Wheaton Aston

It should have been an easy day today, and so it was, through the greenery of Grub Street Cutting, where I admired the classic cars at this remote mooring (the 50s Daimler is just out of shot). We made a stop at Norbury Junction for water and rubbish disposal. Joy exchanged some books and jigsaws at the swap shop in the facilities block while I replaced a lost fender at the chandlery at Norbury Wharf. [certainly not the cheapest on the cut at 25% more than my last purchase]

Just a mile or so further on, however, it started to rain and I got soaked in the course of just a few minutes so we decided to stop for lunch at Gnosall although it had stopped by then I needed to change my trousers. We made a salad with bacon & black pudding bits and Joy topped hers with a poached egg, very cheffy!

Dryer and fuller we set off again, through Cowley Tunnel, the only one on the Shroppie, hewn through rock so solid it needed no brick lining and we took the obligatory photo of the bridge with a telephone pole mounted under it.

At 3:30 pm we were mooring up at Wheaton Aston and took a walk down to the village shop and a swift half at The Hartley Arms on the way back.

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At (the) Anchor

Now! Where wuz I now? (Older Archers aficionados will understand)

Wednesday 26th August
Wednesday morning was spent at the launderette at the Canal Centre so it was just a short journey as far as The Shroppie Fly at Audlem, with just the first three Audlem locks before mooring up. We bought Steve Heywood’s new book at the canal side shop, and some burgers at the Co-op as the mince we were going to make chilli with turned out to be still in the freezer! (doh!) Oh and the Co-op’s British runner beans were so stringy we couldn’t eat them.

Thursday 27th August
We had 17 locks to look forward to today so while I filled the water tank, Joy visited the Co-op again for bread and to complain about the beans. The serving lad’s only reply was that he didn’t like runner beans?? Whilst waiting I chatted to a lady on a little boat called Kitty who told me she had been boating all her life as her parents had been boatpeople working out of Gloucester on Severners Oak & Ash during the years of WW2.

These locks have quite lively by-washes (overflows or wires [weirs] as Kitty’s captain called them) which make entering the locks interesting as the flow pushes the boat out of line.

At the first lock there is a stall at the garden gate of the adjacent house and yes there were fresh runner beans for sale, another lock and another stall procured us a bag of plums for 50p.

Apart from by-washes, Audlem locks are quite easy and apart from meeting one crew who closed lock gates on us as we were approaching (Oh, we didn’t know which way you were going, but we left the previous set open… What? ) we made good time.

After a lunch stop at the top of the flight just another 5 locks and a Farm Shop with home produced black pudding and a trampoline for the sheep!

I even spotted a kingfisher today, but the attempt to photograph it is just a bright blue blur.

So it was cottage pie, fresh runner beans and mash for tea at Market Drayton.

Friday 28th August
We departed Market Drayton in sunshine before 9 as there was rain forecast for this afternoon and in less than half an hour were were at Tyrley Locks.

The first two were empty ready for us and I felt a bit sorry for the hire boat who arrived shortly after us as they would have to re-fill each one, by the third lock we met another boat so that was good for us and the hire boat, at the fourth a volunteer lock keeper walked past, down the flight, without offering assistance (not that we needed it) then at the fifth and last lock another boat was waiting to come in with an older crew who could have done with some help. Hey Ho, now we can look forward to 17 lock free miles.

For today, however, it was through the leafy Woodseaves Cutting, High Bridge (wonder why they called it that?) and past the old Cadbury’s Factory at Knighton (now Premier Foods)

From the last lock it was just two hours cruising to our target for the day, the quaint Anchor Inn which we mentioned here on our journey north. I started cooking lunch while Joy popped into the gift shop at the pub returning not only with gifts but beer to go with our bacon, eggs, the black pudding bought yesterday and fried leftover mashed potato. Bliss.. unhealthy.. but very nice!

Catty was pleased she could go out here although not for too long as she doesn’t like rain, meanwhile after we had a good hoover through and tidy up.

Joy did the painting her art teacher had set her from this week’s class, now to settle in to watch TV maybe if we can get a signal, or it might have to be down the pub again after tea.

Now it’s Nantwich

It was before 9 when we cast off this morning, we thought that a boat might come by to share the locks with but as the second lock (Beeston Iron) has to be done solo we set off and did Wharton Lock on our own. As we approached the locks we had views of Beeston Castle to the south and just before the Iron Lock, across the railway line there is a hill with what appear to be bunkers in it. It transpires that this was a WW2 fuel storage depot. See here for more details.

