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News & Diary
Archive 2005
May - June
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News & Diary
Archive 2005
May - June
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Further travels can be found in Archives
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May 3
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Our long weekend was very relaxing, mostly sitting on the back deck watching the hire boats and weekend boaters flow past between locks. Shortly after our arrival another boat tied up in front of us with the same (do-little) intention and we spent several hours over the next few days sitting out with Bob and Hilary of Everglade talking about electrics, family trees and British waterways (with and without a capital W). Yesterday another boat pulled in behind us and I was soon chatting away with Phil and Jen Lamb on Rascal 1, who were returning (slowly) to their base at Hinksford. Gothersley roundhouse was the kind of mooring - willow trees and a large field with horses on one side and a bluebell-coated woodland floor on the other - that encouraged people to stop, eat, drink, read, fish and generally idle away a few hours before moving on.
This morning we were at last galvanized into action, came up through four locks and a few miles to this pleasant mooring below Swindon lock - an hour and a half of work before settling down for another day or two. I'm in two minds about which because there are two signs here : one of them says 24 hours, the other 48 hours. This time of the season it probably doesn't matter very much which is correct, but we are just a few hundred yards from The Green Man and as it was recommended for its beer by Phil Lamb we might well go by the more generous of the time limits.
One of those missing emails that turned up the other day from Joseph and Janet Cresswell of Barleyfirth. included Joseph's account of their trip last year to the end of the Chesterfield canal which he had recounted in person when we met up on Tixall Wide. I couldn't immediately recall why I had asked him to send me a written version - until I read this description of his entry into the West Stockwith lock from the tidal Trent:
"Our first priority of the day was to take our four Scottish Terriers for an early walk across the Lincolnshire fields and after a great breakfast they fell asleep, oblivious to the impending excitement and risks. We set off down the tidal river Trent from Torksey towards West Stockwith lock clutching our Tidal River Trent chart. Is this one of the few journeys taken by narrow boat where a “real” navigation chart is almost obligatory? The chart was very useful, although a little poetic in its description of some of the navigation markers.
A few days earlier we had received sound advice from n.b Bertie’s owners about navigating the tidal river Trent and we had phoned ahead to book our entry into the West Stockwith lock with the deputy lock keeper. His advice included a warning that the 'Trent’s tidal current hurls across the mouth of the lock because of the hairpin bend it's just come around. Oh, and don’t worry, we are not expecting an aggregate barge on the river'. Remember that those aggregate barges weigh over 400 tons, our boat weighs around 20 tons and they travel at greater speeds than our boat. He continued 'Go past the lock mouth to turn your boat below the lock and come back against the tide aiming straight at me where I’m stood on the lock wall' and then he added 'Carefully and very quickly follow my hand signals'.
Thankfully, when we arrived the keeper was waiting for us on the lock. After passing the lock mouth I turned the boat against the tide and inched her back towards the lock mouth wall our eyes glued to the keeper’s every hand gesture as he moved just like the flight controller on the end of an aircraft carrier until, until … with the boat’s bow only two yards from the wall of the lock mouth he waved both arms vigorously, pointing into the chamber. Hard down on the throttle giving her full revs and hard over with the tiller bar to force the boat at right angles to the tide, into the lock we hurtled with no touching of the chamber’s walls. No celebrations yet! Then engine hard astern or we would be crashing into the lock’s top gates and risk draining the Chesterfield Canal.
We had entered the West Stockwith lock safely, without hitting either the wall or its gates and possibly damaging our Scottish Terriers or the boat. We both felt a great sense of achievement and some relief but only later in the day did I realise that I had bruised my hip and waist by that heavy use of the tiller bar. Great hand skills by the keeper."
I now remember why we decided against tackling the Trent in our first three months on Snecklifter ! "Wait until you know your boat well," was the advice from several older hands than me. So we did, and we still are.
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May 4
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The beer at the Green Man turned out as good as promised - a lovely straw-coloured pint of Hydes' Jekyll at 4.3 abv - but we tore ourselves away early this morning to beat the threatened downturn in the weather. It rained a little through several locks but by the time we reached the Bratch flight it was holding off and though there was still low grey cloud it was bright enough to enjoy the marvellous views as we ascended the three linked but separate locks, helped by lock keeper Mark Oerton. The flight had originally been a staircase, Mark told us, but it had been divided to improve water usage. I know I try to avoid using the "work" word in this diary but if I had to then the Bratch locks would be as good a place as any to do it, as appealing a spot as some of the upper Thames locks as you approach Lechlade.
We are now moored a few hundred yards above the flight with clear views on each side and for the first time since we started down the River Avon we have been able to tune in to free-view channels on our digibox. For several weeks even terrestrial BBC and ITV channels have been very poor. Apart from struggling to see the Crucible snooker clearly it has been no hardship and we've realised how much television can be missed - without being missed.
