Tag Archives: Canal and River Trust

Saturday 12 April – Delays and Log Trouble

Easter 2025, , , ,

Distance travelled: 16 miles (by boat from Norbury Junction Visitor Moorings to Audlem Top Lock Visitor Moorings)

A detailed map showing a route from one location to another with a highlighted line indicating the path. Various other places, roads, and geographic features are visible on the map, which is marked with labels for reference.
All our canal route planning came from CanalPlan

Locks: 10. Total so far: 73

We were meant to have a really long boating day today so we set off early. My Dad got up even earlier to fill up our water tank. It was surprising how long it was taking – we must have used a lot of water…

Then we found out one of our two toilet tanks was FULL. We figured out later on that the toilet flush was constantly running from the water tank into the sewage tank. So that’s why we needed more water and to get a pump out.

Luckily not only was there a pub and swans at Norbury Junction there was also a hire boat base who could pump us out! So our early morning start eventually saw us waiting around for two or three hours until we got it all sorted out.

But once we got going we were back on more of the impressive embankments and dramatic cuttings of the Shroppie. There was also this funny “double” bridge which contains this old wooden pole that for something called ‘telegraphs’. That was how people sent messages more quickly than letters before telephones and text messages and emails and apps. People say a ghost lives here…but we didn’t see anything like that.

It was another glorious day on the canal. And even though we’d had an annoying start everything was going well.

Until it wasn’t.

We started to go through the Tyrley Locks (you say it “Turley”). Dad and I went ahead to set the next lock. We opened our gate and looked behind expecting Rakiraki to sail towards us. We could see her bow but she wasn’t moving.

What had happened?

She was properly stuck. A really, really large tree log was in the water and it had got wedged between the wall of the lock and the hull of the boat. Rakiraki couldn’t move at all. Totally jammed. Other boat crews tried to help us but nothing worked. So we had to call on the Canal and River Trust.

They came with tools and even then it took them ages. They had to try and saw through the log until it gave and the boat dislodged. We were stuck for three whole hours! So grateful to the Canal and River Trust for getting us moving.

A narrowboat is positioned at the entrance of a canal tunnel, with a person standing on the towpath nearby. The scene includes grassy banks and stone steps leading to the water, framed by the curved arch of the bridge above. Reflections of the boat and surroundings can be seen in the calm water.
Two people are operating a narrowboat in a canal. One person, wearing a maroon shirt, is pulling a rope from the boat, while another person, also in a maroon shirt, is standing nearby on the bank. There is a stone bridge in the background, along with trees and a house. The scene is set in a rural area, showcasing a leisurely outdoor activity on the water.

We were supposed to get to Audlem and do a load more locks but because of the toilet trouble and the tree trouble we only made it to the top of the flight. We now only had one day left before we had to give the boat back but we were still quite a long way away, tomorrow was going to be hard work.

Tuesday 8 April – Heartbreak and Harecastle

Easter 2025, , , , , , , ,

Distance travelled: 10 miles (by boat from Railway Bridge No 151A to Westport Lake Visitor Moorings)

Route map showing a travel path between two locations, with labeled towns and roads. A blue line indicates the main route through a rural area, emphasizing waypoints along the journey.
All our canal route planning came from CanalPlan

Locks: 24. Total so far: 31

We got up super early. The canal was full of birds singing. Not like at home in Croydon. This really was proper countryside.

Today was a lock day. Loads of them. So many that this bit of canal gets called “Heartbreak Hill”. We did 24 locks before lunchtime! TWENTY FOUR! Plus the two we’d done the night before. I really wanted to join in and I began to learn how to use a windlass to open a paddle and let the water in and out.

We had to get to Harecastle Tunnel for our booked slot but then my Dad was like “Oh no, I actually didn’t book it”. Oops. So we had to try and rush a bit to get there (not an easy thing to do in a canal boat) and hope they’d let us through. And they did! Thank you Canal and River Trust, you saved my Dad’s bacon.

The tunnel is MASSIVE. It’s 1.6 miles long. That’s as long as walking from my house to school to my house, to school, to my house and back to school again! It took 45 minutes to get through and was pitch black inside (apart from our headlight). I was on edge the whole time because it was a bit spooky but also exciting.

There used to be two tunnels here – one built by a guy called James Brindley, and the other by Thomas Telford which was completed almost exactly 200 years ago. Only Telford’s is in use today. In the old days, people had to lie on the boat and leg it through by pushing on the tunnel walls with their feet. For THREE HOURS. I would definitely not like that.

Four children wearing bright orange life jackets pose for a photo on a canal boat, smiling and making peace signs. The entrance to Harecastle Tunnel is visible in the background, surrounded by trees and sunlight.

After we came out the other side, we moored up at Westport Lake. This place was originally created as a ‘pleasure gardens’ during Queen Victoria’s reign but over time it got neglected and became a wasteland. There was a playground which was really fun and we got treated to ice creams!

Then my Dad and Dave went to watch Stoke City v Luton (it was a 1-1 draw). The rest of us watched Series 8, Episode 7 of the Great Pottery Throwdown where the contestants made bird baths in honour of the Six Towns.

My favourite was Steve’s – and the judges agreed (sorry for the spoiler).