Castlefield to Lymm

Thu 2nd June  Castlefield Basin to Bollington Underbridge

We left our mooring and turned at the end, where it seems that every brick, wall, bridge and arch has a history. 

End of Castlefield Basin

Bridges in Castlefield

We thanked the man from the boat opposite, whose mooring we had unintentionally borrowed, and then made our way down the Bridgewater Canal out of Manchester.

Warehouse turned into apartments

 Hulme Lock, which once led into the Manchester Ship Canal

 Pomona Lock, which replaced Hulme Lock

Throstle Nest Footbridge, much used by ManU fans

Manchester United Football Stadium

Waters Meeting – right to Wigan, left to Cheshire

We paused at Stretton Boat Services for water, elsan, rubbish, fuel and toilet blue, (not marked in our old Nicholson) and then paused again at Sale to go shopping. There is a Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Aldi all close together here, as well as lots of eateries. Sale is on a very straight part of the Bridgewater, with long lines of moored boats.  We passed a factory which was being partly demolished, leaving some interesting brick facades.

Moorings at Sale

A straight section of the Bridgewater Canal

Partial demolition

We eventually left the built up areas and moored in some lovely countryside, close to Dunham Massey Hall.  We put our deck chairs out in some pleasant shade. Hugo decided to jump up on a wall, not realising it was the parapet to Bollington Underbridge, with a long drop to the ground below.  Fortunately he didn’t jump over it.  Later he brought us a live mouse as a present, which James released back unharmed into the undergrowth.

Time to relax

Hugo’s stunt

The long drop

Live mouse as a present

0 locks, 10 miles, 1 mouse

Fri 3rd June  Bollington Underbridge

We heard a little owl in the night, calling in a tree near our boat.

The path down to the underbridge

We walked down the slope and under the canal to walk to Dunham Massey Hall, crossing over the River Bollin on a footbridge.  A public footpath runs through the park, and many people must enter this way without being counted.  We wanted to visit the gardens, and as we hadn’t been via the visitor centre, we promised to report there afterwards. The place is well worth a visit. The Hall and Mill were closed (Thursday and Friday) but the grounds, gardens and restaurant are open all week. Here are a few photos.

The mill

Dunham Massey Hall

 Ancient trees

The first cygnets we have seen this year

Glorious flowers

 Ferns

 A wildflower meadow

We had a pub lunch at the Swan with Two Nicks, where the portions were excellent and the food was good.

Pub lunch

No boating today

Sat 4th June  Bollington Underbridge to Lymm

The view from our mooring

We set off once more in sunshine, passing the pub called Ye Olde No 3, which has sadly closed down. (Update: It has since re-opened in 2017) There is a water tap here, and a line of moored boats.  We have noticed that at some of the bridges there is a crane, ready with a load of stop planks, to shut off the water at times of maintenance or in case of breaches.

Crane with stop planks

We then saw an unusual sight. There was an oyster catcher flying around and it landed on the roof of a boatyard, where we saw two chicks.  It had presumably nested there. They are usually found at the coast or sometimes near reservoirs or lakes, and they nest on the ground, laying their eggs among the stones.

Oyster Catcher with chicks on a roof

We paused by bridge 24 to use the Elsan facilities there before the final mile into Lymm. We found a mooring just before the bridge, and went to explore.

None of the four pubs we tried had decent cider – they were all Strongbow and Bulmers establishments.  So we had a drink in a very busy cafe instead.

The pond in Lymm

We took a pleasant shady walk up the side of the village pond. The path ends in a flight of steps up to the A56 road, but when we reached the top, we were greeted with the sight of a much bigger lake, with a dam originally built to carry the road. There was a further walk to be had, so we wandered round the lake. In our previous two visits to Lymm we have never discovered this. The lake is known as Lymm Dam.

Path round lake

On our return to the start we walked up the hill towards the church, and spotted someone waving at us. It was BCF member Keith Yeandell.  They had arrived on their boat Fruit of the Vine and, as bell ringers, had been attracted to the church by the very loud peal of bells ringing out across the village for a wedding.  The wedding party was just coming out and they had a vintage bus for the guests and a horse and carriage for the bride and groom.

Vintage bus

Horse and carriage

Later we went for drinks on Fruit of the Vine.

Keith and Diane Yeandel

0 locks, 3 miles