The Final Countdown: Day 2

Lovely quiet moorings at Coole Pilate, and there were only 4 boats on the whole stretch.  This morning, the sunrise made a very strange light first thing.  We set off at 8.30; it was quite cool but dry to start although it drizzled a bit before long.  We got the the bottom of the Audlem Locks and went straight in.

As we rose, we could see figures with windlasses approaching: yes, it was George and Carol, our friends and ex-boaters who live nearby and like to do a bit of locking from time to time.  They had parked at Coxbank and walked down so were able to tell us that most of the locks were empty, and there was no-one else around.  We made our way up the locks, past the Shroppie Fly.

Below Lock 10, CRT are rebuilding the embankment on the offside.

A bit further up, we swapped with a boat coming down.  They had two lovely Border Terriers with them.

I always particularly like the section near the top, between the two bridges.

We got to the Coxbank moorings in excellent time (it wasn’t even 11am) and there was plenty of space too.  As a plus, the weather had also cheered up.  Carol and George had invited us to go back to their house for lunch, so we all jumped in the car and went the couple of miles.  It was really nice to spend time with them again, and we had very tasty cheese on toast for lunch too!  And we’re always grateful for their help with the locks.  George dropped us back at the bridge in the early afternoon, and we took a stroll down to the village to complete our steps.  Not long after we arrived back, the rain showers arrived.

3 miles, 13 locks.  (9 miles, 15 locks)

The Final Countdown: Day 1

We are now heading south, on what is in all likelihood our last major trip before we get our new boat.  We’ve spent so much of this season around the Nantwich area it seemed quite emotional as we set off from Hurleston Junction.

When we got to Nantwich we stopped on the water point.  There was a boat already there, but there was room to pull in ahead of him, and when he’d finished our hose pipe even reached the tank (although it was unwound to the max).  I walked down to the chandlery, but they were out of bags of logs, which was less than ideal.  The moorings in Nantwich were much quieter than of late, but then we are two thirds of the way through October.  At times it rained, sometimes just drizzle, other times more persistent, but every now and then the sun tried to come out.

We’d passed a few boats going the other way, and as we approached the Hack Green Locks a boat was just coming out the bottom one.  They left the gates open for us, so I swung the stern in towards the towpath so Adrian could jump off, and went straight in.  There was another boat waiting above, and as we rose another boat came down the top lock and also left the gates for us.

It meant we fairly flew through the locks, and we were soon mooring up at Coole Pilate.  Our plan actually had us at Audlem, but we like it here and Adrian has a call to do and we know the signal is good.  There was only one other boat here.  Just after we moored, there was some heavy rain, but during the afternoon the sun has been out and it’s been much better than expected.  I’ve done a bit of baking, and Adrian had been doing some of his charity duties.

6 miles, 2 locks.

Home alone: Day 6

Everyone seemed to be on the move early today — probably to beat the forecast rain.  As I got ready to go at 8.45 a boat came past, and then just as I was setting I had to wait for another to come through the bridge.  Before the junction, I passed three more.  There was going to be quite a queue at Cholmondeston Lock at 9am on a Sunday!  It was actually brighter than I expected, and the light just after I’d turned out of the junction was quite attractive.

I was aiming for either set of moorings by Hurleston Junction.  The northern ones had a couple of boats on them, but one seemed to be making moves to leave.  I crept forward, and could see through the bridge that the south moorings were full.  So I reversed back into the spot the other boat had just left.  The shelf under the water means were so far out from the bank that even our tyres would be useless — but I’ve put a fender on a very long rope between the shelf and our baseplate, to reduce the scraping.

Adrian arrived back in the car about 12.30, so I walked up the locks to meet him.  We had lunch and then headed out in the car to get some food in, and drop off a parcel.  After we’d brought our shopping back, we took the car back to its hiding place — so we’ve walked up and down the locks numerous times.  It’s been raining most of the afternoon, but not particularly heavily.

2 miles, 0 locks.  (19 miles, 0 locks)

Home alone: Day 5

I liked the mooring at Calveley, and it’s clearly popular with the boats that hang around this area because many of them were there.  It’s true the railway line is quite close, but there are only three or four trains an hour.  Last night at around midnight there were voices outside, a man saying to a woman, ‘we’ve only got to walk a bit further to get to the boat — get up and stop lying on the ground!’  Then a few minutes later a couple of runners pounded by.

