Up the Lanky | Bikepacking Trip | Long Version

****Long Version so feel free to skip****
On this one we both meet up at Wigan and head north up the Leeds Liverpool canal before moving up onto the Lancaster Canal after Preston.

My strava link – https://www.strava.com/athletes/1074602
Ian’s Strava link – https://www.strava.com/athletes/5711976

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Good morning. Hello. And yes, we’re back out and we’re back on the canal. This time we’ve both met up in Wigan and we’re going to follow the leads Liverpool Canal towards Preston and then pick up the Lancaster Canal and just just two days we’ve got really it’s just a short unbelievably the sun shining again. Sunshining again. But yeah, I had a bit of issue coming down. I had to change trains at press and mine got cancelled on the platform. wanted me to luckily jump on another one. So, it’s funny games on the trains, isn’t it? Yeah, you put your, you know, it is getting here. But, we’re here and we’re on the canal and we’re going, we’re going to set sail towards Sort of Press and obviously pick up a point somewhere later this this morning. Look for somewhere for lunch maybe. Yeah. But, uh, another beautiful day on the canals. We’ll bring you back further along the route. See you later. [Music] Huh? The Lee branch of the Lee Liverpool canal, a barrier of doom. But the gate is open for us this time. One of your video and took it down. Yeah. [Music] [Music] Just stopped at Wigan Top Lock. Get some water from the water point and then we’re going to continue. There’s a lovely breeze picking up now. Oh yeah, it’s just what we need. This is going to be nice. Very nice indeed. is uh it’s quite warm this morning. So, uh I thought that was a statue down there, but it’s a it’s a live one. Yeah. [Music] Well, that was a bit of luck. The gate was closed and bolted but not locked. So, yeah, I was trying to uh fine trying to negotiate these is not easy with a fully loaded bike, eh? It wasn’t. Right onwards. That’s a garden and a half. Beautiful. the bridge. Yeah. Too early. Right. Ian’s thinks he’s got a bit of a slow puncher going on. Yeah. Yeah. It’s got a little bounce in it, hasn’t it? Yeah. Nice bit of cushioning. It was It was much harder than that when I left this morning. A [Laughter] matron. All right, arriving into Lancashire. [Music] probably. Yeah. All right. All right. [Music] [Music] [Music] Can we get down? Couple of beers at Malt House Farm. Whittlely Woods. Cheers. Right, that’s us back on the tour path. We’ve uh actually left the Lancaster Canal now. Um we’re now sort of rooted towards Preston on the old Lan southern the southern arm of the Lancaster Canal. Just a little bit in water then it ends and then we bit of ducking and diving and pick up route 55 through Preston and then onto the Lancaster Canal there. But uh yeah, enjoyable paint back there. But yeah, it’s clouded over it. Yeah. And here’s the ducks. Here’s the ducks. Beautiful little family. That’s the end of the canal for now. could do if you want. Enjoying that paint? I am. So we’re at the ye old hob in beautiful place. Fast roof and all that. Just in time it is. Yeah. So we’ve ordered something to eat to go with our pint of way rides but uh purely for hydration purposes only. Yep. Perfect duck. Is a bit is it? Oh, that is tight. No, thank you. Is that Yeah, it’s an ominous looking clouds. The forecast was for a bright sunny day. Where’d they come from? [Music] Yeah. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] Right, we’ve left the hustle and bustle of Crestston. We’re now heading up on the quiet roads north and then pick the canal up about 2 or 3 mile. Yep. Good luck. Okay, we’re now on the Lancaster Canal heading north towards Gastang and hopefully get something to think I need along the way. Right, we just stopped for five. Check this view in. Lovely shot of the hills there. All quiet on the Lancaster. Cheers. Thank you. Stopped at Nells for the pint but uh in the shade out the out the sun out the direct sun in here. Oh yes, just what the doctor ordered. Couple of beers, mate. Couple of beers outs. [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Right, here we Ah, top taste in Gastang for our tea. Wonderful. Looking forward to it. Oh yes, it’s pizza time. Dinner time. That’s us. E. Yeah. Beautiful. All right, just leaving Gastang, heading for camp. [Music] Hey, You all right? Right. We’re literally camped in this forest here. Invisible, man. In the woods. Yeah. Forest in the woods. Is there? Yeah, I think there is, isn’t there? But we won’t get in. Yeah. Here we go. We just trying to see if we see the sun. Oh, yes. We’ll head up the field. Might as well head up. All [Music] right, we’re just uh catching the last light of the night. Some beautiful colors in the sky there. He’s taking a photo. But yeah, the canal’s over that way, but it runs right around the mar in this wood here. But uh we did spot somebody sitting over there with a dog before, so trying to avoid them. But yeah, this is stunning, isn’t it? Beautiful