Day 4......Saturday the 19th of May... Bosley Locks to High Lane
By a process of trial and error we had discovered our washing machine did not work on the boat without mains electricity. By the time we had got to Macclesfield the news had arrived before us via the grapevine and we were met at the Macclesfield Marina by a very very helpful boat yard man who let us purchase some electricity. While the washer was washing we viewed the old Hovis Mill, now converted to flats, close to the marina. Hovis is a good quality brown bread

Later we walked to Macclesfield, a good mile . Macclesfield, apart from the multi-laned ring road we had to cross, was pleasant. Often when we are on a cruise we shop at charity shops usually for little items we have left at home, or sweaters when the weather turns cold. Macclesfield charity shops seem remarkably cheap. At this stage we should have moored up for the night. But we have never quite got the hang of this relaxing cruising so we pushed on to High Lane near Marple. We had a pint or two in the Bull's Head which was very pleasant and friendly. And so to bed as Pepys might have said.

Days 5&6 Sunday/Monday the 20th and 21st of May...High lane to Whaley Bridge
We shot away very early next day and reached Marple before the world had woken. Marple is a good place to go shopping, go to church(on a Sunday), or play bingo. Everything is convenient from the canal.We moored at BWB's yard in Marple. In the afternoon we cruised to Whaley Bridge. We were sorry to find Bugbrooke basin virtually dewatered, but we moored at the end of the arm and walked up the old basin for a few photographs.

We decided to stop at Whaley Bridge Terminus for two nights. While at Whaley Bridge we finally cracked the washing problem. Placing our washing into a machine in the launderette we retired to the pub. Forty Five minutes later we put the washing into the dryer, and went to the pub again. After two further washes our progress from the pub to the launderette was decidedly slower and more erratic so we thought that it might be more prudent to watch the basin being dredged at the terminus. Surprisingly this was quite enjoyable, and free of charge! I suppose that it is always pleasant to watch somebody working when you are not.

Day 7......Tuesday the 22nd of May... Whaley Bridge to Ashton under Lyne (Portland Basin) Leaving Whaley Bridge at around nine o clock we had a pleasant and quiet run to Marple. Apart from the beautiful scenery and the lift bridges the only thing of note was the delightful smell passing the sweet factory near New Mills the makers of Swizzles. We must confess we don't patronize this particular brand of confectionery, but if they taste as good as they smell it's our loss.

We knew we would reach Marple Flight before long so at this time we were conserving our energy. Eventually we arrived at the top of the 16 lock flight just as the temperature went from warm to boiling.

Marple Flight is a beautiful flight, and well maintained. But on a hot day we were glad to reach the bottom lock, knowing we there were no more locks for the rest of the day.The journey from the bottom of Marple Locks was uneventful but became increasingly industrialised as we approached Ashton. We actually passed a factory where in 1975 I had brought in weaving machines designed in Switzerland, and manufactured in Japan. This to the home of cotton weaving machine manufacturing!

We arrived at Portland Basin wondering where we could moor for the night. Coming under the towpath bridge opposite the museum we were invited to moor next to the museum among the boats of the Wooden Boat Trust. We were very grateful for this help and it is typical of the old style helpful canal enthusiasm.

While in all honesty the area adjacent to the basin in Ashton-under-Lyne might be given a miss in the evening the museum is an absolute must, and it's free...
Fish and Chips ?

Day 8......Wednesday the 23rd of May...Ashton to Roaches Lock (Mossley)
Although we had been on several canals which were new to us this next section was why we had set off in the first place. The start of the Huddersfield. The first part to Stalybridge was awful. This section probably contains the most shopping trolleys per mile on any waterway, bar none. Which coupled with very low water, and other industrial rubbish made us wonder if we had made a dreadful mistake.

