Thursday 31st October 2019



The cabin side was washed and polished to have at least one side looking good for our entry into Middlewich. After visiting the service point at Wheelock and doing another wash, we set off for the run-in. Skirting around the back of Wheelock, Sandbach and Elworth we were surprised to see the amount of new housing that has appeared at the western end of Wheelock since we left the area in July of last year. This was a new development when we left with the site just being levelled, now the majority of the housing seems to be lived in.

Crow’s Nest Lock is very much a hidden world with the mill alongside it, and the canal then runs parallel to the Middlewich-Sandbach road, where we were again, surprised to see a ¾ story apartment block nearing completion on the old Murgatroyd Chemical Works site.

After Rump’s Lock it was a short distance to Cledford Bridge, where we moored opposite Tracey’s and the grandkids house on Booth Lane. The intention was to arrive without telling them and see how long it took them to notice us, but it was largely spoilt as Eva was at her dad’s and Manny was waiting in for a delivery for us.

It did feel funny returning to Middlewich, our home for 20 years, and the home of our grandchildren and numerous friends. I felt as though I was coming home after a particularly long trip.

It was great to see Manny, and of course he has grown since we last saw him. He made us a cup of tea, our first off him, and our delivery then arrived, two new reclining armchairs from Midland Chandlers. We have never been 100% happy with the armchairs we started with, they are too big for the boat and, while they look good, they are not particularly comfortable. We then spent an hour or so swapping the armchairs for the boxed recliners. While all this was taking place, the fuel boat Hassall appeared and we topped up with fuel.

One of the reclining chairs was assembled before we went to the much-changed Kings Lock with Martin, Michelle and Abbey. It was great to catch up.



Weather: a nice sunny day. 



Day Total: 4 locks; 5 miles; 0 Tunnels; 0 Swing Bridges; 0 Lift Bridges; 0 Boat Lift; Day’s running hours 2.4

Overall Total: 810 locks; 1374 miles; 53 tunnels; 61 Swing Bridges; 17 Lift Bridges; 2 Boat Lifts; total engine running hours 874.5




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Thursday 6 th September 2018 We started off just before 10am in not too bad weather. The whole of the surface of the canal was covered in a kind of white dust. It turned out it was some kind of seed probably from trees, but it was a weird sight. We quickly came across the first lock of the day beside the Gallows Inn pub. We were going to stop here last night but we were both glad we hadn’t. The pub didn’t look very welcoming and the area didn’t seem the best. We had been warned that the locks on the Erewash Canal were heavy. And they are. Brenda was really struggling with many of them which is very unusual. Not just the weight of the gates but also the difficulty in operating the paddle gear. It is not a good idea to leave the boat unattended in a double lock when it is the only boat in there, but there were a few locks were we had to do just that and even I struggled mightily with the locks. Yesterday we saw just four boats on the move all day, and they were all go...
Read more
Image
Thursday 8 th August 2019 We had spoken with our neighbours yesterday, Ken and Mary, both in their mid-70’s who have lived on their boat, continuously cruising for 11 years. We had agreed to move up the river, doing the locks, together. After a couple of trips to Tesco’s, again taking the trolley right to the boat and buying a new cordless vacuum cleaner, we set off. It felt fantastic to be out on the Thames. At Caversham Lock, there seemed to be plenty of colour and lots of people watching the boats. We were held for a while at the lock with a queue of cabin cruisers ahead of us. It is necessary to hold an Environmental Agency licence for navigating on the Thames. We had been told at Blake’s Lock that we would be able to obtain one at Caversham, but the lock was being manned by a volunteer who did not have authority to issue licences. Beyond the lock was no doubt Reading’s better face and it looked lovely from the river. Reading Bridge was a particularly attractive brid...
Read more
Image
Friday 22 nd February 2019 The fog first thing this morning was so thick you could see no more than 50 yards. A harbinger of a nice day it turned out. We were on the move by 8am for the mile run-in to Atherstone and we moored just before the top lock near a road bridge that is very convenient for the town. We are opposite the derelict factory of Wilson and Stafford. This was a felt hat making enterprise that made hats that were exported all over the world until closure about 35 years ago. Apparently, slaves on the West Indies sugar plantations all wore hats made in Atherstone. The factory is a blight on the town. It has been sold several times for housing development and would make desirable apartments. The frontage of the building is listed but the problem lies inside. There are many chemicals absorbed into the fabric of the building including mercury, a heavy metal used in the making of hats and asbestos. It would cost a fortune to demolish or develop, including clos...
Read more