Crewe and Chester

There’s always something, isn’t there?  This morning, the Eberspacher (the brand new Eberspacher) just didn’t start.  As I’d changed the batteries yesterday I checked all the wiring, but all looked fine, and anyway the controller was fine and even counted down the minutes as usual.  It was just that there wasn’t a peep out of the unit itself.  After a discussion with Eberspacher expert Dave Flowers, we concluded it was probably the 20 amp fuse in the controller box, which definitely isn’t brand new.  Depending on the age of it, it could be one of the ceramic ones.

I didn’t have time to sort it then, as I was heading for a train to see my dad in Chester.  As I walked down the locks to the station I passed Old Nick on the way up, and had a quick chat with Paul.  I was early for my train, and spotted on Google maps that there was a car parts shop two streets from the station.  So I went and asked if they had a 20 amp ceramic fuse, and initially got blank looks.  But then some rummaging in the fuse drawers found a solitary one hiding at the back — which they gave me for nothing!

The train to Crewe crosses the canal by Harecastle Tunnel, and you see some of the Cheshire Locks too.  As I changed trains at Crewe a steam engine came through.

The train to Chester crosses the Middlewich Arm by Venetian. Marina, then the Shroppie near Bunbury.  At my dad’s, we went on the bus to M&S for lunch (no mean feat at his age) and got an Uber back.  I went a did a bit of shopping for him, and sorted a few other things.

It was after 6 when I got bc, to the boat and started on the Eberspacher.  I knew where the fuses were, but couldn’t work out how to get the covers off, particularly with the control box in a cupboard at floor level at the stern.  I had to unscrew it from the wall to get a better look.

It was the 20 amp fuse, but it’s the blade type not the one I got for nothing.  I only had a 10 amp in my tool box, so I’ve used that to prove it works and will get a 20 amp tomorrow.  It’s felt like another exhausting day.

Batteries, and an empty museum

It’s fair to say that we have been struggling a bit with our batteries ever since we set off.  At first we hoped they’d just become a bit lazy while plugged in to shore power over the winter and they they’d buck their ideas up.  But it’s become clear that it was worse than that.  While we were moving each day, they just about coped, but a stationary day, even one like yesterday with masses of solar, and they just weren’t holding their charge.

This morning Adrian was up fairly early, as he was driving down to Weymouth to see his brother, who’s 60 today.  It was then we found there wasn’t even enough power to get the Eberspacher started.  Adrian went off on his long drive as planned, while I tried to figure out what to do.  A ring around of the local boat yards revealed that non keep batteries in stock; some of the car parts places had some that might have worked, but only ever a maximum of two.  So I looked to see what Midland Chandler’s had in stock: plenty for order, but not a huge selection in their shops.  However, Preston Brook had had a delivery yesterday of batteries that would do.  I’d also looked at car hire prices, and found I could get the smallest model from Enterprise for £36 for the day.  I booked online for 10am, and then set out to walk the mile and a half to their base.  It was only when I crossed the Caldon that I realised it was the office just down from the Ivy House lift bridge.  I was given a Ford Focus, which is at least one class up from what I’d booked, and drove up to Preston Brook, which took about 45 minutes.  They helped me load the batteries in the boot, and was back next to our boat at 11.30.

To fit the batteries, I first had to cover the solar panel so it wasn’t producing any charge, and found that putting beach towels over it just wasn’t enough! I ended up laying the wooden engine boards over it, and then it went off.  I also disconnected the solar controller, and shut everything down.  I cable-tied various cables together so I could keep track of what went where, then disconnected the old batteries and replaced them with the new ones.  They were the same size and shape, which helped immensely.  The only photo I took of the whole procedure was the old batteries on the towpath beside the boat, with the white hire car in the Toby Carvery car park, just to show how close I managed to get the car.

I had lunch and located a scrap metal merchant who said they would take the old batteries.  I drove over and weighed them in —100kg — for which I got £35, which virtually covered the hire car cost.  From there I filled up with petrol at Tesco which is by far the cheapest round here, and took the car back.  I’d only had it for about 4 hours.

