Sunday July 1st, Todmorden - Walsden

What a truly pig-awful day.

July 1^st? Hah! 

Library Lock, Todmorden with its guillotine gate

We knew it was not going to be a good day when it started to rain just after we untied and the hilltops all around us were shrouded in a grey mist.

At first, all went well. We were in and through Library Lock with its guillotine gate pretty quickly, but were now getting soaked by the increasingly heavy drizzle.

Rochdale Canal Company marker

At the next lock, Wadsworth Mill Lock, we got the lock empty to enter and then realised someone, presumably off a boat in front, had lifted the bottom paddles of Shade Lock, just in front. To be fair, that lock has to be kept empty, but he could have looked to see if there was someone he might inconvenience when there was so much fresh (water) in the canal.

And still the rain teemed down.

Just a bit too much water!

The cascade of water he sent down soon poured over the top gates of our lock meaning we couldn’t open our bottom gates.

However, the cascade eventually slackened and we were able to get in and ascend.

And still the rain teemed down.

But, our troubles were not at an end. Normally when you have to go back and empty a lock, you wait and, when it is empty, you lower the paddles. Oh no. Not this guy. Not only did he leave both paddles up, but he then proceeded to push in the locking button.

When we got in the lock and Elaine tried to wind the paddles down, she couldn’t make the nearside one budge at all. The paddle and lock and managed to jam completely. Even when I climbed up the lock ladder, I couldn’t make it budge at all.

So we made our first call to the canal emergency number – none of the Regional Offices of BW are open on Sundays.

And still the rain teemed down.

A few minutes after explaining our problem to the switchboard guy, a chap from BW rang and said someone from BW would be with us within the hour, and not to force the mechanism.

And still the rain teemed down.

We reopened the bottom gate and reversed the boat out as I couldn’t stand being in the bottom of a lock with water crashing over the top gates any longer. To be fair to BW, it was about 20 minutes before a guy arrived and within another 10 minutes of him bashing and forcing the mechanism, he managed to get the paddle free, and we could restart our journey.

Farewell Shade Lock. Well done BW.

And still the rain teemed down.

Were out troubles over? No they weren’t. At the next lock, the already rain heavy middle rope when being lifted up to Elaine on the lockside caught on the Buckby Cans and they both topped into the lock. The mop survived by a miracle. I managed to get the smaller can out with the boat hook, but sadly, our pride and joy, the one painted superbly by our good friend Pete Copeland, had slowly sunk to the bottom of the lock. Bugger.

And still the rain teemed down.

Feeling decidedly dejected, the rest of the journey didn’t make much impression on us. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the rain eased and was replaced by grey skies and a cold, biting wind with occasional flurries of mizzle.

Our trials and tribulations of the day were not over yet. Between locks 26 & 27, Pinnel Lock and Hollin’s Lock, we went aground. A sizeable tree branch had broken off and was across the canal leaving only a small channel between the end of the foliage and the towpath. So, I cruised closer to the towpath in order to miss the foliage.

Mooring at Walsden

Unfortunately, the towpath wall here had given way, and had slipped into the channel and needless to say, here I went aground. Fortunately it was not as bad as Friday’s excursion onto the bottom, and I was able to free the boat with the pole and a bit of judicious reversing.

The last two or three locks, I think for both if us, passed in a bit of a blur. It was with some relief that we exited Nip Square Lock 29 and saw today’s destination, the same mooring that we had used on the way down just over a fortnight ago.

Elaine then walked up to the next lock as a walker on the towpath had told her he thought a paddle had been left up.

He was right.

Our dear friends in front had left a top paddle up and again set the locking mechanism. The result was that due to the amount of water in the canal, it was entering through the top paddle and just pouring over the bottom gates. The pound above was looking pretty low, and we hope it fills up overnight.

Who was our mystery boat in front? We have our suspicions it was a Shire Cruisers hireboat that had come past us at Todmorden yesterday afternoon.

If I could get my hands on them…….

We lit the fire when we got in as we were both wet and cold.  As soon as we got in the boat, we lit the fire as we were both wet and cold.

The fire lit on JULY 1^st.

It doesn’t make sense.

What is happening to our weather, and where is our summer?

Typically by mid-afternoon, as if the Pennines could not stop mocking us, the sun was shining and there was blue sky all around.

Arghhhhh.