Wednesday 8th July, 2015 at Worsley.
We set off early in light drizzle, which was forecast to last for most of the day. One week ago was the hottest day for ten years and Wimbledon organisers were worried about heat exhaustion. Today we were wearing several layers including fleeces, scarves and waterproofs! Our English climate never fails to surprise!
A brief interlude of a rather more rural area after Sale soon gave way to a fairly unattractive industrialised stretch. The tunnel under the M60 seemed endless.
At "Waters Meeting", we met up with the original canal built by the Duke of Bridgewater in 1765 to carry his coal from Worsley (to the left) to Manchester (to the right). This was the original canal, the success of which led to the years of "canal mania" that continued until the arrival of the railways.
Given the significance of this historic junction, it was surprising to see no signpost or sign of any kind at the junction, nor did it live up to its picturesque name! Our route takes us to Worsley, on our way to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal; but given the proximity of a rather well-known local football stadium, we decided to turn right towards Manchester first for a quick detour.
We sailed a couple of miles up the canal to find somewhere where we could turn. This was at a place called Pomona, where there is a lock that leads down on to the Manchester Ship Canal.
Unfortunately, there was work being done on the tram bridge that spans the canal and the lock so the winding hole was severely restricted, but R's exemplary manoeuvring skills enabled us to get round despite the obstructions and the strong wind.
We sailed back down towards the junction and managed to moor up immediately opposite Old Trafford. What a mooring spot!
M had been here before to see a match when Man Utd were playing Panathinaikos, Man Utd won 4-0 with Beckham as Captain (that will date it!); but R had never been - so we couldn't resist going in to have a look. R posed in front of the entrance and "Megastore" under the statue of Sir Matt Busby.
This marvellous tribute to George Best, Dennis Law and Bobby Charlton stands opposite the main entrance.
Round the side is the Sir Alex Ferguson stand, which includes the "Red Cafe" and we went in for a warming drink (it was perishing cold for July!).
Each chair in the restaurant is named for a particular player and from the cafe we could look down on MM below.
Back on board MM, we returned to the junction and turned up towards Worsley. The areas on either side of the canal were still very industrialised including a massive facility owned by Kelloggs. Just think, this is where your cornflakes come from!
As we passed, we saw three employees walking behind the high fence - and each was carrying a box of cereal! Their lunch, we wondered?
At Barton, we crossed the huge swing bridge that carries the canal across the Ship Canal.
These days the swing bridge is very rarely opened as there is not much traffic on the Ship Canal this far north. The road bridge is also a swing bridge, but in the distance you can just see the high bridge constructed for the M60 motorway.
Worsley is our final destination for today and we moored up just a few hundred yards before the "Delph", which is the location of the entrance to the Duke of Bridgewater's coal mine. It has long since been abandoned, but there used to be over forty miles of canals underground to bring the coal out on to the Bridgewater Canal here. At last, the sun put in an appearance!
We had a quick walk around but we will save a proper exploration for when we return.
Tomorrow, we will put MM into the nearby marina and leave her for a couple of weeks as we have to go home for various committments.
Our diary will continue when we return - so please watch this space...
Today: 11 miles, 0 locks and 3.4 hours.
Trip: 135 miles, 53 locks and 79.9 hours.
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