We left our mooring and headed up to Leigh where I finally found a Post Office, we seem to have been in a Post Office desert recently!
The canal was busy today but as it is a Bank Holiday weekend I suppose it isn’t surprising though the weather forecast isn’t good. We passed Astley Green Colliery which is now a museum. If it wasn’t but for the foresight of Lancashire County Council and several leading figures within the community, Astley Green would have suffered the same fate as the other collieries in the area - total demolition. It was the uniqueness of the 3,300hp twin tandem compound steam winding engine that brought the demolition to a halt. As the result of the intervention, the museum houses Lancashire's only surviving headgear and engine house, both of which now have listed building status. The museum also has the largest collection of colliery locomotives in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately it is only open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays afternoons so we weren’t able to visit.
The canal was busy today but as it is a Bank Holiday weekend I suppose it isn’t surprising though the weather forecast isn’t good. We passed Astley Green Colliery which is now a museum. If it wasn’t but for the foresight of Lancashire County Council and several leading figures within the community, Astley Green would have suffered the same fate as the other collieries in the area - total demolition. It was the uniqueness of the 3,300hp twin tandem compound steam winding engine that brought the demolition to a halt. As the result of the intervention, the museum houses Lancashire's only surviving headgear and engine house, both of which now have listed building status. The museum also has the largest collection of colliery locomotives in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately it is only open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays afternoons so we weren’t able to visit.
We tied up in Leigh again and had lunch and a trip to Tesco. This Weight Watchers regime I’m on may be working but I’m eating so much fruit and veg that it’s hard to keep up with the fresh food shopping. I start to get withdrawal symptoms when the
fruits dishes start to look empty! We went back through Plank Lane Lift Bridge and I managed to stop great lines of traffic both ways – ah what power! We had hoped to stop at Dover Lock but there was no space so we carried on, pulling in occasionally to see if the water was deep enough at the side, until we got to where we moored on Tuesday night.
fruits dishes start to look empty! We went back through Plank Lane Lift Bridge and I managed to stop great lines of traffic both ways – ah what power! We had hoped to stop at Dover Lock but there was no space so we carried on, pulling in occasionally to see if the water was deep enough at the side, until we got to where we moored on Tuesday night. Dover used to have two locks but due to mining subsidence they are no longer there which means that the depth of the canal along this stretch is very unusual. Also, on either side of the canal, are lakes or flashes which have all been formed by subsidence.
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