A revised page about the M60 crossing at Broadway, Chadderton, shows the work now under way to widen the sharp bend near the Boat and Horses.

The roundabout at the junction of Edinburgh Way and the A627M will be transformed into a signal-controlled crossroad junction over this weekend. This will enable the remainder of the culvert tunnel and new channel to be constructed. Motorists are advised to avoid the junction for the next few days! The new section of canal between Edinburgh Way and Gorrells Way comprises a concrete tunnel 110 metres long and a new 130 metres long channel running parallel to the motorway. Readers may be interested to know that there will be no towpath along this 240 metres section. Towpath users will need to divert along Edinburgh Way, Queensway and Gorrells Way.

The latest photographs of these and other locations can be seen by going to:
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/rochdale/rc10.htm

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As summer approaches this seems a good time to think about the waterways festivals that will happen this year.

May 4th - 5th: Skipton Waterway Festival. (Leeds and Liverpool Canal Society)
June 1st - 3rd: "Pennine Link" festival and rally will take place at Sandhills, above Lock 7W of the HNC at Stalybridge. (Huddersfield Canal Society)
July 12th - 14th: Ashton Canals Festival will take place at Portland Basin, Ashton. This year the festival will raise money for Willow Wood Hospice.
July 6th - August 11th: "Aquafest" centred on Piccadilly Basin, Manchester, to coincide with the Commonwealth Games. (BW)
August 10th - 11th: Hebden Bridge Rally, Hebden Bridge. (Rochdale Canal Society)
August 23rd - 26th: National Waterways Festival, Leeds Road, Huddersfield. (Inland Waterways Association)

Please let me know of other canals festivals and events in the Pennines area.

There were tense moments behind the scenes recently as the High Court ruled on land acquisition for the M62 crossing at Castleton. While the contractors had started work on the new lock, landowners had challenged the Compulsory Purchase Order on pockets of land on each side of the culvert tunnel below the motorway. The judgement on this was not received until May 17th. The judgement was against the challenge. Negotiations with the landowners enabled the contractors to move onto the land in question on May 20th. The contractors are now working seven days a week in a bid to complete the work in time for the canal's opening in July. Even so, while the canal channel will be open to boats, the towpath will not be open immediately and work will continue alongside the canal for some time.

The latest photographs can be seen by going to the restoration menu page:
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/rochdale/rc10.htm
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The Restoration of the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal was officially launched this week. It is described as "a vision for bringing new life and prosperity to a key inner city corridor" which could create up to 6000 jobs. The partners in the project are the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal Society, Salford, Bolton and Bury Councils, British Waterways and the Waterways Trust.

The first phase of the restoration will be the 12 miles between Salford and Bury, and this could start in 2003. A later phase would restore the Bolton arm to Hall Lane. The restored canal is expected to be a catalyst for leisure developments, new housing and regeneration of brownfield sites.

It is planned to develop a new visitor centre at Nob End, Little Lever, alongside the lock flight. These locks comprise two three-rise lock staircases.

It is anticipated that there will be over 200 boat moorings along the canal and in three new basins at Salford Crescent, Bury and Hall Lane.

The canal, opened in 1796 to carry coal to Salford, Bolton and Bury, and linked to the River Irwell in 1808, suffered a major breach in 1936, with all navigation ceasing in 1962. The canal had 17 broad locks, including a number of lock staircases. It still has 12 Grade 2 listed structures, among them the aqueducts at Clifton and Prestolee.

At the launch, Roger Hanbury of the Waterways Trust told the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal Society, "Your time has come!" The Society's chairman, Margaret Fletcher said, "We are delighted that after our 14 years of campaigning, the canal is now to be restored, and look forward to continuing to work with our partners to ensure the successful restoration of the canal to the benefit of all."
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The Hebden Bridge Boat Rally (Aug 10th - 11th) announced in Newsletter No. 51 has been cancelled. I am asked to point out that the Rochdale Canal Society's Summit Rally will still take place as planned on 22nd Sept.

Waterways events in the Pennine area this summer include -

June 1st - 3rd: "Pennine Link" festival and rally will take place at Sandhills, above Lock 7W of the HNC at Stalybridge. (Huddersfield Canal Society)
July 12th - 14th: Ashton Canals Festival will take place at Portland Basin, Ashton. This year the festival will raise money for Willow Wood Hospice.
July 6th - August 11th: "Aquafest" centred on Piccadilly Basin, Manchester, to coincide with the Commonwealth Games. (BW)
July 19th - 21st: "Leeds on Water" Festival, Thwaite Mill, Leeds & Liverpool Canal.
August 23rd - 26th: National Waterways Festival, Leeds Road, Huddersfield. (Inland Waterways Association)
September 22nd: "Summit Rally", Summit Pound, Rochdale Canal. (Rochdale Canal Society)
Please let me know of other canals festivals and events taking place in the area.

