Wigan Album

Keith you have really brought that scene to life. A great image.
We were wondering what the cargo was....rubble ?

Just coming up to the Robrite boiler house , you can see the chimney in the top left of the picture.
Its possible it was delivering coal to the wharfe close by the boiler house .

My Mam told me that at one time there were canal boat trips to Gathurst where there was a field with swing-boats and a little place that sold cups of tea. I don't know when that was , (my Mam was in her forties when I was born in 1952, so she cold be going back to the 1930s or 1940s.) She lived in Ince so perhaps people could board the boats there rather than go to Wigan Pier, and not everyone could afford trips to Southport, so it would have made a nice day out. I love the gentle colourisation on your photos, Keith.....it brings them to life.

Thank you Helen of Troy, all I do is press the buttons, the computer algorithm does the rest, apart from a few tweaks that I can add. Some photos definitely work better than others. Thanks for your info’ Kevin, I hadn’t a clue as to where this was.

Being pulled by horses, the barges have big rudders to help them steer because they don't have an engine to help
Yes, it's in between Crooke and Gathurst, Nice wide towpath in them days.

Thank you also Irene for your comment. I lived for a short while at my grandmother’s home in Clarington Grove (Higher Ince) about 100 yards from the canal. It was regarded with trepidation by us youngsters (I was under 5 years old). We were sternly told to keep clear of it, otherwise dire consequences could result. It seemed every year there was a tragic drowning reported somewhere along the canal.

Its true about the swing boats at Gathurst, Irene, my dad used to live in Crook and he went when he was young , don't know about the boat trips though.