As we needed to travel up the M6 in order to demonstrate Winsome to some folks on Lake Coniston, it seemed a waste to zoom straight past the Lancaster canal without sampling what it has to offer – especially as one gets tantalising glimpses of it from the motorway.
So, a few days before we set off, we tried to find where we could launch a 17 foot pedal boat for a day on the Lancaster canal. We found 3 slipways listed by British Waterways and called up all 3 to enquire about launching a day boat on their slipway. Unfortunately, we discovered that all 3 were owned and operated by private marinas and would charge us £30 for the privilege (£15 each way). It seems it’s cheaper to launch at the height of the season at Henley-on-Thames than on the Lancaster canal!
So, we contacted British Waterways to see if they could advise us on a means to access their canal for less than the cost of our annual BW licence! Sadly not. The BW staff we managed to talk to didn’t know of any public slipway. Once again we found that launching on canals as day visitors is not a recognised nor particularly welcome concept on many inland waterways.
But we are persistent, so Saturday morning saw us, map in hand, inching our way along the A6 (which runs alongside the northern end of the canal) trying to find possible launch spots. Thus we happened on the “Canal Turn” pub at Carnforth – we drove into their carpark, stepped across the towpath and there was a slipway! Not a great one but certainly good enough for us. We called the telephone number advertised on the BW sign nearby and spoke to a friendly official who didn’t know about the slipway but thought it probably belonged to BW given it was on the towpath side!
The only problem was where to park so we tracked down the landlord of the Canal Turn pub who was very friendly and quite happy for us to park and offload the boat as long as we patronised the pub which we were certainly very happy to do!
Launching was straightforward and with the added pleasure that the marina slipway (which we could see directly opposite) would have set us back by £30!
The first part of the canal running south from Carnforth is close to the A6 which makes it slightly noisy but not unpleasantly so. A sudden downpour might have dampened our spirits but the latest addition to Winsome’s onboard kit of two large golfing umbrellas means that such sudden showers no longer hold any fear for us.
Nearing Hest Bank, we encountered the Hatlex Swing Bridge. We moored alongside and both went ashore to investigate whether we could open the bridge and, if so, how. Having tried our BW key in the padlock and discovered it didn’t work, we then spotted we didn’t need to unlock anything, simply push.
So, the helmswoman nipped back to Winsome whilst the crew put their back into swinging Hatlex bridge open. Unfortunately, the conditions were extremely gusty and, in the absence of the considerable (and delightfully sociable) ballast usually provided by the crew, a gust caught the bow as I approached the bridge and swung Winsome hard around across the narrow canal. Without being able to get up speed (no room) and without forward ballast (no crew), she would not turn back into the wind. By this time, the boat had turned right around and I pondered reversing through the bridge but decided it would be easier to take her to the bank and rope her through.
If one is Winsoming any distance single handed, Nick has provided a forward chamber which can be filled with water to balance the boat and prevent this kind of thing happening. Unfortunately, we might need to find a very quick way to ballast the boat for these 2 minute solo trips through windy bridges at slow speeds.
On the return trip, the operation looked less risky due to having a following wind but, as there were a group of curious ramblers huddled on the towpath watching us, I took ballast on board (in the form of a helpful female rambler) for the short passage under the bridge. Unfortunately, one might not find such obliging well ballasted ramblers whenever one encounters such a windy solo moment. Food for thought.
Along the last mile of the canal entering Hest Bank, rows of houses of all sizes and ages run down to the canal.
Pedalling past such a creative variety of garden-ends and pontoons proved one of the more entertaining aspects of the trip. It was easy to spot whether the main interest of the residents was in boats, garden plants or simply sitting relaxing by the water.
On arrival in Hest Bank, we moored alongside and employed our new waterproof seat covers in case of further rain. These are simply elasticated rucksack rain covers and serve the purpose perfectly. We just wish they weren’t such a loud orange colour.
Hest Bank runs to an excellent Deli sandwich shop and that served our lunch needs well. Bacon and Salsa, we discovered, is a combination worth trying.
After lunch, we explored another mile or so South of Hest Bank before turning reluctantly around and heading back the 4 miles or so to Carnforth and a welcome drink in the friendly Canal Turn pub.
If we can find other places to launch and recover on this interesting and attractive canal, we will be back.
1 comment:
Contemplating a similar trip in an electric dinghy - very interested in your research and adventure! Have you returned to this canal?
Tom
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