Rochdale 2013
Todmorden to Summit
3rd Sept 2013
3 miles - 12 locks - 5 hours
We spent a morning wandering round Todmorden, exploring The Incredible Edible planting sites and sampling small samples here and there. We even had a long walk round the town park searching for an elusive Mulberry tree but has better luck in he local antique shop.
The baby Bucky can
We had been told about a genuine antique small Buckby can and were disappointed to find the shop closed for the day. But then we saw a chap painting the front door and explained about the can and lo and behold the owner got it out for us and brought it out for us to look at. Its a little rusty but absolutely genuine. At some point the base has had a coat of paint to try and waterproof it, but the body of the can has original paintwork - an absolute gem. We had a mild haggle - reduced the price a bit and returned to the boat with an unusual memento of our stay in town.
Scenes above Todmorden
We set off at 1.30pm fortified with some excellent local bread and a couple of bottles of local stout.
Climbing into the moors
The upper end of the Rochdale isn't for the faint hearted. Its up, up, up and away with precious little flat cruising and I resigned myself to a long slow walk all the way to the summit. The locks were all set against, which doubled the work. Initially passing the great wall of Tod then on through farmland which eventually gives way to moorland.
The top!
By the time we reached lock 36 at 6.30pm, our destination for the night, I was hot and weary. The locks are rarely used, leaky and therefore very stiff - good practice for what is to follow as we descent through Lancashire. Tomorrow we go over the top and into Lancashire...
2 comments:
Cap'n,
We've long thought about a trip over the Pennines. Your record inspires and terrifies in equal measure! To us relative newbies the hazards seem considerable and the rewards great. One thing I haven't yet worked out is the route that a 60 foot Aqualine might take, if any.
Martin
Martin
The good news is that a 60 foot boat can make all three pennine crossings (to the best of my knowledge). The bad news is that both the Rochdale and the Huddersfield Narrow discharge into the Calder and Hebble on the eastern side whose locks are just 54ft long. I know that you can skew boats round to the diagonal to get extra length and this is ok to 57ft but beyond that I wouldnt know. WB is 42ft so length is never an issue. The Leeds Liverpool is longer and you can use than route but for the southern pair it would have to the a there and back trip (which is well worth while)The guys on Canal World Discussion Forum will be able to answer in great detail I am sure.
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