Onward and Upward.

 I’ve been a little remiss, not posting for nearly a week, but in my defense the interweb has been a bit patchy…

Anyway, we came up the Grindley Brook Locks last Wednesday, not meeting a single boat in the three singles, but having to wait for a descending boat coming down the staircase. An easy run though, about an hour and a quarter all told.

Through the railway bridge below the locks.

Lock 5 the middle of the three singles…

…and coming up the triple staircase.

We filled and emptied above the locks and I was hoping to get moored on the rings but didn’t hold out much hope. A lot of boats were waiting here until Quoisley Lock was fixed, and several others were just lurking…

But one pulled out and headed for Whitchurch just as the tank filled, so we dived into the vacant slot.

The weather wasn’t conducive to cruising on Thursday, wet and very windy. Most everybody else thought so too. There was no-one coming up of course, and only a couple of hirers heading down.

By lunchtime on Friday the weather front had pushed through and the clouds started to thin so we pushed on, towards Whitchurch.

There are another three lift bridges to deal with just up the canal, the first next to the Whitchurch Arm junction and the others close together a half-mile further on. I got through the first two on my own, at the third a boat was coming the other way after I’d got the bridge up so their crew crossed over our counter to drop it after they’d gone through.

Lots of boats at the hire base at Whitchurch.

Several were from Wrenbury, they’d obviously arranged to leave them here rather than be late back because of the stoppage. 

But they’d be able to sort them out quickly, Quoisley Lock was fixed and re-opened at two o’clock that afternoon.

We toddled on in steadily improving weather, finally stopping in a sunny spot just past Duddleston Bridge.

Another weather front passed over through Saturday and into Sunday morning, but had cleared to blue skies by half eleven so we upped sticks and moved on.

We’ve a Tesco delivery organised at Roundthorn Bridge on the mosses for Monday evening, and I wanted to be there on Sunday to make sure we were handy to the walker’s car park there.

A fine afternoon…

 

Just one lift bridge to do, and that was lifted for me by a chap and his son out for a bike ride. As I approached the bridge he shouted from the towpath that he’d lift it for me if I threw him my windlass. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth I obliged…

He put his son to work keeping up the family tradition. His father used to bring him down here to help the boaters too!

At one point I thought I was going to get wet, but luckily it blew over with only a few drops shed.

The squirrels were very active on the towpath, setting aside acorns for winter stores.

Not a good photo though.

We got tied up at Roundthorn Bridge before one, just where we wanted to be.

Locks 6, miles 6¼