29th August 2019

​We leave Scarisbrick Marina after spending three weeks there, following a prop change, bottom blacking and paint retouching.  We travel onto to Burscough, negotiating 2 swing bridges, where we pick up some grocery shopping and stop overnight. On leaving Burscough,  we stop at the boaters facilities before passing the lovely arched bridge dated 1816, which is entrance to the Rufford Branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. We exited here 8 weeks ago!
The canal meanders through the flat countryside towards Parbold with its ancient sail less windmill.  We moor just past bridge 40 in the Douglas Valley, a pretty narrow wooded valley which the canal shares with the railway.
  

7th August 2019

Today’s journey starts at the Ship Inn in Haskayne and we travel the 3 miles to Scarisbrick Marina where we are due to leave Dunworkin while we travel back to Kent for grand parenting commitments.  The countryside here is mainly flat cultivated lowlands which on a pleasant day would be populated with walkers and fisherman.  
We were not so lucky with the weather and within minutes of casting off the heavens opened and didn’t stop until we were moored up in the marina.  However the wildlife didn’t seem to mind the rain. Although we have seen many kingfishers since we started our narrowboat quest we have never been quick enough to film one, in this vlog we attempted to video one.  

2nd August 2019

​Following a rest day in Melling, we have now been joined by two other Bickerboats Dreamtime and Goldilocks, for our journey from Melling to Haskayne.  This trip is 6 miles and should take us about 3 hours and has 5 swing bridges, which we all took turns in operating. 
We travel through a mix of urban and rural countryside passing  the towns of Maghull and Lydiate before mooring in the village of Haskayne near the Ship Inn, reputed to have been the first pub on the Leeds and Liverpool canal, as digging for the canal was reported to have been started in the nearby cutting.