Day: 3 September 2016

Didn’t really cover a lot of ground today.

What I did discover is that you need an ‘anti-vandal’ or British Waterways Handcuff Key.

Locks on the Leigh Branch of the Leeds and Liverpool

Have the handcuff key, or anti-vandal key fitted throughout the city.

It’s a small square fitting. You basically put it into the lock housing and it releases the paddle.

Without these, you won’t be able to turn the paddles and you won’t be going anywhere.

Luckily due to the queuing at Plank Lane Bridge, I was in convoy so it wasn’t a problem.

Plank Lane Bridge

Had a problem with the counterweight and I was sitting here from 10:00 to 14:00.

More about that in the video.

Passing through Wigan

Seems a nice town, if a little run down, but there’s a lot of character in the buildings, just no money.

Weather – rain

All day until 18:00.

Couldn’t take pictures.

I did make the video, but that was all I could manage.

Day 8 – Map

Day 8 – Video

South Manchester, money zone. To Leigh, working class zone.

The air is fresher here.

There are no motorways.

I’m moored overlooking Pennington Flash on the outskirts of Leigh on the Leeds and Liverpool canal.

Now back on Canal and River Trust land, off Bridgewater Canal which seems like a zombie-land comparatively.

Bridgewater Investment co.

It seems like Manchester keeps it’s waterways open for posterity reasons.

For example, Bridgewater Canal sold angling rights in one deal. Signed a deal with one company to deal with the whole of their 200 mile odd network.

The same with the collection of fees from boaters, sold the rights to another company to collect on behalf of the network.

The Manchester ship canal. Bridges maintained and assets manned. Nothing actually works and no ships use it.

It seems they’re maintaining the waterways as a token of a bygone era. They’re not living and breathing things in the same way CRT waterways are. They’re future-less remnants of the past.

When they opened the waterways up, they moaned that too many people were staying on them.

Reeks of capitalist opportunism.

Linotype factory – Sale

This is where they invented metal typefacing. If you pressed more than 3 keys at once, they used to jam the typewriter.

They never got around that problem.

Now the typewriter is consigned to history, much like the Linotype factory.

I see it’s being knocked down by Nic Brooks, kind of a school-friend of me and Kerri. Kerri’s friend Sharon used to call him ‘Nicky bosch’ on account of his hands being like sandpaper.

I guess they’re even worse now… Continue reading “Day 7 – Grappenhall to Leigh”