Greater Cheshire: Day 5

We had a rather slow start to the day, because Keith Wilson was coming at 11 to discuss an alteration to our new cratch cover, to make it fit a little better.  While we waited for him, we went for a walk to see the gardens of the Lion Salt Works, as it was much better weather than yesterday’s rain.  Their butterfly garden contains the Cheshire buddleia collection, which has more than thirty named varieties.  I didn’t even know there were that many.

Then we walked over the canal bridge, where there are two larges flashes.

Keith arrived and we came up with a plan which will mean we’re not without a cover for very long, and then we set off at about 11.30.  We continued to Anderton where we stopped on the services to get rid of rubbish and recycling (although there are no separate bins here yet), and fill the water tank.  Then we moved round the corner and moored up.  It turned out we were right in front of  Amy Jo, so we had a quick chat with Chris and Steve, whom we first met many years ago in Chester.  We walked up to the Anderton Lift visitor centre and have a very nice and very reasonably priced lunch in the cafe.  It has a great view of the lift.

Unfortunately the lift is out of action at the moment, otherwise we’d have taken the opportunity to go down onto the Weaver for a few days.  It needs £15 million pounds worth of works, which won’t happen quickly.  Our friend and fellow Braidbar owner, Erika, works there, so we were able to have a chat with her too.  We’ll be back here in a few days, so we decided to leave a proper look round the site until then, and set off once again north.  There is a nice house up on the hill overlooking the approach to Barnton Tunnel.

Barnton Tunnel is one way but doesn’t have the time restrictions that other tunnels up here do, because you can see right through it — although only really at the last moment.  

It’s only a short tunnel but it is far from straight.  In fact, the kinks in it are so pronounced you actually have to steer round them!  At the far end of the tunnel is a wide pool, before Saltersford Tunnel.  A boat was already on the best mooring, but we tied up with a lovely view out the front of the boat.

We went for a walk down the lane to the River Weaver and along to the Saltersford Locks.  The small lock clearly hasn’t been used for some time, and with the lift closed there must be very little traffic on the river at all.

Surprisingly, given that we’re surrounded by hill here, we both have excellent mobile internet signals.

3 miles, 0 locks.  (23 miles, 12 locks)