The Final Countdown: Day 8

We were off at 8.30 on a gloomy, blustery morning which even threw in some unforecast showers.  The canal is pretty twisty right after our mooring, and there’s also work going on possibly for a new development, just before Gailey.  Gailey Lock was the first of the day, overlooked by the Roundhouse.

Below the lock, a boat was making to set off from the moorings just as I left the lock — but fortunately they failed to get their act together before I slipped past!  Brick Kiln Lock needed filling, but Bogg’s Lock was already full.  Rodbaston Lock, right by the M6, was also full.  It’s one with a little bridge at the tail.

A boat had just come up Otherton Lock when we got there, so that was handy.  We made a very brief stop at Otherton Boat Haven — brief because we were after coal, and they were waiting for a delivery.  We carried on into Penkridge wanting to moor between Filnce Bridge and Filance Lock.  The options were a little limited thanks to the poor state of the piling here, but a boat was about to leave so we hung around until he was ready.  Even so, I’ve had to swap the mooring hooks for chains, because each time a boat went past the hooks got jammed further into the piling.

This afternoon, my cousin Catherine, Nigel, and Matthew have arrived in their share boat, Rowington.  They let us know when they were at Penkridge Lock and I walked down and got Filance Lock ready for them.  They’ve moored up, and will be coming round later for a chilli that’s been on the go all afternoon.

5 miles, 5 locks.  (51 miles, 34 locks)

Day trip to Cheshire

With the car close at hand, this morning we went to buy engine oil from the shop in Penkridge, and then did a few days shopping at the big Co-op. Then we headed up the M6 to Chester to take my dad out for lunch.

In the afternoon we headed to Nantwich to leave the car at a new place provided by some friends, and had a good catch up with them at the same time. Then we got the train back. Our train from Crewe was painted to mark the Eurovision Song Contest when it was in Liverpool in 2023. 

Tomorrow we start moving again. 

Painting and trains

 I had a late night last night, because I'd been invited to make a guest appearance back on Radio 2, asking OJ Borg three questions about canals in his Midnight Mastermind feature.  I used to regularly read the news in his show, and he didn't know in advance that it was going to be me asking the questions.  The format is that someone sets a topic and he has the length of one song to do some quick research.  Fortunately my mobil signal is excellent here, so it all worked well.  But it was at half past midnight, a time I haven't seen since leaving work!

This morning, we weren't as slow to get up and about as I thought we might be, particularly as we weren't going anywhere (not by boat anyway).  After breakfast we took some rubbish and recycling down to the CRT bins, and then walked into Penkridge.  There's a large country and agricultural store there, which turned out to be a real Aladdin's cave of stuff.  We came away with a little tin of Hammerite paint and a paint brush, and also noted the very good price for engine oil.  Then we went across the road to Jasper's the bakers, for some treats.  Back at the boat I started work on the metal frame over the engine, which holds the engine boards, giving it all a good wire brushing to get all the loose bits off.  The removable cross brace pieces were probably the worst bits.

I got one coat of paint on before lunch.  Then we walked down to the railway station as Adrian was catching a train.  The route took us past the very impressive church.

By the time I'd walked back to the boat, Adrian was in Stafford and changing to a train to Stoke.  He then walked up to where the car has been staying, as he's going to a leaving dinner in Warrington for a former colleague.  He'll be back later.  I got another coat of paint on the metal work; this paint dries in 2 to 4 hours anyway, and in today's heat it was much closer to the lower end of that.  It all looks a lot better.

North again: Day 21

Really sunny and warm from first thing.  We got the washing machine going at 8.30 and set off as soon as the wash part of the cycle had finished.  It really was a glorious morning, and just through the first bridge there was a bush of very bright pink wild roses.

We went through Acton Trussel, and the church is slightly out on its own across the fields.

All the locks today needed turning.  At the second one, Park Gate Lock, Adrian opened half a paddle and then popped to the chandlery next door to get some oil filters; he’d already phoned to check they had some, as the website suggested they were out of stock.  Once the boat was high enough, I went and opened the other paddle, and then a boat arrived to go down.  Before the next lock, we went under the M6.

We now had a boat in front of us, and by Penkridge Lock we had two.  Longford Lock has a bridge with a big arch covering the lock and the towpath; Penkridge Lock has individual bridges.

We wanted to stop at the water point above Penkridge Lock and we also knew that some of the people ahead did too.  But there was a completely different boat there, who then wanted to go into the lock — so we came out, they went in, and we moved over to fill the tank.  The next boat to come up also wanted water, so just sat in the lock until we were ready to leave.  We did one more lock and moored on the five day moorings, in pretty much the same spot we were in last month.

This afternoon, Adrian has given me a haircut, and we’ve walked up to the Co-op mostly to get veg for the stock that’s now simmering away.  It makes use of the roast chicken carcass from yesterday, to make stock for tonight’s risotto.  We’ll be here for a couple of days now, as we have a few errands to run.

Here’s this part of our journey from Crick to Penkridge in animated graphic form.  They (bizarrely) don’t have a narrowboat option!

5 miles, 5 locks.  (133 miles, 85 locks)

Since moving on board: 78 days, 429 miles, 313 locks.

To Crick: Day 6

I had a look out of the window at 5.30 this morning when I got up to go to the loo, and Tixall Wide looked so beautiful, with mist rising off the water and the sun just coming up, that I had to take a photo.

We set off about 8.30, and it seemed much further to Tixall Lock than we remembered.  A boat had been passed about 20 minutes before we left so the lock needed turning, but a boat arrived as we were about to leave.  It’s a pretty lock, but the cottage appears to be empty at the moment.

Along the next section the railway is very close. One house has a very elaborate treehouse and even a train for their kids.

Before Baswich, there’s a lot of work going to where the link to Stafford is planned.  At Deptmore Lock, a boat was coming out so we could almost go straight in, and there was another waiting above.

Above the lock is really lovely, although the M6 is beginning to make its presence felt.  It’s a while before you can actually see it though.

We met a whole procession of boats through Acton Trussell, and at the next lock there was again a boat coming out and another waiting above.  But Park Gate Lock needed turning, although a boat turned up just as we were going in.  Above the lock, the Georgie’s Trip Boat was about to set off with a lunchtime afternoon tea cruise, if such a thing exists.  We went under the M6, then at Broom Lock we caught up with the boat ahead.  While they went up and one came down, I quickly made some sandwiches which we ate between there and Penkridge Lock.  There, Adrian went to work the lock and found a couple of CRT volunteers there, who suggested he go ahead and get Filance Lock ready; the boat ahead of us was on the water point.  As I got to the top of the lock, the boat ahead set off for the next lock, so Adrian ended up working it for them as well as us.  The volunteer lock keepers had a nice little set up to work from.

We moored up between the lock and the next bridge.  Adrian had walked ahead to see what spaces were available, and mostly they were on bends.  But the next boat said they were almost finished their lunch and would soon be leaving, so when they’d gone we moved into their space.  Robbie Cumming’s boat, Naughty Lass, is moored a little way back.  We’d seen him go past at Tixall yesterday.

This afternoon we walked in to Penkridge, mostly to go to Jasper’s the baker for something for dessert.  The Tidy’s a due here later and we’re invited for dinner.  We also needed to pick up a delivery from a locker — but that turned out to be at the town’s other Co-op, so we ended up doing a circular walk.

10 miles, 7 locks.  (29 miles, 25 locks)