evening. It’s all looking very calm, hasn’t it? A calm evening indeed. That’s what it’s all about. Sitting out in the summer. Yeah, that’s it. What time is it? It’s 20 to 10. So, yeah, it’s getting on in the night, but we’re pitched up. We’ve got our bivies and no tarps tonight. Just the bivies. Literally the bivy. Roll the bivies out. That’s We got them with us, but I don’t think we’re going to need them all. No, we won’t need them in there. It’s uh it’s not going to It’s not forecast to rain. Even if it does rain, probably wouldn’t feel it because of the canopy. Yeah. So, going to call it a night. Uh we’re in our usual woods just south of Gastang. Um we had a wonder before and there is somebody else in the woods. And there was a dog barking and so Yeah. So we’re not the only people in this woods. It might be a communal campsite. Yeah. But we don’t know yet. They’ve not bothered us. We’ve not bothered them. So I don’t think we’ll have any issues. We’ll be all right. So we’re going to call it a night. See you all tomorrow. See you tomorrow. Morning campers. All right, we’re just having a bit of a slow pack down. Got my biv away. Ian’s making a brew, but all was quiet in the woods last night. Never seen heard. Well, nothing. So, yeah, we’ll have a quick brew. Get on our way. Right, that’s where I was. Ian was just behind. So, we’ve left no tourist, just as it was, back on the canal, just down here, and we’re heading north for today. Right, back on the canal, leaving that noisy M6 to my right and sort of heading towards Gastang and then up Colgate into Lancaster and onwards to Kath and eventually up towards sort of Kendall area. But for now, it’s a little overcast, a bit windy, but is forecast to get out later on. So, should be another a good day cycling on the canals. Took a photo this morning. [Music] time. [Music] We got to walk past, but I’m coming this side of the bike. Uhhuh. Oh god. Ain’t going to be best with this. Yeah. Yeah. You’re going to get shoes. You They’re brand new there. Yeah, I know. Guys, get on with me. [Music] [Music] [Music] currently about five six mile out of Lancaster. Um just shopping being just dropping a layer off. But yeah, sun’s trying to get out. All is good along the canal. Looking very lovely this time of year. Morning. Right, we’re just currently stopped at Golgate. We got the uh the glassen branch, but uh as you can see, the canal is closed. Probably don’t want to draw too much water out the main Lancaster, especially with the size of that lock there. It’ll suck half the canal out. Yeah. But yeah, we just see the edge of Lancaster, so we’re not far away. Hopefully, we’ll get uh a coffee or something or something. Headed and watered. Headed and watered. Yeah, I need to fill our water bottles up as well cuz they’re a bit low now. But yeah, all is good. Vegetable garden. There’s potatoes in there. Yes, someone’s got a little garden. Wow. Right, we’ve made Lancaster, but Ian’s tire keeps going down. Um, we’re going to try putting some sealant in it. It maybe thinks some of that might have dried out. So, we’ll give that a shot before we do anything else. before thinking about changing a new tube. Right, we’ve just stopped off in Lancaster with some Richard Owen for breakfast and a pint. [Music] Oh, heat. [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] So, my tires have been going down all day. Nice. And Dave has just picked up the biggest hawthorn you’ve ever seen in your life just just to try and beat me. Yeah. So, I’m going to hold his bike now while he try and blows this tire up. Oh dear. Right. Mine’s gone back down again. We blew it up, but it’s just chucking chucking the air out and Ian’s uh he’s slow puncher. Yeah. Might as well do do it now. Nice area to change a tube. Change a tube time. Right, my front wheel sorted. Ian’s rear wheel inner tube. Well, he’s managed to take the thorn out and reseal it. But his problem he’s got now is bearings are knacked. I just found out that the bearings are knackered when I took the wheel out. So like riding with the brakes on. But we’ve got probably what 20 odd miles left of uh cycling to do. 20 odd miles today and maybe 5 miles tomorrow. Plus with these turbines. Yeah, we’ll be fine. Right. Hopefully both of our tires are staying up, but we’re just heading up towards Chewit Field for the well- earned pint. Yeah, that’s probably cost us 45 minutes that fuffing about. But these things happen on trips, so you just got to deal with him. At least we had the gear to rectify him. Right. Chewitfield. The end of the Lancaster Canal. The Northern Reaches. Anyhow, as far as it goes, like an albo boat. And you got the busy motorway to my left, which is probably here. Yeah, there’s a pub around this corner. So, we’re going to head in there. All right, we’ve stopped off at the uh Lonsdale pint and a bag of crisps. My front tire’s gone down again. Ian is stayed up this time. Well, I think it has for now. For now, we’ll see. I’m not going to mess with it. So, I thought I could get away with not putting a tube in. I just thought I