Wednesday 10th June 2020

 

It was not a good night or morning, rain, cold and persistent drizzle.

Brenda and Jemima went into Nantwich shopping. They came back with reports of many more people out and about, lots more shops open, but everybody looking scared and haunted.

With the lock-down being more and more relaxed more people will venture out, but there seems to be a lot of fear and uncertainty and confusion in the country. This is all largely passing us by.

With the ‘Black Lives Matter’ demonstrations taking place and statues being torn down, with appeals for a lot more to be removed, the country doesn’t seem like a nice place at the moment and we consider ourselves lucky to be where we are and doing what we do.

The rain had stopped by the time Brenda and Jemima returned and we set off. We had a slow 4-mile, 2½ hour cruise that seemed like a nature walk, we saw so much. Travelling a full 4 miles, has been the longest we have cruised in months.

We stopped between bridges 12 and 13 above Church Minshull for Danny and Jemima to see the culvert that passes beneath the canal and then continued on, stopping on the 48 hour moorings above Winsford Top Flash.

En-route we saw a rabbit sitting on the towpath, completely unfazed at our passing and a lot more rabbits in the fields opposite. Rabbits are a rarity and we have seen few in our time on Bridge Street. We also saw a pair of swans sitting on the bank with their cygnets, another swan family swam passed and a Canada Goose with seven Goslings. We passed a Moorhen with her single chick, just a ball of black fluff and saw a couple of Kingfishers.

 



On each side of the canal we saw Flag Irises, Poppies and Foxgloves, Burdock and Teasels, Buttercups and Ox-Eyed Daisy’s amongst many other plants and flowers. Passing slowly gave us the opportunity to observe all this nature rather than passing blindly by.

Once moored the girls had a walk and returned with a few logs that were cut up and a fire started in Danny’s BBQ stand. We then spent a few lovely hours sat outside beside the fire, before the chill descended and sent us inside.

 

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

 

Overall Total: 913 locks; 1638 miles; 53 tunnels; 61 Swing Bridges; 17 Lift Bridges; 2 Boat Lifts; total engine running hours 1123.6

 

 

 

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