For my walk back, I went down onto the Caldon towpath, which may not have been the most direct route, but was certainly more pleasant.  I joined the canal near the new flats with the bottle kilns, and then went through Hanley Park, where lots of people were enjoying the sunshine.

At Etruria Junction, I called in to the Industrial Museum, which is only open on a Friday.  The main attraction is the flint and bone mill that will be familiar to anyone who’s been up the Stoke Locks.  It sits just below the top two locks.  The whole place is fascinating.

The museum also seems as if it’s on the verge of failure.  It’s run by volunteers, three of whom were there today, but is only open one day a week, and there are appeals for donations at every turn.  It would be a shame if it was open even less than it is now.

So this was not the day I’d had planned (I’d planned to do the even more fascinating task of re-doing the shower sealant!) but I do feel I’ve achieved something.  We’re already seeing voltages that are higher than we’ve had so far this trip, and hopefully the new batteries will be able to last the night without falling over!

Braidbar progress visit

We were up and out in good time this morning and driving up to Braidbar to see how work was getting on with our new boat, Kingley Vale.  We made more decisions and also visited the fabric and worktop supplier in Macclesfield.  There’s a full report over on the Kingley Vale blog.

We had lunch in town, then decided to have a walk up to the canal.  There are lots of interesting looking buildings in Macclesfield, not least Hovis Mill.  We found a bridge where we could get down to the towpath and there happened to be a convenience store right there so we could get ice creams — it was the hottest day of the year after all.  Then we walked past the mill from the canal side.

We drove back to Stoke to a very warm boat.  It’s been a good day, and we feel we’ve made some good decisions.

Long weekend in Cheshire: Day 5

Another sunny morning to wake up to, in fact the sun was so bright when I wound up the shower room blind, I had to wind it halfway back down again!  The mooring before Red Bull Aqueduct actually had one of the best views we’ve had of Mow Cop up on the hill.  With the tunnel to go through today we wanted to be off at a decent time, so got under way at about 8.15.  We crossed the aqueducts, made the sharp left to run alongside the Trent and Mersey, then the next sharp left towards the junction.

Once through it was sharp right towards the tunnel.  We suspected we had timed things right when a boat was coming the other way.  We pulled up to the tunnel waiting area behind one other boat, and the tunnel keeper told us there was one more boat to come out, then we could go in.  We had a slight nervous moment when our headlight didn’t work, but Adrian twiddled the connection in the cratch and it came on.  The other northbound boat appeared, the boat in front of us went in, and we followed a minute or two later, so there was a bit of a gap between us.

I noted last time that the changes in the headroom inside the tunnel seem more pronounced when going south than when going north, and it’s definitely true.  There are lots of places where a drop in tunnel height is marked with white paint.

It took 39 minutes to get through, which is about the same time as going north on Saturday.  There were three boats waiting at the southern portal.

These are now very familiar waters, but it’s not always been this sunny as we’ve passed Middleport Pottery.

We moored up at Festival Park, and it wasn’t even 11am.  A big re-stock was planned as we had access to the car again, so we went off and did that.  After lunch, I had an item to collect at a locker at Morrison’s, and we’d decided Adrian would go back to the laundrette to do bedding and towels that we’d struggle to find drying space for on the boat.  He dropped me at the supermarket, then noticed signs for a Revolution Laundry — these are the unmanned machines in the car park.  So he decided to use them instead.  There’s not much difference cost-wise; a plus is that the Morrison’s cafe is right there, a minus is that you are folding your laundry in a car park.  It’s all an education!  Back at the boat, I did a few jobs including swapping a 230 volt socket to match the more modern ones we changed some to a few years ago, and refreshing the blinds in the shower room and galley.  

6 miles, 0 locks.  (25 miles, 2 locks)

Escape from Festival Park — partially at least

Our plan for today had been to start a trip up the Caldon Canal — but then last night we saw the weather forecast, with winds of more than 40mph for most of the day.  As we’re no longer on a schedule, we resigned ourselves to another day in the marina.  But this morning the weather wasn’t too bad, and the winds were forecast to come through later, so we hatched a plan.  We would leave our berth, fill up with water at their water point on the outside of the marina, and then reverse onto the public moorings outside the Toby Carvery.  So at about 9.30 Adrian went to tell the officer what we were doing, and then lifted the bridge for the boat to come through.

