Day 26 – Rufford to Crooke

Starting point, St. Mary’s Marina, Rufford

Paint job looks good…..

Got my stuff together, greased my bike, and got on the road… sorry, canal.

The marina had moved my barge onto the front, as the owner of the space I was prevailing turned up whilst I was in Scotland and wanted his mooring back.

The manager, Mark, said he tried to contact me by phone, which I think was unusual because I’ve always been reachable throughout the whole journey.

Nonetheless, it didn’t cause any problems. I got a slight shock when the boat wasn’t where I parked it. As I walked around, it was parked by the pump-outs and I had a slight discussion with Mark, but it was never a problem. Which is nice.

After paying my bill and getting my bill, I set out upon my merry journey.

Swing bridges, double locks and handcuff keys

Full-on HELLL experience.

At least Burscough was manned, and I managed to slip through quickly.

The locks and mechanisms on Rufford branch work, but that’s about it.

Much the same can be said about the rest of the Leeds and Liverpool….

Burscough

Cycled into Burscough, which was nice. Had to get the basics from Tesco; yogurt, apples, bread, whisky, beer.

There’s only so much I can fit in my cycle bag, plus Tesco is a little pricey when you’re just buying staples.

Got my tea for tonight.

Shored up in Crooke.

Going to get an early start for the Wigan locks tomorrow.

Map – Day 26