Mooring in Manchester

[NBDensie]

We are currently at Whaley Bridge and intend to go to Castlefields and then out through the Leigh branch of the Bridgewater to join the Leeds & Liverpool.

 

Any suggestions on reasonable places to moor other than Castlefields in the Manchester area? I think to get to Castlefields from somewhere outside the built up area, say Hyde, would be more than we would want to do in a day.

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

[david and julie]

The almost standard advice is to overnight at Portland basin, leave first thing in the morning and make at the very least Piccadilly. You then have the Rochdale nine to Castlefield which will take between two and three hours of pretty hard work.

 

I believe some people stay on the Ashton, near Asda, but I haven't done this so have no idea what its like.

 

Don't believe all the doom merchants though, the Ashton is just like any other inner city canal in that its unlikely you'll get any bother.

[MartinClark]

I have a detailed answer to this question in my FAQs:

http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/faq.htm#manchester2

[JohnEW2912]

I have a detailed answer to this question in my FAQs:

http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/faq.htm#manchester2

An update - the pub at Boothstown basin has closed. It is hoped that it will reopen but if and when I don't know. Also I think I recall that one of the pubs in Worsley is also closed, but it still remains a good overnight spot.

 

Further west Parbold is probably the pick of the mooring spots west of Wigan if you want facilities. For a decent curry stop at what used to be the Navigation at Gathurst - now a decent curry house. If you want some rural tranquility try just below Appley Bridge lock. After Parbold the scenery flattens out but despite a few closures there are still plenty of pubs, almost one at every bridge west of Burscough. Burscough is nothing special as an overnight stop but is probably the best place for provisions with a Tesco and a Co-op within easy walking distance.

[Ike]

I have a detailed answer to this question in my FAQs:

http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/faq.htm#manchester2

 

A bit off topic but do they still lock the bottom of the Rochdale up at night? We didn't see any evidence of this at Easter.

[Glennbrown]

No they dont lock the bottom of the Rochdale at night but wouldnt suggest anybody

goes up the locks thru manchester at night (too many drunks )

[mayalld]

The almost standard advice is to overnight at Portland basin, leave first thing in the morning and make at the very least Piccadilly. You then have the Rochdale nine to Castlefield which will take between two and three hours of pretty hard work.

 

I believe some people stay on the Ashton, near Asda, but I haven't done this so have no idea what its like.

 

Don't believe all the doom merchants though, the Ashton is just like any other inner city canal in that its unlikely you'll get any bother.

 

That is about right!

 

Just to clarify one point though. The Ashton Canal has TWO Asdas!

 

There is one, with a tunnel underneath it, at Ashton, between Portland Basin and the HNC. I've never heard of problems here, but then again, I've never heard of anybody mooring here.

 

The second Asda (the Asda-Walmart superstore) is above Beswick Locks, close to the City of Manchester stadium. I have heard of a number of people mooring here (some by choice, and some to due being stranded by low pounds), and I have yet to hear any reports of problems.

 

The most recent nearby incident that I've heard of was 4 years ago, and involved a boat which had been moored in an emergency by the head of the next lock down for a couple of hours whilst the steerer was taken to hospital with an ankle injury, during which time, an attempt was made to force the doors.

 

Broadly, my advice would be that if you don't think yuou can do Castlefield in a day, plan A should be Picadilly Basin, and that Plan B should be WalMart. If you go with plan B, I would suggest that for peace of mind, you should not leave the boat unattended.

[NBDensie]

Thanks for all replies.

 

We did intend to moor at Portland (junction with HNC) after going down the Marple flight but Marple was closed in the morning because of paddle problems. We got as far as the nature reserve between Romily and Hyde where there are good deep moorings (the first chance since Marple) alongside some new piling.

 

So we started early for us the following morning, got to the top of the Ashton around 10:15 and reached Piccadilly/Ducie Street mid afternoon after an uneventful trip. We were advised that it was rather late to start on the Rochdale 9 so although the moorings by the car park just above the first Rochdale lock were full we were able to moor breasted up to a helpful hire boat. What I believe are the official BW moorings on pontoons just before the junction looked decidely uninviting. We did consider Piccadilly village but strongly suspected the shiny bollards and rings werent actually intended for use by real boaters.

 

Now moored in Castlefield. First time in Manchester - its brill!

[MartinClark]

We did intend to moor at Portland (junction with HNC) after going down the Marple flight but Marple was closed in the morning because of paddle problems.

Can I just correct that misunderstanding? Portland Basin is the junction of the Ashton and the Peak Forest Canals. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal does not start there but half a mile to the east, at Whitelands. It is an easy mistake to make because there are a number of web sites that have this incorrect information, including Canal Junction.

 

Now moored in Castlefield. First time in Manchester - its brill!

