We woke up this morning and realised the water had dropped, so much so that we were grounded, and the boat was leaning heavily to one side.
At 9.00am a boat was coming up towards a nearby lock. Pete went and helped open the lock which allowed water down, which helped re-float us. So we set off for Slaithwaite.
The weather has been very warm and sunny, with the occasional shower.
We had 11 locks to complete in 2 miles.
All the locks were empty, which meant we had to fill them up, bring the boat in and then empty them again, which took a lot of time.
We arrived in Slaithwaite at 14.00pm.
We will stay here until Monday morning, as we have had a number of bad reports about mooring in Huddersfield over the weekend.
We have had a quick look around Slaithwaite, and it looks lovely. We will take some photographs tomorrow and put them on here.
Having a great time and Wallace has made many friends

Our Mooring in Slaithwaite

Going through Slaithwaite

Our Mooring on Friday night before the water dropped



Sorry made a spelling error. I thought it was Standege Tunnel, when in fact it is Standedge. Only realised when I saw the sign at Marsden.
Thursday we stayed at Marsden. A lovely little town. The people were really friendly and we had a meal in an Italian Restaurant which was excellent.
Afterwards we visited a local pub, where we discovered our neighbours on the canal, Pete and Lin. A nice couple whom we met daily over the past week.
We heard the radio reports of bad weather, hailstones, flash floods etc. But we experienced nothing at all. In fact Wendy sat on the back of the boat in the afternoon in a tee shirt, doing her cross stitch in glorious sunshine.
Today started with rain and cloud with heavy winds. So we went into the town and topped up our provisions.
We decided at lunchtime to set off, starting at lock 42E, which means we have 42 locks to do before we complete the Huddersfield Canal.
We moored up between lock 32 and 31 for the evening, having decended 150ft.
We are now in the middle of nowhere between Marsden and Slaithwaite (pronounced slough it)
As we settled in for the evening a boat passed us. Shortly after we had a knock on the side of the boat. I went out to see a man standing on the back of our boat. He said, "Peewee? Are you Mr Ponting who wrote the article in narrowboatworld.com?"  I replied, "Yes"  "Bloody good article, now I know there is somebody out there who thinks the same as me, winging b******s aint we?"
We had a short conversation then he set off again.
Tomorrow we are going down another 11 locks to Slaithwaite or "Slough it" as they call it.
Bit like calling Gloucester "Gler" (Might catch on)
Will add pictures tomorrow

2.00pm 27/06/2012 entering Standege Tunnel

We set off at 7.00am on Wednesday morning, as we had 9 locks and one mile to the tunnel entrance. We had to be there by 11.00am.

At 12.00  a British Waterways official came and measured our boat. We were told to remove the topbox and chimney from our roof.

At 2.00pm we were joined by a member of British Waterways to accompany us through the tunnel, and we were off.

The first thing you noticed was the drop in temperature, then you realise, once your eyes become accustomed to the darkness, how narrow it was, we had about 2" either side of us.

The first part was quite straight and lined with brick, and easy to negotiate. Then the rocks appeared. The BW 

man used a powerful torch to point out the dangerous rocks jutting out, which we had to negotiate around.
We stopped at one section to allow the BW man to get off and contact the support team outside, to let them know everything was ok. (A support vehicle runs along a support tunnel throughout the journey)
As we set off again a train went through an adjacent tunnel. First you heard the train then all you could see was a cloud of smoke, like something out of a movie come billowing down towards you. It was just mist, and the temperature really dropped.
At the halfway stage, we had to negotiate a S bend. This was because when the tunnel was constructed in 1811, when both ends met in the middle, they were out by 26 foot.
After an hour and a half you could just make out a small dot of light. The BW man explained that it was the end of the tunnel, but that we still had a number of bends to negotiate before we reached the end.
After 2 hours we emerged, a few minor scratches, but no significant damage.
How would we describe the experience? "Extreme potholing for narrowboats, but an experience we will never forget."
We hope the pictures below help you understand the experience

If you enlarge the above picture, the dot in the middle is the end. But took 40 mins to reach

Walked into Uppermill this morning to buy provisions, a really lovely village, which we must visit again.
Set off around 11.00am as we only have a short trip today. This is because the locks leading up to Standege Tunnel are locked to preserve water within the tunnel. We are currently going up locks. Once we have travelled through the tunnel we will be going down locks, so Standege Tunnel is basically a holding point for water.
We are currently 565ft above sea level.
Standege Tunnel is 3 miles long which is the longest in the country.We have a British Waterways person on our boat to guide us through. We also have to wear hard hats and life jackets. Wallace has to be restrained within the boat, so as not to cause distraction, (British Waterways staff are frightened of dogs)
I know this all sounds very frightening, but health and safety in this country has gone mad. In the olden days a man and a woman would have lay on a plank and walked the boat through.