Our fears evaporated as we actually worked the new locks in the middle of Stalybridge which were like silk. We have never seen as many people watching the boat through the lock. One word of warning wash up your breakfast pots before you arrive at Stalybridge. We had three comments that " you haven't washed your pots up!"
We found the working of locks very very hard in the section from Stalybridge to Roaches Lock (Mossley). However the scenery is magnificent, but some of the paddle gear is almost impossible to work. Many of the locks have handcuff locks on them. Much of the paddle gear at the time we went through required a lot of heavy work just to get them started. This is not to take away any of the praise which must be given to the men, and women of vision who have restored this canal.

I am one of the people who forty years ago thought the Huddersfield Narrow was lost for all time. We take our hat off to anybody who played any part in this magnificent restoration. You deserve gold medals as big as frying pans. Eventually we reached Roaches Lock had a splendid evening with the crew of the boat moored behind and just flopped into our bed, dead beat. (Before you ask this is as close to the bank as we could manage!)

Day 9......Thursday the 24th of May...Roaches Lock to Diggle (Standedge Tunnel)
We had actually booked a passage way through Standedge Tunnel for Saturday. The tunnel was to be officially opened on Friday the 25th of May 2001. Not knowing how difficult the locks might be we decided to push on for Diggle, and the tunnel entrance stopping at night where we could or had to stop.
The journey as far as Uppermill was fairly easy a little shallow in some places but not too hard. We moored in Uppermill and went shopping. Mooring at Uppermill was slightly difficult as there are large Stone Blocks in the water which prevent you from mooring hard up to the towpath. It is prudent to test the depth of the water on your approach and be prepared to moor away from the side. Uppermill is well worth a visit.
After Lunch at Uppermill we decided to push on towards the Diggle Flight. The first two locks above Uppermill are in superb condition being in regular use by the trip boat. . . .The next eight locks were to take seven hours. The lock after the beautifully restored transhipment warehouse opened well and the water lifted the boat up to the next level.

From here it all went horribly wrong. The top gate did not fit the lock. It was a mite too big. Some remedial work had been carried out by shaving a bit off the stone work and a bit more of the woodwork on the gate. It still took a considerable time to ease the gate open. We cruised up to the next gate and found the pound above was completely devoid of water. This presented quite a problem as the next pound was just a small one as were all the pounds to the summit. We had to bleed water through a few gates so that we did not leave ourselves short at the subsequent pounds. We decided to introduce just enough water into the pound above each lock just enough to enable the boat to clear the top cill. The journey across the pound was easy, given we were crawling. The difficulty arose when we could not clear the cill of the next lock. We had to introduce a little more water to clear the bottom cill. We were halfway across one such low pound when disaster struck we picked up a bag which actually stopped the engine.
Even with our large 'patented' weed hatch it took 50 minutes to clear the prop. Many of the paddles were missing or stuck, all were hard work.

In some ways we would have liked to stop at this point. We couldn't stop in the pound because they were leaking and although we have dried out many times with a sailing boat we did not fancy landing a narrowboat on a stone we could not see. Even the locks would not retain water so we decided to push on to the top at the tunnel entrance.
At this point we started to get the services of many volunteers who became very interested in our predicament and offered to help. We suspect most of the population of Diggle were helping us at one stage. Three young men were particularly helpful and performed sterling service in opening locks, rushing ahead to let water down and running back to close gates. The whole exercise was a lesson in community relations.

To say we were grateful for this help would be the understatement of the year. Without this help we would not have made the summit.

Day 11.....Saturday the 26th of May...Diggle to Lock Reservoir
A mixed day. The first sign of any activity was the arrival of a Waterways van with a gentleman who must have a degree in customer relations. Probably the politest person we met on the entire cruise. The tunnel gate was opened and a cavalcade of three boats made their exit. The last boat was a model which a child had sent into the tunnel by remote control and which had gone beyond radio distance. Our boat was now measured and declared to be six foot eleven inches. This was quite alarming news as six foot ten inches was the maximum width permitted. We did point out the fact that their measuring apparatus was little less than scientific, our boat was only five years old. and was built by a reputable builder. I then decided to call in my secret weapon, my wife who also has a degree in diplomacy. Forty five minutes later our boat was being gift wrapped for its journey through the tunnel.