I'm glad that you are enjoying Manchester! You would have been alright starting down the Rochdale Nine mid afternoon but it is quieter in the morning.

[Pluto]

Can I just correct that misunderstanding? Portland Basin is the junction of the Ashton and the Peak Forest Canals. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal does not start there but half a mile to the east, at Whitelands. It is an easy mistake to make because there are a number of web sites that have this incorrect information, including Canal Junction.

The Ashton/PF junction is not at Portland Basin, but on the far side of the aqueduct opposite the basin, and my copy of the LNWR survey of the Huddersfield suggests the junction is at Whitewalls Bridge, by the first lock.

[MartinClark]

The Ashton/PF junction is not at Portland Basin, but on the far side of the aqueduct opposite the basin, and my copy of the LNWR survey of the Huddersfield suggests the junction is at Whitewalls Bridge, by the first lock.

Well, yes. It is as you say at the south side of the aqueduct, as the aqueduct is technically a branch of the Ashton Canal, but the whole area around there is known as Portland Basin, not just the basin itself, which is really just an arm that led into the former canal warehouse.

 

Are you sure your LNWR survey says "Whitewalls Bridge"? It is actually called Whitelands Bridge.

[mayalld]

The Ashton/PF junction is not at Portland Basin, but on the far side of the aqueduct opposite the basin, and my copy of the LNWR survey of the Huddersfield suggests the junction is at Whitewalls Bridge, by the first lock.

 

Ah, a pedant after my own heart!

 

Yes, the aqueduct is a branch of the Ashton Canal, and the junction (Dukinfield Junction) lies approximately halfway between the junction bridge and "Garforths Private Branch" (now Portland Basin Marina).

 

The HNC/Ashton Junction is half a mile east, adjacent to "Ashton Old Wharf", at the tail of the road bridge below lock 1W

 

It is, however a common mistake to make, to describe the remainder section of the Ashton (and the Ashton Canal above Portland Basin is still a remainder waterway) as being part of the HNC, the boandary between remainder and cruising waterway having been more significant than real canal boundaries for many years

[Pluto]

Well, yes. It is as you say at the south side of the aqueduct, as the aqueduct is technically a branch of the Ashton Canal, but the whole area around there is known as Portland Basin, not just the basin itself, which is really just an arm that led into the former canal warehouse.

 

Are you sure your LNWR survey says "Whitewalls Bridge"? It is actually called Whitelands Bridge.

You're right; my brain to finger co-ordination seems to be going. One of the maps I have suggests that the branch canal on the opposite side of the aqueduct was also part of the Ashton, though the map is one produced in 1889 when the canals were under railway control and the boundaries had become relatively unimportant.

[mayalld]

You're right; my brain to finger co-ordination seems to be going. One of the maps I have suggests that the branch canal on the opposite side of the aqueduct was also part of the Ashton, though the map is one produced in 1889 when the canals were under railway control and the boundaries had become relatively unimportant.

 

The branch canal on the far side of the aqueduct was (and indeed still is) a private branch (Garforths private branch).

 

As such, the map would have showed it as not being a part of the PF canal.

[Saskia]

Sorry to rake up old stuff, but last month when I was searching for info about mooring around Manchester I came across this topic.

On 2009-5-30 at 19:57, david and julie said:

I believe some people stay on the Ashton, near Asda, but I haven't done this so have no idea what its like.

Somehow I remembered this line when I was lying awake due to some drunken lads banging on our boat when we were moored up at this particular spot 2 weeks ago on a Friday night. I found it quite intimidating, maybe it's everyday business for urban moorers, but i certainly didn't like it. Nothing serious happened though.

 

We were kinda stranded as we had done the Rochdale 9 in the morning from Castlefield (excellent mooring), wanted to go for Hyde in 1 day, but got delayed and failed. We had problems on the Rochdale with water shortages and a bike in one of the locks (got removed by the CRT guys, brave men to go into that water!). On the Ashton again there was little water and every other lock we had to dive into the weed hatch to clear the prop, until we picked up a sleeping bag that we couldn't remove ourselves and had to ring the hire company to get assistance. It was around 16:00 and we were just passed lock 7, it was only 2 of us, so the choice was made to tie up for the night, in line with 2 CRT maintance boats that just had moored up. When I spoke to one of the CRT guys to ask if this was a safe spot to moor he just said - "do I have to commit to that?". In hindsight it would be better to have moored up on the non-tow path side, but we survived. Also this area apparantly is full of CCTV and overlooked by appartments, and one of the ground flats has an motion sensor light. I guess this is the place to moor if you really have to somewhere on the Ashton.. Still wouldn't recommend it though if you could avoid it.

