Roaches Lock to Portland Basin Marina

Stalybridge is our next port of call.  Left Roaches about noon after the next bout of rain had stopped.  As each hour passed the surrounding area became more and more urban.  Yogi is liking this because it means we are getting closer to the end of the Huddersfield Shallow Canal.  
Also there is something wonderful about getting to a single figure lock, so you know you have less than 10 to go before you are on a different canal.

We got into Stalybridge at about 3.30pm which left loads of time for me to make sausage toad, which had been haunting my taste-buds all day lol  The next day I planned to meet up with Pam to pick up my prescription so we had a nice relaxing time ahead for the next 24hrs.  I spent the rest of the day pottering around and Yogi had a bit of a War.
Pam texted me the next day to let me know that my prescription hadn't arrived!! I only had 2 days worth left so I had to find a local GP surgery to get an appointment to get it sorted.  I NEED my tablets and Yogi definitely needs me to have my tablets!!  So that was priority number 1!!  I found a GP and managed to get an appointment for 4pm that afternoon.  I decided to do a ring around the town covering the Doctors, Post Office and Aldi.  We decided to do the remaining 5 locks on the HNC that evening when I got back from wandering. 

The last few locks are nice and close 

together and it didn't take us long to put them behind us.  This is probably the most built up part of the canal next to central Huddersfield.  Here though, things are a lot less restored and a lot more industrial.  It is quite difficult to describe, its almost as if you are passing through a preserved area of decline.  All the grass has been cut, there is hardly any litter on the ground as it's all in the canal around here!!  Loads of fishermen sitting beside a litter strewn, dirty dank 8 foot width of water.  With empty keep nets and half empty cans of Strongbow. 

It sounds really horrible I know, but if they could get a handle on all the rubbish in the canal it would actually be really nice.  The atmosphere of the area really gives you an idea of the hard work that went into building your surroundings and the litter just lets it down.


We made our approach to Lock 1W, through a series of neighbouring bridges which made it feel like we were travelling through some kind of portal to another world.  I suppose in a way we were because this lock would take us off of this canal and embark us onto a very short journey along the Ashton Canal. A journey which lasted approximately 7 boats in length before we turned left onto the Peak Forest Canal! :0)
We planned to overnight at the Basin as we could get Diesel and Gas there.  Yogi did the most impressive reversing manoeuvre between loads of moored boats into the marina to moor up on the diesel point ready for the next day, earning himself a round of applause from the crowd of gongoozlers that had gathered to watch the spectacle before them lol.