The locks we have to negotiate tomorow

We have moved to Uppermill today, and we are now officially in Yorkshire.
The views are really spectacular.
 However the canal is very low in water, because of leakages. (with all this rain as well)
I was preparing a lock for Wendy to bring the boat into, when I received a call on my radio, "I'm grounded, can you come and help?"

As I had the camera with me I couldn't resist the above picture.
We finally managed to free the boat by letting water from the lock out by opening the paddles. However this caused further problems, as it drained the water from above the lock.
Luckily two British Waterways engineers approached as we sat in the lock waiting for the water level to rise. We told them our problem. They told us that a boat was in the next lock coming down, and the water from that lock would fill the channel.
As we watched the water level rise we set off again. As we saw the other boat approach we moved to the right, as did the other boat. Suddenly we both stopped. Grounded.
As we waited for the other boat to free itself I asked if his boat was an Aqualine boat? He told us it was, so we had a long conversation regarding our boat manufacturer,
After freeing ourselves, it was a very slow journey to Uppermill, as we had to keep to the middle of the canal and keep the speed to the minimum to avoid grounding again.

 It took us two attempts to moor at Uppermill, due to the lack of water, but we are here.
The village is typical Yorkshire, cobbled sidestreets and very friendly people. The only downside is the visitors moorings are under trees, so it is very dark. Which is a shame, as we have had a really sunny afternoon.
Last night we watched the England game in the local pub with another couple who are also going through the tunnel on Wednesday. Sorry to finish on a sad note

Today we have started the locks on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
The scenery is outstanding, as the canal meanders through woodlands with the glimpse of the Penines showing through.
We are moored at Mossley, a picturesque town on the River Tame.
Whilst having a meal at the Roaches Lock this afternoon, Wendy suddenly told me our boat was sideways across the canal. As she panicked I told her to pay the bill and I would go and investigate.
Our boat had been untied at both ends, but somebody had managed to loop the front rope onto a mooring bollard.
I secured the boat in such a way, that nobody could untie it again.
Later a man knocked on our boat and informed me that he spotted two local youths (10 years old) untying our boat. evidently they are known to the locals. He had taken photographs of them in the act, and had contacted the Police.

leaving Scout Tunnel 205 yards 

Wendy working the locks

We apologise for not keeping you up to date, we have been in Stalybridge since Tuesday.
Wendy had a successful trip to Birmingham on Wednsday, arriving back in Stalybridge around 7.30pm.
On Thursday, we walked into the town and looked around, then stayed on the boat in the evening.
Friday, the heavens opened. The local River Tame flooded.
A friend we had met in Greece visited us at night, and we went out and had a lovely meal, followed by a drink in the pub nearest the boat.
Today, after stocking up with provisions, and allowing for the rain to stop, we set off once again.
Due to the bad weather we are now at Millbrook, only 2 miles and 4 locks from Stalybridge. However the boat is now filled with water, but we are in a dilema. We have 3 days to travel 8 miles and 16 locks, before we are booked into Standege Tunnel on Wednesday.
On the plus side we are now in the Penines, hills towering all around us.
Tomorrow we will venture out (weather pemitting) and take some pictures of the surrounding area.

Hope everybody back home are ok, and the weather is not as bad as it is here.

The picture above is where we moored for 4 nights in Stalybridge (note the weather)

We joined the Huddersfield Narrow Canal today. This is our 10th river/canal since setting off, and we have completed over 200 miles..
The start of the Huddersfield was very dirty and full of rubbish. But that soon changed after 2 locks.
We have moored up at Stalybridge, this is because Wendy has to travel to Birmingham for her Olympic induction tomorrow. (she is not entering the olympics, but is a volunteer for Cadbury's, one of the main sponsors of the games). I keep telling her she will be in a Cadbury's Cream Egg outfit.
We were asked by another boater today if we were going through Standedge Tunnel. This is the longest tunnel in the UK.
We told him we were. He then asked what day we were travelling through it. We said we didn't know.
Evidently, and nothing is written in any guides, or on web sites. Standege Tunnel is only open on Mondays, Wenesdays and Fridays, and, only 3 boats per hour are allowed through from 1.00pm -3.00pm.
On mooring at Stalybridge we contacted Standege only to find we can travel through on Wednesday week.
So now we have 8 miles and 14 locks to do in over a week. Slow going but at least we will have time to explore the area.
Sorry no photographs today. We do not post photographs if we are mooring for more than 24 hours in one place