 

The morning after we started early, but only made it to lock 18 by 13:00 - again had delays due to low water levels. We even had kids jumping on our boat at the swing bridge- so I guess we got the whole Ashton Canal experienzo authentico  

[frahkn]

1 hour ago, Saskia said:

Sorry to rake up old stuff, but last month when I was searching for info about mooring around Manchester I came across this topic.

Somehow I remembered this line when I was lying awake due to some drunken lads banging on our boat when we were moored up at this particular spot 2 weeks ago on a Friday night. I found it quite intimidating, maybe it's everyday business for urban moorers, but i certainly didn't like it. Nothing serious happened though.

 

We were kinda stranded as we had done the Rochdale 9 in the morning from Castlefield (excellent mooring), wanted to go for Hyde in 1 day, but got delayed and failed. We had problems on the Rochdale with water shortages and a bike in one of the locks (got removed by the CRT guys, brave men to go into that water!). On the Ashton again there was little water and every other lock we had to dive into the weed hatch to clear the prop, until we picked up a sleeping bag that we couldn't remove ourselves and had to ring the hire company to get assistance. It was around 16:00 and we were just passed lock 7, it was only 2 of us, so the choice was made to tie up for the night, in line with 2 CRT maintance boats that just had moored up. When I spoke to one of the CRT guys to ask if this was a safe spot to moor he just said - "do I have to commit to that?". In hindsight it would be better to have moored up on the non-tow path side, but we survived. Also this area apparantly is full of CCTV and overlooked by appartments, and one of the ground flats has an motion sensor light. I guess this is the place to moor if you really have to somewhere on the Ashton.. Still wouldn't recommend it though if you could avoid it.

 

The morning after we started early, but only made it to lock 18 by 13:00 - again had delays due to low water levels. We even had kids jumping on our boat at the swing bridge- so I guess we got the whole Ashton Canal experienzo authentico  

We went down the Ashton flight on the 18th May and had no trouble (either human or infrastructure) but then I don't recall seeing an Asda either so what do I know.

Frank.

[Pie Eater]

20 hours ago, Saskia said:

Sorry to rake up old stuff, but last month when I was searching for info about mooring around Manchester I came across this topic.

Somehow I remembered this line when I was lying awake due to some drunken lads banging on our boat when we were moored up at this particular spot 2 weeks ago on a Friday night. I found it quite intimidating, maybe it's everyday business for urban moorers, but i certainly didn't like it. Nothing serious happened though.

 

We were kinda stranded as we had done the Rochdale 9 in the morning from Castlefield (excellent mooring), wanted to go for Hyde in 1 day, but got delayed and failed. We had problems on the Rochdale with water shortages and a bike in one of the locks (got removed by the CRT guys, brave men to go into that water!). On the Ashton again there was little water and every other lock we had to dive into the weed hatch to clear the prop, until we picked up a sleeping bag that we couldn't remove ourselves and had to ring the hire company to get assistance. It was around 16:00 and we were just passed lock 7, it was only 2 of us, so the choice was made to tie up for the night, in line with 2 CRT maintance boats that just had moored up. When I spoke to one of the CRT guys to ask if this was a safe spot to moor he just said - "do I have to commit to that?". In hindsight it would be better to have moored up on the non-tow path side, but we survived. Also this area apparantly is full of CCTV and overlooked by appartments, and one of the ground flats has an motion sensor light. I guess this is the place to moor if you really have to somewhere on the Ashton.. Still wouldn't recommend it though if you could avoid it.

 

The morning after we started early, but only made it to lock 18 by 13:00 - again had delays due to low water levels. We even had kids jumping on our boat at the swing bridge- so I guess we got the whole Ashton Canal experienzo authentico  

I thought that I had heard this tale before and then I realised that we spoke to you as you were in front of us at Preston Brook tunnel on your way back to base on Queenie.

By the sound of things your experiences do not seem to have put you off hiring again.

[Saskia]

1 hour ago, Pie Eater said:

I thought that I had heard this tale before and then I realised that we spoke to you as you were in front of us at Preston Brook tunnel on your way back to base on Queenie.

By the sound of things your experiences do not seem to have put you off hiring again.

Definitely has not put us off hiring again, the rest of the Cheshire Ring was a lovely cruise,  and the Queenie is the best hire boat we have ever been on.   I remember your boat name, guess you were the ones that advised us to moor up in Stockton Heath (good choice, thanks! )

 

20 hours ago, frahkn said:

We went down the Ashton flight on the 18th May and had no trouble (either human or infrastructure) but then I don't recall seeing an Asda either so what do I know.

Frank.

Maybe going down taking the water with you helps that little bit as well. We were the first boat to go up 20th of May (no boats has passed us that morning and I can't imagine anyone would moor up volunteerly a little up) and we had to fill some pounds, the one at lock 15 was the worst.