As we were leaving Beeston Iron Lock
nb Moondancer caught up with us so we waited for them at the Stone Lock and shared with them until Bunbury Staircase where we joined nb Vulcan.

C&RT’s Calveley Service Station follows soon after Bunbury but we didn’t need their facilities but we did visit The Calveley Mill Shop Café (which has only been open since Easter) well recommended for a nice lunch and a browse around their shop, no surprise that we came away with cheese, as they part of the J.S. Bailey cheese company.

From there on it was an easy cruise towards Nantwich, passing The Olde Barbridge Inn we spotted Dave & Lillian on nb Calm Down who we know from pub quizzes at The Boat Inn at Thrupp (Oxon).

By which time we were approaching Nantwich it had started to drizzle and were glad to slip into a mooring near Nantwich Canal Centre and call it a day.

Starting the trip back south

So it was up at the crack of dawn on Sunday, well hardly, but I was setting Whitby narrow locks before 8 am. Now before you think I slipped into  a wormhole and mysteriously reappeared in the North East instead of the North West, these are the locks within the Ellesmere Port site and we crept out trying to disturb neither the other moorers nor fishermen who seem to be there from dawn to dusk.

Once up the locks & out of the museum complex the crew disappeared below decks to have breakfast and have a Facetime call with their cousins in Australia, about an hour later I enquired if I might have my breakfast only to be told the call was still in progress. So I just enjoyed the scenery and sculpture en route. The 2½ hour journey back to Chester is lock free as we progress back from the industrial areas through the countryside back to the city.

Back at Chester it was up the Northgate Staircase, under the ‘Bridge of Sighs’ (where allegedly condemned prisoners walked) and into the city centre for lunch and a stop at Tescos. (again)

Not a long break as we had have five more locks to tackle before rendezvousing with our son to re-unite his children to him. We were only at the first lock however when Jeremy rang to say he had arrived so he started walking down to meet us.

Unfortunately it started to rain but undeterred Dad and Lad pressed on in the company of a hire boat crew and we arrived at The Old Trooper thoroughly soaked.

This morning we decided to have breakfast at the pub but it was a disappointing experience, let’s just say the best part was the tea and toast. Afterwards we said goodbye to our family as they set of by car on their way back to Gloucestershire.

So it was back to just Joy and myself and it seemed quiet as we cruised onwards and debated whether to do the last of the wide locks today or tomorrow. Tomorrow won the day and we are moored near the Shady Oak again and have been able to top up with diesel from Fuel-Boat Halsall who happened to stop by.

A Day at The Museum

On Saturday I though I better pay our mooring fees as yesterday we were out before the office was open, I thought the charges reasonable as it is just the museum admission charge for each person plus £4 per additional night, the weather was still changeable but we managed to spend our day dodging the showers by alternating between the indoor and outdoor exhibits.

Looking at some photos of our 1988 visit, some things haven’t changed a bit…

1988

2015

but it was sad to see other exhibits had deteriorated …

Then 1988

Now 2015

Now 2015

The good news is that some funding has been secured to assess and restore where viable..

For an old R.A. Lister apprentice there was plenty to show the grandkids and say Grandpa used to help make those!

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We had a good day, the kids enjoyed themselves turning handles, building a ‘narrowboat’ and operating a real HIAB. I enjoyed seeing Jo & Rose Skinner’s narrowboat Friendship knowing that they and their nephew Jack and his wife, (also Rose) had worked the Oxford Canal, our home waterway. In retirement Jack &  Rose lived in their canalside cottage in Thrupp until their deaths in 2008 & 2012 respectively both in their late eighties.

It was also great to be able to retreat to the boat for lunch and take a break.

A Day Out in Liverpool

We had intended to catch the X8 bus into Liverpool, but local advice prevailed and advised us to take the train. We purchased Saveaway tickets which gave us travel on Bus, Train and Ferry.  (2 seniors & 2 kids for around £15) The train took us under the Mersey directly into Liverpool Lime Street, albeit stopping at every station, and from there we walked down through the shopping district to The Pierhead. We stopped at Poundcafe to fortify ourselves with a late cooked breakfast, good value I thought at 30p per item.

When we reached The Pierhead we showed our Saveaway tickets and were given ferry tickets for the 20 minute trip over to Seacombe on board the Dazzle Ferry, Snowdrop. The design was created by Sir Peter Blake in honour of the patterns that were first used on vessels in World War One to confuse the enemy.

