It rained quite heavily overnight and still a heavy drizzle after we had had breakfast so we waited until 11-30 before setting off as we didn’t have that far to go. By now the weather was improving and by the time we reached Minworth bottom it was much nicer.
The warehouse on the offside is now complete, another piece in the Amazon empire jigsaw.
Minworth bottom and middle lock didn’t cause any problems but the top lock was a different story. The top gate was open and the top paddle up. no problem dropping the paddle but it took the two of us some time to actually get the top gate to move so that we could drain the lock, surprising the near side bottom paddle actually let some water out, its the first time in 4 years that I have experienced this, only half the speed of the offside one. Once we locked up the top gate moved easily until it came to going into the recess then it stopped dead, much back and forth from both of us got it open wide enough to get the boat out and because it wasn’t fully open it wasn’t such a problem to close, I suspect the gate has dropped on its heal, the rest of it is falling apart.
Other that the soup of leaves at every lock clinging to the prop we didn’t have any problem, I am always fascinated going under the building by Troutpool bridge and wonder what is going on above my head, what did the old boatmen thing being tied up under there for loading.
On to Salford Junction and a very sharp left up Saltley Cut which is actually part of the Grand Union Canal but only narrow locks. We did wonder if there would be room to moor at Star City now they are 14 day moorings, but there was only one boat there.
Today’s Journey
5¼ miles, 3 locks in 2½ hours
2 comments:
The building at Troutpool is an industrial unit (factory) and is currently unused. It appears to be modern in origin. Looking at older OS maps, in 1945 the Salford Bridge Road, which runs parallel to the canal at this point, was single carriageway and the factory sat between them. I wonder, therefore, if permission to extend the factory out over the canal was compensation when the road was dualled sometime after the 1945 map. I have not been able to find out more about who owned the unit when it was first built. In any event, I doubt if many working boatmen came under here and as far as I can see never loaded here.
That’s right it is modern. I remember it being newly built around the 1970s. One year shortly after construction it rained so heavily rather than pressing onto Minworth we moored up underneath this building. It was very clean in those days and we slung the mooring lines over projections overhead, mooring on the non towpath side.
It was quiet and dry, what more could you ask for!
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