it will be busy at all this time of year

 

As for mooring places, there will be many suggestions, Castlefield basin is good for the variety of architecture and things you can see. I suggest you pair up with another boat for the Rochdale 9 as the locks are heavy to operate unless you have a big crew

 

Lymm is not bad this time of year

 

Must be dozens of other good places

 

Charles

[Greg & Jax]

Hi sam ,

If your coming down the boat lift onto the weaver try mooring at saltersford lock lovely place and night time brings the local bats out they swarm all round the boat great sight !!

Greg Jax .

[Sam]

Hi sam ,

If your coming down the boat lift onto the weaver try mooring at saltersford lock lovely place and night time brings the local bats out they swarm all round the boat great sight !!

Greg Jax .

 

Thanks.. actually.. The ring doesn't involve the lift (grr) but have convinced everyone to take a detour.. we did do it a while ago but I would like to do it on our own boat.. (more photo opportunities etc.) so we wont actually be mooring on the Weaver.. thanks anyway.

 

In reply to your comment about the bats.. I think they are awesome creatures.. last year we went to Carlsbad Cavins (i hope that’s the right spelling) in New Mexico.. you can sit near the entrance and watch hundreds and hundreds of bats swarm out at dusk.. really amazing!

 

Also with the Chesire ring.. near Manchester is there a problem with 'bandits'.. we have been stoned, egged, floured, shot with a bbgun etc before (the joys of Birmingham) but it is always nice to get a headsup so we can keep a look out (and a camera & mobile ready)

[DHutch]

Sounds fair enough!

- You could hop of and have a look at emilyanne as well while you in the area!

 

Im going to be lufbra all that time s'far as i know, and emilyannes all put up for winter, which is pitty.

- Ive still never been on the aderton lift, or even seen it runing (other than on the webcam)

- Which consdering i live about 25mins away, and have quite an interest in it, is a bit of a poor effort!

 

 

Daniel

[Allie]

.. last year we went to Carlsbad Cavins (i hope that’s the right spelling) in New Mexico.. you can sit near the entrance and watch hundreds and hundreds of bats swarm out at dusk.. really amazing!

 

 

It's actually Carlsbad Caverns, as in "caves."

 

Bats are very common in the southwestern U.S. We have a group of Mexican Freetail bats who migrate here each year to our home in Southern California and have their babies in our roof shingles. We live right on the water and we never have a problem with mosquitos or other bugs. They get them all!

 

Allie

[Sam]

Thanks..

Dan where abouts is EmilyAnne?

 

Allie.. oops sorry!

I knew it was something like that

[DHutch]

Thanks..

Dan where abouts is EmilyAnne?

Travel Reign Marina.

- Same side as the lift, abotu 400yrd east! Just opersite Anderton marina.

 

 

 

Daniel

[Sam]

Travel Reign Marina.

- Same side as the lift, abotu 400yrd east! Just opersite Anderton marina.

 

Daniel

 

Thanks.. may go and have a peak then.. we are getting an Alvechurch boat for that week.. i guess that is around there

[DHutch]

Thanks.. may go and have a peak then.. we are getting an Alvechurch boat for that week.. i guess that is around there

Hehe, yeah, got a bit bored there "i know, lets photoshop a mulitmap image..."

- Dont know where she is, but probebely towards the end of one fo the fingars in the mian bit.

- Water/lecy/phone/etc is all at the root of the fingars, so as we're on the cheap ones, that means end of finger!!

 

And yeah, the avenchurch boats come from anderton marina (as shown on map)

- Infact, on there areiral photo on there website you can even see the top corner of travel reign there that close.

- At the start of the year you may remeber we poled emilyanne to anderton and back trying to use there drydock. (which we didnt fit into)

 

 

Daniel

Edited October 27, 2006 by dhutch

[Liam]

Hi Dan,

 

Passed Emily Anne on Monday as we've just come back from a few days on the Weaver.. and the boat's fine It's moored up on the towpath and not actually in the marina itself.

