The dreaded Wigan Flight! 21 Locks climbing out of Wigan on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal towards the distant Pennines. But are they really that scary? We take narrowboat Silver Fox up the Wigan Flight with a little help from our buddy boat and a Canal and River Trust volunteer.
Finally, off the Rufford Branch, we turned left at the junction onto the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, heading east towards Wigan. In this episode, we take narrowboat Silver Fox through Parbold, Appley Bridge, Crooke, Shevington, Gathurst, and into Wigan where Colin finds out the history surrounding Wigan Pier, the Pit Brow Lasses, and some of the amazing canal architecture.
After crossing the Millennium Ribble Link in both directions, we answer some of your questions and tell you our Top Ten Tips on how to survive the Ribble Link crossing. It's a blast taking your narrowboat between Tarleton and Preston for the Lancaster Canal but there's a lot you need to know!
Once again, we take on the mighty River Ribble. This time we travel from the Lancaster Canal, taking narrowboat Silver Fox back to Tarleton on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Rufford Branch. Everything seemed fine until we hit Savick Brook. The water level was seriously low and we, along with the other narrow boats in our group, were grounding and finding it difficult to make progress. Worse was to come! Once we hit the sideways incoming flood tide of the River Ribble we were swept east despite giving full throttle to go west! Find out how we got on in this vlog. Also, check out our bonus episode 'Top Ten Tips on how to survive the Ribble Link'.
Leaving Cabus Nook, we slowly take narrowboat Silver Fox back down the Lancaster Canal, south towards Preston for our return crossing of the Ribble Link. We call at Garstang for a couple of days to check out the town, and we visit the Wyre Aqueduct built by John Rennie. Colin finally gets the kayak he's been wanting for months, then takes the clippers to Shaun's hair. After that, we visit Barton Grange, home of the marina, a world-famous garden center, and the Flower Bowl entertainment center where we have a go at the crazy golf. Check out the sheep on the roof of The Flower Bowl!