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May 7
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Another two days of slowly inching our way along the Staffs and Worcs brought us yesterday morning to the Shroppie and by midday we had reached Wolverhampton Boat Club, tying up alongside Martin and Jenny Howes' Ashted. They arrived within a couple of hours and we sat out in the sun most of the afternoon, moving to the clubhouse in the evening for a pint of Hanson's mild - the bitter was nothing special. It was great to see Martin and Jenny and other familiar faces again and a treat to be plugged in to mains electricity. Their whole-hearted hospitality reminded us why we decided to join the club nearly two years ago even though we can spend so little time here. This afternoon, Jenny and Martin laid on a superb barbeque with marinaded pork steaks, sausages, home-made burgers and bread, with mouth-watering salads and excellent Australian wine.
It's good to be back on the Shroppie but looking back over the last few weeks, the southern section of the Staffs and Worcs was certainly a revelation, some of its length as lovely a section of canal as you'll find. We will return, perhaps next year after our planned third visit to the Thames.
Meanwhile an amusing update to Rose Philpott's exploration of her newly acquired narrowboat has reached us and can be read on Rose Afloat. Also received is an email from a new correspondent Chris Hume who writes: "How lovely it is to read all about your travels and tribulations. It sounds idyllic, and we - that is my husband-to-be Richard Adams (not Watership Down) and I - will be buying a liveaboard in two years or thereabouts and hope to bump in to you, though not literally. It is reading stories like yours and other people's that make us want to travel the length and breadth of Britain, and we can't wait.
We stop and chat to boaters whenever we can, and in fact only today we travelled to Oundle to check out boats and boaters and met a lovely couple just about to launch their narrowboat on to the Nene. I especially loved your travels through Burton-upon-Trent as that is where I was born and spent many an afternoon helping to push open the locks by the Horninglow bridge, never thinking that I would be able to own a narrowboat with my partner one day. We are getting married in June, so there is not a lot of boat watching going to be done until after that, apart from the Crick boat show, but then we are seriously starting to look into what we can afford. But it's just wonderful talking and reading about it at the moment and we will look out for you when we are walking towpaths in the future. We often walk the canal bank in Tamworth where my brother lives, right by the Tame Otter and the Red Lion. We were there at Christmas 2003 and there was a lovely boat moored all lit up and it was the loveliest sight - just a sprinkling of snow."
Reading that makes me look forward to getting back to Hopwas - for the two pubs if not the sprinkling of snow!
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May 10
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We ended our brief stay at WBC on Sunday morning with an hour of digging (me) and helping with a licence application (Liz) as part of the club's regular weekly work party, the hardest physical work I've done for ages but very satisfying, especially in the company of people who have been so hospitable to "passers-through" like us. After coffee we left for Brewood to meet up with Jeanne and Rob Boulton on Tywardreath while the others went back for another hour of work.
It was only an hour and a half to our regular mooring just short of bridge 15 and about 15 minutes walk from the village but heavy rain and blustery wind made it seem longer. Still, it had dried up by the time we tied up and went aboard Tywardreath for a very welcome cup of tea and a couple of slices each of some marvellous home-made plum bread. We may live simple but we do live well!
Yesterday Liz and Jeanne went off to the village to shop for bread and a few other essentials while Rob and I got on with light chores aboard our own boats. In the afternoon we sat out for an hour or so in the sun and then slaved for a few hours over Jeanne and Rob's computer - another tough day on the Cut. And by the way, the view across the fields to the distant village and hills is beautiful. Just hope I'm not making you jealous out there.
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May 13
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Another couple of enjoyable days with Jeanne and Rob, doing little apart from sitting out in the sun and finishing off update work on their computer, topped off by a welcome shopping trip with Rob to Penkridge market (where a tall, rather elegant, elderly lady couldn't resist running her hand through his naturally curly hair as we waited at the bus stop - must buy myself a pair of tongs!). They left us yesterday bound for the Llangollen and the Middlewich arm so no doubt we will meet up with them again eventually. They are such good company.
No sooner had they left than the weather began to deteriorate, the wind especially a nuisance as we are moored on an open stretch of countryside, but we have no intention of moving until next Tuesday. Liz left this morning to visit our son in Norwich to give him moral support for the Norfolk and Norwich Festival which he runs (though he doesn't really need it judging by its success so far) and returns on Sunday afternoon. The car hire firm sent someone to bridge 15 to give her a lift to their base in Cannock and he turned up on the dot at 9am - very impressive. She has left me with two helpings of cottage pie and plenty of bread so I should have plenty of energy to walk the dogs and keep the boat reasonably clean and tidy.
Among recent emails is one from Mike and Di Bridges who have sold their Heron boat Quinquireme. "Now it’s full steam ahead with Heron for the new 60ft 'Quinquireme the Second' but I have a hankering to call it 'Morjindea' on account of Di’s penchant for the old Gordons! We’ll probably stick to Q2," says Mike. "We plan to keep the new one up North for the first winter and have a mooring at Mirfield so in the spring we can kick off to do the Leeds and Liverpool and part of the Rochdale canals. We then will work our way down the Trent and Mersey to Birmingham and onward down the Grand Union. We won’t be going back to Odiham but have put our name down for a mooring in Bristol Harbour so if one comes up we’ll be down the K&A autumn 2006."
