Cracking weather, busy day.

We woke up to a beautiful morning. A sharp frost and bright clear skies heralded a fine day. Barely a breath of wind as well, in sharp contrast to yesterday.
The weather brought out the boats. I don’t think we saw one all day yesterday, but today we had three or four past before we even got off.

NB Armadillo was first away from Coole Pilate, at around 9 o’clock.
Rock’n’Roll was next out of the gate, but, hang on, they’re going backwards! It turned out they’d decided to have a pump-out of the loo tank, so were heading back to Overwater Marina.
Moore2Life was next, with us bringing up the rear (as usual!).

Heading towards Hack Green, M2L in the distance, nicely smoking chimney in the foreground.
There’s a pair of locks at Hack Green, near the (Not So) Secret Nuclear Bunker. I really will have to visit it one day…

These two locks are the last on the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal and as such are the last narrow ones on the way to Chester. The B&LJ ends with a connection to the Chester Canal at Nantwich. From this point, heading north, the canal is designated as broad, with wide locks and bridge-holes.
These two canals, along with the Llangollen, Montgomery and Middlewich Branch, plus several smaller branches, were merged under the umbrella of The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company in 1845. The initial plan was to fill the canals and use the route for track bed, but the decision was luckily deferred as the canals were still making money. The plan was finally abandoned in 1849.
The Shropshire network remained in profit till WWI, but then the inevitable decline set in as transport was switched to the developing road system.

Mags leaving Hack Green Lock 1  
Bridge 86, between the locks, is suffering from serious health issues.

 
Charles delicately threads M2L’s canopy between the footboards on the lower gates of Lock 2.
Ann, big Molly and Meg look on with interest…. Will he, won't he....

Another couple of miles saw us coming under Marsh Lane Bridge, onto the long embankment which runs to the west of Nantwich.

Coming onto Nantwich Embankment.

The embankment crosses the A534 Chester Road on a fine cast iron aqueduct, which, as always, looks better from underneath.

Over Chester Road

M2L pulled in soon after the aqueduct but we pushed on a little further, first to the services, then to reverse down to Basin End and the fuel wharf of Nantwich Marina. Ann was on hand to fend off from imminent collisions (narrowboats don’t steer well backwards, unless you’ve a bow thruster like R’n’R), but she was only needed once to put us back on the straight and narrow.

Into Basin End.
The Main Line runs under the bridge, heading south. We’re heading backwards to the right. This is the original terminus of The Chester Canal, before the B&LJ joined up in 1835 over 50 years later.

We wriggled into the corner of the busy basin, took on diesel, gas and solid fuel, then replaced all 4 of our domestic batteries. I’d decided to “bite the bullet” and change the lot. Two of them were over 2 years old, and one of the others is the dodgy one I identified some time ago. What the hell, it’s only money. And I’ve just received a tax rebate from 2006….
Access is good so I had the whole lot swapped and reconnected inside 20 minutes. We motored back out again to the spot above, then reversed back through the bridge to moor on the end of the visitor moorings.

Leaving Basin End, the fuel wharf is on the far right.
Busy old spot, init!

The clear skies have allowed the temperature to plummet, after a high of 12° in the sun, we’re now down to –0.4°and it’s only 7o’clock. Could be a nippy one, methinks.
Still, it’s worth it for days like today.

Locks 2, miles 4

Fair-Weather Boaters?

Well, we certainly were today! Maybe we’re getting soft with all the mild, fine weather we’ve been having, but one look out of the window this morning convinced me to delay moving to Nantwich till tomorrow.

Yuk!

Still, I’d plenty to occupy myself, a good book, varnish to slap on the stool I made, sweep through and clean the floors. The rain moved off around noon, so Meg and had a grooming session outside this afternoon, then George and Carol, Ann and I took the three canines on a circular walk for an hour or so, getting back just before sunset. And a spectacular one it was as well.

Sunset. Red sky at night….. It’s supposed to be fine and sunny tomorrow.

Donald faces forward when we're cruising….

So, Nantwich tomorrow, and the wallet has to come out of hibernation….

Locks 0, miles 0.

And then there were four……

All on our lonesome last night, but we’ve company for tonight.
It’s been a fine day, but just got a little breezy later.

