Too hot for poor Amber with her woolly coat. We have a long walk in the morning, getting back by 8, then, apart from toilet breaks, she spends the day sat in front of the fan or on the bed in the shade under a damp towel.
We came down Baddiley and Swanley Locks last Thursday, having an easy run down with boats coming up most if not all of them.
Baddiley Bottom Lock.
Clearing the five locks we passed Swanley Bridge Marina then spent a few minutes chatting to Richard and Ruth, waiting at Burland Wharf for stock for their next run.
Essential maintenance…
We didn’t go much further, pulling in just past Bridge 5.
We’d normally stay here a couple of days, it’s a nice spot, but we moved on on Friday morning, pausing above Grindley Brook Locks to fill the water tank and drop off rubbish before dropping down onto the main line.
Fine but a bit overcast. How we wish for that cloud again now!
Looking down the flight.
There were a couple of boats coming up so we were able to swap, and with three lockies on duty it was an easy run down.
We were out onto the Shroppie (formally the Chester Canal) by just after 11.
We cruised into Nantwich and dropped into a spot just before Bridge 92, Nantwich Junction Bridge.
The short branch to the right, now used by Nantwich Marina, ends at the terminal basin of what was the Chester Canal before it was incorporated into the Shropshire Union Canal network. This broad navigation, opened in 1179, linked the towns of Nantwich and Chester, connecting to the Dee. The original proposal was to join the Trent and Mersey at Middlewich, but the T&M proved reluctant, fearing loss of trade to the north, so it was cut to Nantwich instead.
It wasn’t that successful though, struggling to make ends meet until the opening of the Ellesmere Canal in 1797 provided a link to the River Mersey at Ellesmere Port, and then the construction of the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, finished in 1835, took the navigation right down to the industrial powerhouse of the Black Country.
The bridge ahead is the first narrow one heading south, marking the junction of the B&LJC and the older navigation.
We stayed here one night, then moved on over Telford’s impressive iron aqueduct to moor further along.
We’re moving on tomorrow, early-ish, probably finishing up above Hack Green Locks or the moorings at Coole Pilate.
Locks 9, miles 7
2 comments:
Hi Geoff and mags hope your both keeping cool as well as amber. Nice to see the photos and hear where you are it’s like a fix to us as we are land locked at the moment😔 . Is that a deliberate mistake in the txt? 🤔 keep cool and stay safe .
Hi Sue. Hope Mac is feeling a bit better now. Which mistake was that? it wouldn't be the first time!
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