Off to Lymm

 I woke up rather early and saw that the canal was covered in a layer of mist. 

Needless to say, I went straight back to bed and got up later at a more reasonable time. 

Our first challenge of the day was the Preston Brook Tunnel, or so I thought! I'd forgotten all about the stop lock just before the tunnel. Here we are at 2 minutes to 11 just starting to go through. Not a problem under normal circumstances but the entry time for the tunnel was on the hour untill 10 minutes after. 

Just by the skin of our teeth we managed to enter before the curfew. 

Once through and the sign informs us that we are now on the Bridgewater Canal. Our C&RT licence allows us to stay on the Bridgewater for 7 days only. 

Suddenly the canal is much wider and we pass some modern apartments.

Ahead is the M56. 

And off to the left the canal off to Runcorn which, in the old days, once locked down to the Mersey. This is now a dead end. 

An imposing landmark, the Norton Water Tower. It's quite amazing that I found out the name of the tower using Google Lens. Sometimes AI really is a blessing. 

We had a brief stop at Moore to pick up some milk and a homemade pie from the canalside shop. 

Noticed the heavy-duty crane behind the narrowboat which is there to lift heavy timbers to act as a stop lock to block off the canal if there is a breach. As happened New Years Day 2025 which is why we will have to turn round after Lymm. The breach has still not been repaired. 

Canalside des res in Warrington. 

Followed by the M6. Oh dear, civilisation rearing its head again. 

Moored up in Lymm and this is our view over the old town. 

Went for a walk along the canal and by the bridge a little passageway leading to some quaint houses. 

We walked up to Oughtrington to sus out the Elsan facilities and to find out if we could turn the boat around once there. All looked ok but it wasn't easy to see where to stop from the canal side so we were glad to locate everything before driving up there. And, yes, we would be able to turn there. 

Back to the boat, supper onboard and then to bed.