No photos of Wigan

Last night's mooring at the Dover Lock Inn was pleasant and quiet enough.

This morning the rain had cleared earlier than expected and we found NB Goosemoor heading up the cut ahead of us, so we decided to follow suit, on the road to Wigan Pier.

The flashes on the way are due to widespread subsidence, but around here it's coal mines that are the cause, rather than the salt mines of the Northwich area. They're put to good use in just the same mix of leisure and sporting activities.

At the first lock, just before Wigan, we caught up Steve and Wendy on their shareboat NB Goosemoor.

Steve had already started to fill it, but he saw us coming and opened it up again for us to join them. Then together we went through all the locks to Parbold. It was really helpful (a) to have two boats sharing the space – you don't bang around half so much, and (b) to have two crew sharing the work on the paddles and gates. So – thanks to them for the all the help, the good chat and the things we learned along the way.

Wigan was a disappointment (to me) at first sight. We wanted to stop off and see the Trencherfield Mill development, and we'd hoped to be able to take in a bit more of Wigan Pier, but there seemed nowhere to moor up. We were busy avoiding stuff in the water, the day was dull and the buildings felt oppressive – so no photos this time around and no visit to the parts which the guide assures us are "attractive". We shall come this way again in October as we travel back to base, but I'm not holding my breath for it to be better value then. However, we are beginning to think in terms of a trip over the Pennines next summer, so maybe we shall catch the town at a more opportune time then, when we turn right to go up the Wigan flight.