The weather has continued to be truly awful... more rain and very miserable days... luckily, our longer day up Wigan and on to Adlington did allow us to have shorter days since...
Having spent a night on the visitor Moorings at the top of Johnsons Hillocks we were about to float over to the water point to top up before departing, when Lady Teal (proper posh hotel boat) moored up along side to top up their tank and do a quick pump out. In between guests, it meant we could have a chat across the cut - it turns out, because of the over run at Burnley THEY'D had to be lifted out (using a 250 tonne crane) and transported to the other side of the closure in order to full fill their booked cruising season... always full the year ahead due to their popularity
Having exchanged information re other issues along the network, I came away with a chap to email at CRT for more accurate information (from a business owners perspective) in regards, emergency stoppages and likely repair times etc.
Once they moved off, we floated across (still in the rain) and filled up the tank, emptied the crew loo and WOULD have done a pump out - HAD the crt pipe been long enough to reach across the front of the bow to the starboard discharge ports... alas it wasn't.
Instead, we chugged along in the rain still and went as far as Riley Green visitor moorings - the pub that burned down is still burned down/demolished and it's such a waste.
Next morning after doing chores and watching tv (still in the rain) after lunch, when their boat had passed by, I chugged us into the marina and a chap came out to assist.
I'd LIKE to think they rolled out the red carpet JUST for us, but suspect it's for their own boat lol
Once pumped out, with the guests (and crew) hiding in the dry safely in side, I chugged us on to our final destination of this trip - Cherry Tree... on approach, we tied up just behind the Sainsburys Local (there's an assess road there to aid our guests departure the following morning)... alas, a little farther up we noticed what appeared to be, an abandoned GRP cruiser... sure enough, within a few minutes of us trying up, the local scrotes kiddies appeared on their way home from school and began "messing" with said boat...
Before long, they spotted 'Ellis' and came to investigate... NOT wanting to antagonise them, I went out to be all chatty with them...
Everything was perfectly friendly and one of them - who was apparently NOT a child cause he was nine!, asked to come and look around the boat. I explained we are a hotel boat with guests on and as such, it would not be acceptable... which he took on board and then carried on asking questions about boats... not wanting to aggravate matters, I patiently chatted with them - hoping they'd get bored and have to go home for tea....
After a while, I excused myself and said I needed to cook tea for our guests... at which point, they beggared off back down the tow path .... before long, we heard noises from ahead and on investigation through the front (mirrored) doors, could see a group of them pulling the contents out of the boat on to the tow path - along with a saw which then they proceeded to cut it's ropes with... luckily for us, a passer by came along (with a kid in a push chair) and started to tell them off... at this point it all got a be sweary... with them being rather abusive...
LONG story short, it turned out ONE of the kids was his! - but the "mates" were not and they didn't have to do a thing this guy said...
At this point, I called 101 to suggest it might be an idea for them to send a CSA or similar for a walk along here to deter them...
More people began to get involved from flats over-looking and after a while, the kids got bored and wandered off - NOT before engaging with yet another long conversation with me... during which, I tried my most diplomatic way of suggesting they take care in case the boat sank/capsized with them on - as I didn't want to see anyone drown getting stuck inside etc.
An hour later, a policewoman called me and then turned up for a chat... I'd not been the only one to phone up and she suggested that if it escalated again, we should 999 it... - her already having "bumped" into some of the kids down the towpath and had words....
ANYWAY - When we got up the following morning, the boat had vanished... we found it when our guests had departed and we began our journey towards Blackburn Locks... it was cast lose further up the cut - no license on it, pretty much stripped bare, we negotiated our way around it and continued on our way...
The amount of "trashed grp cruisers" cluttering up the cut seems to be increasing... OR it could be as we've already travelled about 500 miles this year, we are just seeing more and becoming more aware through exposure... either way, they need taking out and scrapping...
It WAS nice to be getting away from Blackburn though - every time we come through I try to THINK of something positive to say about the place - YET here we are again, and I'm STILL trying to think of something...
Yes that's it... the bottom of the lock flight... that's the good bit about Blackburn... lol
On the plus side, the rain stopped yesterday and as it was forecast to return today, we chugged on as far as we could before it started again and have ended up on the 48 hr visitor moorings at Hapton...
NOT before passing the "half way point " on the Leeds & Liverpool...
The TV signal isn't great but having had a walk along to Rose - Grove hoping to get moored on the services area, it's apparent the "man who lives there" is still there - along with a few other boats... ergo, we may as well stay here now until Burnley opens - BUT we have it on good authority it will open either Monday night or Tuesday morning. Having had a chat with a boater opposite on the permanent moorings, I think we'll be OK to moor along side them for half an hour to top up with water on Sunday if we need to.
THEN it'll be on to Skipton to re-stock and get ready for our next guest to join us for a trip (back this way) to Cherry tree...Let's hope the weather is a bit better for that one.
Until next time...
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