The Odyssey 2015 – Day 4

Sunday May 17th

Lymm to Piccadilly Village (Manchester)

The Old Trafford football ground coach park – it’s obviously match day 🙂

It was my birthday today so I enjoyed a relaxing morning with coffee and gifts – including a bottle of Prosecco – but that was for later, despite some encouragement to have it for breakfast 🙂

I was still very tired after yesterday’s driving, but it was a good day for cruising so we set off late morning. With so many crew members on board, I didn’t need to helm so I just chilled out on the lock-free pound, before making lunch just as we passed Old Trafford football ground. There was a match on – it was great to cruise past when the place was buzzing. I was a bit worried that we might have trouble later in the day, but the genial fans walking down to towpath to the ground didn’t seem to come back into Piccadilly in the evening.

The trip boats were in evidence, carrying fans to Old Trafford – what a great way to arrive at a match. They delayed us a little through the narrows, but we weren’t in a big hurry so I just held Indigo Dream to one side and let them pass.

Hallowed ground for some…

We soon got to the bottom of the Rochdale 9. Having experienced Manchester a few month ago, I felt a bit gloomy approaching the 9. The locks and canal infrastructure are fine, it’s the atmosphere and lack of meaningful relationship between the canal and the city that gets me down. However, the bottom lock is a jolly place, surrounded by bars and gongoozlers and a greyhound! As I waited for the crew to prepare the lock, I was hailed by a woman on the bridge above who was walking a lovely black greyhound. We exchanged greyhound histories and I found out that we’re both members of the “Greyhound Gap” page on Facebook – we got in touch later 🙂

When I got into the lock I saw a very curious phenomenon – a load of photographers earnestly comparing the size of their lenses – they were mainly middle-aged men,

Has that woman got clothes on? What is that man doing?

apparently on a canal photo-shoot.

Richard had already discovered this (of course) but even he had been bemused as he came across the bridge as, at first sight, he appeared to see a man holding open a Mac in front of a girl not wearing a lot of clothes and then, round the corner, a man flapping a white card over another model. Now, there are many that say anything can be enhanced by the addition of an attractive woman (and Richard says it was not a Mac but one of those reflector thingies – honest!), but I wasn’t entranced by the photographers asking their be-corseted models to lie moodily on their backs on the lock infrastructure – all the better to show off the canal I’m sure.

Richard overheard some people talking on the bridge and saying that this must be CRT’s latest publicity shoot, he looked round for Joe Coggins, (we know he can do locks) but no sign of him! Richard later found out that it was a proper photography course – the Steampunk Photographic event and yes there were male models later – ah well…

Richard says that Googling brings up some of the photographers’ web sites and it has to be said that in-between comparing the sizes of their lenses, the course has taught them well as some of the photographs they took were absolutely stunning.

The last time we came up the 9, we barely saw a boat and there were certainly none moored in the flight. But today, there were three boats moored on the offside above the bottom lock – they looked quite at home there. We know at least one has a mooring in Islington Marina but apparently comes down to Castlefields for some peace & quiet!

With extra crew on board, we had a really smooth passage up the canal, though it was all go today – further up the nine we encountered a Sky TV cameraman and a local lawyer commenting on the latest news about Thomas Cook and the carbon monoxide deaths in Corfu.

Filming for the news…

But it’s no good, I really loathe this bit of canal, though Richard thinks it’s not so bad – and, in all fairness, we did NOT have any trouble (mechanical or human), nor did we have to clear the prop.

Nonethless, we were all repulsed by the human excrement on the lock landing approaching Piccadilly Lock. The last two locks are dark – physically and spiritually, as dead-eyed male prostitutes, sharp-eyed drug dealers and their glassy-eye customers started to congregate on the shadowed towpath. It was depressingly sordid and I was reminded just how piously middle-aged and privileged I am. It was only 5.30pm and I wouldn’t have wanted to be there any later.

The special-brew drinkers above the lock were cheerful enough, but we were glad to turn onto the Ashton Canal and the peaceful moorings at Piccadilly Village. We plumped for the towpath side, as we had last year, and had a quiet night.

Ken and Richard had a pint here in this pub just round the corner from the towpath side moorings at Piccadilly – despite its unassuming exterior, they were made welcome and the pub had good beer 🙂 Verdict: Proper Boozer, worth going to!

My lovely boating companions had planned to take me out for a special birthday dinner, but I was totally knackered, so we had a chinese takeaway instead. We got clever, and the New Chop Chop delivered it to the boat! As we were sorting out our order, another boat pulled in to moor behind us – they’d had an exhausting passage down the Ashton flight (it had taken them 11 hours!), so we ordered a chinese for them too! However, we didn’t invite them on board to eat – it takes a certain amount of expertise to eat a takeaway unmolested when there are five hungry hounds on board 🙂

I should add a note of caution for any southern boats who follow us “oop north” – the portions from chinese takeaways are roughly double the size of the ones that you get in Surrey – wow! We had an enormous amount of food on board, but, thanks to the hounds, it would never go to waste…

It was still early when we’d finished eating – I was really too knackered for the pub, so Ken and Richard went off to do a car shuffle – a tram back to Lymm for Ken’s car, then they drove back to get my car from Stockton Heath before bringing both vehicles back to the secure car parks near the canal in Piccadilly. Sue and I settled down to watch some gentle Sunday night TV with the Prosecco – nice!

We started to get a bit concerned when it turned 10pm and the men weren’t back – then Richard arrived but we found out that Ken was missing – oops! A phone call found that he was very nearby, but it’s very hard to spot urban canals from the surrounding streets. Richard directed him in and we were soon back together.

We had a certain amount bedtime kerfuffle as Poppy and Archie insisted on sleeping with Ken and Sue. Our new sofa-bed is 4″ rather than the old 3′ 6″ but nonetheless…..

Photoblog:

All guests have to share the sofa with Herbie!

Tired puppies – and this was before we started the day’s cruising 🙂

Looking down to the Manchester Ship Canal – we hope to get on to there later this year…

 

Busy trip boats – surely the only way to travel to the match 🙂

Castlefield Junction looks quite attractive – this is probably the best place to experience the canal and the city…

First there was the man with the Mac and now look this man is trying to hit the poor girl

Steampunk photography – we had to sweep her off the beam shortly afterwards (but not into the canal!!)…

Really???

Not a real body!

Grand facade…

with a horrible backside…

Through the heart of the gay village…

It must be a desperate life under here….

Into the gloom – this is where Manchester’s many furtive and illicit trades are carried on…