We have finished the Peak Forest Canal. But not without challenges.
We needed water and a pump-out.
On consulting the Nicholson Canal Guide for the area, we found a boatyard which was on route. However on arriving we found only private moorings, the boatyard had closed in 2010.
Proceeding onwards we knew another yard was near the junction.
On arriving and manoevering through a tricky boatyard, we were told we had to reverse out, turn the boat around and reverse in. So, we proceeded to carefully reverse. Wendy noted that a hire boat was leaving the service area, and heading at speed towards us. A man on the front of the boat held a mop out as if to fend off our boat. As they approached our boat, with Mr Mopman ready and in position, I shouted, "Halt" In my best possible German accent. I then said, "Can you please wait until we have finished our manoever" With this Mr Mopman dropped his guard and the boat stopped.
We continue to reverse, and position ourselves ready to do the turn. In the meantime the hire boat has shot out of the boatyard entrance, not realising he had a very tight right hand turn, as they hit the opposite bank, Mr Mopman is unable to contain his fury at not being able to turn a 20 ton boat with a wooden handled mop.
After we had finished in the boatyard, we had to look for a mooring. We reversed a little way back down from the boatyard, only to find the water was too shallow to moor.
We continued to the junction, which had very little mooring available.  We did notice a nice mooring about 200yards from the junction, on the Ashby Canal. One which we had not intended on doing. But here we are.
It seems we have spent most of the day practicing our reversing technique.

Tomorrow, we will travel the 200yards from the Ashby Canal to join the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.

Peak Forest, Ashby, Huddersfield Canals Junction

Moored on the Ashby Canal

Junction as we approach

8.00am this morning. Cloudy and rain. 9.00am this morning, looking brighter. So we make a break for it. 16 locks to do, and they are very deep locks.

The Start

All the locks are empty so we have to fill them up before the boat can enter, this takes about 5 mins per lock.

We did not meet a single boat coming up the other way, which is very unusual. Although we did comandeer a few passers by to give us a hand.

The Final Lock Opening

Shortly after completing the locks we were faced with 2 tunnels and 3 aqueducts





Train Viaduct next to Canal Aqueduct (Old V New)

We have completed just 3 miles in 4 hours and 20 minutes, and dropped over 150 feet.

We are nearing the end of the Peak Forest canal. It has been very spectacular, and we have really enjoyed it, despite the weather.







We have not moved far since this morning. The weather has been terrible. We are now about 300 yards from the first lock of the Marple flight. (16 locks in 1 mile).
We walked into Marple at lunchtime, only to find lots of people dressed in fancy dress and costumes. On asking a local person, we were informed it was Carnival Day. So, we had a drink in a local pub and waited until 2.00pm. The Carnival start time.
We have not seen a carnival in years, so it was quite exciting to see the brass bands, bagpipes, local drummers and the carnival queen slowly pass us. Well it made you forget about the rain for half an hour.
The weather forecast for tomorrow looks brighter, so hopefully we can make an early start and complete the locks in the dry.

Peak Forest Canal

We had to leave Bugsworth Basin on Friday, as we are only allowed to moor for 48 hours.  We were both very sad to leave such a lovely location.   After filling up with water and stopping at Tesco's for our weekly shop, we were on our way again.  The weather is not good and we are hit by hail stones and strong winds.   I think everyone must have been in a hurry today, when approaching a foot bridge the previous passing boat had left the bridge open and a poor dog walker was stranded on the other side of the canal.  We came to the rescue and closed the bridge after passing through.  We decide to pull over about a mile from Marple, as the weather is not improving and we moor up for the rest of the day.   Pete spends the next hour trying to get a television signal, so we can watch the England game tonight.  His patience and perseverance pays off and we are rewarded with an England win.

Above pictures is the views from both sides of our current mooring.