The scheme to widen the sharp bend at the Boat and Horses, Broadway, Chadderton, is now complete. By the end of this week, the canal channel, bridge and towpath at Failsworth town centre will be complete, although the land on each side will be a building site for some time to come as a new town centre is built around the canal.

At the other bridges in Failsworth, scaffolding is in place while the outside faces of the bridges are lined with brick. So tight is the timetable that the towpaths are being constructed out of concrete, encasing the legs of the scaffolding, which will have to be sawn off when the brickwork is complete!

The date set for the re-opening is July 1st and British Waterways are hoping that the channel will be open to navigation throughout by that date, although at several sites, work will be continuing alongside the canal to complete towpaths, roadways and other works. The two jobs that will go right to the line are at Edinburgh Way, Rochdale, and at the M62 crossing.

At Edinburgh Way, the final sections of concrete wash wall are about to be constructed. The box-culvert tunnel under the road junction is being extended at each end to allow slip roads to make the junction work more smoothly. This work will continue after the canal is open. At the M62, work is taking place 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is still a section immediately south of the motorway, where a lean-to farm building had to be demolished, where piling for the channel walls has not yet started. Having said that, the ground is very sandy and I watched a 7 metre steel pile being sunk in about 30 seconds, so perhaps the work will not take as long as might be expected.

If for any reason either of these sections is not ready for boats on July 1st, it probably won't be many days behind.

While work at the M62 is still continuing, boats may be assisted along the section from Castleton to beyond the M62, and crew members will not be allowed to get off their boats except at locks.

BW are to create what they call "secure moorings" in the new section in Failsworth. Boats heading for Manchester will need to book a passage and moor at Failsworth overnight, then be escorted between Failsworth and Manchester. This, apparently, has more to do with saving water than with personal protection. Boats heading from Manchester will need to book a passage and must reach Failsworth the same day.
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British Waterways have put together a guide to navigation on the Rochdale Canal, which can be seen online at:
http://www.southpenninering.co.uk/rochdale/guide.htm
A few of the points of particular interest to boaters taken from that web page are:
"1st July marks the start of a commissioning period during which many new and repaired structures will be used for the first time. It is inevitable that there will be difficulties to be overcome and we welcome your assistance in identifying and addressing these."
"..this is NOT a “brand new canal”. It has been reopened to a minimal navigable standard and it’s future success depends on it’s careful operation."
"Certain sets of locks (especially in Manchester) may be fitted with heavy-duty locks outside operating hours."
"Key lock flights will generally only operate between 8am and 6pm. when BW staff will be on hand to assist. Current operating hours and conditions will be displayed at top and bottom locks. Please do not attempt to navigate these flights outside of these times."

Most importantly, passage of what BW are calling "the Manchester Flight", between Locks 66 and 83, will only be available to pre-booked boats during the commissioning period. Call 0161 819 5847 (Monday to Friday 8.00 to 6.00pm) to book a time slot. The 18 locks need to be completed the same day so boats will probably need to start on the flight in the morning.

Lock 69 (Newton Heath) will have a hydraulically operated tail gate. Locks 70 & 71 (Newton Heath), 79 & 80 (Ancoats) and 92 (Castlefield) will have mechanically operated tail gates. Both offside gates at Lock 51 (Castleton) will be mechanically operated.
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Here is an opportunity to be involved in a boat passage around the South Pennine Ring!
Sue Day and members of the Horseboating Society are taking the 60 foot horse-drawn narrowboat "Elland" around the ring. The boat started from Ashton, was at the Pennine Link festival in Stalybridge at the start of June and passed though Standedge Tunnel last week. The boat is currently heading towards Huddersfield from where it will go along the Huddersfield Broad Canal and Calder and Hebble Navigation to Sowerby Bridge. It will then go along the Rochdale Canal, travelling from Littleborough to Manchester shortly after the opening. It will then return to Ashton along the Ashton Canal.

Volunteers to help crew the boat for one or more days are always welcome. The society aims to preserve and provide opportunities to try out the skills of horseboating. To offer your services, phone Sue on 01457 834863 (mobile 07711 121 056) or email me for more information.

