A catch up.

This is a catch, but you may need a cuppa before you start!

Now Reader I bet you thought I'd given up blogging but no, I'm still here.  Home of course now (It's been a good three weeks).  I truly meant to have continued writing but.... Well you know..... Stuff happens and in this case we've been to France on an Art Club trip and yes one baby has arrived consequently  no blogging happened.

So under the circumstances I feel an update is required.

So briefly then, we continued along the Middlewich Arm, WaL was attacked by a cob...  This went on for some hundred metres or so... 

Then we saw why

The Hen on eggs no doubt.  I love ducks but my love does not extend to swans sadly.

  

We moored up here, rather nice to be away from it all.  I seem to remember the weather being grey and cold, I certainly remember the heating being on most days.  

From here we walked along a mile or so to the village of Church Minshull and visited The Badger pub for an extremely good late lunch.  We did go here last year and moored directly up from the village on the worst mooring ever, bumping and clumping every time a boat passed by.  We weren't making that mistake again.

Nice mooring just about a mile from The Badger.

Finally, a dairy herd, a big one too, we thought far too many cows in this field from what we could see.

A passing boat told us there was a boat across the canal....  They must have pushed past it from their side, we couldn't from our side so stopped and retrieved it.  Rotten ropes, a pin that had come out of soft ground and the help of another neighbouring boater who was stronger than me and it was retied.  

Pretties as WaL passed me.

Heading south for Nantwich the sky blackened, David insisted that we'd miss it and amazingly we did, but I was ready in full wet weather kit.

This was our mooring in Nantwich and the shower had gone slightly to the south of us, then it was a warm afternoon.

Having dodged another hefty shower on our was south from Nantwich we arrived at Audlem.   We had supper in this oh so famous pub with George and Carol, long time boating friends of ours, they live in this area and although had offered to help lock us up the Audlem Flight on the day they had commitments and appointments.

So David and I did our usual trick of getting up early and doing the locks that had partly drained overnight, as we passed by another moored boat they were getting ready to leave...

"You snooze, you lose" the advantage of doing half the work.  They would have to empty all the locks.  No other boats coming down to meet us until we reached the last lock and would you believe it, it was the hireboat of four Australians, the guys had been in the Australian navy previously and we had met them at the top of Heartbreak Hill.  They had very much enjoyed their holiday despite the weather.  But there again they are Aussies and don't need sunshine.

David this am had been out cycling already and met a walker who was a boater in Overwater Marina, he'd walked down from there and as he walked back to his boat he emptied all the locks for us!!  

How kind was that?  

Oh I meant to say, he carries a windlass with him.

Great chums and ex Boaters George and Carol who with us enjoyed and very good supper in the newly taken over Shroppie Fly pub.  Our third supper out in only a few days but we were on holiday.

David talking with walking Boater who carries a windlass and likes to help and likes long walks.

Halfway up the flight

Oh so sadly the farmers wife stall at the top lock of the Audlem flight wasn't open, either we were too early of she was away.  But there's an honesty box so I brought two ice-creams.

Slightly disturbing to see as we went over a high embankment between the Adderley locks and the top of the Audlem locks after several breaches  in these last few years.....

So that was that and we proceeded along the oh so deadly dull section of the Shropshire Union canal.  David pointed out that time was against us and that as the varnish was peeling off in chunks from the front cratch windows I should really make a start on the dreaded rubbing down and re-varnishing.   

Now this task does fall to me on account of my hips.  

Yes hips.

I can still move mine, David cannot move his nearly enough owing in part to his accident some twenty years ago and a fractured pelvis and now its full of metalwork.  I on the other hand  can climb onto the nose and sit somewhat comfortably on the dolly (thing we tie the ropes to, its red and just insight).

I should have done a before as well as an after.  I am now fairly judgemental about other boats  varnish.

David tackling the inner doors.  That is a work in progress!

Any of you remember this boat?  It formally belonged to "Sue on NB No Problem" as she was known amongst Boaters.  

