Bartimaeus

The bottom of the Marple Lock Flight has looked intriguing each time we’ve been through.  Immediately below the locks there is an aqueduct that runs parallel to a railway viaduct, a narrow cutting and a tunnel.  At the end of yesterday’s cruising we moored up once we were through the tunnel.  Exploring on foot later, I confirmed that was a good decision, there were no better moorings in the last half mile.  We noticed a boat coming down through the locks called Genie.  They were mooring up right next to us when we got back to the boat.  The owner was delighted to be told that Bartimaeus was also a genie.  We had a short chat about our travels and travails.

The forecast for today was wet until early afternoon, but dry afterwards with occasional gusts.  We had an early lunch and set off as soon as we saw the blue sky arriving.  The couple in a boat behind us wished us luck, but were going to walk their dog up the locks today and take the boat tomorrow.  We needed to get to the water point, and weren’t sure we could wait another day.

I was easily able to step off while Clare drove over the aqueduct and take some pictures before going ahead to set up the first lock.

The Marple Lock Flight has its own characteristic locks.  Below the tail gates to most of the locks there is a small stone bridge.  This is slightly lower than the platform around the locks, which usually has a small set of stone steps for access at this end.  The gate arms are usually long enough and low enough to be operated at bridge level rather than lock platform level. There are even handles to make that easier to do  This makes for very efficient gate handling once you get the hang of it.

We made good progress through the first few locks.  I was usually able to nip ahead while Clare and Bartimaeus were rising in the locks to get the gates of the next one open ready.  In most cases I was back to open the gate without losing much time.  It wasn’t especially strenuous work, but I was soon down to my T-shirt.  At one lock a passer-by asked how far I was going.  When I said “the top”, he told me I wouldn’t make it, there was a pound further up that was empty.  I felt he said this with a little too much glee, but I thanked him for the information.

A lock or two later, the couple from the boat behind us came back with their dog.  They repeated the story of the drained pound, but with a far better attitude.  She had phoned Canal and River Trust (CRT) and reported it, and he was offering to borrow a windlass from us and see if he could sort it.  I told Clare to moor up after the lock we were just leaving and the two of us set off up the canal with windlasses.  By the time we got there, there was a CRT employee and a volunteer resolving the situation, and a boat coming down too.  As I’d thought, there was plenty of water available and the short pounds fill fairly quickly from the one above.

There were more than enough people to finish sorting the problem, so I went back to the boat to get us moving again.  There was a slight hold-up when the man working ahead of the boat coming down filled a lock when we were just around the corner heading for it.  It was mildly annoying, but it was a genuine mistake and he was very apologetic.

There were gongoozlers at many of the locks, but one had an unusually large group at it.  They started talking to me before Clare arrived at the lock, even though I was ten feet below their ground level.  Once Clare arrived we started to rise slowly.  There were about a dozen children of varying ages and a number of adults.  They were extremely polite, but desperate to ask questions and come on board.  It seemed to take a long time to rise in this lock.  Clare and I were both distracted by the crowd and neither of us noticed for a long time that one of the tail paddles was open.  By the time Clare came back to close it, the pound in front of us was very low.

Clare went ahead to send some more water down.  I hopped off and got a lot of help opening the gate.  I put the paddles down and asked them to close the gate behind me once I was out.  The boat grounded on the cill on exit, but the lock full of water Clare was just sending down fixed that problem and I was soon in the next lock.

I swapped with Clare after that lock.  She had a little difficulty making it through the next pound as it was low having provided the water needed in the one below.  I let a little more water down through the lock above and she eventually found her way through.  We met another boat in the next pound, but that simply saved a bit of effort closing gates.

The locks all have a ground paddle and a gate paddle at the head end with the gear conveniently located on the towpath side.  A number of the locks had their ground paddles chained shut, presumably because of some fault.  At these it is necessary to ignore the usual advice of letting the lock fill halfway up before opening the gate paddles.  The gate paddle is central on the gate with a cleverly made deflector to push the water to the side.  It is still a little unnerving to release a torrent of water above roof level of the boat.

We made easy work of the remaining locks but it was still after five before we reached the top.  We headed towards the water point.  A friendly man on the bank (presumably a boater) recommended mooring up directly opposite it.  I’d had the same suggestion earlier on and intended to do just that once we had some water.  We couldn’t be bothered to wait for the tank to be completely full.  Once there was enough for a few days we moved across the canal to the suggested spot –  we can fill up properly before we move away.

We were both thoroughly ready for a rest and some dinner.  Nye had recommended a Cambodian restaurant nearby which we can now agree is excellent (other restaurants are available).