When we arrived at Seacombe we visited Spaceport, I think as much for Grandma’s benefit as the grandchildren. The exhibition was very good with lots of interactive things to entertain us. After spending a couple of hours there we grabbed a quick snack in the Café Cross the Mersey before hopping back aboard the ferry down to  Woodside to revisit the  U-Boat exhibition.

As we returned back to The Pierhead we thought we might round off the day with an open-top bus tour, but the weather, which had been drizzly all day, took a turn for the worse and turned into torrential rain and put paid to that idea. We tried to dodge the rain drops all the way back to Albert Dock where this group of drowned rats took refuge in a providential recess where there was a hot air outlet to dry us off.

Our dry state didn’t last long as we got drenched again as we went back to Christakis Greek Taverna to give the grandkids their first experience of Greek Cuisine. Morley demolished a  full adult portion of Afelia, a pork casserole, and Iona had Chicken Souvlaki with Greek Salad and rice which she declared to be much nicer than what she usually has (better than Grandma’s or Mummy’s she whispered) Flatbread and Pitta was also a hit not to mention my Mousaka and Joy’s Chicken Casserole, cooked in tomato sauce with herbs, carrots, celery & onions.

Thankfully the rain had stopped by the time we left and the short walk to Liverpool Central took us to our train back to Ellesmere Port and we called a taxi to take us back to our mooring which was well worth the £3 fare to save four sets of tired legs.

Into Ellesmere Port

It was a 9 o’clock start this morning and a fill up with water at the tap just through the lock, we were almost full when nb Stolen Time approached so we joined them in Christleton Lock and shared all the five locks with them with them down into Chester city centre, where they were turning around and we stopped for a top-up shop at Tescos. The ‘chimney’ in the centre of the picture is a shot tower used for producing lead shot right up until the 1980s.

After a quick lunch courtesy of Pound Bakery we tackled the Northgate Staircase Locks with the assistance of a volunteer lock keeper. By 2 pm we were out into the countryside and my crew could put their feet up and I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the countryside was. Our last trip to these parts was in 1988 so can I be excused if my memory is a bit hazy? 

 

We made good progress, hardly seeing another boat and by 4:30 pm we were at Ellesmere Port Boat Museum.

We checked in and were given some paperwork to return in the morning then dropped down the two narrow locks and found ourselves a mooring in a corner of the Lower Basin.

Anderton Invasion

Friday 14 August

Having sat out the rain for most of the day at Moore, when it subsided a little at 4 o’clock we seized the chance and set off. Our aim was to reach Anderton in order to meet up with family on Saturday. After a brief (and expensive) stop at Midland Chandlers at Preston Brook to replace the boat hook which we had left behind while cat chasing back on the Leeds & Liverpool we just got to Preston Brook Tunnel in time to be second in the convoy on the half past four passage. The next tunnel, Saltersford is also timed so that we just had a ten minute wait and at the final one, Barnton Tunnel there were no boats approaching so it was straight through and twenty-five minutes later we were mooring up at Anderton.

Saturday 15 August

In the morning the hire boat on the Stanley Arms moorings moved off and we took advantage to slide across to their place. This was all part of our plan, we had arranged to meet our son and family as we were having two of our grandchildren to stay for the week. Jer and the gang arrived at lunchtime and we enjoyed a good pub meal with them. After lunch we wandered down to the Anderton Lift and booked our passages for tomorrow and explored the exhibits and grounds. If they have passages available on the day there is no cost for C&RT licence holders but to book for tomorrow cost us £5 each way.

Sunday 16 August

After playing sardines by sleeping eight in the boat overnight we were up to be on the lift moorings by 10:15 am ready for our 10:45 trip. We were in the caisson promptly and once in position and roped up we eventually started the slow descent. There was a short delay at the bottom whilst an issue with emptying the space between the gates was sorted out then it was out onto the calm waters of the River Weaver and soon we had a mystery steerer at the helm taking us down to Northwich.

We winded at Northwich and headed back to have lunch on the short-term moorings next to the lift before back upstream and winded again beyond Town Swing Bridge to bring us back to the lift so that the kids could visit the science show before our trip back up the lift to the canal. Once back on the 48 hr canal moorings we soon had to bid farewell to Jer and his friends and leave us to the to the company of just our two grandchildren.

Pretty soon we were off again to find a mooring near the Lion Salt Works for the night.

