Tuesday 24th July 2018



We were hanging around this morning, only to discover that Paul had visited and delivered the pieces of wood we needed to complete some little jobs, window trim for the front cratch and a backing plate for the new door lock fitted a few weeks ago in Middlewich.

The boat was then filled with water and the toilet emptied ready for leaving.

After having said goodbyes to everybody in the marina we had left little time to get to the bank for our 12 noon meeting. Judith offered to run us into Northwich. The kindness of strangers.

Our meeting with the financial advisor was interesting and quite a few investment plans have been set up to make our money work for us with good returns.

After some shopping in Northwich we set out to walk back to the boat. It had been raining quite heavily but we managed to make it back with only some light drizzle.

We called into the Broken Cross to pay for a meal for Paul and Dawn. Paul will not take anything for his time or materials so we feel it is the least we can do.

Back at the boat we very quickly set off. I was worried that we were well grounded but she came off quite easily albeit with a lot of throttle.

We were so glad to be out of the marina, we only moved for less than a mile and moored at Billinge Flashes, swapping one scene for another…..








We were on the best mooring at the flash, giving superb views. The flashes are unique, I believe to Cheshire, and are the result of subsidence from underground salt mining and the subsided area filling with water. We thought we were going to have the flashes to ourselves but at 8.30pm two other boats, in quick succession, arrived although they are moored well away from us.

We had a steak dinner and a bottle of Prosecco to toast yet another new beginning. There have been many but hopefully, surely, this time, this is it.

We heard today that both the Rochdale and Huddersfield Narrow Canals are closed due to a lack of water and there are rumours that they will shut the canal south of Middlewich and close the Anderton Boat Lift. If this happens there will be no route at all to leave the Northwich area and we will be stuck here. Although it rained today, the good weather is set to continue for the foreseeable future and possibly until October. So things will take a long time to recover.

If our boat and its delivery had gone to plan we would have been well south by now and left all this uncertainty behind us.

Damn Graeme Cunliffe.

After our dinner we stood out on the back deck and watched the sun go down. Such a peaceful, tranquil setting.

It’s good to be moving again.



Day Total: 0 locks; 1 mile; 0 Tunnels; engine running hours 0.8

Overall Total: 99 locks; 200 miles; 8 tunnels; engine running hours 115.6



              

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