While we watered up (which didn’t take as long as we’d feared, having not filled the tank for a week), Adrian went and paid for our stay.  Then we reversed back and tied outside the pub, just as the rain began to come down.

Later in the morning we got in the car and drove down to the Gladstone Pottery Museum, current home of the Great Pottery Throwdown on Channel 4.

One of the first exhibits was the birdbaths the contestants made in this year’s series.  These two were our favourites.

The rest of the museum is excellent, with a steam engine, just enough info to read, a potter doing her thing, and lots of stuff to look at.

We had lunch in the cafe (Staffordshire oatcakes, of course), then went to the exhibits on tiles, and the history of the toilet.  One the way back, we went to look at tiles for the stove surround on the new boat and found a contender, and at bathroom taps.  Back at the boat we lit the fire as it’s really quite chilly and damp, and the wind is very gusty.  I’ve made a chilli, which I started on the hob but is now gently simmering on the top of the stove.  So we haven’t made it far, although at least we are out on the cut again.  A few boats have been by, but it has to be said that the steerers did not appear to be having the best time!

Launch day for Narrowboat Kingley Vale

We were up early this morning and on the road to Braidbar, for our new boat, Kingley Vale, to be put into the water.  It was quite a day!  There’s a full report over on the Kingley Vale blog, so just click the link to see it.

Tomorrow, we head out for a little trip.

Getting things done

Today has been a getting stuff done type of day.  This morning Adrian went off to the local laundrette to do some washing.  We have a washing machine on board, but without easy access to water in this marina to top up the tank, we thought land-based facilities would be a better option.  They have dryers too, which is a plus.

While the washing was on, Adrian took the car over the road to a hand car wash place.  Meanwhile, I did a few boat jobs back on board.

This afternoon we have been shopping, and a hotel boat came into the marina, presumably for a change of passengers.

We’ve also made a few decisions about what to do for the next few weeks while the Macc is still shut.  We were always planning to head out for a few trips, using Festival Park as a base.  But without water or electricity at the pontoons, it doesn’t really seem worth it.  So we have found somewhere else to park the car, and will be heading out on Wednesday. Tomorrow is a big day, as Kingley Vale goes in the water, so we’ll be up at Braidbar for that.

Biddulph Grange

The clear sunny days have finally come to an end.  But although there was a shower at about the time we were getting up, and another mid morning, it’s been a much better day than forecast.  We thought that with access to the car we should go somewhere we needed to drive to, so chose the National Trust garden, Biddulph Grange, which is between Stoke and Congleton.  It’s a spectacular place — a series of small gardens with linking paths, and you never know quite what’s round the corner.  The house is privately owned apartments.

Nothing is quite what it seems.  Cheshire Cottage is actually a maze of tunnels, one of which leads to the Egyptian garden.

The highlight is undoubtedly the Chinese Garden, which is hidden right in the middle of the scheme.

There is also the most extensive stumpery you’re ever likely to see.

At the end of one long walkway, is the largest stone urn in the UK.

After a good explore, we had lunch in the cafe.  We thought we’d come a different way back, so head up the hill towards Mow Cop.  There was a fantastic viewpoint from where you could see Manchester in one direction and Beeston Castle in the other.  Then we went down to Scholar Green and had a walk along the Macclesfield Canal, by the Ramsdell Hall Railings.  The levels look fine, now they’ve found a way to bring water past the breach site.  Finally after the disappointment of not getting a Snugbury’s ice cream at Nantwich yesterday, we found they have a place near Congleton, so we went and had one there instead.

Station cafe

This morning we drove over to Chester to see my dad, and take him out for lunch.  We went to the Delamere Station House, which is actually in the Delamere Station building.  It must be one of the few stations were more people go for the cafe than the trains! There’s one train an hour in each direction, to Chester and Manchester Piccadilly.

As we drove back to Stoke, we made a brief stop at Snugbury’s ice cream — brief because the queue was so long we decided we wouldn’t even bother parking the car.