This morning was grey again but felt a bit more chilly.  I set off around 9, through the bridge to the services where I set the washing machine going (having got the bedding dry yesterday in front of the stove), filled with water, and got rid of rubbish and recycling.  When I was on the move again I went fairly slowly, as the washing machine still had a bit of time to go, and I wanted to get some battery charging done too.  I decided I’d head along the start of the Middlewich Arm again; it meant I could complete the set of turns here, coming from the north and turning in.

When I got to the winding hole above Cholmondeston Lock I turned around and moored up between there and Bridge 4.  I had the whole length to choose from, so I’m a couple of boat lengths further along than I was on Wednesday.  The hedges appear to have been cut since then too, from the field side.

I walked along to Venetian Marina, partly to do some steps and partly for a bag of logs to top up supplies.  I’ve finished the podcast episode I started yesterday, and have scheduled it.  I suspect I’ll get wet tomorrow, and in fact the forecast seems to be rain for pretty much every day for the rest of the month.

3 miles, 0 locks.  (17 miles, 0 locks)

Home alone: Day 4

As you may have noticed, I'm pottering about in a relatively small area while Adrian is away -- but each journey being quite short does pose its problems.  The batteries need charging which requires engine running, and I also have various loads of washing to do, which needs the engine and the Travel Power on -- but doesn't charge the batteries.  Today I decided to start the washing machine where I was, then when I was ready to go I calculated when it would be finished and I could switch to battery charging.

I set off north again, doing this same section of canal between Hurleston Junction and Barbridge Junction for the third day in a row.  Now there are fewer leaves on the trees though, you can see more -- such as the observatory at the end of a garden near Bridge 100.

When I got to Barbridge, I carried straight on.

I'm not sure what the purpose of the 'Welcome to the Shropshire Union Canal' sign is.  If you're going by, you're already on it; if you're turning, you're leaving the mainline and going onto the Middlewich Branch; and if you're coming off the Middlewich, it'll be behind you and you won't see it.  Maybe it's mostly for drivers on the A51.

I might have stopped for water at Calveley Services, but there were already two boats there, so I carried on.  I continued to the winding hole above Bunbury Locks, turned around, and headed back to the moorings by Bridge 104.

Right next to the boat is a gate and a footpath across the fields.

I decided to treat myself to lunch at the cafe at the cheese shop, so walked over the bridge.  By there is a new barn conversion which looks rather smart.

After you cross the canal, there's another bridge over the railway line, and there are also new houses there.

Lunch at the cafe was ok, but quite expensive.  I was out of cheese, so I bought some in the shop there; I worked out that it's actually cheaper to buy the smaller packs rather than the large ones, even before their '4 for £7' offer is applied.  This afternoon, I've been working on another podcast episode.  I've also had the fire going in the hopes of drying today's wash load of bedding so I can get the towels done tomorrow.

4 miles, 0 locks.  (14 miles, 0 locks)

Home alone: Day 3

Another busy day.  The last few times we’ve got a gas bottle, I’ve been a bit concerned about the state of the gas locker floor.  There are vents at floor level to allow any escaped gas to get out, but this means that if you’re going up in locks, water gets inside.  So this morning first thing I got the gas bottles out, and set about trying to get the loose rust out.  The hatch is too small to get into, so I set up the plank so I could lay on it, with my head and arms inside the locker.

Using a wire brush and the coal shovel, I loosened and got out a load of rusty bits.  Then I got a roller out and applied Fertan to treat the rusty surface.  This takes at least 24 hours to dry and get to work, which is why I wanted to get it done first thing.

Then I thought I’d set off, heading back to Barbridge Junction and turning south.  The people who live by Bridge 100 were gardening when we came past a couple of weeks ago, and the whole place now looks really neat.