There's also an update from Sarah Levick who has adopted another greyhound (you can read about it on From Our Friends where I have also transferred the link to Rose Philpott's page Rose Afloat. With the removal of the now redundant "ad" for Quinquireme I thought it was time for a bit of tidying up.
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May 16
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A quiet, relaxed and pleasant weekend on my own, but I was very pleased and relieved when Liz got back from Norwich yesterday. She has left again this morning (briefly) to return the car to Cannock but we've already decided not to rush off. Instead we will pick up some extras from Brewood and have a final pint at the Bridge before leaving tomorrow morning. Those extras (including some wonderful black pudding from the local butcher) remind me that I forgot to mention that Jeanne and Rob had left us with a loaf of the home-made plum bread that I enjoyed so much when we went aboard Tywardreath a week ago. Just finished the last of it and it was excellent. Also I discovered that the Bridge is serving a marvellous Jekyll's Gold, justifying Rob's nickname for me, Alefinder. Still, I've been called worse.
The only item of news is an email from our Braunston friends Carole and Brent Walker. Carole writes: "Just got back on terra firma after a week aboard Black Watch on the T&M to Shardlow and back. The weather has been glorious even if a little windy in places, so much so I have burnt my nose again! - must be that it is so close to the sun then.
"Anyway - just waiting by Swarkestone lock for a single boat to come up - Brent goes to raise the paddle gear and I amble along as the boat's tied by the centre rope. A couple are dealing with the vagaries of a wide lock with a single boat inside, and knowing that the water surges from this particular lock, we follow their lead.
"As they leave the lock, Brent's waving frantically at the boat and as they pass by give me a delightful wave - none other than Sue & Mike on Shania who recognise us from your photos on the website. Brent relates excitedly the brief conversation where the two parties recognise each other and exchange updates on your progress up the Shroppie. It's nice to know you bring people together - albeit for brief moments."
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May 19
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Even in these times of generally higher diesel prices it was worth a stop at Wheaton Aston when we left Brewood on Tuesday morning - 31.9p per litre - and after watering and empting cassettes and other rubbish below the lock we set off up the Shroppie in that state of contentment known only to live-aboards. Full, full, nearly full, empty, empty. In order : diesel, water, gas, cassettes, rubbish bin.
We didn't get that far, stopping overnight near Little Onn, and yesterday travelled almost as slowly up to Norbury Junction where we sampled the Junction Inn's own-label bitter before settling down for the rest of the afternoon and evening. It was a pity the attraction of the pub was diminished by the non-communicating barmaid but she was more than offset by the very welcoming new people who are running the wharf and its shop - expanded since our last visit with a bright and attractive cafe section.
This morning we set off at about 9.45 am (late for us) but within an hour had moored above Anchor bridge at High Offley, two minutes walk from the Anchor Inn, which we will no doubt visit later today.
The only other news is that we've been been chosen by Jim Shead as his site of the month in his regular Waterways World feature, clicking.on.canals. We're obviously delighted, especially by his comments about the writing and photographs. You can read the rest of it on page 86 of the June issue of WW. His own widely-read site - www.jim-shead.com - is an informative guide to everything that's happening on the Cut, both real and virtual.
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May 24
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Little had changed at the Anchor (I'm pleased to say) except that the gardens were not yet as full of the hanging baskets and floral displays that we enjoyed so much when we visited in September 2003. Olive was still upping and downing to the cellar to fetch jugs of Wadworth 6X and Elaine was still busy outside mowing and tidying up the "estate." We stayed just the one night, however, and cruised to bridge 50 where we intended staying the weekend looking out at the Wrekin, but things had changed there and we could not get in properly without the boat's bottom bumping and grinding against the "Shroppie ledge" every time another boat passed.
So we set disappointment aside and on Saturday morning travelled a short distance to Goldstone Wharf where again we were moored against a ledge - but this time straight and firm enough not to crash about. We had never used this mooring before but enjoyed our stay. In the Wharf Tavern there was an excellent pint of Shining Knight, a distinctive bitter brewed locally at Eccleshall, and within a few hours William and Pam Pughe arrived on Chickasaw and moored a little way behind us. We met them at Tixall on the first summer of our journey and never since - although mutual friends had mentioned seeing them about the system several times. We went aboard an impressively lengthened Chickasaw (all done by William himself) and they joined us next morning for coffee on Snecklifter.
Early yesterday we set off again, came down through the five Tyrley locks and tied up at Market Drayton long enough to walk into the town and get a taxi back loaded with basics from Morrison's. We failed to moor between bridges 65 and 67 - surprising number of boats already there - and ended up on the official moorings above Adderley locks, stuck out at least a foot from the bank by the aforementioned ledge.
This morning we waited until the rain eased and at 10.30 we came down through the Adderley flight, tying up on the official moorings within the hour. If it's fine tomorrow we'll tackle the 15 Audlem locks - or maybe not. See how we feel.