 

As for the Weaver, yeah, definately nice down there and although we booked it for a certain time on Monday, a couple who came out with us just turned up literally an hour before and went down no probs. It appeared that most of the time slots are free too.

 

We stopped for a couple of days in Northwich with only a couple of boats there so plenty of moorings. We only went north, as far as Dutton and only passed a few boats along the way, leaving plenty of other moorings.

[MartinClark]

Also with the Chesire ring.. near Manchester is there a problem with 'bandits'.. we have been stoned, egged, floured, shot with a bbgun etc before (the joys of Birmingham) but it is always nice to get a headsup so we can keep a look out (and a camera & mobile ready)

You shouldn't have any problems going through the Manchester area - school half term was this week! Just to be on the safe side, try to time it so that you do the Ashton on a weekday rather than a weekend, although I have done the Ashton several times at weekends without problems.

 

Take the same precautions you would take in any inner-city urban area: lock the front doors and don't have any valuables on show!

Edited October 28, 2006 by MartinClark

[DHutch]

Passed Emily Anne on Monday as we've just come back from a few days on the Weaver.. and the boat's fine It's moored up on the towpath and not actually in the marina itself.

Really?

- I know they went down at the weekend and winterised it, and was under the impression it had also been moved into the marina. Prehaps not!

 

Eatherway, should be easy enough to spot!

 

 

Daniel

[Yoda]

Really?

- I know they went down at the weekend and winterised it, and was under the impression it had also been moved into the marina. Prehaps not!

 

Eatherway, should be easy enough to spot!

Daniel

 

What do you have to do to winterise a steam driven boat?

[boatchad]

What do you have to do to winterise a steam driven boat?

 

 

 

Stock the bunker with yule logs!

 

Hang up a stocking for Santa!

 

Leave a mince pie and a glass of sherry!

 

 

YO! HO! HO!

 

[Yoda]

Stock the bunker with yule logs!

 

Hang up a stocking for Santa!

 

Leave a mince pie and a glass of sherry!

YO! HO! HO!

 

 

Did I start something for you on another thread?

[DHutch]

What do you have to do to winterise a steam driven boat?

Drain stuff!!

 

Basicaly you have drain down the boiler, all the pipework, all the fittings and pumps etc. And if your feeling keen, unmount all the gauges and take them home.

- Then stick half a cupfull of stright 1000second in the top of each cyclinder, and bar the engine round several times to protect the bores, and usally liberaly spray stuff with fine oil or wd40.

- Then ontop of that theres all the normal things, draining off the domestic pumping, the paloma, showermixer, puting a big bucket under the pigionbox, all that sort of good sort of thing!

 

Its basicaly a full days work.

- For a start, we actally light the boiler. Just a small fire, get up a some presure, get it all warm. Then let the fire go out, And after a while open the blowdown valve and blow all the water and sludge out of the bottom of the boiler into the canal (out the side fo the boat, below water leval) Then continue and let all the steam out, while rocking the boat to get the last of the water out. Then when it gets down to about 5psi, shut it off, and take the cap of the top! Then just leave it emitting steam till its just about done, and put the cap back before any oxygen can get back in!

- The for the pipework etc its just a case of splitting the pipes at loads of the varous unions and letting the water out. Draining the hot well, and all the pumps (disconect the pipes, and turn the enigne over some more).

- Then we give the ash pan a good clean out, and wipe everything ferous with copous oily rags and the like. to insure than nothing tryed to rust away over the "damp months". lol!!

 

The winderising process actally starts much before this, as for the last fortnight or so before the end of the season, nothing is allowed to be cleaned! - We just let it build up its nateral oily barrier!!

 

 

Daniel

[Philskey]

Thanks.. actually.. The ring doesn't involve the lift (grr) but have convinced everyone to take a detour.. we did do it a while ago but I would like to do it on our own boat.. (more photo opportunities etc.) so we wont actually be mooring on the Weaver.. thanks anyway.