We are still at Bugsworth Basin, because we have really fallen for the location and strongly recommend it, if you are passing.
We walked to Whaley Bridge this morning in glorious sunshine. The town is typical Derbyshire, very attractive with lots of local shops, including butchers, arts and crafts. We had breakfast in a small tea shop called Teazles, then walked back along the towpaths to Bugsworth. Followed by a lunchtime drink in The Navigation Inn.
Tonight we have lit the fire as it is very windy and looks like rain. And, guess where we are going to eat tonight??

The Navigation Inn Bugsworth Basin

Our current mooring at Bugsworth Basin. We are allowed to stay for 48 Hours

Canalside cottages at Bugsworth

We left the Macclesfield Canal at Marple today. We decided to take a detour, following other boaters advice, and headed down the Peak Forest Canal. This is a six mile stretch of canal taking you from Cheshire into Derbyshire.
The canal is very narrow but the views are spectacular.
We arrived at Bugsworth basin this afternoon.It has three arms in which to moor in. However being new to the area, we turned the boat around and reversed into the third arm. Only to find a turning circle near the end.
Just up from the canal is a pub called the Navigation, a very local pub serving good food. It once belonged to Pat Phoenix alias Elsie Tanner from Coronation Steet fame.
The weather has been very good, although a little cold for the time of year.
Below are some of the photographs Wendy took.

Swing Bridge on the Peak Forest Canal

Leaving the Macclesfield Canal

Very tight bridges especially if something is coming the other way

Today we travelled from Bollington to High Lane. We are now only 2 miles from Marple Junction, which is the end of the Macclesfield Canal.
Last night we had a meal at the Bay Leaf Indian Restaurant in Bollington. They had a special price for meals on Mon - Thurs  3 courses £7.95 each. Now you can't go wrong at that price, and the food was excellent. (Highly recommended)
We also stopped at the Trading Post chandlery today. A very friendly shop with an excellent stock of goods. We bought a new chimney because our old one fell to pieces as we removed it before entering Harecastle Tunnel.
The weather has been bright but cool. We had an e-mail from waterscape today telling us that Upper Lode Lock and Diglis Lock is closed until further notice because of the high waters on the River Severn. After being stuck in Gloucester for 2 weeks at the start of our trip, we feel sorry for anybody in the same predicament.
Tonight we are going to the Bull's Head for light refreshments.
The picture below was taken this morning of our mooring at Bollington. Can you spot the mistake we made? (the clue is security)

Yesterday we set off hoping to visit Macclesfield. Unfortuntely the only visitors mooring was too shallow and we couldn't get near the bank to moor. This is a real shame, you would have thought that the people of Macclesfield would have done something about this to promote tourism.
So we carried on, finding good moorings at Bollington, next to the Adelphi Mill. We filled up with diesel at Bollington Wharf prior to mooring.
We have worked it out that we are currently using 5.3 litres of diesel per day. This includes our heating as well as travelling.
We are also 539ft above sea level.
The Macclesfield Canal is a lovely canal, shallow in places, but very scenic with lots of bridges and aqueducts, making the journey interesting. Especially when Wendy grounds the boat.
The Adelphi Mill was constructed in 1856 by Martin Swindells, a local cotton spinner. He built the Adelphi for his two sons, hence the name Adelphi which is the greek word for brothers.
The cotton mill was soon converted to silk production. Sadly the mill has now been converted to offices.

An unusual feature on the Macclefield Canal is its snake bridges (see above)
In the old days of horse pulling barges, as you can see the towpath is on the right approaching the bridge, just after the bride the towpath has changed to the left.
The snake bridges enabled a horse to walk up and over the bridge, cross the other side,, without having to be unhitched.

At last, weather has improved.
We left Congleton at 8.00am this morning, wishing to get a good start.
We climbed the 12 Boseley locks in around 3 hours. We are now moored approx 1-1/2 miles from Macclesfield.
The scenery is breathtaking see below

This is the train viaduct just outside Congleton

Going through one of the 96 bridges on a canal that is 27 miles long

Current mooring. Note satelite dish tuned in for F1

We are still at Congleton today. The weather has been terrible, rain,rain,rain.
It is now 17.15 and the rain has stopped. We have heard that the weather will improve tomorrow, but more rain forecast for Mon/Tues.
We are going to try and make it to Macclesfield tomorrow.
Approx 4 miles away a flight of 12 locks await us. So we are going to set off early and see how it goes.
In the meantime, it is Saturday night and the Queens Head hotel is only 200 yards away.

