Marple Monday 30 September 2019

Day : Monday
Date : 30 September 2019
Start : 0930
Finish : 1630 Hill Top Footbridge

IMPORTANT NOTICE all comments made to this blog are checked before being accepted. Comments made anonymously are accepted but if you leave even just your first name I could say thanks.

It was a bit chilly early this morning, went for my normal middle of the night wee and looking outside it was a clear star light night, this resulted in the outside temperature dropping to 5°C over night.

We were away at half nine on a clear morning, one or two boats had already been passed leaving Bugsworth Basin. A boat came by just as we were leaving so Diana walked ahead and opened the swing bridge for both of us. Just beyond the bridge is the beginning of Furnace Vail moorings where there are 101 herring bone and online moorings.

The row of Terraced cottages by the towpath had the sun bouncing off their slate roofs, they looked a bit different on our return journey.

We met a few more boats as we approached the entrance to the basin and got to see our first Father Christmas of the season peeping out of a bedroom window.

We went right to the end of the canal to wind and dispose of our rubbish before retracing our steps back passed the 101 moorings and through the swing bridge which Diana had to open just for us.

We continued on to New Mills passing the marina with the Trotter's boat moored, under the bridge, where yesterday we stopped to don waterproofs in the rain and continued past the sweet factory to moor for a while so that we could visit the town and the Millennium Walkway. Trip Advisor posting showed it closed due to the risk of flooding if the reservoir dam had failed, but there was no closure when we arrived. The water moves at quite a rate under the suspended walkway round the outside of Torr vale Mill that it use to power. 

We then walked upstream a bit to the next weir which is now the site of a Archimedes Screw hydro generator, unfortunately it was not working due to the fact it was flooded earlier this month. They didn't say if this was due to the extra water from draining the Toodbrook reservoir or just a natural occurrence.

While I was there I shot this short bit of video to show the flow over the weir.  

We had a wander round town and decided to eat in a small cafe called Gioia Mia run by Ali, the owner and quite a character. We had the full Mezze which was very tasty along with his coffee. We then wandered back to the boat and set off with the plan of mooring just before Marple Junction. There is a good section of piling between bridges 20 and 21 with a couple of boats moored there, but we were unable to get close to the bank, Diana was unable to get back onboard at our first attempt. Now the boas are about 18" out and the stern quite a bit more, but we don't rock when boats pass. We moored just in time as it started to rain and has continued ever since

Today's Journey7¾ Miles Locks 0in 4 hours