Another momentous day for KV — our first tunnel. And Harecastle is a big one. But our booking wasn’t until 12, so this morning I took a couple of walks down to the Red Bull service block, to give our yellow water bottles a good rinse. The company which now occupies the rest of the building must still be getting people who think it remains a CRT office.
On the walk back, I went up to the bridge over the Macc where you can see the Trent and Mersey going underneath.
We decided to set off about 10.30, knowing there was a good chance we’d have to wait quite a while for the tunnel. There’s a right angle turn after the aqueduct and then another one as you come to the junction bridge. Adrian went to the bow to check the coast was clear for us to come out and turn right.
As we approached the tunnel we could see a boat just going in. There’s was a tunnel keeper waiting to speak to us; he said we’d be able to go straight in, even though it was only a few minutes past 11, because a work which was operating today was currently out having a tea break. That explained why there was no 10am booking slot when I went online a few days ago. We had our safety briefing and then it was the tricky turn into the tunnel.
Inside, the profile of the tunnel changes quite a bit, with a low section near the middle where I had to crouch down at the tiller so I didn’t bang my head.
We went through on electric propulsion, and the difference from a diesel engine is remarkable. Obviously there’s no engine noise, so you can hear the water round the prop. And Adrian, who was inside, said the sound of water along the hull, from the walls, and dripping from the roof, all sounded much louder. In addition, there’s no smell of diesel fumes so I was very aware of a minerally smell in the air, because of the ironstone rock seeping out of Harecastle Hill, which makes the water orange. It took about 45 minutes to get through. We wanted to stop for water, but there was a boat already on the tap so we pulled in beyond him to wait. It was about an hour later we finally pulled back and got the tank filling, and had lunch at the same time. It also gave me time to do a podcast interview, and have a wander round and a look at the now disused older tunnel.
We carried on to Westport Lake, where there were quite a few spaces on the moorings. It had got very windy though, which made getting secure a bit tricky. This afternoon, Adrian fancied a walk so combined it will a trip up the hill to Aldi to replenish supplies of the cheap but nice wine we like. Since then it’s started raining heavily, and tomorrow is not looking great either.
4 miles, 0 locks. (22 miles, 13 locks)