Wanderings on the Weaver

Our last posting took our journey as far as the Anderton Boat Lift which lowered us down onto the River Weaver and this post describes our travels on the Weaver.  There are about 12 miles of navigable river and two locks downstream from the lift and about 8 miles and two locks upstream.

From the bottom of the lift we turned downstream and this view was taken near the Barnton Moorings where we spent our first evening.  There was little wind and lovely reflections.

On Sunday (25th August) we phoned the lock keeper and then moved down to Saltersford Locks. All the four locks on the Weaver have lock keepers. This view is of Saltersford Locks as we approached. In case you are wondering about the railway signals, at one stage the Weaver Navigation was owned by the London and North Western Railway Company. Sadly they are not used now.

At each set of locks there are small locks and large locks. The ones downstream from Anderton use the large locks. Here is Leo in Saltersford Lock which we learned had only reopened a couple of weeks ago after a long closure.

Ships up to 1,000 tons can come up the Weaver and there are a number of large swing bridges like this one at Acton. Fortunately there is sufficient headroom for most boats and they didn't need swinging for us.

The second locks downstream were Dutton Locks seen here where again we locked down in the large ship lock.

Below Dutton Lock is this pretty bridge called Dutton Horse Bridge.  A few days before, we had walked down here from the Trent and Mersey Canal which runs almost parallel to this section of the Weaver. The navigation does not go under this bridge, it is over the weir stream of the river.

Soon we went under the Dutton Railway viaduct with Virgin trains whizzing over us.

Well I did mentions ships and we had to creep past the Daniel Adamson, a preserved and restored Mersey Steam Tug and Launch. It was going very slowly but gave us a loud hoot on its whistle as we passed. Because of its draft it hogged the centre of the river and we had to creep round the side.

Here, looking back, you can see Jabulani coming back towards the centre of the river after passing the 'Danny'.

The last couple of miles of the Weaver Navigation pass the vast ICI (now Tata) chemical works.

A low and fixed bridge prevents boats getting any closer to Runcorn. At this point where we turned we were only a mile or so from where we had explored 3 days before on the Runcorn branch of the Bridgewater Canal.

The turning point is in a basin from where the Runcorn and Weston Canal took boats up into the docks and on to locks giving access to the Runcorn Branch.  The wooden gates seen here were on the first lock of that canal.

This view as we came back looks through a gap in the bank that separates the Weaver Navigation from the Manchester Ship Canal. So the water stretching away into the distance is the Ship Canal heading for Liverpool.

Marsh Lock, a mile or so from the end of the Weaver Navigation, lets boats down (just a little) into the Manchester Ship Canal.  We have no plans to do that as a special Boat Safety Examination and permissions and fees are required. However you can go into Manchester from here or to Ellesmere Port and even across the Mersey to Liverpool. Helen, William and Daphne are standing at the Ship Canal end of Marsh Lock.

This small boat passed along the Ship Canal while we were watching. We were later told that it was carrying some divers assessing work to be done to the canal.

After lunch by Marsh Lock we came back upstream and moored on some 'wild' moorings just short of recognised moorings at Devil's Garden. The evening light was captivating.

On Monday we came back up the river beyond the boat lift and moored in Northwich, the largest town on the river. Ian went home for a medical appointment on Tuesday (all well I'm pleased to say) and we continued our travels on Wednesday passing this tug opposite Yarwood's historic boat yard.

Hunts Lock comes soon after Northwich.  Here looking back you can see Jabulani following us out of the lock with the high railway bridge behind.

And this is the second upstream lock at Vale Royal, in fact taken after we had moored above and walked back. The two upstream locks use the smaller of the two locks in each case, but as you can see they are still pretty big.

We liked the moorings at Vale Royal and so stayed there on Wednesday and Thursday nights.  On Thursday we carried on up to Winsford and then came back to Vale Royal. This cruise took us well into salt mining lands and the huge pile behind Jabulani is rock salt.

The Canal and River Trust navigation officially ends at the Winsford Town Bridge but we carried on beyond here to where the water opens out into a lake called Winsford Bottom Flash. The flashes were caused by subsidence following salt extraction and this one is a mile or more long. It is said to be shallow in places so we went cautiously with Helen on the bow using a boat hook to dip in the water to measure the depth. After a couple of hundred yards we lost our nerve and turned back.

Here is Jabulani, also turning in the Flash.

We moored on the town moorings near where the Weaver leaves the Flash and walked up into the town. Our route took us through this attractive park with the white sculptures and flower beds.

After lunch on Leo we reversed out of the town moorings seen here and headed back down the river. The town moorings are on the Flash and thus beyond CRT waters but there was plenty of depth and they are open and more pleasant than the shady moorings outside the Red Lion on the River itself. There is also a handy water point. We were told to avoid the slip way seen here on the right because it extends under the water.

Here we are heading back down the river towards Vale Royal passing the salt mountain again. Apparently the red colour develops naturally. Where the salt pile has slipped or been carved by the rain, you can see white salt underneath.

We think this is the pit head gear for the rock salt mine. The writing up the top says 'Salt Union', a trade collective. Presumably the structure is covered to prevent the salt getting wet but that does not explain the salt mountain, much of which has no plastic covering.

This is Newbridge between Vale Royal and Winsford.  It is pretty low and we       met some boats that decided not to chance it. Our herbs just grazed the bridge on the way up but, having filled with water at the Winsford Town Moorings, we didn't touch coming back downstream.

On Friday we came back through Northwich and went up the Anderton Lift, this time sharing a caisson with our friends on Jabulani.  Here are Daphne and William on the lift with us.

Fifty feet up in 10 minutes is pretty good going and here you can see the view back down to the River Weaver below us.

We have had a good few days on the Weaver and found some lovely spots to moor. We would certainly recommend this diversion if you are passing on the Trent and Mersey. As I type this we are in fact moored on the Middlewich Branch so I will try to bring the blog fully up to date in the next few days.