WAKAROA2015: Bugsworth Basin to Holehouse Fold bridge 14, Romiley

16 September - A big day on the Peak Forest - 16 locks

Up and about at 7, breakfast blog and a load of washing done, also our extra Silver Fern flags, put up in time for the world cup starting on Friday. May need to figure how to put our big flag up.

We leave Bugsworth and a cruise down the section we came up the day before, through the movable bridges and into New Mills Marina where we filled with Diesel and got a pump out done,

That done we moved down to Marple having lunch (cheese scones) on the move so that we can address the first of the 16 Marple locks.

There was a boat just coming to the top of the lock as we stopped, Whistle Down the Wind the steam Nb we shared locks with on the Leeds Liverpool canal on the 10th of May at East Merton, Geoff was on the helm and Sue was on the lock with a team to assist her, it was only a passing meeting but great to see them again.

We owe alot to this crew for teaching us how to attack locks

So on down the locks we went, some in our favour some not until we met a boat coming up, we started at 1.10pm and were done by 4pm. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marple_Lock_Flight

And we are off, 1 down 15 to go

After a couple of locks we swapped driving as we thought locks would be set for us from Whistle Down, soon found out that they weren't so swapped back and got into another routine. I would open locks for Pete, leaving him to drive in and close gate and start lowering, while I went ahead and set next lock and then came back and let him out so that by the time he got to the next lock I could open it and move on to set next lock. 2 hours went very quickly. You just get into a routine.

Pete then missed a mooring spot and we travelled on over aqueducts and through a tunnel until we found a spot at 5pm in Romiley.

Marple Aqueduct quite spectacular https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marple_Aqueduct

I would have preferred to have moored here - are we there yet.

A walk to the Duke of York - http://whatpub.com/pubs/HIP/519/duke-of-york-romiley - with some boaters who we moored near and a boaters chat, they went to another pub for dinner but we stayed there and ate, Steak and salad for me, 7/10 and Beef bourguignon for Vicki 9/10. After dinner a chat with Alan a local and we wandered back to the boat at 8 30. TV reception is crap so books in bed again.