Reservoir to Marsden

Not such an early start today. Weather window according to Yogi is 10am-1pm. Today is much chillier and the wind is picking up. Yog reminds me to wrap up warm and I am glad I did as the wind is pretty bracing.  Increasing in strength each lock we go through.  It rained for most of the night and huge puddles had formed next to the boat.  Ok until you get the cyclists whizzing past and splattering your windows with mud!!  Also, Buster seemed to insist on walking through said puddle every time we took him out, he has the whole of the towpath, but wouldnt you know!!
The mill in the background of this picture is called Cellars Clough Mill.  It was built in 1888 and now like so many other mills on the canal stands empty.  Is still a beautiful building that one day will be transformed into something new.

Today there are 11 locks between us and Marsden all within a mile.  The water comes in at a hell of a rate, we only open one paddle most of the time, keeps it nice and steady and easier to deal with.  Plus saves me running round either side of the lock to open the other one.  Mind you I have got the confidence to go accross the roof when the boat is half way up the lock now which i am quite proud of. :0)

Noon and we are at half way point. The sun has come out and it's comfortably warm and less windy. We actually met some other boats today!!! Three of them within 3 locks it felt most surreal and very unusual!!  I had to take a picture to prove we had seen them!!

I have to say, it is much nicer to know where we are headed.  The adventure of heading into the unknown comes a poor second to actually knowing where you can moor and where the dodgy bends are.  A couple of times i wondered if we would even get round some of the bends and I could tell by Yogs face that he wasnt sure either!!  Todays plan is to stay in Marsden for the weekend and go through Standedge Tunnel on Monday morning.

Ha ha famous last words. Just called BW to book tunnel and its fully booked for Monday so we are traversing the tunnel tomorrow now lol.

3 Locks to go and we are well within schedule so we stopped for a cuppa and a quick rest. Theres a cute little shop right next to the lock where I decided to stock up on bread and milk etc.  I didnt fancy climbing back up the hill at Marsden carrying shopping bags after doing 11 locks!! (We learned this lesson on the way up and wouldnt be doing that again). so I supported local industry and stocked up there instead.  











1.30pm we arrive at Marsden visitor morrings.  Pretty crummy they are, no TV reception and full of boats booked in for the Tunnel tomorrow.  The only place there was to moor was under the railway bridge which was less than suitable so we tied Silver Blue up under the bridge and wandered upto the Tunnel mouth to see if there was anywhere to moor near there.   Luckily for us there was a space outside the BW office which would be ok for us to moor at after 4pm (according to BW man).

I had spotted a craft place on the opposite side of the canal to the tunnel and as I knew that there wouldnt be an option to go there tomorrow I dragged Yog there on the way back to the boat lol.  The downstairs part was an information centre for the Tunnel with lifesize waxwork manekins dressed in period clothing etc, antique trollies, wet stones and bizarrely a BW work boat!!.  

Upstairs was the The Craft Cafe  With loads of different crafts on display and events every month.  This one is definately going in Ronnis little black book.  I am so glad that we booked the tunnel for tomorrow now because neither of us can get any phone signal, or TV signal which means no telly, no facebook, no ebay, no nothing!!!
Thank god were not here for the whole weekend!!