Thumbs up to the YHA

Great idea to stick a Youth Hostel in the Manchester Castlefields complex when they were redeveloping it.

It gets a mention in Nicholson's guide on account of having laundry facilities open to boaters, and it was about time the bedding and towels got done. So this morning it was across the various bridges to where it's situated on the Staffordshire Arm. They were welcoming, there was a spot where I could work on a tricky database issue over the internet while the wash went through, and when I bought a coffee from the receptionist, she invited me to help myself from the biscuit jar!

The Castlefields area is full of the watery equivalent of nooks and crannies, presumably owing their existence to all the wharfs needed when this was a very busy terminus for the Duke of Bridgewater's ground-breaking canal.

More modern business interests are represented by the Hilton hotel, towering in the background.

Up the arm towards Grocers' Warehouse, where we're tied up, NB Fenakapan lies awaiting your custom.

Andy and Di (assisted by Roxie the Jack Russell) make a range of country wines which they sell from the hatch.

So some blackcurrant wine and some elderflower cordial have found their way into Erin Mae's equivalent of a cellar. Well, they've been very helpful with advice about this and that, so it seemed only right…