would put some Let the sealant do its work, but it’s it’s clearly a bigger hole than we thought. So, Yep. We don’t often get tired put a fresh tube in and that’ll sort us out. Yep. It’s flat again. Ah, so we’ve uh took the tube out, repaired it. Put some more sealant in. Put it all back together. Got another paint. Just looked at it and it’s completely flat. We’ve done all we can with that tube. Yeah. So, I think we’re going to put the uh other tube in. Oh, we’re going to blow it up first. Blow it up and walk with it. See if that we got nothing to lose with that. It just cements does its job. I don’t know why it hasn’t. Whether it’s the heat blast, I don’t know. I don’t know. Well, we’re both having problems today. What’s the common factor? Temperature. Thorns. Thorns and the temperature. Definitely. Definitely. But, uh, last ditch, I’ve got a 700 Cube, but it’s fat. Yeah. But we can put it in folded up and it’ll just get a bit of pressure in the front tire. Yeah. Oh, well, we’ll see. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Yeah, we’re back on the move. The tires holding, but uh we’re on the beautiful northern reaches heading towards sort of Kendall area. But that noisy noisy motorway next to me, literally about 40 ft away and it’s so so bad. But that wouldn’t have been here when this canal was in full action. So it would have been a lot quieter than what you’re seeing today. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Yep. Stopped at Burton services. Oh yes. Food of champions, eh? Keep the legs turning, won’t it? Yep. A lovely evening looking towards South Lakes. Beautiful. [Music] How’s your day going so far? Uh, you know, so so beautiful place. Bikes falling apart. It’s a fair appraisal. We’ve had nothing but trouble with bikes all day, but they’ve managed to resurface this top path. So, we’re back on the Lancaster Canal. We’re heading to Krooklands now. Scary. Right. Finally, we have found somewhere to camp for tonight. Got about two miles off the station cuz we cocked up with our uh train bookings yesterday. Like we didn’t book them. And we were going to mega books today. Yeah. Big price for the trains. So, we booked them first thing tomorrow morning basically half 7 8:00ish. But we didn’t realize we were going to have all the mechanics. No, we’ve had we’ve had a nightmare nightmare with bikes today. Only done 40 odd miles. But it’s been our day. Yeah. But we’re in this churchyard, St. Thomas’s, just outside Oxenhome. We’re not interfering with any of the graves. We’re on the path that comes up this side and the path that comes up that side. So, yeah. Hoping for a peaceful night, eh? Yeah. We hope. [Music] [Music] [Music] going to call it a night. Uh had a couple of beers, just chilled, relaxed. All is quiet after an eventful day. Yeah. Yes. Quite a mechanical day though, has it? It hasn’t been the best. But uh the bikes haven’t been our best friends today, have they? But it’s learned a few lessons. Yeah. Is which a good thing. It just tells you that you need to bring certain things with you, which Yeah. We’ve got a good list of things that we need to add to the kit. Yes. But, uh, all in all, our tires are still working as they should be. Um, they’re still up, still got air in them, and we’re ready for the station in the morning. Um, obviously, we should have been heading back tonight. Yeah. Um, but we failed to book our tickets in time. So, we’ve had to add an add a night. Add a night and But that’s the beauty of having everything you need with you. Yeah, that’s it. Spot on. Anyway, let’s hope we have a quiet night in this uh graveyard and uh we’re still here in the morning. See you tomorrow. Morning. Morning. Right. It’s about what quart to 6 now. Yeah. The cows are up. We’re up. Yeah. Final morning. We’re going to get packed up and uh basically head to the station for this one. That’s it. But yeah, all quiet. Nothing to report. We’ll get uh packed up, tidied up, put all our gear away, and get on the road. Right, that’s where I was. Ian was down there. Got all our stuff packed. Rubbish. Leave no trace. Yeah, beautiful morning. But we’re just going to wheel the bikes down to the gate. Sitting of our morning brew on that bench down there. Right. We didn’t uh stop at that bench. We decided to come up the hill for a better view. And what a view we’ve got. Not a bad coffee spot, is it? [Music] Yeah, bit of cloud on the lakes hills there, but clear this side towards Kendall. Yeah, brut Right, we’re going to close out. Um, we’ve only got a couple of miles to the station, so we’ll just finish up here. But yeah, it’s been a decent trip. Brilliant. Lots of uh ups and downs mechanically, but it all makes a trip to look back on. Yeah, you know, it was yesterday was a bit higgledy. Everything was seem to go wrong. Could go. We don’t often get that, do we? But everyone gets it now and again. But in the end, you know, we got where we were going. Managed to get a decent camp and all is good for our trains this morning. So, thanks for watching. See you out sometime soon. See you later.