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May 25
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We've decided to stay another day at Adderley - I have to change oil and oil filters and it's given me time to update the website with a new section - Frequently Asked Questions. Don't know why I didn't think about this before but it was prompted by questions from new email Australian correspondent, Raymond Pearce, and Liz suggested posting the answers on the site instead of sending them out individually, as we've done in the past. Thank you, Ray.
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May 26
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An early start (6am to Liz's chagrin) brought us to the Shroppie Fly by 8.30 and after watering we dropped down through one more lock to the 48 hours mooring just two minutes walk from the pub. We'll no doubt sample their wares at lunchtime. Before then a stroll into Audlem to see if our land mail has arrived post restante and to add a few fresh food items to the larder.
Yesterday was spent mostly waiting to see if the weather brightened up and when it did we found our neighbours were Carole and Stuart Sampson on mv Sulaskar. Carole is the driving force behind the First Mate guides which Liz swears by, while Stuart is chairman of NABO, so we had plenty to talk about in between walking dogs and sitting out in the warmish wind catching up on our reading.
Several regular readers have responded favourably to the new FAQs section, confirming my feeling that I should have done it a long time ago. Mike and Jo Edwards of Sarah Kate wrote to suggest that a good yardstick for the use of diesel if you don't have a fuel gauge is that the average engine uses about one litre per hour running, so I have added that to the main page. Other additions to follow, no doubt.
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May 28
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With the Bank Holiday weekend looming we moved yesterday morning from the 48 hour mooring down through two locks to the open 14 day section that extends our walk to the Shroppie Fly by all of five minutes. We then spent most of the day trying to keep cool - I know we shouldn't complain about the weather warming up but it was a close, heavy heat with the sun shining only intermittently. This morning we woke to cooler temperatures but fierce wind that bumps the side of the boat against the Shroppie shelf even when other boats are not passing. But here we'll stay until Tuesday, with plenty of boat painting and cleaning to get on with if this wind lets up, and a visit tonight from our Derbyshire friends Ken and Mary DeVille to look forward to.
In the meantime I have now posted Jim Shead's site of the month article with due acknowledgment and many thanks to Waterways World and its editor Hugh Potter. The observant will notice that I have reorganised the Archives section so that items from Latest News can be moved there more quickly - making it easier for regular readers to find updates.
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May 31
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We left Audlem late this morning after three more enjoyable days of going nowhere and watching without envy the steady stream of boats pass us by, making the most of the Bank Holiday. Ken and Mary De Ville arrived as promised on Saturday, bringing with them a delicious pork pie, strawberries and a tasty fruit cake that Mary had baked that morning. The fierce wind kept up all day so I stayed on board to make sure all was safe while they set off about 9 pm to have a drink and listen to some of the blues musicians at the Shroppie Fly. Unfortunately they couldn't even get inside the pub so went instead to the Bridge and enjoyed the music and a pint of Bateman's there.
Our journey today lasted all of 30 minutes but it got us away from the Shroppie shelf and our mooring at the start of the long Coole Pilate leisure area, with its picnic tables and barbecue stands, is first class - lovely views and no thumping and bumping against concrete. I used a quiet afternoon to change the engine oil and we then sat out with the dogs until clouds hid the sun, reminding us how cold it could still be at the end of May. Late afternoon a boat went by but it wasn't until it was almost past us that we realised it was Jim Shead of Waterways World. We managed a cheery wave.
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June 6
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This is our third day at the official mooring above Nanney Bridge on the Middlewich - should have moved this morning but this last couple of days I have been physically useless because of a pulled muscle somewhere in the vicinity of the abdomen. Tomorrow we must move on, if only as far as Church Minshull so that Liz can get a bus to Crewe to top up our food supplies. Otherwise it has been a socially busy but very enjoyable few days.
After on night at Nantwich and another night above Cholmondeston lock we dropped down early to Venetian marina where we filled the diesel tank and collected a morning newspaper that the marina shop had ordered for us the previous day - first rate service there - and then came down through another lock to this spot with rural vistas on both sides of us. The first day I got chatting with Chris and Carol Farmer whose boatWakanui had a familiar ring. I soon realised this was a different boat and different couple from the Jenners on Whaka Nui (met 18 months ago at Adderley) but stretching coincidence to its limits, Chris told me the two boats had met a day or so before and that both were on their way to the Llangollen - Whaka Nui passed us yesterday, in fact, but with time for only a wave because breasted up with us for a few minutes were Cathy and Les on All Seasons who we have met with great frequency since our time at Barton Turns. It's a very small world.
Later Liz and I were invited on board for a glass of wine by ex-helicopter pilot Chris and Carol and we found we had many things in common - especially Carol and my love of Sondheim and other musicals, and Chris and my dedication to setting off in the early hours to beat queues at locks. Carol and Liz both agreed they would rather sleep in late. They've owned the boat for three years, spending six months a year cruising, but are now going to sell it sometime during this season to live on a Dutch barge in France. Their 60ft G & J Reeves boat is 10 years old but looks immaculate and is beautifully fitted out. If anyone is interested I can provide a contact number.