I’d planned to stop on the moorings just north of Hurleston Junction, but they were full and I know the bits at either end have an even worse shelf under the water than the moorings themselves.  So I carried on to the Henhull winding hole, turned around, and returned to moor just south of Hurleston, where we were the other day.  I’d have had to run the engine a bit longer for battery charging anyway, so a bit of extra travel was no issue.  There was loads of room, and the rings seem better spaced at the far end so I have properly reversed ropes which stops the boat swinging about so much.  There’s the shelf of course, so the tyres are deployed.  As it was coming in to moor, there was a bang and the tiller started juddering.  Of course the day after an oil change, I wondered if I’d forgotten to do something and the engine was complaining.  But once I’d moored up I checked the weedhatch, in case there was something round the prop.  It was clear — but then I noticed several bits of orange plastic floating about near the boat, which I fished out.  Had they once been a cone?  Anyway, I’m hoping that was on the prop and that’s all the problem was.

As the boat is the best part of a foot out from the bank, I thought this was the ideal time to touch up the gunwales, so I got the black paint and a roller out and did this side.  It looks pretty good (from a distance!)

After lunch, I walked down to Nantwich to pick up my parcel from a locker, so I’ve more than done my steps today.  It’s annoying not being able to put the kettle on!  I’ve had the gas locker lid open all day to try to help the drying process, but it’s not quick particularly at these temperatures.  I will have to put the gas bottles back in later though, because I do want to eat.

4 miles, 0 locks.  (10 miles, 0 locks)

Home alone: Day 2

I’ve been waiting for a parcel to be delivered to a collection point, and had been hoping it would arrive yesterday.  Of course it didn’t, but was due today — but only before the ‘end of day’.  As I had things to do, I decided to head off anyway, and I’d deal with picking it up tomorrow.  It was very grey and still again today, and I set off at 8.45, heading across the aqueduct to the water point.

Here I filled the tank, got the washing machine on, and dealt with rubbish and a load of recycling.  I also made some tea ready for when I could set off again.  I’d decided to head up to the moorings before Cholmondeston Lock.  This was partly to give the batteries a decent charge, and also because I needed to do an oil change and had run out of paper towels; I knew they had them at Chamberlain’s Chandlers.  On the way, I passed a hire boat from Stone — not normally an uncommon sight, but they’ve been very scarce over this side this year because of the Cheshire Locks on the Trent and Mersey being closed by water shortages.  They’ve now reopened, so I wondered whether this boat was doing the Four Counties Ring, which had been out of action for much of the season.

There were big flocks of geese flying around and making a racket by the junction, and a vast length of the fence on the reservoir embankment was occupied by gulls.  This was only about a third of them.

There were more bird-related sightings once I’d turned onto the Middlewich Arm.  By one of the bridges was a lovely jay, although he didn’t stay still long enough for a photo.  And then just after I’d moored, I was sorting ropes out when a small bird of prey flew low along the towpath between the boat and the hedge before swooping up into a tree.

I turned at the winding hole after Bridge 4, but the official moorings were much fuller than last time we were here, so I didn’t fancy the reverse to a space.  But a boat had just left a decent spot between the winding hole and the bridge, so I went there.  Once tied up, I walked along to the chandlery to get the paper towels, then had lunch back on board, and started the oil change.  It’s always difficult to know how long to leave the engine before starting: you want the oil warm enough to still be loose, but not too hot.  This time I had a bit of a struggle to get the old oil filter off, but it turned in the end.  I had a look at the air filter and decided it had been turned enough and a new one would be a good idea.  And I decided to change the gearbox oil too, as it’s been a little while.  Getting the old oil out is a pain.  There’s a nut to release on the bottom, but if you put an ice cream tub or similar underneath to catch the oil, thee’s not enough room to get it out again.  So I cut a hole in a plastic water bottle, put that underneath, and hoped the hole was approximately under the nut.  I also always forget that there’s more oil in the gearbox than the spec says, because there’s extra for the cooling system, so I had to quickly put the nut back in when the bottle was nearly full, and then repeat the process.  I walked back down to the chandlery and got a new air filter.  In our engine hole, you have to take the whole housing off rather than just the lid, because there’s not enough room between the air filter and the wall.  By the time I’d tidied up and put everything away, I felt I’d done a day’s work, not least because of having to contort yourself to reach most things!

5 miles, 0 locks.  (6 miles, 0 locks)