Day 9 – Crooke to Tarleton
Today saw the introduction of swing bridges to the list of contraptions I need to man and manipulate.
During the course of my journey from Crooke to Tarleton, I had to pass through 9 working and perhaps 3 or more derelict.
Swing bridges on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
From what I can make out, these exist way rights of way still exist to cross the canal.
Sometimes they are passed by road, sometimes by tracks, sometimes by paths or seemingly nothing.
But they’re still there, adding something to the countryside I guess. And I have to pass through them. Nearly 10 of them on the course of my journey.
For those on the top of my journey, where I as sailing alone, not in convoy, the moorings were always on the other side.
That meant, once I’d operated the machinery, my boat was not reachable.
All swing gates are the same. In theory it takes 2 people to operate them. One to operate the machinery and push the bridge, and the other to man the boat.
For me, this wasn’t possible. Passing through on my own meant I had to be flexible with my mooring.
I practice, I had to moor the boat to the bridge itself, which would pull it through when I opened.
Then I would drive in through at an angle and jump of the stern, and moor it again, to the swing-bridge whilst I closed the bridge. …