In between, we had a brief but cheering visit from our son Jonathan and his partner Jenny who were at a festival in Manchester and drove over to Nanney's bridge to meet us. Only three hours but they brought some good food and wine and we were able to catch up on all their personal and professional news.
Finally an e-mail update: Some great messages from correspondents old and new including this from Nigel Cooke who says "Just had to write after reading the whole of your story. Fantastic. I've just spent the last 5 days reading it and it's been better than reading a racy novel. My wife Debbie and I have talked about doing the same but in the next two years when our house has realised enough profit to invest to take a small income from at 45. You have helped convince me that there's more to life than work. You both seem so relaxed and confident with your nomadic lifestyle and I am so jealous." Some lovely comments but all I could think of at first was what a terrible responsibility! Then I spotted the saving word in his email - "helped".
And this from Audrone Berzankas after I put them in touch with another Australian couple, the Cuthberts: "I thought you would like to have an update on the link you sent a little while ago to Gary and Anna. Apart from sending an email I also called and invited them both to dinner as they were only an hour away. We enjoyed their company very much and of course talked a lot about narrow boats, the friendliness of the cut and of NB plans and gave them a copy of ours to play around with and a couple of books on narrow boats. I have since been up to visit them on their beautiful property ‘Cloverley’ . What they do not know is that I placed a piece of my artwork in their garden. I wonder how long it will take them to come across it?"
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June 7
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Just two miles this morning - far enough with my aches and pains * - brought us to a mooring near Church Minshull that is one of the loveliest we have found anywhere on the Cut. There may be more impressive views on the Peak Forest but you can never get the boat in to the bank to moor. Here we are on a high embankment looking over pastureland filled with cows and towards the village and its church. The view is so panoramic that one photograph will not do it justice. So I have taken a series of them and hope to stitch them together when I eventually find the right program to do it - it's here somewhere on the boat but even in our limited space it can often be difficult to find a single CD rom.
We have also fallen as lucky with neighbours here as we did at Nanney's Bridge and we spent the first hour after their arrival with Sue and Guy Burden who are holiday on their 40ft boat Laura. They hope to sell her soon and buy a bigger boat so they can spend five years living aboard. Naturally the talk turned to gas versus electricity and cassettes versus pump-out (this last dealt with in FAQs after an email from new correspondents John and Gill Schneider). The answers always come down to personal preferences.
* Actually my suspected pulled muscle is feeling a lot easier but I'm making the most of Liz's sympathy.
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June 9
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This is partly a postscript to the last entry because yesterday centred around a visit from Dave and Susan Lane of Plodder who drove over mid-morning from their mooring at Sandbach to take us shopping at the Nantwich Sainsbury's store. Before we started walking to bridge 14 to meet them we said goodbye to Sue and Guy on Laura. After topping up our supplies we drove over to see Plodder in her quiet, rural mooring and then returned to Snecklifter to find a carrier bag fastened to the door with a note from Sue saying that one of our earliest friends made on the cut - Alan and Gillian Williams of Viking Lady (now sold) - had passed by in their new 57 ft Noggin, asked about us, but decided not to pull in when they heard we might be off the boat for a good part of the day. With the note, Sue had left some special food treats for the dogs, a nice farewell from a lovely couple, but that's the kind of thing that happens a lot on the Cut.
Dave and Sue then joined us in demolishing a cooked chicken and salad, accompanied by a cold light wine, sitting on the embankment looking out over our wonderful view. They had brought apple and rhubarb pies and cream for afters and I had picked up some jam doughnuts for after-afters. The early afternoon passed very quickly and Dave and Sue left to return to their boat leaving us to spend the rest of the day trying to keep cool.
E-mail update: Among recent messages is the one mentioned briefly above, from John and Gill Scheider who write "We have been following your travels on-line for ages now and thoroughly enjoy reading your fantastic diary. We are very envious of your nomadic lifestyle. We are currently boat share owners but have our own new boat (a 57ft Trad) currently in-build which is due to be delivered to us at the end of August and we can't wait! Among the many decisions we have had to make is the delicate subject of whch type of loo to opt for. We would like to ask your opinion as we have changed our minds twice and currently are going with the cassette option (with spare cassette) as we feel it offers the most flexibility. We should explain that we have had many problems with the pumpout loo on our shared boat which is a major reason for choosing the cassette option on our new boat. We won't be living aboard - it will be mainly weekends and holidays for a couple of years at least until we can finally give up the day jobs and spend more time out as we can't wait to do."
The "delicate subject" of toilets, of course, has now been addressed (though never fully answered!) in FAQs as mentioned in the June 7 entry. In the meantime, I can only reassure John and Gill that once they've been live-aboards for a few months the subject won't seem in the slightest bit delicate and they'll be swapping their views with other boaters at the drop of a lavatory seat.
