No problems whatsover

Published: Thursday, 09 January 2020

THANK you for your email telling me anyone can write in your publication, I did not realise, writes Peggy Barclay.

It was reading the article by Lawrence Pearson that prompted me to contact you as I should like to tell that my friend and I have also had a long holiday on the canals, doing quite a bit of the same route, but as seems off-trend, had no problems whatsoever.

Into the swing of the locks

We too went on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, but were not held up at any of the swing bridges and managed them without any trouble at all and the Huddersfield [Narrow] Canal was exciting and we really got into the swing of all those little locks and kept going to that tunnel, that really took our breath away with the man who went through with us explaining all about it, how it was built and then opened-up again after being closed. We never knew such a place existed, and can recommend to anyone as something entirely different.  We did not get stuck anywhere at all.

Unlike with Lawrence there was nothing stopping us going up the Peak Forest Canal or the Macclesfield Canal and travelled them both without incident, and after the Huddersfield Canal we got into a good routine with all the locks either going up or down, finding out out to work them between us.

Four Counties Ring

We then did what is known, we were told, is the Four Counties Ring, but got a bit bored by those long stretches with no locks, but enjoyed the marvellous vistas over the countryside from those embankments. But were enthralled by that wartime secret nuclear bunker at (I believe) Hack Green that we visited, showing how people would have had to live and communicate in the event of a nuclear attack.

It was outings like this during our trip that made such a mess of our planned itinerary, as there were so many interesting places to explore by the canals, so though we planned to go to that famous aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal, we just could not make it so went onto the Trent & Mersey Canal and came to another stop to investigate that Anderton Boat Lift, something that came as a great surprise so just had to 'have a go' though not with the boat.

No complaints

Then we kept going along the hillside with views of the Weaver and way into the distance, but no problems whatsoever, then eventually the Bridgewater Canal and back to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.  I hope this does not sound like a 'travelling diary', for what I am trying to make out that we did over a month's travelling and unlike Lawrence have no complaints of the canals whatsoever.

In addition to this we met some wonderful people along the way, with everyone so friendly, with the only problem being that we had to ring the hire base to ask for an extension as we could not get back in time, which was allowed as the boat was not booked.  That reminds me of the saying: 'How time flies when you are enjoying yourselves'.

Enjoyable time

I hope this levels things out a bit with your readers, for though I read of the problems that you are having with the canals, it is possible to have an enjoyable time without any.