The journey back to Manchester was not the route we expected. Our GPS "lady" sent us through the Yorkshire Dales towards Skipton and then back through Nelson and Colne before hitting the motorways just outside Rochdale. We don't know whether it was a faster or slower route but the countryside was beautiful and we weren't in any great rush.
We sketched out a plan with Debbie and Andrew for the weekend activities and a couple of days out on their boat ( Roebuck ) sounded like a great idea.
Friday.
We weren't going out on the boat until Andrew had finished work for the day so we hopped on the Metrolink and went into Manchester. I needed a new pair of shorts as my linen ones were getting decidedly thin - too much driving was my excuse to much fidgeting was Sue's response.
The weather was very un-Manchester like with the sun blazing down and temperatures over 30 degrees. We stopped at the Old Wellington for a pint it was too hot for us Aussies to drink outdoors so we went inside all the poms were sitting at the outside tables soaking up the rays and topping up their melanomas they're "well hard" these Mancunians !!
The Old Wellington is at the bottom of the photo and Sinclairs Oyster Bar is the black and white pub on the right both of them oozing with character - we don't get pubs like these in OZ
We moved on from the 'Wellington and had lunch in Weatherspoons the place was heaving but the service was good - pizza and a couple of glasses of red (bloody Merlot) hit the spot.
We got back to "Stretford Heights" mid afternoon and first Debbie and then Andrew got back from work - somebody has to pay taxes so we wrinklies can get a pension.
We loaded up the X5 and set off for the boat - it's only a 5 minute drive and we were under way in no-time.
We stopped for the night in Dunham Massey wine and beer with food accompaniments.
Dunham Massey
Saturday
This morning we headed off for Lymm the weather was beginning to look a little grey so we kept our fingers crossed. The wind was on the nose and we managed to negotiate the narrows without any drama. A boat coming up the other way with the wind up his clacker had to go into reverse to give us room to get through.
It's a classy little village and there is a bit of money around these parts- Sue, Debbie and myself went into the village to find a place for dinner. After a couple of choices came and went we settled for Elmas which had a warm ambience and an interesting menu.
Sue even managed to find a charity shop where she bought a couple of "upmarket " tops. It started to rain quite heavily so we sheltered in the shop for a while unfortunately they didn't have any second-hand umbrellas.
We got back to Roebuck without getting too wet which was nice.
Dinner at Elmas was very good and Andrew has the place pencilled in for next weekend when he and Debbie entertain the other half of our family.
Lymm
Sunday
Sue and I had been sleeping in the second bedroom on the boat and to be honest we were a bit cramped so we decided to sleep top and tail Sue had been suffering from the snuffles for a few days so I didn't fancy catching a cold however after sleeping head to toe I did get a dose of foot in mouth !!
We all jumped out of our beds this morning eager to be on our way - ok ok it was about 9:15 when we got up - bloody jet lag !! The weather was not good so we took our time until the weather had settled and got on our way just before midday. The weather improved all the way back to the moorings and a couple of cleansing ales on the way didn't come amiss.
After tidying up the boat we paid a short visit to the Watchhouse Cruising Club to make a donation (or two) behind the bar.
Back at Debs we had burgers for dinner and watched a bit of tv before calling it a day.
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