Looking forward to Bridge 84 this morning.
Marvellous, isn’t it.

With such fine weather it would have been a shame to spend it indoors, so I didn’t. Played ball with Meg then emptied the well deck, cleaned it out and brushed or scrubbed the mats.  Played ball with Meg then I cleaned the rubber mats on the counter and mopped it over. Chopped a bit of wood and played ball with Meg. I’d some spare wood from when I refitted the bedroom, so I got my gear out and set to making a stool. In between playing ball with Meg…

The first to arrive was NB Moore2Life, at around noon. Meg was pleased, Molly to play with and Ann to throw that ball. Then NB Armadillo cruised by and pulled in a little further along. Finally George, Carol and little Molly arrived on NB Rock’n’Roll. Suddenly the tranquil mooring was transformed, with dogs running after balls and each other, me using power tools and folk milling about drinking tea. I said this mooring was popular……

We were pleased to see everyone, but George especially. He came bearing salvation in the form of a tube of white silicon sealant. I dug my tubes out this morning to finish the work on the shower cubicle and they had all “gone off”. All except the black of course. Even I would draw the line at sealing white tiles to a white shower tray and white folding door with BLACK sealant!

Luckily George had a new tube in stock, so I owe him one. We’ll stop here tomorrow, if the weather is as kind as today it’ll be another outside jobs day.

Locks 0, miles 0.

Peace and Quiet

After a weekend amidst the bustle of Audlem we decided to head out into the countryside today. BW were quick off the mark, we’re proudly displaying our go (almost) anywhere Gold Licences now.

2012 Gold Licence

The Rockers had hired a car for the weekend, so they took Ann and I on a shopping trip to Stafford yesterday. We were able to stock up on heavy items like dog food and spuds, which are difficult to carry any distance.
When we returned to Audlem we dropped all three boats down Lock 12 and moored almost outside the The Shroppie Fly. We were all through and moored up in about 15 minutes, the most activity the village had seen all weekend! It has been really quiet, just 2 or 3 boats on the move each day.

Moored so close to the pub, it seemed churlish not to take advantage of it’s hospitality, so we all piled in there for a few pints and a meal. Very enjoyable it was, too. We were joined by friends of George and Carol who have a boat in Overwater Marina.


The gang
Al and Dot are on the far left, the rest you should know….

Audlem Wharf at 11:00 last night.
There’s a very pleasant 40-50 minute circular walk from Audlem, up the locks then returning along tracks and through fields. Descending back into the village there’re are good views of the houses dominated by the impressive church of St James standing on it’s mound.

Looking down on Audlem

Audlem Wharf this morning.

A few last minute bits and pieces from the Co-op and bakery this morning, then we pulled forward to fill and empty the appropriate tanks before dropping down the last three of the Audlem Locks. Ann volunteered to help set up the locks as we were following another boat, so we made short work of them.

Audlem Bottom Lock. No 15.

Moore2Life and Rock’n’Roll are staying in Audlem another day. They’ll catch us up before Nantwich.

Leaving the village we chatted to a chap walking the towpath with his shopping, him telling us that he’s also got an Orchard Marina boat. I assumed he was from one of the two boats near the winding hole, but he walked past these. I asked him how far he was going and he told me Overwater Marina. So we pulled over and gave him and his groceries a lift. It made it a little easier. The marina is on the off side, so he’d have had to walk up to the next bridge to cross over, then back across a muddy field.

Our passenger for a short while. We were so busy talking I forgot to ask his name! Anyway, happy cruising!
The photo looks a bit murky because this is how the weather turned out. After a bright, promising start it turned damp around noon, but did clear up again later.

We didn’t have far to go, pulling in on the SUCS mooring at Coole Pilate.

Coole Pilate moorings.
With picnic tables, barbecue stands and a grassy towpath these are popular moorings in the summer. Today we’re on our own here.

After a cup of tea and the compulsory ball session with Meg, I set to dismantling the shower enclosure. We have as leak in one corner, staining the cabinet work. From experience I know that shoving a bit of silicone sealant in the suspect joint is a best a short-term solution, so I removed the bi-fold doors and frame and scraped out the old sealant. I’ll leave it overnight to dry thoroughly before reassembly tomorrow, bedding all the joints on fresh sealant.


