Last night CRT updated the stoppage list for Anderton Boat Lift saying they hope to open it PM today and that if passages were urgent please contact the team. As we were due to go down yesterday I have no idea if I am still on the list, cancelled, need to rebook or what, so I rang this morning and finally spoke to someone in the North West who in turn contacted the lift team and assured me they would contact me, so half nine this morning we set off for Anderton arriving at Salisford tunnel with a 20 minute wait and third in the queue. This gave an opportunity for another photo of the tree carvings closer up. The strange thing is the tree is still alive.
The chap in front of us said he would be traveling at tick over through the tunnels as he was worried about his drive plate, all I can say his tickover is much faster than mine, I did get this photo looking back in the tunnel. No light to bee seen due to the bends.
As I turned into Barton Tunnel it all looked clear with two boats ahead of me then I saw a head light so backed out. It turned out a boat had arrived at the south entrance that due to the tunnel not being straight his light could be seen down the side of the boats ahead. When we emerged it was raining. I mentioned that the foot bridge 201 was still closed due to the land slide a few years ago, this is the towpath access to it . I am not sure why they put a row of buoys along the towpath side.
We arrived back at the lift and I winded and moored back on the lift waiting area at about 11-30am. This must be covered by CCTV as we had only been here a few minutes and a CRT gent knocked on the roof. He told me that parts were on the way and hopefully he would have us down sometime this afternoon. The promised phone call still hasn’t arrived and had I have not stopped on the waiting area would have been non the wiser.
Several updates during the date from the CRT man and a boat waiting behind us, final update at about quarter past three, problems fixed, it was common to both caissons with the lower gate mechanism, there were 2 boats coming up and then we could go straight down. Quarter past four and we were away, we seemed to sit for ever in the caisson at the top as there were two boats loading at the bottom on the other side. Eventually we started to slowly move, they are taking it very slowly past the top gate lifting latches, the look like a new design. I ask the chap how he knew I was on the landing and he said he saw me moor up, he was going to ring me but that saved a call, so that explains why I didn’t get updated by phone, it was the same chap. As we went down in the lift it chucked it down and once at the bottom we moored on the first lot of floating pontoons. Diana has just pointed out these are lift waiting area moorings, max 30 minutes, tough. So this afternoon they have taken 2 boats down and 6 up.
Todays Journey
6½ miles no locks just a lift 3 hours
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