Daresbury

Early start for us this morning, off at 9-30am. to arrive at Preston Brook tunnel entrance at four minutes to ten for a ten o’clock passage, there was one boat waiting when we arrived. On the way we passed Dutton Dry Dock a pretty little place, a couple of wooden buildings on wheels have appeared since last we were this way.  Just below Dutton lock, which incidentally was virtually level, I opened the bottom gates without lifting the paddles, there is a wide beamed Bridgewater skip boat moored up, not sure what its doing this side of the tunnel.

Martins dog was on hand just to make sure we didn’t miss or 10 minute passage window.

Boats can enter the tunnel between the hour and ten past, boats coming the other can enter between the half hour and twenty minutes to. Our passage took exactly 17 minutes and there were two boats waiting at the other end to enter.
Once through the Tunnel we have left the Canal and River Trust (CRT) waters and are now on The Bridgewater, owned by Peel Holdings, Peel and CRT have a reciprocal agreement and we can spend a week on their waters without buying a licence and three days for the return trip. Our first task once this side was to call in at the book exchange, I don’t know who runs it but always books to be swapped.

On to Waters Meeting where we turned hard left down the Runcorn Arm. There are plans to reconnect the end of the Arm with the Manchester Ship Canal by restoring the Runcorn locks that use to run from the other side of this bridge at the present terminus almost straight down to the MSC.

This is what the bridge looks like today, it was much different last time we were here.

This is 2016 with a road bridge right behind Waterloo Bridge and the back of the arches bricked up supporting it.

On our way to the end we passed the Bridgewater Motor Boat Club who are busy preparing for a rally this weekend and we were hailed to ask if we were attending, we didn’t know anything about it but it seems it the Annual Bridgewater Boat Clubs get together.

On our return I asked these chaps why they were fixing steel wire cables along the edge, he replied it was for the 150 expected boats to moor to as they can’t drive pins in.

We think this building may be a school or play school with a mural on the back wall.

We carried on almost to Waters Meeting before mooring by Norton Town Bridge for the night. Since we have been here there has been a stead stream of boats heading down, so I expect passage down to the end and winding will be quite congested by tomorrow.

Today’s Journey

10¾ miles, 1 lock in 4¼ hours