Here   

Sue is now retired from blogging but I started reading here blog daily from about 2011 just before we started boating.  We were lucky enough to have met her very early on and she shared her in depth knowledge of the Thames and its (Then) free mooring places.  A lovely lady. 

David taking the opportunity to wash the back decks.

Much further along the Staffs to Worcester canal we came to this lock past Gailey.  The lock beam is rotted and has a supporting metal frame on it but yes you can see my arm through it.

Much after at Tixel Lock, our last lock before Great Haywood Marina, we met a CART Surveyor looking at Tixel lock gates, which are being replaced next year but looking in so much better conditition than these gates.  I told him to come and look.

I treated these gate with kid gloves I can tell you.

We were a bit early for the yellow flag Irises but here are a few.

Out of sequence but this is the bridge repairs to Penkridge road bridge which earlier in the year collasped.  Nice job and looks to have used the original bricks.

Dawn at Acton Trussell as we departed.

Sunrise at Deptford Lock, all was delightful and calm until exiting this lock something went around the prop and David couldn't get the weed hatch off! 

 


So that is us done for summer boating but all being well we will have an autumn trip out in September.

There are two babies due this summer just six weeks apart that I can't wait for.

Single handers, three of them!

A nice quiet night in Rode Heath, a large pub right opposite but that didn't disturb us at all.  As you can see it was a lovely blue sky too.  This was our first view of the lovely yellow irises.

 

One of these beautiful cottages was up for sale....

Not so many of these cobbled stone paths left now.  Concrete isn't so pretty.

Another dairy farm gone out of milk production, this is a beef bull in there with cows.  

I walked that day, we'd had rain overnight so I wore my wellies otherwise I would have had soaking wet feet in ten minutes.

The sun continued to shine and the countryside is gorgeous.

This below is a field of grass, which will almost certainly be cut, collected and made into silage for dairy cows.  You can see it was flattened by last nights rain.  Also a precious stone wall.  They need looking after. 

Just about to go under the M6, I always feel smug as I know many would prefer to be boating than driving.  Today three lorry drivers beeped and waved, I expect they would prefer to be here nad not there too.

Past these special orchids which are not visible yet.

Below Makins Bank, this is a silage field that's been cut and in the distance there were dairy cows outside, first ones we've seen in the major dairy county that is Cheshire.

And dropping down into Wheelock, the prettiest house I've seen today.

Pink Hawthorne.

After spending the night at Wheelock, we had planned to go to the Cheshire Cat, a wee pub here that has welcomed us like old friends in the past, but after walking the 4 plus miles in wellies I had aching feet and just wanted to sit on the sofa.

Supper was beef salad and chips

The next morning after servicing the boat here, we went on our way towards Middlewich.  

This house looks so gorgeous in the sunlight, it's at the Wheelock moorings away from the road and in a peaceful spot, just beautiful.

I walked after a while when the tow path was reasonable,

Interestingly we caught up with a pair of single handers, the locks were going down hill so I went forward to empty the lock as one of the pair came into the lock, the helm came along to me before closing the gate behind his boat and said his friend would come and empty the lock for him....

Now this was a first for me, if the lock was to be filled then I say to the other crew, you do your side first and tell me when to open this side, this is because, for non boaty Readers, with water entering or filling a lock, small boats can easily get walloped around by the water rushing in, but going down in a lock is completely different, there are no swirling waters, it just empties and the boats pretty much stay still, no walloping.

So I stood to the side and watched.

His friend was on the second of two boats but hers had already descended and was moored on the lock landing.  

They travelled together and worked each other through the locks.  But had he of allowed me to have emptied the lock, she could have already been around the corner prepping the next lock.

I watched her raise the first paddle halfway, then cross the lock to open the second paddle halfway then back to the first paddle all the way up and back across the lock to finish the second paddle.

