Before our departure in the morning we discovered several rows of brick lined kilns, I don’t think that they were for lime, but more for firing bricks, in fact they are coke ovens, as I later found out. A filled in loading basin alongside indicated that this was probably a sizeable commercial operation in it’s time.
Under the M65 motorway and mix of open country and villages and we were on the outskirts of Blackburn. Again we were surprised that the City didn’t impose upon the canal. The Cathedral could be seen way below us and even as we descended the six locks civilization kept its distance, except for some converted mills and a wharf side inn, very similar to the one at Burnley
We had decided not to stop and visit Blackburn, but carried on passed the attractively sounding village of Cherry Tree and hooked up to the armco at Riley Green. The helpful guy who did the pump out back at the marina had suggested that this was a good place to stop and to walk the quarter mile up the road to The Royal Oak; we did as recommended and enjoyed an evening drink in this attractive hostelry.
We decided to tarry an extra day here, but first thing on Tuesday morning the voltage was down to nine. After running the engine to charge the battery there was a smell of bad eggs, firstly I thought it was emanating from the toilet tank, but on proper investigation I realized it was from the bank of batteries. One of the batteries was really hot and fumes could be seen rising. I disconnected it and hoped that the remaining three batteries would then hold their charge.
In the afternoon BW contractors arrived to cut the grass around the ‘Visitors Mooring’. Well, all they did was to strim the grass immediately along side SKYY and for a further few yards, ignoring the fact that the moorings continued for at least another six boat lengths. The resulting mess would eventually take a thorough scrubbing to remove the residue, but I guess we were lucky not to have a broken window, thankful for small mercies eh!
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