Off to Parbold next!

See you soon Liverpool, now for Parbold, or is it?

Yesterday we left Liverpool’s Salthouse Dock having spent two fabulous weeks there. On our way to Parbold of all places for a couple of days. An early morning(ish) start, 8am, leaving with just one other boat, a wide-beam ‘Daphne’.

Cruising out of Liverpool at that time of the morning is great. Not many people around. First few locks on our own, Daphne went first but the locks are too narrow for a wide-beam and a narrowboat. A couple of very nice Canal and River Trust volunteers appeared after the first couple to help get onto the main branch of the Leeds Liverpool.

The second week in Liverpool

This week, still working on the narrowboat during the day of course, this is not a holiday! Dinner out twice and a trip to the Mersey Tunnels!

Mowgli Indian Restaurant

On Wednesday evening we met friends for dinner at Mowgli. An Indian restaurant with a story. there are two in the city centre, and we went to the Water Street one. Tip: book, even midweek or you will not get in.

Excellent food although the service was a bit naff. An extensive menu, but if like me you see too many options to choose from go for one of the Tiffin boxes. Potluck to a certain degree, there are meat and veggie options, and both can be Gluten Free. I cannot fault mine at all, rice, paneer (so much), a soup like curry and a chickpeas dish. I almost finished it all but not quite. £15 great value. The others had the meta version at £18. Not everyone had the same dishes though. The only issue was mine came first and I was at least 3/4 of the way through before, having chased the others arrived. The Mango Lassi’s are very good.

Hanover Street Social

Wow! This was the meal of the trip. Granted the most expensive, but as they say you get what you pay for. This is part of a small chain of restaurants in the city all offering different types of food. Hanover Street Social is very close to Salthouse Dock on the main road. We were seated in the window which was very nice. Water was served immediately, and they do have a specific Gluten Free menu. Excellent cocktail menu if that is your thing, a Mango Sherbet had my name on it!

This was the first time in a very long time that we have had 3 courses. Usually due to the dessert options for me being limited to ice cream, fruit, or sorbet. For the record they are not desserts in my book. Starters, a wonderful goat’s cheese salad, the dressing was divine. Paul opted for Black Pudding, so not my thing, but presented beautifully. Mains, Paul went for the most expensive item on the menu, steak. I opted for the pan seared seabass. Both sublime. Then for desserts, Malteser cheesecake for him and a lemon posset with drunken raspberries for me. Overall, just over £90 for the lot, which we both thought was excellent value. The quality of the food, the presentation, the service, and the environment we both highly recommend.

The Mersey Tunnels Tour

The best £8 you will spend in Liverpool. You need to book in advance as the Mersey Tunnels Tours sell out. FYI there is a total of 600 steps, not all in one go but do bear in mind. This tour lasts about 2 hours, and the tour guides we had John and Phil were so funny as well as informative. You get a history of the Queensway tunnel, get to see the fans, and learn how it all works. It is impressive and not just for blokes or geeks. Highly recommend booking on and going underground.

Why Parbold?

To be honest Parbold was not on any of our plans. Not at the start before CRT changed our Ribble Link crossing, or when we changed plan B due to the lack of water at Wigan. This is simply because need to get to London for a meeting next week, I need access to get to Wigan train station. We could spend a couple of days in Wigan, but it is just a town close to home (Westhoughton) that we don’t want to. By staying in Parbold I can get a train from there to Wigan easily.

Litherland

We topped up with water and power at Liverpool but stopping at Litherland here gives us the chance to fill up post showers with water. Also, as this is next to the big Tesco a chance to stock up on food for the week. No eating out this week. Spent up in Liverpool, back to cooking. FYI If you need a walk-in clinic there is one here a 5-minute walk from the canal. About 3 hours to be seen, but when needs must.

Maghull

First overnight stop after leaving Liverpool on the way to Parbold was Maghull. The stretch of the Leeds Liverpool from Litherland to bridge 17 has lots of swing bridges as I have mentioned before. This time we caught up with ‘Daphne’ as they didn’t realise Hancock’s Swing Bridge is timed. This was great for us as we could split the swing bridges though. Two boats doing bridges or locks halves the times. Buddy up where you can even for bridges. After all the swing bridges we moored for the night just before bridge 17. mopped.tingle.unpacked is a great location, no trees so solar good and internet strengths of 35mb download and 16mb upload. Netflix no issues. Also, at the time of year not bad for Blackberry picking, as long as you have gloves as so many brambles.

Scarisbrick and Burscough

We set off at 930am today with the sun shining for the trip to Parbold. Overall, it should take about 5 and half hours. We go through Scarisbrick passing the marina and then onto Burscough where we will stop for lunch and top ups. Never miss an opportunity to top up on water as you just never know when there may be an issue. We don’t need much, but whilst emptying the toilet cassette and rubbish why not There is also a Tesco here seeing we forgot the coffee off to get some. Burscough is a pretty little town with lots of eateries, no plans to stop but who knows.

Parbold

So Parbold is off! I didn’t even get to finish this and hit publish before the plans changed yet again.

We arrived in Burscough to fill up with water etc. Got chatting to another boater who told us about no water at Parbold (to fill up not in the canal). A much sunnier day than expected, got coffee, and found a spot just down from the water point to moor. ///charging.avocado.infringe give some excellent internet with 23mb download and 19mb upload. Perfect to work with. Plus, the train station is a few minutes’ walk away and the same train I would have got from Parbold just a few stops sooner.

Not eating out I said earlier, lasted until 2pm. Ended up in American Dive Bar. The Sinner’s Club. Great interior if you like American things (we do). Nachos good, chips very good and Paul said the burger was well worth it.

So, for the next 4/5 nights Burscough is our home.