On to Plank Lane (broken) Bridge

Wednesday

The flipping alarm woke us at 6:00 this morning! OK, I had set it for that, but that's no excuse! We left at 7:15, giving ourselves more than enough time to get to Plank Lane Bridge before 2:00pm. There was no knowing what might happen to delay us, and we really didn't want to risk missing today's bridge opening, and have to wait until Friday for the next.

Our first delay was at the first lock, just 15 minutes after we'd set out! I'd forgotten that this lock is padlocked closed between 8:00pm and 8:00am each day through the summer months (whatever they are!), to “preserve water” (CRT).

So we made hot drinks, and sat back and enjoyed them until the CRT man arrived and unlocked the paddle mechanisms.

Five more locks followed, and, as I said on our way in to Liverpool, these must be the worst locks on the system. There are broken paddles that can't be opened, and heavy gates that either wouldn't open more than half way or were extremely heavy and difficult to move. And then there's the total lack of gangplanks across the lock gates, so that you have to use the footbridge – and even a major road bridge in one instance – at one end of the lock to get to the other side. All of these contrived to slow us down considerably. But we'd allowed plenty of time, so that wasn't too big a deal.

We met absolutely no other boats until we got to Plank Lane.

The nicest thing about the canal through Wigan, I have concluded, is the Elsan Disposal point at Henhurst Bridge Lock. Just above Poolstock Locks is a CRT notice promoting the “flashes” which we would encounter over the next few miles. We moored at Pennington Flash and later at Scotman's Flash a few weeks ago, and they're lovely. This sign has “Wigan Flashes” in big letters across the top. Wigan flashes? Flashes?? It doesn't even glimmer!

We arrived at Plank Lane at 12:30, and joined the queue of those waiting for the bridge to be opened. NB Gerty was two boats ahead of us. Boaters stood around, chatting happily, and we joined in. We were all glad the weather was fine.

We had lunch, and were ready to move at 2:00. We we now sixth in a convoy of nine going east through the bridge. Fourteen boats were waiting the other side to go through the other way. By the time we got to the raised bridge, there was a long line of cars waiting on both sides. The convoy was fun. It really looked as if we were all at a canal festival or something similar.

We pulled over for the night at Pennington Flash while the other eight boats carried on.

Another flash!

This morning it was the splash of the fish which greeted me when I woke up. There are large fish here, and they come to the surface regularly for flies, their mouths making expanding rings in the water. And they ripple along the hull of the boat too, up and down, up and down, eating the algae from beneath the waterline. And some of them jump, quite high out of the water, making a big splash as they fall back in. It's fun to watch.

I watched them while the kettle was boiling for our first cup of tea, and it occurred to me then that there are no water-birds on the canal here. Not one. There are terns skimming over the surface, also fly-hunting, and there are gulls that soar and squabble and shriek over the fields opposite us. But I suppose the ducks, geese, swans, cormorants, moorhens and coot are all down on the flash below us, which is quite visibly home to great crowds of birds.

I had to smile as three women rounded the corner to my right, quite 100 yards away from me up the footpath. They were talking. They weren't talking particularly loudly, but there was a wide stretch of water between them and me, and water carries sound amazingly well. So I could hear pretty much all that they were saying, and that continued as they passed and carried on down the path. Did they realise they could be heard so well? I think not. I doubt they would have wanted others to hear what they were confiding in each other!

On a similar line, it amuses me how people who use towing paths often don't seem to see the boats moored near them. Or they do, but it doesn't occur to them that there may be someone in the boats who can hear the secrets they're sharing. It happens a lot. Sometimes it's embarrassing, and I feel guilty to be eavesdropping like that, unintentional as it may be!

We moved on, up to the lift-bridge next to the would-be marina, now home to three chunks of floating pontoon. We would have liked to top up our water tank here, but there were already others queuing, so we continued, one of the waiting boaters pressing the buttons to operate the huge bridge for us. 

We only travelled five miles today. To another lake, Scotman's Flash. This one, too, is a lovely place to stay for the night.

I've been having a Twitter conversation with John (@tangerinemusic), a recent follower, who suggested we might meet up while we were at Pennington Flash. He lives very close. We missed him yesterday, but he caught up with us this evening - he's only just left. John's a really nice bloke, and very interesting to chat with. He's just bought a beautiful plot of land with mooring on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, and hopes to sell his house and buy a boat to live in, probably a widebeam. I'm looking forward to following his progress. I'm sure he's not going to regret making the jump! He certainly has a lot of knowledge and understanding of the canals and of boats, and what seems to me to be the right attitude to this major change in his life. All the best to him and his wife!

We'll move on through Wigan tomorrow. At last, I'll have locks to do again!