Roaches Lock, Mossley

The journey between Lock 11 and Roaches Lock (15) was difficult for everyone involved. We waited for the morning thunderstorms to pass, hoping they'd take the torrential rain with them. Come afternoon Will single handed again while Vicky stayed in bed with the dogs. It rained intermittently but Will donned his long waterproof coat and was working hard so didn't get cold. Tiger's trazadone didn't seem to reduce her travel anxiety the way it usually does so she was worried the entire 2 hours 40 minutes of the journey. The pounds had refilled but water levels were still low despite all the rain we'd had. This led to frequent groundings and being unable to get close enough to the bank to moor where we'd planned at Lock 13, or at any of the other points Will tried before the official site at Lock 15. Inside, Vicky had closed the blinds to stop Leo reacting to movements outside. This worked but the noise of the hull scraping against the canal bed was amplified in the steel box echo chamber of the bedroom, which put Leo on edge (easily done to be fair). When Leo is on edge Leo makes noise, which in turn didn't help Tiger or Vicky's nerves.

A boat had recently descended the first lock and kindly left the gates open for us so Will was able to drive right in. He'd put the canoe on the roof so Rainboat had more room and he didn't have to worry about Little Rainboat getting crushed as the water surged in and pushed the heavy steel vessel backwards. The second lock was also in our favour and Will got chatting to a family interested in boating who were only too happy to close the gates after we left, meaning Will didn't have to moor and get off to shut them himself. We were only 45 minutes in at this point. It was the next two locks, groundings and failed moorings that took nearly 2 hours. As if to complement the hull grounding, a low bridge scraped the top of the canoe as we entered. Will had to reverse, take it off and put it back into the water to tow which slowed us down in locks. At least it was beautiful scenery!

Arriving at Roaches Lock visitor moorings was such a relief. We could slot right into the side and there were bollards to tie on to. The channel widened out and the wooded offside was bordered by bullrushes and spotted with yellow iris blooms. We took the dogs for a short decompression walk, doubling back along a path in the flat swathe of meadow between the canal and the River Tame. The sun had come out by this point so we sat out for a little while afterwards with fluffy Willow seed floating in the breeze, Red Campion, yellow Broom and creamy Wild Carrot umbellifers flowering amongst the tall meadow grass. Half a dozen friendly dogs kept Leo and Tiger amused as we chatted with their various walkers. Then little Molly came along with her family to feed Richard, the resident swan. We locked Leo away to prevent him trying to steel the swan food. All of the delighted five year old's attention was focussed on Tiger. They both revelled in it and it was a joy to see 🥰

The sunshine didn't last but Will dodged the showers over the coming days, visiting the nearby Café @ Woodend Mill for a melted brie with caramelised onion toastie and Roaches Lock pub for a fishy lunch. He stocked up at the hilariously named Veg Lord farm shop. Overall it was a peaceful, scenic spot to moor, with friendly dogs and walkers, one of whom told us that the canal gets even prettier the further we go!Leggi altro