Cruising
with the T.N.C.

Page published 17 May 2023

Day 2 - Sunday 13 July 2003

To learn a little more about this cruise read the Background page, or you could just go to the Day One report and start at the beginning.

Glasson Basin

I recall that I got quite excited as we returned to the boat after climbing the local hill the previous night. That was because we found that while we were away mv Sulaskar had moored astern of us. First, it's a narrow beam Dutch Barge, which aren't the most common of craft, but more importantly for me it was owned by Stuart and Carole Samson, the producers of the "First Mate's Guides".

When we arose it was to another splendidly bright and hot morning. Before we left I told Neil that I had to go and introduce myself. I only had a few minutes with them as Neil was anxious to press onwards, but I do recall that I had time to ask them where they were headed, to which they responded, the Leeds and Liverpool. They reckoned it would take them three weeks or more, to which I had to respond Neil's plan was to do it in about three days!

I really loved their guides. I'd been sent a couple for review on the Waterways Guides site. Unlike any other guide they told you nothing about a canal's history, its engineers, its building, the tunnels, aqueducts or other such stuff. Instead their sole purpose was to help with the housekeeping.

Reading them these days has the same kind of charm that Michael Portillo so enjoys when reading what his Bradshaw's says about some railway destination. For example, you're immediately aware of their pre- internet date. Distances to villages are measured from canal to Post Office. The numbers of banks small towns have seem to number up to six and often several have "cash points"! I'm sure that using them today would be much like using a Bradshaw's. Nothing will be as described.

I had to run! Neil records that we left Glasson Basin at 09:50. My photograph of mv Sulaskar was taken at 09:51.

Ascending the Glasson Branch

Neil also tells me that he got out Linda's Brompton again so I could play with it. I'm sure he just meant do the lock wheeling. however, things didn't work out that way.

Above the first lock we passed a small narrowboat, Night Owl, with a young family aboard. they had just done their first up hill lock and had had a slight disagreement with another ascending local boater and someone from British Waterways. It wasn't the Canal and River Trust back then! It seems they were waiting for some non-local "lock experts" to help them out.

I do remember realising pretty soon that they could barely tell one end of a windlass from the other. With us alongside we soon caught up the other local boat that turned out to be Prime Time. As Neil put it in his post on u.r.w "TNC soon spread harmony amongst the natives and we all managed the rest of the locks together".

It was 12:15 when I took the photo that shows us all about to exit the Glasson Brach top lock.

Towards Garstang

We turned right onto the Lancaster main line and so parted company with Night Owl, but Prime Time turned to follow us south.

There are no locks between the Glasson junction and Ribble Link junctions so we should have been about six miles down the canal by the time I took the next two pictures but Neil reports that we filled with water before reaching Garstang and that suggests we stopped at the water point at Ratcliffe Bridge and we may not have got that far.

Neil eventually got bored and continued with his boat refurbishments. I'm not quite sure what he was doing when I took the photo of him hanging onto the swan neck. Initially I had difficulty locating the position on the canal where I took the following photo just three minutes later at 13:44.

However, given that there's an angler in the picture, which suggests a nearby bridge to me, I now suspect that it was taken just north of Cabus Nook Bridge. Satellite images suggest the right kind of buildings may be present in the picture and Nicholson's map suggests there is just the right kind of low hill in the distance on the off-side.

At Garstang

It seems we arrived at the Garstang visitor moorings at 16:05 and some of the crew had a shower at the sanitary station which took rather a long time due to a slow tap. I don't recall ding that but I certainly could have been one of them as my photo of Neil working on the tiller was taken at 17:06 and I do recall having been away from the boat for a bit and returned to find the scene in the photograph with swan neck and tiller nowhere to be seen.

While scanning Google's satellite images to locate the Cabus Nook Bridge photo I discovered a StreetView image from 2013 that shows not just a new building by the basin but two boats that were there 10 years earlier when we were there.

Trevor Burridge was due to join us at Garstang arriving via train and bus, and this occurred while Neil was working on the tiller. He describes Trevor as leading a mini mutiny, during which all the crew left for the pub, "Th'Old Tithebarn".

Neil was appeased, however, as Trevor returned with a pint of Thwaites Bomber for Neil, who by that time was reassembling the steering gear. Trevor also reported that the pub food was on until 21:00. Eventually after Neil had cleared up and Trevor showered, we all adjourned to the pub and forced a meal order only to be told they were completely out of starters and main courses, but we could order a sweet!

Off we went again and after a guided tour of Garstang, we eventually were forced into a decision, Trevor's initial one, and got a Chinese takeaway from the "Chop Suey House". Molly did the honours and was glad to report that they won the Evening Post award for the best local takeaway -- as recently as 1988!

Back on Earnest the meal was enjoyed in the heat of the evening with all windows and hatches open.

The story continues with a report of the events of 14 July...