Rufford Arm

7 Locks, 8 Miles, 4 Swing bridges. Now moored at Tarleton

We were just about ready to cast off this morning when a rain shower came over so we stopped and waited for it to clear. This turned out rather fortuitous as Nb Enbee arrived on the scene and they were going the same way as us. This boat is resident on the Lancaster Canal so it’s crew are very familiar with the Rufford and all it’s little idiosyncrasies.

Lock cottages, Lock 1 Rufford Arm.

Entrance to the Rufford Arm. Behind the foot bridge is an old dry dock where a busy boat yard used to operate.

I don’t think we have seen so many locks or bridges with such an assorted array of paddle gear, anti vandal or handcuff locks. Two locks didn’t appear to have any paddle gear just something that resembled a flimsy lock gate arm. It turned out that this arm or lever had to be lifted from the horizontal to the vertical position to open the sluices, weird contraptions. Luckily our travelling companions had it all under control which made things much easier.

There are 2 railway lines crossing the Rufford Arm. This one had twin tracks and a towpath tunnel on either side underneath.

The rural landscape along this canal is pure bliss with it’s mixture of market gardens and fields of grain crops. Towards the Tarleton end of the canal it’s like cruising an undiscovered waterway with the reeds on both sides merely a foot or so from the boat. Makes you feel like an 18th century explorer. Upon arrival at Tarleton we met up with Nb Petroc who we had originally met at the Braunston lock by the Admiral Nelson pub. We locked down with them on their maiden voyage back in 2007.

Approaching Tarleton the Rufford Arm takes on a decidedly unexplored river appearance with the reeds getting ever closer.

1741 locks, 3633 miles, 66 Tunnels, 77 swing bridges and 53 lift bridges since Nov 2006