Chester again: Day 9

Adrian had a hair cut booked in Nantwich at 9.30, so headed off for that — while I followed about half an hour later.  We met up and went to Morrison’s for a top up shop.  It meant we didn’t leave our moorings until around 11.  We headed south out of Nantwich, for once going past the winding hole!  It’s a pleasant but unremarkable journey to the two Hack Green Locks, where a boat was just about to emerge from the bottom one.  There were more boats coming down, so we had people waiting to help us at both.

There were loads of boats moored at the Hack Green moorings that we’d had to ourselves a couple of months ago, but our intention was to carry on a little further to Coole Pilate.  There was plenty of room, and we’ve stopped in a very similar place to last time.  Yesterday I’d made some spiced roasted butternut squash soup, so we had that for lunch, then popped out for a walk to get our steps up.  It’s been really quite sunny this afternoon, and fairly warm with it.

3 miles, 2 locks. (44 miles, 24 locks)

Chester again: Day 8

Another quite long day, by our new standards.  We set off about 8.30, with Adrian walking up to set Wharton’s Lock.

The trees are suddenly looking very autumnal, with the leaves changing colour.

There was a boat coming down Beeston Iron Lock, and it didn’t seem so difficult today to get the lock to level as we rose.  As we went up Beeston Stone Lock, a boat arrived at the top so we could leave the gate open.

At Tilstone Lock, there were two more boats to come down, so we had help.  Both were on a one way hire from Nantwich to Anderson, and were doing Chester as a side trip.  They were planning to be in Chester this evening, back to Barbridge tomorrow, and then Anderson on Thursday evening.  It all sounded very rushed to us!  As we approached Bunbury Staircase Locks, there were lots of Anglo Welsh boats in.

As we went up the lock, I popped into the shop and bought a couple of bags of coal.  We stuck them on the roof until we were near the top of the upper lock, when they could be moved into the well deck.  Yet another boat then arrived to go down.  We stopped at the services at Calverley to catch up with washing and top up the tank, and it didn’t take long given that we’d also filled up yesterday.  A boat passed us there, and there were three more going the other way once we set off again.  After that is pass straight past the junctions at Barbridge and Hurleston, and past the entrance to the basin at Nantwich.

Nantwich was very busy, so we ended up round the corner past the aqueduct.  There have been quite a few boats past during the afternoon.

10 miles, 6 locks.  (41 miles, 22 locks)

Chester again: Day 7

Finally a still day, with no wind at all to speak of.  We got away pretty promptly, at 8.15, and were soon passing the lead shot tower.

The first lock, Hoole Lane, has one ground paddle and one gate paddle for some reason, and the gate paddle makes a big jet of water.

The rest of the locks were randomly mostly empty or completely full, with little rhyme or reason as to why.  When we had done all five out of the city we stopped at the Christleton water point, and did the usual filling and washing routine.  Steve from AmyJo came by while we were there, so it was nice to see him and Smudge the dog.  The next section had a lot of floating islands of pennywort.  We again saw the anti-weed boat, but it’s clearly a losing battle.  One bridge hole was completely filled with it, and a bit clump ended up on the bow.  Rather than push it along, I stopped, reversed a bit, and managed to leave it behind.

A kingfisher whizzed along the side of the boat and settled in a bush — and then stayed there as we went past.  He’s there if you look for him.

The long line of moored boats at Golden Nook took 45 minutes to pass.  There are a dozens more, in various states of repair, on the land.

A diesel pump on the back of a tractor was also in action along the moorings, with boats being filled.  It all takes so long, you rather lose the will to live. Y the end of the line — so the name of the final boat seems strangely appropriate.

We’d got another clump of pennywort on the bow, so once the moorings were passed I again manoeuvred to get it off.  The good thing was the sun was now out, and the views of Beeston Castle and Peckforton Castle were great.

The sun still has some warmth in it, too.

We moored just past The Shady.  Later in the afternoon, a familiar but now very shiny boat came past.  What A Lark has been repainted and looks very smart.  We had a quick chat with Lisa and David, and then I grabbed a windlass and walked up to Wharton’s Lock to lend a hand, and have a few more minutes of conversation.

9 miles, 5 locks.  (31 miles, 16 locks)

Chester again: Day 6

Another pretty windy day, even though the forecast said it should have died down.  It was the Chester Marathon this morning, so after breakfast we walked up to the city and stood near the 1 mile marker.  Soon the timing car came past, followed by the elite runners.