It is expected that a more official opening for the whole canal will take place at a later date.
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Following problems last year following the opening of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, British Waterways are being very cautious about the Rochdale Canal. The performance of the canal will be monitored carefully by BW. Direct input and feedback from users is being sought to enable priority issues to be addressed promptly and efficiently. BW's South Pennine Ring office can be contacted at enquiries.spring@britishwaterways.co.uk or telephone 0161 819 5847.

Key lock flights on the newly restored canal will be open only during certain operating hours which will be displayed at top and bottom locks. Boats using the "Manchester Flight", between Locks 66 and 83, will need to book in advance during the commissioning period. To begin with, only two lockfulls (which could be four narrowboats) a day in each direction will be allowed. Call 0161 819 5847 (Monday to Friday 8.00am to 6.00pm) to book a time slot. The 18 locks need to be completed the same day so boats will probably need to start on the flight around 8.00 am.
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New on Pennine Waterways website this week are pictures of Deepdale bridge, Rochdale, where a fixed bridge has been replaced with a new swing bridge, and the re-built bridge across the canal at Kingsway, Rochdale. The Kingsway bridge was already navigable and was not part of the canal restoration.

The full width of the roadway at Manchester Road Bridge, Castleton, is now open to traffic.

Photographs of the restoration sites can be seen at -
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/rochdale/rc10.htm

There should be further updates next week where, hopefully, boats will be seen on the newly restored canal!
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In the last newsletter I reported how Sue Day and members of the Horseboating Society are taking the 60 foot horse-drawn narrowboat "Elland" around the South Pennine Ring. The boat travels from Sowerby Bridge to Hebden Bridge today (25th June), to Todmorden on June 26th, to the Summit pound on June 27th and down the Littleborough flight to Ben Healey on June 28th. The boat will continue from Littleborough to Manchester a few days after the opening, reaching Manchester on June 5th. It will later return to Ashton along the Ashton Canal to complete the ring.

Volunteers to help crew the boat for one or more days are always welcome. The society aims to preserve and provide opportunities to try out the skills of horseboating. To offer your services, phone Sue on 01457 834863 (mobile 07711 121 056) or email me for more information.
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There are now more than 450 subscribers to this newsletter. If you change your email address please remember to remove your old email address from the list. You can do this by visiting http://messagebot.com and selecting "remove", entering your old email address and the list name "penninewaterways". You can add your new address by going to the same site and selecting "add" and the list name "penninewaterways" or by clicking the newsletter link on Pennine Waterways web site. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose.
Previous newsletters can be viewed in an archive:
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/newsletter.htm

In addition to its role as a pub, the Waters Edge will offer a range of facilities from corporate meeting packages to an extensive home cooked menu.

Retail & Catering Manager Rowena Penfold said the new venture would appeal to a wide market, from boaters and walkers to families and visitors.
"We are aiming to attract a wide range of customers to what is a very special venue in a unique setting. This venture breaks new ground for British Waterways and we aim to make the Water's Edge an integral part of the whole Standedge Visitor Experience"
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Previous newsletters told of the plans of Sue Day and members of the Horseboating Society to take the 60 foot horse-drawn narrowboat "Elland" around the South Pennine Ring. The journey is now complete and the boat has returned to Ashton. With the assistance of British Waterways, the horse was able to tow the boat along all but a few sections of the newly restored Rochdale Canal. In those places where the towpath is still closed or where there will be no towpath, the crew poled the boat along. The biggest problem for towing the boat was the large number of trees that have been allowed to grow at the towpath's edge over the years. Pictures of the journey from Littleborough to Manchester will appear on Pennine Waterways soon.

The journey gave pleasure to many people, drawing crowds all along the way. A number of tearful pensioners recalled that the last time they had seen a horse-drawn boat was in their childhood. Anyone interested in helping to crew a horse-drawn boat along the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in time for the National Waterways Festival should email me for more information.
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Over this weekend, July 12th - 14th, Tameside Canals Festival will take place at Portland Basin, Ashton under Lyne. This year the festival will raise money for Willow Wood Hospice.
Other waterways events in the Pennine area this summer include -
July 6th - August 11th: "Aquafest" centred on Piccadilly Basin, Manchester, to coincide with the Commonwealth Games. (BW)
July 19th - 21st: "Leeds on Water" Festival, Thwaite Mill, Leeds & Liverpool Canal.
August 23rd - 26th: National Waterways Festival, Leeds Road, Huddersfield. (Inland Waterways Association)
September 22nd: "Summit Rally", Summit Pound, Rochdale Canal. (Rochdale Canal Society)