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June 13
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Our stay at Church Minshull lasted longer than we had planned, partly because of the number of splendid boating neighbours who tied up behind or in front of us, but also because the place was just so beautiful with buzzards, sparrowhawks, heron and dozens of swallows and swifts constantly entertaining us. The neighbours included John and Veronica Fenney on Otter who were extremely helpful about the River Weaver on which they had once kept their boat for five years (they are now at Venetian Marina) and they gave us some booklets about Anderton Lift and the river. Then Carl Gordon-Loveridge and Liz Barman arrived on Blackstone, intending to stop long enough for a cup of coffee and an exchange of news, but they decided to stay the night so we sat out with them chatting and making a fuss of Max, their Jack Russell, for many hours (see Latest pictures). We first met them on the Heartbreak Hill flight in our first summer on Snecklifter when they set many of the locks for us. We've passed several times since then, always promising to stop and talk for longer. This time we managed it.
Finally, as we were preparing ourselves mentally to move on, Dave and Susan Lane turned up on Plodder so we sat out with them for many hours etc etc. They are now heading towards Chester for a short cruise before returning to their mooring at Sandbach.
We actually began our move yesterday afternoon, cruising to another rural mooring looking over Winsford flash, and then continued early this morning (6.30 start) to water up and do some shopping at Middlewich. We are now at the start of Billinge Green Flash, where the canal widens out dangerously to starboard, and we'll stay overnight before the last six mile dash to the Anderton lift. Unless the weather is very unfriendly we should be on the River Weaver tomorrow, turning left to Northwich to collect post and for Liz to arrange a repeat prescription. Then it's back up towards Saltersford for a few days before we continue north to the Bridgewater.
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June 14
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Bit of excitement coming down to the River Weaver this morning - and not simply because it was our first time to descend on the Anderton lift. Any qualms we might have had were quickly eased by operator Geoff who talked us through our approach, first on to the aqueduct and then into the lift itself where we were sealed in by gates at each end. But once in he said there would be a short delay because a boater coming up in the lift had tangled a rope around his prop and had to clear it. Two minutes later a message came over Geoff's walkie talkie telling us that someone had fallen from a narrowboat moored below on the river bank. A life belt had been thrown to her and she was keeping afloat but her friend on the bank didn't have the strength to pull her out. So a trip boat immediately went to her aid and as we watched from 50 ft up and a hundred yards away, the steersman came in close and eventually dropped a rope ladder. (See Latest pictures) As the woman clambered up to safety we began our slow descent - but then had to wait at the bottom until the river-level operator (who had run to offer his help, climbing over a security fence to reach the scene) returned to let us out. Even then the whole process took little more than 30 minutes. Just 20 minutes later we were cruising under Northwich Town Bridge and tying up at the official moorings below a block of flats.
The rest of the day has been spent shopping in the local market and charity shops and waiting for Liz's appointment with a doctor who has given her a repeat prescription for her blood pressure medication - an ailment not brought on or exacerbated by the excitements of life aboard! So far no regrets about coming down onto the Weaver. Once we had left behind the industry near Anderton, the river passed through some lovely country and according to Sue in the Anderton booking office the river downstream is even more beautiful.
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June 16
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Just had to update this diary today so that I could use the dateline of Devil's Garden Visitors' Moorings - we might move on tomorrow but then again, as the mooring is so quiet and attractive, we might stay for the weekend. We are right on the bend of the river five miles short of Runcorn, but the bend is so gradual and wide that passing boats will hardly be noticed. On the footpath side there's a wide belt of greenery leading to a wooded area that will supply shade if the temperatures soar as high as the more optimistic of weather forecasters are promising.
Last night we moored at another lonely and isolated spot, lonely that is until three lads arrived to set up their fishing shelters in front and behind us. But they were very friendly, very quiet - "You don't catch fish if you're noisy," one of them pointed out - so we hardly noticed them until I woke the chap near our stern when Molly cried for a comfort walk at 4.30 am. He seemed very philosophical about it when I mentioned it as we prepared to leave four hours later.
Our departure this morning was a little later than usual, in fact, but we were through Salterford lock by 9.30. The lockie Bryn was extremely helpful with mooring suggestions (including recommending this one), as was the keeper at Dutton lock, Fred. So far we've been very impressed with the friendliness of all those professionals we've met since arriving at Anderton lift and descending to the Weaver. It's a lovely river with abundant wildlife, various wagtails, buzzards, herons and water birds among them.
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June 20
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A very hot and humid three days at Devil's Garden was broken up by a morning cruise almost to the Runcorn end of the Weaver, passing alongside a mile or more of chemical works and pipelines. We turned back a quarter of a mile from the end, in fact, because neither Liz nor I fancied a scramble up a very high embankment to get to a very low swing bridge. Still it was a worthwhile trip and as we neared the Manchester ship canal we could smell the saltiness of the sea - or was that the chemical works ? We returned immediately to Devil's Garden where we were joined over the weekend by several more boats including a friendly couple Martin and Di Wheeler on Uisce Beatha who has just come up from the ship canal. V. brave, in my opinion.
Yesterday we left our quiet spot late morning, came up through Dutton lock and moored close to Acton Bridge, much noisier but near two pubs and with excellent access by road for visiting Derbyshire friends Alan and Daphne Binns, due lunchtime today.
