Thursday 25th October 2018



I had wanted to do a few jobs before leaving for Braunston, one being to scrub the front of the roof. No sooner had I offloaded all the coal, logs and tools when a CRT guy turned up and asked us to leave as they were resurfacing the towpath.

Everything was reloaded and we set off and soon came upon the tunnel. The boat gets a hell of a battering passing through these wide two way tunnels. We met three boats coming in the opposite direction. It is impossible not the touch the sidewalls and, once the other boat has passed, it is very difficult to get off the wall, suction takes over. It is also difficult to judge distances and to sometimes work out what is approaching or happening ahead. This was compounded when we met the third boat. We obviously had a boat ahead of us travelling in the same direction, but he suddenly seemed to be right across the tunnel. Then a weak, intermittent light kept shining towards us, but then going out. There was shouting so I thought he had maybe broken down, we slowed right down to tick-over and approached very slowly. What had actually happened was a boat travelling towards us with no tunnel light or any lights on inside the boat, just the flashlight from a mobile phone being held in his hand. The guy in front apparently did not see this boat until he was right on top of him and we were the same, concentrating as we were on the boat in front. Stupid and dangerous individual, Victoria registered in Braunston.

Once out of the tunnel, there were actually two boats ahead of us and nothing behind. This meant that once again, we had to do the locks solo, they were all against us and so had to be filled first. It was only at the fourth and last lock, that we met boats coming towards us and so could just enter the lock.

We moored just below the Admiral Nelson pub. All the gear was offloaded from the roof again and the roof scrubbed. While it is still somewhat stained, it looks so much better. While scrubbing the roof, two huge great military aircraft passed very low overhead as they did last time we were at Braunston. They were so low and close I actually clearly saw the pilots. Four propeller engine jobs, with Union Jack and RAF roundels painted on them with the number “50” painted just in front of the tail.

I had to splice two more side fenders, they had been ripped off on one of the lock gates that wouldn’t open properly.

Then we went the pub. Brenda managed to get sat on a real comfy, leather couch with Harvey and lots of cushions. All the two of them needed was a cherub with a harp and you would have sworn they were in heaven. When the solid fuel stove was light in front of us, it looked as though they were both there for the duration.



Weather: a nice sunny day, a little breezy.



Day Total: 4 locks; 4 miles; 1 Tunnel; 0 Swing Bridge; 0 Boat Lift; engine running hours 2.2

Overall Total: 304 locks; 506 miles; 23 tunnels; 2 Swing Bridge; 2 Boat Lifts; engine running hours 310.9




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday 22 nd June 2020   Brenda went to Devaney’s, the Middlewich butcher’s first thing, only to find them closed on account of a family bereavement, so went instead to Morrison’s. I stayed on the boat, readying to move and doing more work on family history. On Brenda’s return we both went to Morrison’s for a mega shop. Such hard work lugging loads of shopping back to the boat. We have decided we need to buy a second sack trolley. After the shopping was unpacked and stowed away, we had a cup of tea and some lunch and left the mooring just before 2pm. It felt so bloody good to be off cruising again, picking up where we left off when we left Middlewich on 10 th February, over 4 months ago, supposedly on the start of the cruising year after spending most of the winter static, in and around Middlewich, before the Corona Virus lock-down stopped us, and everybody else, dead in our tracks. We had an uneventful trip as far as Aqueduct Marina where we moored. When Bridge Street wa
Read more
Wednesday 24 th June 2020   Again, last night, the farmers were cutting and turning grass in the nearby fields but then, about 10pm, a heavy dew came down and stopped them working. And gave us a quiet night. We left the mooring just after 9am in order to arrive at Venetian when Susan opened at 10. We passed up Minshull Lock, such a pretty place. The lock-keepers cottage here, we nearly bought when we first moved back to Cheshire in 2000.                                          Minshull Lock-Keepers Cottage                                                    Marina Dwellers at Syke’s Hollow   Syke’s Hollow had been reclaimed by the marina dwellers, Gazebo Wharf as they term it, 6 boats in all. Good for them. I suppose they will be there now until the end of the summer. At the marina, we took on fuel and a gas cylinder, bought some goods and Brenda had a well-earned ice-cream. Susan was pleased to see us
Read more
Friday 26 th June 2020   We both had a terrible night. It got to 28 ˚ and was airless. Rain started at 4am but it did nothing to cool the place down. The rain stopped as soon as it started but came again before 8am and continued heavily until midday. Once the rain had cleared we walked up into Christleton village. It felt so good to be back out and exploring again, although the church was only open for private prayer on Wednesday and Sunday. The centre of the village was delightful, a pretty village, full of some lovely old buildings. Even outwith the actual centre, there was an abundance of gorgeous properties.                                    St. James Church, Christleton                                                            Christleton Village Centre   We returned to the boat, picked up Harvey and went for a walk around the site of the Battle of Rowton Moor, a Civil War battle fought on 24 th September 164
Read more