Since the Rochdale Canal's opening to boats on July 1st, work has still been continuing at some locations. One interesting feature of the restoration, Grimshaw Lane lift bridge between Chadderton and Middleton Junction, is due to open on September 9th. The bridge platform was lifted into place and engineers have been adjusting the hydraulic fluid around the four rams that lift the bridge. It will be key operated by boaters, with automatic lights and barriers. Pictures of the bridge being tested are at http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/rochdale/rc58.htm

Work is still continuing on the towpath and surroundings at the M62 crossing. The new footbridge at Hartley Lane, Rochdale is now in place and work is also complete at Dicken Green and Manchester Road bridges in Rochdale. The roadways of the two bridges in Failsworth are complete but work on the steps and towpath are still continuing at Ashton Road West. To check the latest updated pages, please go to
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/rochdale/rc10.htm
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I have had the pleasure of boating along the entire length of the Rochdale Canal twice now. All the boaters I have spoken to feel that, although there are some teething problems, the canal is a very worthwhile trip with outstanding scenery. At the moment there is a lack of facilities such as water points and moorings along the restored section. At one of the suggested overnight moorings at the Boat and Horses, a lack of dredging makes it difficult for boats to get anywhere near the bank. A similar problem occurs at Littleborough where there is a stone ledge below the water.

Despite fears of problems with youngsters, there have been very few reports of trouble. Many boaters have experienced groups of children bombarding them with questions and asking for rides. Youngsters have tried to jump onto boats in locks in the Miles Platting area so boaters are recommended to lock all doors! Policemen on mountain bikes have been keeping an eye on things and boats are escorted down the Manchester locks by teams of British Waterways staff, many living locally. See picture at -
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/rochdale/roc345.jpg
There were late-night problems for boats moored at Failsworth when the canal first opened and boaters are now recommended to moor overnight at the Boat and Horses, one lock and a couple of miles to the north (see above).
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The Inland Waterways Association's National Rally took place alongside the Huddersfield Broad Canal in August. I was away cruising canals at that time, so am unable to provide a first-hand account, but a personal view of the rally, complete with pictures, can be seen by visiting
http://www.narrowboatworld.com/ . Scroll down the page and click "Victor on the National".
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I wish to apologise to users of "Pennine Waterways" that the website was "down" for a couple of weeks in August. This was due to a failure of the server used to host the website. Inevitably this happened when I was away enjoying a canal holiday from Llangollen to Reading via the Birmingham Canal Navigations and the Severn estuary! I had to return home in the middle of the holiday to restore the site as the company running the server was unable to retrieve the data. I hope this did not cause too much disappointment.
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Forthcoming events:
September 22nd: "Summit Rally", Summit Pound, Rochdale Canal. (Rochdale Canal Society) October 12th: Marsden Jazz Festival.
Previous newsletters can be viewed in an archive:
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/newsletter.htm

The BBC1 programme "Songs of Praise" this week features the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Ann Kirkbride takes a nostalgic narrowboat journey along the canal, meeting Terry Waite. Music includes the Marsden and Stalybridge Bands.

The programme is broadcast on Sunday 29th September at 5.40 pm. My apologies to overseas subscribers or those who will receive this newsletter at work on Monday morning for whom this reminder will be useless!
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The "official" opening ceremony for the Rochdale Canal will take place on Friday October 25th 2002 in Failsworth. I still do not have information about the time but will pass this on later.
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British Waterways have published their winter stoppages programme detailing canal closures for repair work. Most of the canals in the Pennine area are affected in some way. This information will be added to the Pennine Waterways website this week.
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Forthcoming event:
October 12th: Marsden Jazz Festival.

The Centre is staging what it describes as a truly hair raising Hallowe'en arts and crafts workshop for children, from 11am - 1pm and 2pm - 4pm, Saturday 20th October to Sunday 28th October.

Visitor Centre manager Sandra McCash said the workshop would give youngsters the chance to try out a range of activities while having fun. Activities include mask and lantern making, trick or treat baskets, hallowe'en hats and hanging bats. "It will give their parents a break," said Ms McCash. "We are expecting the workshops to be very popular and are advising parents to book early on 01484 844298 as places are limited."

A new section has been added featuring the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal.
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/mbb
The Virtual Cruise of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal has been extended to include the section from Barrowford to Burnley.
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/ll/ll49.htm
The Virtual Cruise of the Rochdale Canal has been completely revised to include around 100 new photographs.
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/rochdale/rc3.htm
The pages about the restoration of the Huddersfield and Rochdale Canal restorations have been revised. The Bookshop section has been divided into separate pages for Canal Guides and Books, Maps and Local Books. A "What's New" page has been added so that visitors can check what has changed since their previous visit at a glance.
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/whatsnew.htm

Each page has been re-coded and should load faster than before. Many of the older, poorer quality photos have been replaced with better quality ones. As this will slow down loading time, most pages with a large number of photographs have been split into smaller pages to help faster loading.