Monday 17 August

Our best laid plans to visit the Salt Works were scuppered in that they are closed every Monday (except Bank Holidays) so we made for Middlewich instead. Fate was not our side today because as we approached the town we heard that a boat had sunk in Wardle Lock on Sunday evening and obviously no traffic could pass until it had been recovered.

We passed through Middlewich Big Lock and were fortunate to find a mooring as another boat was just leaving and hailed us to take their place.

So it was time for lunch and a walk down town, when we returned we were kept up-to-date by a lady who seemed to know what was going on and eventually were able to move off at 3:30 pm and tackle the next three locks without really having to queue. When we left the top lock it was a different story however as there were about five boats waiting to turn at the junction into the Shroppie’s Middlewich branch into the ill-fated lock, and there were as many coming off the Shroppie not to mention those coming down King’s Lock. We were able to moor on Middlewich Narrowboats wharf for a bit and took the opportunity to purchase gas and ice creams and bit by bit we moved up the queue and eventually we were through at 6:45 pm and moored up soon afterwards in the town’s more prosperous suburbs.

Tuesday 18 August

We started our day with a walk to the chemist for some anti-histamines and we were on our way to Barbridge Junction with just three locks which Morley enjoyed helping with. It was still quite early when we reached the junction so decided to carry on.
At Bunbury Staircase Locks we paired up with ‘The Aggie’ and with the help of the lock keepers performed the Bunbury Shuffle whereby one boat comes up the flight whilst two go down swapping sides of the locks to enable it. It saves water and time! We continued with our locking partner until Beeston Iron Lock which must be done solo as it is distorted and too narrow to take two boats abreast. We shared Wharton Lock with a guy in a cruiser who was struggling to keep both top gates closed and was pleased for us to join him and help. We stopped for the night at  the Shady Oak Pub which, despite negative comments from another boater, provided a friendly welcome, great meals and we were well impressed with chef who produced home made chicken nuggets in a non-dairy batter for granddaughter’s as she is allergic to cow’s milk.

Wednesday 19 August

Today was an easy day with no locks as by the time we reached Christleton at quarter to one, the rain forecast for 3 o’clock had started so we elected to moor there and visit Chester by bus. Once there we hit the charity shops to find some reading material for the grandkids and then took a tour of the town on the sightseeing bus in the rain, needless to say we didn’t sit in the open air section but were lucky to get the front to seats on the upper deck which were under cover.

Moored at Moore

As Friday was forecast to be wet, wet, wet, we decided to make as much progress as we could today. We meant to leave Worsley early but only managed a 9 o’clock start but there were still very few boats on the move and met less than eight all day.

It was back past the lighthouse, over the Barton Swing Aqueduct, past the Kellogg’s factory and on to Stretford Waters Meeting.

 

I noticed these containers in a factory on the way for storing Hydrofluoric Acid, notice they are rubber lined as it is extremely corrosive, but I remember it being used in my school metalwork shop for etching patterns on glass coffee table tops!

I can imagine the Elfin Safety Brigade having fits these days, but how else do you learn respect for dangerous processes?

Opposite is a page from Creative Wrought Ironwork by Austin Underwood (my school’s metalwork teacher) showing the coffee tables that were made in the 1960s although he only includes them as ‘a concession to contemporary design’ and  doesn’t describe the etching process!

We had thought to stop at Lymm overnight but were disappointed to find the canalside market was already starting to pack up before 3 o’clock so we only took a break for tea & cake and pressed onwards for another couple of hours before mooring opposite Moore Village Stores at 5:00 pm before the rain set in later and continued all night.

Cruising to Worsley

Today we had visitors, our friends Phil & Viv have just moved back to the UK after spending some years working abroad with the Baptist Missionary Society.

We know them from Gloucestershire where Phil was minister of the church we attended in Wotton-under-Edge.

 

It was great to catch up with each other’s family news and hear about mutual friends too. After predominately speaking French for the last few years Viv confessed to now getting stuck for English words sometimes, especially the technical ones you need for arranging mobile phone contracts and the like.

As it happens, Phil was born and bred in Leigh and was able to point out his secondary school, the factory where his dad had worked and the pithead gear of Bickershaw (?) Colliery as they cruised with us in the glorious sunshine down to Worsley. (Pronounced Worse-lea rather than Worzley, he assures me)

 

At Worsley we enjoyed lunch together at The Barton Inn along with some proper Lancashire ale, although the ladies succumbed to some raspberry flavoured Belgian cider. Afterwards we returned to the boat for coffee and more chat before seeing them onto a bus to take them back to Leigh to re-unite them with their car.