 

In reply to your comment about the bats.. I think they are awesome creatures.. last year we went to Carlsbad Cavins (i hope that’s the right spelling) in New Mexico.. you can sit near the entrance and watch hundreds and hundreds of bats swarm out at dusk.. really amazing!

 

Also with the Chesire ring.. near Manchester is there a problem with 'bandits'.. we have been stoned, egged, floured, shot with a bbgun etc before (the joys of Birmingham) but it is always nice to get a headsup so we can keep a look out (and a camera & mobile ready)

We just completed The Cheshire Ring last Friday 27th Oct. The Ashton was a nightmare. Kids throwing bricks and super market trolleys. One lad sitting at the lock side hanging his legs inside the chamber as we were coming up - Never again. I am only thankful I never attempted this trip with my family, we had an all male crew including a burly police sargeant who came in most useful.

We really enjoyed the rest of the trip but as for the Ashton never again!

[Yoda]

We just completed The Cheshire Ring last Friday 27th Oct. The Ashton was a nightmare. Kids throwing bricks and super market trolleys. One lad sitting at the lock side hanging his legs inside the chamber as we were coming up - Never again. I am only thankful I never attempted this trip with my family, we had an all male crew including a burly police sargeant who came in most useful.

We really enjoyed the rest of the trip but as for the Ashton never again!

 

Ferrule children, in other countries they are shot by the police.

[MartinClark]

We really enjoyed the rest of the trip but as for the Ashton never again!

You probably couldn't have chosen a worse day to go on the Ashton - the last day of the half term holiday.

 

I am sorry that you had a bad time - I have done the Ashton many times without the slightest trouble - and that includes some weekends. Please don't let it put you off doing the Ashton again - it is not always like that - honest!

 

Were they throwing stones and supermarket trolleys at you and the boat or just into the canal in general?

 

Did you report the incidents to BW? They cannot do anything about it unless they know about it.

[gaggle]

Ferrule children, in other countries they are shot by the police.

disgraceful observation,or is it a suggestion that we in this country should do the same?

while we are at it we could start killing others that we consider to be a nuisance.

[Yoda]

disgraceful observation,or is it a suggestion that we in this country should do the same?

while we are at it we could start killing others that we consider to be a nuisance.

 

Does the truth hurt you? Why is it a disgraceful observation? Don't you know how cheap life can be?

 

Take a look around you. Is what you see perfect?

[gaggle]

Does the truth hurt you? Why is it a disgraceful observation? Don't you know how cheap life can be?

 

Take a look around you. Is what you see perfect?

who wants perfection?

your post said a lot more than the words printed or maybe it is just my imagination.

[Yoda]

who wants perfection?

your post said a lot more than the words printed or maybe it is just my imagination.

 

Re-reading it I suppose that it could be misconstrude as to mean that I want children shot. I really think that read too much into it.

[Philskey]

You probably couldn't have chosen a worse day to go on the Ashton - the last day of the half term holiday.

 

I am sorry that you had a bad time - I have done the Ashton many times without the slightest trouble - and that includes some weekends. Please don't let it put you off doing the Ashton again - it is not always like that - honest!

 

Were they throwing stones and supermarket trolleys at you and the boat or just into the canal in general?

 

Did you report the incidents to BW? They cannot do anything about it unless they know about it.

The trollies were thrown in the canal around the new Asda store. Stones were thrown around The Strawberry ?? Pub and directly aimed at the boat. I am not convinced a camera and mobile phone are any deterrant to these low life, they have no respect for anybody or anything. One young fisherman around the age of twelve asked me if it was my boat, to which I replied "Yes" he retorted well it's sh** anyway. What could one say to that? The language from from the girls was even more choice. We did not report any of this to BW. I fully appreciate if they don't know then there's not a lot they can do but my main concern was getting the boat and crew to safety which we did under cover of darkness. As I said, Never again!