With around 300 pages of content to revise, it is possible that there may be some errors. I have tested the new pages but if you spot any mistakes or broken links I would be grateful if you would let me know.

Feedback appreciated. Please enjoy!
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Younger members of the family may be pleased to hear that Santa Claus will be dropping in at Standedge Visitor Centre (into the centre, that is, not the canal). He will be greeting visitors to the world famous tunnel every weekend between 30th November and 22nd December. The £6.50 includes admission to the visitor centre, guided trip boat into Standedge Tunnel, festive snack for adults and a Christmas gift for each child from Santa's grotto. The centre is open between 11 am and 4 pm at this time of year. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previous newsletters can be viewed in an archive:
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/newsletter.htm

British Waterways are now informing communities along the route of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal about the ambitious waterway regeneration scheme by means of a "road show". One such was held in Swinton on 23rd January. Others are to be announced.

British Waterways South Pennine Ring manager Tom Rowe said the scheme would take four years to complete, transforming the waterway and its hinterland in the process.

"Restoration delivers lasting benefits to local communities in terms of investment, jobs and leisure opportunities. We want genuine consultation, both with the public and agencies who can bring something to the party. Every view is important and will be fed into our scheme analysis," he added.

The canal restoration took an important step forwards on Wednesday 15 January when preliminary site investigation work began at Daisyfield Dam in Bury. Funded by the North West Development Agency, the study will then progress westwards towards Salford.

The investigations require the clearance of vegetation and earth to expose the structure of the canal in key locations. British Waterways engineers will then be able to carry out a detailed assessment of the condition of the canal and finalise restoration plans.

British Waterways engineer John Ackroyd said: "This is an important stage in the restoration. These investigations will allow us to carry out a detailed inspection of the existing canal infrastructure and assess the condition of the original puddle clay laid down over 200 years ago."

Once the preliminary site investigations have been completed, the next step will be to finalise the design, secure planning permission and put together an appropriate funding package.

British Waterways want to expand their knowledge of the social history of the canal. They are appealing to people living in communities along the 12 mile route to scour attics and garages for photographs, film, diaries and memorabilia about the famous waterway that brought prosperity to the area 150 years ago.

British Waterways Senior Landscape Architect Marcus Chaloner said, "We want to hear from everyone with information and memories, whether they lived or worked along the canal or in one of the collieries and mills that sprang up alongside it."

He said such information could help ensure both the authenticity and efficiency of the restoration project. "We are asking people to share their artefacts and memories with the Manchester Bolton & Bury project historian Fiona Welch, who can be contacted on 0161 819 5847," added Mr Chaloner.
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In December, the Manchester Waterways Initiative organised a canal clean up involving volunteers in a de-watered stretch of the Rochdale Canal near the Deansgate Locks. In partnership with Manchester City Council Operational Services and BW staff, they will be removing bottles, traffic cones and other rubbish that has collected on the canal bed - a task that can only be carried out when a stretch of canal is drained for maintenance. The next clean up will take place in the Spring and will involve the next section up the canal, including the Bridgewater Hall basin on remnant of the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal.
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A South Pennine Ring British Waterways engineer won an award from the Institution of Civil Engineers at the end of 2002. Tom Rowe, the British Waterways manager who oversaw the Huddersfield Narrow and Rochdale Canal restorations, received a special mention and was one of three runners-up in the national final for the ICE Civil Engineering Manager of the Year 2002. He established a specialist task force of skilled civil engineers, ecologists, surveyors, mechanical engineers, accountants, a landscape architect and an environmental scientist to assist in the task of restoring the two derelict canals. The judges praised the team's application of conservation and heritage skills.
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Plans are being prepared to develop a 3.5 acres site at Islington Wharf, on the Ashton Canal, east of Great Ancoats Street. This will be an important gateway site to east Manchester, adjacent to the recently launched New Islington Millennium Village project. This is a priority area for New East Manchester, the regeneration company charged with revitalising this part of the city.

Isis, a new partnership between British Waterways, Amec and Igloo to deliver waterside regeneration, will work with Urban Regeneration Company New East Manchester Ltd on the development.

Alan Burke, Development Director, for New East Manchester Ltd, said: "The redevelopment of the Ashton Canal is of major significance to the overall regeneration of the east Manchester area."

The development of the area is to include a new canal link between the Ashton and Rochdale canals.
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Previous newsletters can be viewed in an archive:
http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/newsletter.htm