Riley Green (Leeds & Liverpool canal) to Burscough Bridge (Leeds & Liverpool Canal)

Total distance is 27 miles, 34 locks and 5 moveable bridges 

 

Unusually, the next trip begins a little further along the canal than where the previous one ends… this is because having stayed in Cherry Tree before, Capt. Ellis prefers to get a little farther from Blackburn when prepping the boat between guests.     Ellis will hopefully be moored near bridge 91A at Riley green with easy road access… a short taxi ride from the train station.

 

We’ll expect our guests to arrive about 1.30pm  on day 1 and after an introductory blah blah (and most probably a glass of something fizzy) we’ll chug off towards Withnell fold with a view to spending our first night here (there are some lovely old stocks in the village and it’s worth a wander around.

Next morning (after a simple DIY breakfast),, we’ll cast off and head off to make our way down Johnsons Hillocks Locks (topping up with water before we begin our descent).  We’ll probably lunch at the bottom before it gets TOO noisy near Bottany Bay and then press on to Adlington to moor for the evening.

 

Day 3 will find us arriving at the top of the Wigan flight around lunchtime… we’ll not be going down today as it’s best to begin first thing in case something goes wrong.  The flight is locked shut overnight and passage begins circa 8.00am from memory.

 

The next morning we’ll have to have finished breakfast early and be ready to work our way down the Wigan flight of 21 locks.   If we’ve made good time, we MIGHT have made it to the bottom lock and be allowed exit within 12-1pm open window… if not, we’ll have to wait at the bottom to be let out at 5pm.  We’ll just have to play it by ear. Ideally we’ll not have to moor overnight in Wigan but it’s much improved these days so if we HAVE to, we’ll aim to be near the CRT Dry Dock.

 

Depending on the day before we’ll either begin day 5 in Crooke or Wigan – either way, we’ll have pointed out the famous ‘Wigan Pier’… a nothing of a place really but  most folks seem to know of it. Our pace will have slowed down now with 2 short easy days to recover from our recent exertion.  We’ll probably stop off in Appley Bridge for  a lunchtime pub visit and then in the canal equivalent of a layby at the top of Appley Locks for night 5.

 

Day 6 is another easy day – just 1 deep lock  and then we can tie up in Parbold around lunchtime for the day.  It’s a nice little town with a couple of nice pubs and a very good butchers.

 

Our final day will be a gentle amble along to Burscough Bridge (topping up with water at the Rufford branch arm) and we’ll aim to spend out last night together wherever we can get in after bridge 32B.  IF our guests are departing by train, following breakfast on the final morning, we can deliver them to bridge 32A which is on the main road to the station.