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June 22
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We left Acton Bridge mid-afternoon on Monday and cruised to the visitor mooring above Saltersford lock, a lovely, quiet spot about 13/14 minutes walk up to the Trent and Mersey canal and along a country lane to the village of Barnton where we were able to buy much needed bread and milk. A quiet night and a 10 am start brought us to Northwich well before lunch but moorings were difficult to find and we had to tie up to a high concrete river-wall which Liz shinned up with difficulty (I managed it with just a little more dignity). But we were able to pick up two packages of mail from the post office and Liz did a major Sainsbury's shop where an assistant tried to get her a taxi back to the boat - of the six contacted the best offer was an hour's wait. But then Jane, a young woman standing nearby, offered her a lift and dropped her close to our mooring so that the nine bags of supplies could be handed down to me on the deck.
The only problem (if you can call it that) was that another expected package had not arrived, so we had a swift sandwich and set off through Hunt's Lock and Vale Royal lock to spend the rest of the day and night at this idyllic spot upstream of the town. Waiting for the second of the locks we chatted with Peter and Angela Williams who are spending a year on their boat Moonlight Holly - they have their own website on www.moonlightholly.piczo.com. Peter was asking me if I could tell them anything about the trip southwards from York but of course we have not done this area yet. If anyone out there can help with a little advice - dos, don'ts, good places to moor - they can email him at p_a_williams@sympatico.ca
We are delighted that the missing mail persuaded us to spend a couple more days on the river and especially to explore further upstream. This morning we cruised to the the top end of the river, enjoying even the sections below the spoil heaps from the large salt works before turning at Winsford flashes and then running with the flow back to the same mooring for the rest of the day. If the package arrives in Northwich by this afternoon we'll set off early tomorrow morning, pick it up and take the Anderton lift back to the canal system later in the day, or even first thing on Friday morning.
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June 24
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After nine days on the River Weaver we came back up the Anderton lift at 12.30 yesterday and cruised through Barnton and Saltersford tunnels to a shaded mooring where we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening feeling cooler than we had for days. This morning the intention was to continue on to Moore on the Bridgewater canal before the promised thunder storms arrived. Unfortunately we heard the first distant thunder at about 8 am and it began to rain heavily, so our departure is delayed. If we move on I will add a postcript to this entry later on.
It was good to be back on the canals again but we enjoyed our stay on the river so much that we could well return - we had planned a two or three day trip which expanded with our growing discovery of its pleasures, among them early mornings at Vale Royal watching herons (occasionally three at a time), grebe, moorhens, common terns and a young cormorant sitting on top of the barrier to the weir. Unhappily I realised on the second day that the cormorant was not a well bird - when it did move it limped and dragged a wing and in two days we never saw it fly or feed. On the first morning I also watched a running battle between two large carp over in the reeds flanking the far bank - unless, of course, they were up to some other activity that only carp know about.
We came up the lift with four jolly men who had been out for a fortnight on Adderbury - Alfred Lott, Richard Smith, Chris Jones and Roger Butler - and as it was their penultimate day they stopped at the local pub for lunch while we made the difficult left turn up the Trent and Mersey. Might have been easier had I gone right and winded - but once you start a turn you feel you have to keep going. I began to wish I had joined the four jolly men in the pub.
Once we had settled down (and cooled off) at our tree-shaded mooring I washed the very dirty side of the boat and then tried out something I had seen Martin Wheeler doing to Uisce Beatha - polishing the side with Mr Sheen. It seems a great success, showing a tremendous contrast between treated and untreated sections. More of this when I've seen the effect of heavy rain and sun, assuming the latter does return some time soon.
P.S. The rain stopped about 11.30 so we travelled just a short distance to a splendid open mooring at Acton Bridge, on a high embankment looking down into the River Weaver valley. Two bridges back we could see the swing bridge over the river where we moored on Sunday night to wait for a visit from our Derbyshire friends. It's still dry but the humidity has returned - we may regret losing the shelter of the trees but it's good to be out in full daylight again. Carl Gordon-Loveridge and Liz Barman on Blackstone, last seen at Church Minshull (see June 13 entry), have just passed on their way back to the Bridgewater and work!
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Below are a few of the emails received recently. I set up a special page for them a week or so ago but now feel it would be better to revert to my usual practice of incorporating them into entries in the Latest News section.
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June 20 2005
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A splendid reply from Gary Cuthbert in Australia to a missive from Audrone Berzankas who had been to visit the Cuthberts. Gary wrote:
"I took a few minutes off from slaving away at the computer back on 7th June to sneak a look at your site and came across the e-mail Audrone sent you about our meetings. Audrone and her husband Richard have become great friends to us already and we have had several meals with them. As mentioned by Audrone, she left a little bit of her artwork hidden in our garden after her first visit and as soon as I read the mention of this on your site, I raced out into the garden to carry out a search, accompanied by Dougal, one of our Golden Retrievers. Do you have any idea how long it takes to hunt through a 'country style' garden spread over about four acres? I did not have much luck until I remembered where Audrone had parked her car and sure enough the little gem was not too far from that location.
