Today saw the start of this spell of settled,
warm weather, and our first fairly intensive locking day for quite some time.
We got off reasonably early to give us options
for later, and to take advantage of the fine day.
Leaving
Middlewich
The fence on the left is a new addition. The stretch
here is popular with swans, and every year several were killed by traffic on
Booth Lane. Local campaigners raised money to have the fence built and the
contractor also contributed.
The first lock of the day was Rumps Lock, followed
shortly after by the demolition site where the RHM factory used to stand. This
was famous for production of Bisto Gravy and Saxa salt. A sculpture
representing The Bisto Kids was saved from the wrecking ball and now has pride
of place in Middlewich Library.
There’s a footbridge across the canal, allowing
access to the factory from the car park. The bridge is still there, connecting
nothing to nowhere.
Bridge to
nowhere
The canal continues alongside Booth Lane for a
couple of miles, although it changes sides at Tetton Bridge. There are another
2 locks along here, before road and canal finally part company.
Booth
Lane Locks
From here there’s a windy section to Wheelock,
with just one more lock at Crows Nest.
We passed NB Sandwich just below the lock, and they followed us up. They are a
newly-wedded couple, the honeymoon is a fortnight’s cruise around the Four
Counties Ring!
NB Sandwich
At Wheelock we topped up the water and emptied a
loo and the rubbish. BW are trialing a mixed recyclables bin here, so I’d been
segregating all the rubbish, but was dismayed to find that people had thrown
general rubbish in the recycling skip. The notice on the front is big enough,
believe me.
From this point on the locks come more
frequently as the canal climbs up towards the settlement of Malkin’s Bank.
Bottom
end of the Wheelock Flight.
We started to meet boats coming down, so it was
one in, one out, efficient use of the locks.
Doing the
boat shuffle between L65 and L66
We were making good time so option 1, mooring up
just above Lock 61, was ignored.
A lot of these gates were replaced during last winter's stoppages.
New gates at Lock 58
Two more locks took us towards Hassall Green
and our second option for a stop, but we chose to press on, under the motorway
bridge and up the pair of locks at Hassall Green before pulling over.
Lock 59
Moored up
above Lock 57.
We’ve had a good day with most of the locks in
our favour (a good road as the boatmen would have said). We need to press on a
bit as we now need to be at Fradley in a week’s time. Mags has an appointment for
her annual MOT at our local clinic a week tomorrow, and Fradley is a handy spot
for mooring and getting a motor out of Lichfield.
Locks 14, miles 7½
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