We have moved on today. We were moored near a hire boat company. By 11.00am you could see a lot of activity and hire boats returning. At one point there was 2 boats tied together taking up half the canal, and then us on the other side. A recipe for disaster.
The weather brightened up a little so we thought, lets go for it.
An epic journey of 3 miles.
We are now in Congleton. Had a meal in the Queens Hotel, which was basic but good. The people were very friendly, and it got us off the boat away from the rain.
It is now 21.50, wood burner is burning well, radio reception good, no television because we are in valley so no signal. Single light on to save batteries, Wendy has glass of wine and I have a beer. Very relaxing. Now you wouldn't do that at home would you?

Yesterday we went through the Harecastle Tunnel, which took around 40 minutes to complete.
The canal has changed to an orangery colour due to the minerals in the water.
Shortly after the tunnel we joined the Macclesfield Canal. This was a very unusual junction. The Trent and Mersey continued straight ahead with two locks taking it downhill. We turned left onto the Macclesfield, went around two right hand bends, and then crossed an aqueduct over the Trent and Mersey. After 2 miles we stopped at a small village called Scholar Green.
Shortly after mooring up, we had two visitors. Peter & Hazel Brook, Wendy's aunt & uncle. After coffee, they took Wendy up the Mow Cop. This is a hill 1100ft above sea level. On top is Mow Cop Castle. On this hill in 1807 Hugh Bourne a wheelwright created the Primitive Methodists.  In 1962 70,000 disciples climbed the hill, which is considered to them a Holy Mountain.
Peter & Hazel, then joined us for a very enjoyable evening at The Rising Sun. Can we thank them for a very enjoyable day.
Today the weather is horrible, with continuous rain. We will be having a clean up today and a visit to the village store.

Bit of a setback today. Pete has been having troubles with sinuses. He walked to the local Health Centre in Barlastone, only to be told he can get emergency treatment at Stone. So A quick Taxi trip to Stone and back, ensured he received a weeks supply of antibiotics. Hopefully that should cure the problem.
Back to our trip.
The weather has been very good, with only a few showers, which were very light.
We travelled from Barlastone through Stoke on Trent, a total of 8.19 miles including 6 very deep locks.
We are now moored 1 mile from Harecastle tunnel. Britains second longest tunnel at 2926 yards long.
A couple we met from Glastonbury(moored in front of us) recommended our current mooring which is by Westpoint Lakes.
(pictured below)

Yesterday we travelled from Weston Upon Trent to Stone.
Stone is a very picteresque town approx 12 miles from Stoke on Trent. It is a typical canal town, with bars and restaurants along the waterfront. It has four locks which are very deep, and because of the time they take to empty and refill, queues soon appear.
We had one of the best meals of our journey last night at the Dolce Vita Italian restaurant on the waterfront by the first lock (see below)
Today we passed through the four locks, with 4 other boats waiting behind.
Because of the weather we decided to stop at a village called Barlaston today. Travelling 4 hours 10 minutes covering 4 miles and 8 locks.
We are still enjoying the Trent and Mersey canal. The scenery is outstanding and everything is very clean.
Tomorrow (weather permitting, and the forecast looks bleak) we hope to travel through Stoke on Trent to a village the other side called Longport.

Yesterday we travelled from Fradeley Junction to Rugeley in Staffs. Stayed overnight and did our shopping in the local Morrisons
Today we travelled on the Trent and Mersey up to Weston upon Trent, which is about 3 miles up from Great Haywood
The Trent and Mersey is a very picturesque canal, passing Cannock Chase and Shugborough Hall.
There appears to be a lot more activity on the waterways today.
A couple of incidents to mention. At Rugeley because the water was shallow we had to moor about 3 foot from the bank and put down our gang-plank. Wallace was on the bank when a Scotty dog decided to have a go at him. Wallace jumped back not realising we were away from the bank, and susequently landed in the canal. luckily it was shallow enough for him to climb out, but I am afraid his battery powered light up collar was not waterproof.
Today moored up near a bridge, a boat coming through the bridge towards us, failed to spot a 58 foot piece of metal (namely our boat) and hit us. Luckily for him we were both inside at the time, otherwise some verbal exchanges would have occured. Luckily no damage was done to the boat. (Well it is a contact sport)

Below is a picture of us crossing the River Trent via an aqueduct near Rugeley