Following were hundreds of other runners, and in amongst them were pace runners holding paddles showing how long it would take you to go at their pace.

We walked round the corner to see the stragglers coming past the town hall and towards the Cathedral.

It was still quite early so we went back to the boat to put the kettle on.  Later we walked back into town and then up to a pub for lunch — where we joined Catherine, Nigel, Grace and Matthew, and my sister and nieces.  The pub, The Piper, had been chosen purely for its location, as my sister was on call and needed to be no more than half an hour from her hospital.  But it provided very good and reasonably priced Sunday lunches.  Grace starts her uni course tomorrow, and the rest of the family were heading home, so it’s been quite a big day.

0 miles, 0 locks.  (22 miles, 11 locks)

Chester again: Day 5

Today was the day Storm Amy was coming through, and it was pretty windy and rainy this morning.  We walked up to see my dad, and managed to get there and back without getting too wet.  After lunch the sun came out, although it’s remained very blustery.

We made a visit to Tesco to stock up for a few days, and bumped into my cousin Catherine and family.  They’re in Chester because Grace is starting uni here today.  She’s doing her own thing this evening, while Catherine, Nigel, and Matthew come here for pizza.

0 miles, 0 locks.  (22 miles, 11 locks)

Chester again: Day 4

There was wind and rain yesterday evening and overnight, but there appeared to be a window of better weather first thing this morning — so we were up and off just after 8.  The first of the five locks down into Chester was about half an hour away.  All of them needed filling.  They have chunky iron ladders on the bottom side, which almost look as though they’re made from railway tracks.

It’s not long since we came this way, so it’s a job to take different photos.

Above Chemistry Lock, the canal is clogged with floating pennywort, with just a boat width left.  Later the little boat with the prongs on the front came down to where we moored, and was scooping huge clumps of it out and dumping it on the offside.

There’s a funny little building above Hoole Lane Lock, and we were trying to work out how many houses it’s been converted into.

With the five locks completed, we carried on to the winding hole by Cow Lane Bridge, and turned around — then moored up in a space nearby.  We’re a boat length or two along from where we were last time.  No sooner had we moored up than the rain began, and it’s also become increasingly blustery.  We walked into town and had lunch at a cafe, then went to the Picture House cinema, as it’s ages since we’ve been.  We saw The Roses, which was moderately entertaining.  Nice comfy seats, upholstered in some sort of towelling!

Tomorrow is meant to be very windy and stormy, but we weren’t planning to go anywhere anyway.

2 miles, 5 locks.  (22 miles, 11 locks)

Chester again: Day 3

Some unforecast rain early this morning, but generally it’s been a bit brighter than yesterday.  With an unambiguous target, we weren’t quick to get going, setting off about 9.30.  On the other side of the canal from the marina is a big farm machinery place, with some amazing-looking equipment for sale.

After Bridge 114 the Golden Nook moorings begin — an interminable line of boats on the offside.  Last time I counted the boats as we went one way, and timed the passage the other, but this time I couldn’t be bothered to do either.  It’s more than half an hour, I know that much.

There’s a huge amount of floating pennywort in the canal, sometimes appearing to stretch right across.  This morning we passed a cutter boat, which I hope was on the way to collect some of it.

We were aiming for Christleton, and the moorings were much less busy than when we were last here at the start of August.  We moored in pretty much the same spot as before.  This afternoon, we’ve been for a circular walk round the village, which seems quite familiar these days.

5 miles, 0 locks.  (20 miles, 6 locks)

Chester again: Day 2

There was rain overnight and it’s been pretty dull all day.  We’ve done a long day — for us!  We set off at about 9, retracing our steps to Barbridge Junction and turning right towards Chester.  There’s a road immediately alongside the canal, which is why we don’t moor here.

A bit further on there’s a big industrial estate on the other side of the canal, with a very narrow bridge.  There’s a constant stream of lorries over it, some taking it quite gingerly.

We stopped at the Calverley services to fill the water tank and put the washing machine on.  It all took quite a long time, so can’t have been the fastest of taps.  While we were there we chatted to some people from a hire boat, who were on their way back from Chester.

When we got to Bunbury Staircase Locks, we were on our own — unlike the other three times we’ve been through, when we did the Bunbury Shuffle, with three boats in the locks.  The top one was empty and took an age to fill.  We’re back to wide locks here, of course.