During all this, a hire boat arrived behind us and the lady crew came forwards and we chatted.  She helped to fill the lock after these two had finally departed and another single hander came in, a young man.

She told me that she had a Frozen Shoulder.  Now David had had this but he'd had two at the same time, he'd been in dire straights with it and finally after some considerable time had a steroid injection with a second injection planned but the result was tremendous and as he walked back to me in the waiting room he said that he thought it was better.  I recounted this miraculous result to this lady to which she replied that she also had Parkinson's.  I wouldn't allow her to do anything after that.  What a woman to have come boating with these two conditions?  But she was from Yorkshire, they are hardy up there.

So back to the newly arrived single hander, he brought his boat in, and just stood there looking.  Now that did irritate me, to make no effort at all to climb out and expect to have the lock done for him...

I called down to him I'll do the paddles then shall I?

Oh thank you he called.

As his boat came up level with the ground he walked forward and thanked me, but he hadn't bring a windlass with him, so I said while you are here you can open the gate, this lady had a bad arm.  

He did so, but he didn't drop the paddle so I hope he thought on about the subject of self help.. 

This is the lock that David slipped down the steps of several years ago, he disappeared under the water with the car keys in his pocket, his watch on and we think possible from memory his phone in his pocket.  It took four of us to get him out, one holding the boat off him and he did injure his foot so painfully I thought he may had fractured it.  You can see the wet steps here just, looking green and slippery still.  A warning.

A panoramic view of Kings Lock, not such a good one but here on the right is the famous Fish 'n chip shop that the lady with the bad shoulder was going to visit tonight and the pub where David loves the beer.

 

But today we decided to make the turn onto the Middlewich Arm to be more sheltered from the cold wind that we'd boated into.  We were frozen and the heating went straight on.  We took the first mooring leaving no Git Gap.

Later after warming up we walked the short distance into Middlewich and went to The White Bear.  It was a Friday and the "Only independent pub in Middlewich" was packed with drinkers.  A fabulous cross section of society was present, great people watching and great beer.  The Salt Brewery from Bradford, David loved it.  Great service from the waitress and very nice food too.

Supper for me was the lasagne,  I traded out the garlic bread for extra salad. 

Rode Heath and ducks.

 

The race was on.

David up early as usual and had moved our car down the canal to Rode Heath, he returned in a rush getting the bike inside then oh his face, a single hander had moved his boat around to the lock.

Snookered.

No great shakes really as some of these locks are doubles or rather pairs of locks so we might even get past him...

We brought WaL around to the lock only to see this thoughtful  and considerate boater had moved his boat away from the line of moored boats as he was running his washing machine and didn't want to disturb others!  Wow.

He waved us through and away we went.

First two singles close together so as David left the second I popped back and raised one paddle halfway for him.  Going on we were lucky to have the pairs of locks both in our favour so while David descended I opened the other gate for him.

Nice man.

We didn't meet any boats coming up not really surprising as it was still early.

A lovely day for doing a few locks

Behind WaL is the considerate boater who didn't allow his washing machine to disturb his neighbours  and waved us through too. 

So the gorgeous countryside all around this area of Church Lawton, Hall Green and Rode Heath.  Not much distance between these villages but lots of beautiful countryside.

So farming news;  Here are the fields of sown maize.  Some fields were showing but others not.  Lots and lots of maize sown around here but the dairy farm had no cows here now sad to say.

Pretty leaky.

Looking back towards Church Lawton

Pair of locks behind WaL.

i

A sample of the trees planted all along this area.  Yep I know trees are good but so is food production, my husband tells me that according to the Lib Dems England and Wales (Possibly Scotland) are the only countries who get subsidies for environmental schemes and not food production.  Worth thinking about... 

We arrived at Rode Heath and moored easily, David had reported that only two boats were here. 

I walked over to the post office and posted a card to my mum then on my return the single hander went past, he was carrying on. 

My favourite Aylesbury ducks.  Make very pretty pets.

Funnily enough I went through a long period of not eating duck...