No showers for 24 hours – good job we’re on our own!

We had a fine sunset as the skies started to clear. Red sky at night.....

Locks 4, miles 2½

Dodging the Dredgers

What a pleasant relief to wake up this morning to calm! It’s certainly been wild and woolly these past couple of days. Not cruising weather, so we stayed put at the bottom of Adderley Locks.

We moved out today around 10:30, leaving behind NB Armadillo. We hadn’t had a chance to chat, what with the weather, but this morning we discovered that they also blog. They’re heading the same way as us, up onto the Llangollen Canal, so we should have a chance to meet up.

Fellow bloggers, NB Armadillo.
It was a fine bright morning, but did cloud up a bit later.
It’s just over a mile to the top of the 15 Audlem Locks, but we had to run the gauntlet of workboats involved in dredging and bank repair work.

Dredged spoil is dumped here, and spread across an adjacent field.
 (I’m pleased to see that the towpath has been protected from the machinery and mud)

And this is where it comes from…

The pans are loaded by boat-mounted digger, then moved to the unloading area by push tug.

Just around the corner and under the next bridge bank repairs are under way, after which back filling and dredging will take place.

I wonder which of these guys lost the toss? One of the pairs of waders leaks, apparently!
Some we’ve done earlier.

The fabric sheeting, supported on timber posts, is backfilled and quickly colonised by vegetation. This gives a much softer and more natural edge to the navigation than armco piling. And it’s considerably cheaper….

After all this excitement we arrived at the top of Audlem Locks.
The first 3 are spaced out along the gentle gradient, then get closer together from Lock 4 on, as the hillside steepens.

Dropping down Lock 1, push tug in the distance.

Meg found a playmate between L1 and L2…

A Beardie dog, he was only 7 months old and daft as a brush. So daft in fact that he fell in the canal just above Lock 2, and I had to quickly haul him out before he got sucked into the sluice!

At Lock 3 we had a bit of a pause while a boat came up, then it was plain sailing down to below L11.

From Lock 4 the locks get closer together.

Halfway down there’s a lock-keepers “refuge”.
A grate would have kept the hut warm in winter, and the bywash underneath provided running water!

Well on the way down, Mags lines up for Lock 8, Meg is starting to get bored.

That’s it, last lock for today, No 11.
The sun has come out again, too!

We moored up below the lock, had a belated lunch then after a bit of a sit down Ann and I took the dogs for a short walk to Moss Aqueduct where the canal crosses the Weaver.

Looking down on the River Weaver as it heads north to Nantwich.

It was starting to get dark as we walked back up, so I had a bit of a play with the camera, set on long exposures.

Lock 12 and bywash.

Looking down the bywash from above
The long exposure makes the flowing water look milky.
The same photo, taken using flash, captures the flow of water.

The windy weather claimed a narrowboat up near Doncaster on the Aire and Calder. The couple were lucky, the canal here is wide and deep, straight and running west/east. The flat land  would  have allowed the waves to build up. It must have been hairy out there….

Locks 11, miles 2½

Off we jolly well go….

Well, after a fortnight in and around Market Drayton we’re on the move again. The Rockers (NB Rock’n’Roll) moved out yesterday, we followed on today after waiting for the Lifers (NB Moore2Life) to return after a trip south to see the family.

It’s been good here, useful for shops and facilities, but a bit limited on the dog walking front. It’s good to be cruising again, though. I couldn’t put up with a Winter Mooring, being in one place for four months would drive me to distraction!
If we’re pleased, imagine how Sue and Vic on NB No Problem must be feeling! At least we had a choice….

There’ve been no more swan fights, but Dad has been patrolling up and down looking mean, just in case.

If you were a swan looking to move in, would you take this on?

We got away around 10:30, leaving M2L to reverse to Talbot Wharf for diesel.

Under the bypass bridge out of Market Drayton.

The last outpost of civilisation is Victoria Wharf, with a diverse collection of narrowboats in various stages of renovation.

Victoria Wharf


From this point on it’s countryside for three miles, all the way to Adderley Locks. We had a short stop to cut and load some wood I’d spotted while walking Meg, then we pushed on to the locks.