Tillstone Lock still has only one top paddle working, so we were braced for it to take a long time.  But two boats were just coming out as we arrived.  The two Beeston Locks both needed filling, and the iron lock in particular seemed not to want to make a level.  It took both of us pushing the gate to get it open.

At Wharton Lock our luck was in again though, as a boat was coming up.  We’ve carried on to moor outside Tattenhall Marina — and it was nearly 2pm by the time we finished.  The major feature of the landscape in these parts is Beeston Castle.

This afternoon, I’ve finished an article and sorted out the photos, and Adrian has a call to do.  We’ve also had more photos from Braidbar, so there’s an update on the Kingley Vale blog.

9 miles, 6 locks.  (15 miles, 6 locks)

Chester again: Day 1

It’s six months today since we moved on board.  Up to the end of yesterday, we’ve covered 864 miles and 575 locks.

This morning we had a few things to do in town, so headed off down the steps by the aqueduct.  Nantwich was pretty quiet as it was still early.  Among the jobs, was some food shopping.  We got back to the boat and set off at about 10.45, heading for the winding hole to the south.  It took about half an hour to get back to where we’d started, and a boat had already taken our space.  We then crossed the aqueduct.

There were two boats at the water point, so we didn’t bother waiting.  As we travelled north, we were gradually catching up with the boat ahead, who pulled over immediately before Barbridge Junction.  We turned through the bridge.

When we got to the winding hole beyond Bridge 4 we turned around again, and reversed to the end of the moorings; there aren’t many boats here at all.  After lunch we walked down to the marina to see if there was any news on the bungs we ordered for the portholes, but the place was closed; he’s also not returning calls.  This afternoon I have been doing some writing.

6 miles, 0 locks.

Welsh waters: Day 29

A beautiful autumnal morning, with mist over the fields and the water, and the sun breaking through.

We set off from Baddiley a little after 8.30 and were soon at the two Swanley Locks, where we met boats coming up at both of them.  Then we stopped at Swanley Bridge Marina for diesel; the price went up the other day to 95p basic, but that’s still reasonable — and there’s a pump on the canal frontage so it’s easy to get to.  It’s self service, then you just go into the office to pay.

The next stop was before Bridge 1, from where we walked up to our friends, Billy and Sheila, for a coffee and to pick up a parcel we had delivered there.  Back at the boat we had lunch, then headed for Hurleston Locks.  A boat had just come up and there were four volunteer lock keepers on duty.

With the locks being set ahead, we made rapid progress down, and exactly 20 minutes later we were leaving the bottom lock.

We carried on to Nantwich, which seemed really busy — so where there was a suitable space just past the aqueduct we grabbed it rather than going to turn around first.  We then tacked the job of getting the old headlight and horn off the cratch board, and installing the new LED one (which was the package we’d just picked up).  It doesn’t really have the look, but it will certainly light up tunnels.  We also walked up to the chandlery to get a new chimney, as the current one has massive holes in the inner skin, so is depositing tar on the roof.

6 miles, 6 locks.  (114 miles, 58 locks)

Welsh waters: Day 28

There was quite a bit of rain yesterday evening and some very heavy bursts overnight, but this morning was lovely — sunny, chilly, and still.  We seemed to be in no rush to get away, and it must have been well after 9 when we finally set off.  Through the next bridge, a fishing match was setting up, stretching right along to Marbury Lock.

As we descended the lock, a boat arrived to come up so we could leave the gates open.  At the lift bridge by the garden centre, a boat ahead of us lifted the bridge, and one coming the other way also came through.  They were then stopping for the cafe, so by the time we got to the electric lift bridge we were on our own.

There were seven hire boats at Wrenbury Mill, compared with zero last time we came past.

Much to our surprise, there was only one boat moored between the Mill and the next lift bridge, and then just a couple more beyond.  A little further out, we passed Sandra and Barry on AreAndAre.  At Baddiley Locks, there was a boat coming up the top lock and another waiting behind them.  The middle one needed filling, but there was a boat coming up the bottom one.  We carried on just a short way to the Baddiley moorings we used on the way up.

Last time we were here we walked to have a look at Baddiley Church.  This time we headed across the fields on the towpath side, to have a look at the village of Ravensmoor.  There’s not much there, but I did like this outside one house.

We came back via different paths to a different bridge.

5 miles, 4 locks.  (108 miles, 52 locks)