If you know anyone wanting to swap a large country home in Australia for a quality narrowboat for a year or so, please give them our contact details. Our home is on 10 acres and is a typical Australian farmhouse of about 80 years of age, fully restored with Aga and the lot, not to mention the large rose and country garden and is located in spa country about one hour drive from Melbourne by car or commuter train."
A good offer for someone out there on the Cut.
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June 20
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From Cassandra Wade:
"I just wanted to let you know how much enjoyment you are bringing me and my boyfriend Mike. We are currently trying to sell his house so we can buy a narrowboat to live on. It’s taking forever, but reading about your adventures has kept our peckers up (so to speak). Although we haven’t been following your web page for long, we feel as though we are right in the thick of it amongst you all. You must be the thinking person’s version of big brother! We can’t wait to start our own adventure, although we won’t be able to explore as much as you two as unfortunately we have to stay relatively close to Ashton under Lyne/Bredbury so we can get to work. In the future we hope to cut back so we can spend summer travelling.
We spent the weekend looking at over 20 boats with only one that we liked and trust that one to be at the top end of our budget. A little bit disheartening. However, I have always leaned towards getting a new boat (so that we can name it Top Trumps) with Mike leaning towards buying an older boat and doing it up. But if we are buying an older boat with the notion of ripping out most of the innards, then it begs the question 'Why not buy a sailaway and do it up?' The main factor against this is we don’t feel confident enough to start from scratch. It’s pretty easy to replace things, not so easy to do the first fit."
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June 22
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Audrone Berzanskas wrote to say she didn't mind my blowing the gaff about the artwork in the Cuthberts' garden (see above) - in fact, she found it "highly amusing as I tried to envisage Gary and Anna’s faces when they read your site".
In her latest email she explained : "I am a sculptor and work in the medium of clay. The piece I placed near the Cuthberts' drive-way symbolises the wooden sculptures in Lithuania, also placed by roadsides in the form of a small dwelling, in which an image of an iconic figure was placed. With my piece I sculptured the dwelling in form, but closed the aperture, placing a face on the surface with a small green grass snake entwined on the piece, a pagan image that remains today. The piece only stands about l3” high, unlike in Lithuania where they stand on a tall plinth. The Cuthberts may never have found it even when they drove past it. But how do they know there is only one piece!"
Over to you, Cuthberts.
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June 22
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A cautionary tale from our good friend Dave Lane on Plodder:
"We're back on our moorings after our little trip up th' cut. After considering our timetable we decided to turn round at Beeston Locks. We - well really I, as Sue was unaware - had a really scary moment at Bunbury Staircase Locks. I moored just below the lower lock, making room along the bank behind Plodder for a fellow boater with whom we were travelling up through the locks. I had fixed the mid line and after considering fixing the bow line, I decided there was no need so left it unattached and stationed myself on the stern rope.
Sue and another boater then released the gate paddles both together and a mini tsunami headed for Plodder. If we had been in a narrow cut there probably would have been no problem, but there is a small arm/boatyard just below the lock and the bow headed in that direction, but held by the mid rope. Yes, you guessed, Plodder passed the supremely crazy angle test but stayed afloat only due to the heroic actions of our companion boater who managed to release the mid rope as Plodder was heading head over heels.
Afterwards I was so shook up I shamefully didn't get the boater's name, but I managed to express my eternal gratitude for saving our home, Plodder. Serious lessons learnt, I will now pay more attention to the surroundings and will endeavour to use the bow line. I think Sue has learnt to pay more attention to what's happening on the water and in the lock. We never stop learning do we? Luckily we came away with just a terrible memory.
I note your comments about the helpful 'crew' at the Anderton Lift and on the River Weaver. We also had the same experience, which is great in these days of slack service etc."
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June 29
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We are back at our favourite mooring on the Bridgewater canal three years after leaving here - with the hall at Dunham Massey to starboard and, to port, the obelisk built to commemorate a previous owner's favourite horse on which he recovered his fortune. It was good to see Margaret and Brian at Thorn Marine again, and to see early friends like John, Les and Jim. And just as importantly, the beer at the Spread Eagle in Lymm was as good as ever. But getting back to our old spot at Dunham has made this return visit to the Bridgewater really worthwhile.
The only disappointment was that the wonderful lunchtime sizzler plates of gammon, egg and chips or rump steak and chips for only £4 at the Golden Fleece in Lymm are no more. They've been replaced by a more conventional menu that we could not bear to sample. We'd rather keep our memories intact.
One compensatory pleasure was to see e-mail correspondent Norman Weston from Andalucia in Spain while we were taking on diesel and water at Stockton Heath. He and his wife Diane were heading the opposite way, however, on a share boat but Norman was able to shout a greeting. We might see them on the way back.
Dunham hasn't changed as far as we can see. The excellent farm shop is still selling free range eggs and the delectable Mrs Darlington's morello cherry jam. And Sam Smith's Old Brewery Bitter is still £1.28 a pint at the Vine in the village. We could stay a few days longer than planned, especially as the weather has cooled down after the heat and thunderstorms of the last week!
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