The towpath changes sides at Bridge 67….

I very nearly hit the towpath edge here. On narrow canals you can line up the tow path side roof rail with the keystone on the bridge, and you’ll slip through without touching the sides…. just like in the photo. But then I “lost the plot” and moved across to line up the left side rail with the keystone, only realising at the last moment we’d swapped sides. Tiller over and a quick squirt on the throttle and a substantial crunch was avoided.

Adderley Top Lock appears about ¾ of a mile on.

Adderley Top Lock through Bridge 69
These 5 locks drop the canal 31 feet in less than ½ a mile and are the second of the three flights of locks on the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal. Rather than have locks scattered haphazardly along the length of the canal, Telford realised that grouping them together will speed up operation and leave long pounds in between. So there are flights at Tyreley (5 locks), Adderley (5 locks) and Audlem (15 locks). There is also a single lock at Wheaton Aston and another 2 at Hack Green, to accommodate minor changes in contour height.
Like all of the locks on the B&LJ, these are narrow. The broad locks are on the Chester Canal, from Nantwich to Ellesmere Port.

Adderley Locks

Adderley Bottom Lock

We moored below the flight, behind NB Armadillo which can be seen in the distance.

It’s been a blustery day, but at least mainly dry. Tomorrow is supposed to be better, we hope so. We’ll be tackling 13 of the 15 Audlem locks. It’s a bit miserable locking in the rain.

Locks 5, miles 3½

Swanning around….

There’s a resident pair of swans in Market Drayton, the ones that came for breakfast the other day. They have 5 cygnets, almost fully grown, now. In fact they’ve been doing “circuits and bumps” down the straight section of canal opposite the pontoon moorings.
Unfortunately, as soon as they can fly, the parents evict the youngsters from their “patch”, and 2 were shifted yesterday, with the cob chasing them off further up the canal. To make matters worse a pair of juveniles have appeared today, obviously looking for somewhere they can call home. The residents were having none of it; no-one one was sharing their bit of canal.

The first I knew about the commotion was a bump and scrabble on the back deck, going out to look I saw one of the local young birds  on the towpath, having used our counter to get out of the water. The dad was cruising up and down, feathers fluffed in a threat display, so it looks like one of the evicted cygnets had tried to return  home.


He waddled off up the towpath, then all hell broke loose down near the bridge. The two interlopers had turned up and were being chased off by the local adults.

One of the newcomers took the hint and slung his hook, the other didn’t get the chance.
Mobbed by both of the locals, they proceeded to try to drown him, holding his head under the water and standing on his back.


Even when he tried to escape onto the bank there was no reprieve.

The three remaining local juveniles joined in as well…

But he did manage to get away and climbed out onto the towpath behind Seyella. I had to shoo the other birds away, they were all for carrying on the persecution onshore.

Bedraggled and exhausted, he took a few minutes to get his breath back before he too set off up the towpath away from the area.

He still had enough energy to threaten Meg, though. She pointedly ignored him…

And they look so sweet don’t they, serenely cruising along the waterways. Actually, they are pretty nasty, attacking boats large and small, drowning ducklings that have the misfortune to be competing with cygnets for food, and beating up towpath users if they stray too near a nest site.

One of the local dog walkers told me that this pair had killed one of their own offspring last year because it wouldn’t leave the nest site.

Today started bright enough, but it became showery by mid morning. George and Carol were having visitors so reversed back to moor near Bridge 63. With the wet weather the towpath alongside us here is rapidly turning into a morass. So we’ll move both the remaining boats back to join them tomorrow.

Locks 0, Miles 0

Happy New Year!!

Hope you’re not feeling too rough this morning.
Incidentally, the official name for a hangover is veisalgia, derived from the Norwegian kveis meaning uneasiness following debauchery, and the Greek algia, for pain. Pretty well sums it up, don’t you think?
"Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink" (Isaiah 5:11). Oh, stop being such a spoilsport!

We had a good night, the Rockers joined us for a drink (or several) and we saw the New Year in, watching the spectacular firework display in London. Certainly kicked off 2012 with a bang!

All the best for 2012, may you have all your locks set for you, and plenty of water under your baseplate. May your hulls never rust, and your fenders stay firm.

Locks 0, Miles 0.