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Simon Pooley

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    Melksham, nearest canal: Semington on the K&A

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  1. Crofton's website says this weekend (19/20 Aug) is planned to be "no-steaming", so the suggestion CRT have arranged for them to be pumping today seems even more surprising. Maybe the CRT update was posted by someone unfamiliar with Crofton who merely assumed that all the pumps there were steam, rather than the elecrtric successors.
  2. I've just seen today's CRT update about the k&A summit closure which includes: Does that really mean the Crofton boilers have been fired-up and the steam pumping engines are operating? If so, congratulations and appreciation for the Crofton volunteers. Can the steam pumps operate simultaneously with the electric pumps, without overloading the capacity of the leat feeding the top lock?
  3. The Bell in Walcot St, Bath, has a laundrette with a couple of machines for use by customers. A bit of a trek from the K&A, though, especially carrying bags of laundry.
  4. For the past couple of years I have been using various combinations of: https://www.canalandriversidepubs.co.uk/ https://goodbeerguide.org.uk/find (I have a subscription - not sure how much is available free-of-charge) and Google maps search for "pubs near me" There have been lots of changes with pubs closing and - particularly - altering their opening hours over the past couple of years. It helps to have various sources to cross-reference and - if you're really keen on dining-out or drinking at a particular stop - ringing the establishment in advance to check. At the start of may we had 10 days out from Sowerby Bridge, over the Rochdale and down towards Manchester. Lots of disruption due to closed locks, lack of water over the summit, restrictions in Hebden Bridge, etc, but an excellent trip over my favourite Pennine crossing. Found good pubs most nights, and several lunchtimes, using the above resources.
  5. I've watched the first 2 this evening - an excellent series indeed. Thank you for pulling these together and uploading.
  6. That's excellent David - thank you very much. Is that a new shutter frame on the towpath-side paddle? Simon.
  7. CRT Stoppage notice/history: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/24977-lock-15 Looks like this lock will be re-opened on Fri 12th - we came through a week ago, Thurs 4th. The offside upper paddle was completely missing, and the chain around the towpath-side failed paddle was only loosely fitted and didn't obstruct the mechanism. It was quite straightforward for one person to manipulate the rack so that it engaged with the pinion without jamming and a second to gently wind to allow us to raise and lower the paddle and operate the lock. To the delight of the boatyard, we were able to get the boat back to Sowerby Bridge at the end of our hire. Does anyone have any photos of the installed coffer dam and/or the repair works? They'd make an interesting post-script to our holiday report. Simon.
  8. Vox Stellarum? I have a vague memory of seeing the boat, but cannot recall where, I'm afraid. We usually say "hello" to everybody!
  9. OP here... Well, we set off on Tues from Sowerby Bridge and last night (Thu) found us at the West end of Summit, with a very low pound before us. We had several nice beers in the Summit pub and set off this morning into a slightly-recovered pound below West Summit Lock 37. But with the lock empty, we found ourselves aground in the bottom of the lock when it was ready. A couple of CRT chaps turned up to monitor the situation and were very helpful in letting sufficient water down from the summit pound to see us down the first few locks. I was waiting on the balance beam of Lock 46 at 12:30 when I received a stoppage notice to say the Rochdale summit, locks 35 to 45, was now closed due to lack of water. https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/24896-navigation-closure-low-water-summit-lock-36-to-lock-45-rochdale-canal Next update Tues. So, looks like we've managed to scrape our way over the top just in time! We're booked back Eastwards on Wedsnesday, and I've let the boatyard know where we are. Let's hope for some rain to replenish the reservoirs and summit level before then. PS - we're on Shire's Worcester, so say hello if you spot us.
  10. Ah - that'll be my fault for booking our trip such that we'll be returning East over Summit during the 1st week in May 🙂 Oh well, the first little challenge for us: we'll have to pace ourselves to be sure to get the 11am Weds passage to get the boat back through Tuel Lane on Friday afternoon.
  11. Thank you again for all the comments, opinion and local knowledge. We haven't been put off, and - after a long chat with Nigel@Shire this morning - I have booked Worcester for 11 nights from the end of Apr. I think I might invest in a cheap foldable pruning saw to take along, ready to attack any accumulations of rags & plastic we may find down the weed hatch.
  12. Well for us, it's all about exploring the whole canal system and - after 40-odd years - it's tempting to try and include sections that we have missed from our previous trips. Having said that, I suspect we'll concentrate on re-enjoying the Rochdale between Sowerby Bridge and Littleborough - then see how we feel about progressing further at the West end. (Thanks for the comments, 'though!)
  13. Thank you for the comments. We're particularly keen to cruise the "tricky bit" between Slattocks Top and the top of the Rochdale Nine - it's one part of the Northern Canals missing from our travels over the years! In terms of timing, we have previously taken 37 hours over 5.5 days to go from Sowerby Bridge to Slattocks Top and return. We're hoping that with 10 days we can get further into Manchester. Of course, we were then in our 40's, but now in our 60's ... and the canal will be 20 years older too 🙂
  14. Hello folks, we're considering a Sowerby Bridge to Manchester and return narrowboat trip in a ~ 10 days hire from Shire Cruisers over the last week in Apr, first week in May. We're very experienced annual hirers (>40 years) but were last on the Rochdale 20 years ago, when our plans for a 2-week trip around the South Pennine ring were thwarted by a lock closure at Failsworth. (We did manage Ashton-u-Lyme -> Standedge Tunnel -> Huddersfield -> Sowerby Bridge -> Rochdale Summit -> Failsworth -> Sowerby Bridge in our 14 days - sketch map attached). The currently "known knowns" stoppages ( CRT Rochdale notices, Apr-May ) don't throw up any major problems for our anticipated end-to-end of the Rochdale. Just timed/restricted passage through Tuel Lane and a few awkward/sticky/troublesome locks). But we wondered whether any of you who know the area could provide local knowledge of any potential navigation issues? I'm guessing water levels should be ok? Our 20-years-ago passage over the Rochdale Summit was restricted due to low levels. We'll talk to the boatyard, and monitor the stoppage reports after Easter, to see if things are flowing smoothly (or, at least, as smoothly as they ever do on the Pennine canals!) Thank you in advance for any comments on our plans.
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