Cruise Data Year 2003 Annual Mileage 1036 Locks used 441 Engine hours run 1246 Diesel (Ltrs) used 1466 Cost of Gas £204 Cost of Coal £256 Cost of Pump-Out £241 Maintenance Costs £1884

Once winter was over and BW had opened the Bosley locks we set off again heading South, back through the Harecastle tunnel, the ghost was still there. We then went back up the Caldon, we had enjoyed it so much in the Autumn that we just had to see it again in the Spring, and we weren’t disappointed. Next it was back through the tunnel, again, and up the Trent & Mersey, doing the ‘Heartbreak’ locks, which we quite enjoyed and onto the Bridgewater. Our aim was to do the Northern reaches, so it was off onto the Leeds & Liverpool and head West towards the great city itself. We did take a slight detour up the Rufford Arm, just to see how everyone gets to the Ribble Link, it was very windy and we lost our second TV aerial of the year, so I was glad to get back on the Leeds & Liverpool. We didn’t go into Liverpool, having been warned off by locals, too much rubbish in the canal - was their reason. So we winded at Lydiate and headed off for Leeds instead, the cruise across the Pennines was great, that was once you had got the Wigan flight out of the way and passed safely through Blackburn and Burnley. Skipton and Gargrave were fantastic and the cruise down to Leeds was very nice with lovely scenery. The drop down into Leeds was a bit fraught with the worry of more vandals. As it was we had no trouble, it must have been the early mornings that did it. Once through Leeds, not worth stopping, our aim was to head for Ripon, so it was up to the Selby canal and onto the river Ouse and up through York (our home town) and onto the Ripon canal, which we enjoyed. The Ouse was very boring apart from the excitement of getting into and out of Selby Lock. Having got to the most Northerly point on the network it was back down to Selby and off onto the river Trent, which again was full of excitement, but maybe not for the girls. On the way down the Trent we visited the Chesterfield and the Witham navigation, where we enjoyed Lincoln. Then it was back onto the Trent and down to Nottingham and back to the Trent & Mersey at Trent Lock. By now summer was over so it was North again and back through our favourite tunnel and onto the Macc for the winter.

A good summer but a bit expensive on parts, batteries, management system, etc.