Thursday 23rd January 2020



While Brenda cleaned the inside of the boat, I made myself scarce and went to the chandlery at Nantwich Marina. The marina was originally the home of Nantwich Wharf and today supports a number of businesses, as well as the chandlery and boatyard, there is a cafe, launderette, cratch cover makers, gift shop and general store and a dog groomer.

Probably next to B&Qs, a chandlery has to be my favouritist kind of shop. You go in for one thing and emerge with several others and quite a few £’s lighter in the pocket. I also called into the cratch cover makers to ask if they could make new seat covers for the front cratch. After just one year, ours have started coming apart with the material cracking and allowing water to soak into the foam. While they don’t make seat covers, they put me onto a company at Beeston. I rang these to arrange for new seat covers to be made and was told the canal is closing at Beeston Iron Lock for 3 weeks in February. Naughty of CRT this as the stoppage was not in their published list and has been added on. It also delays our plans as we had intended to visit Chester and Ellesmere Port prior to travelling the length of the Shroppie once the stoppages were lifted on the locks at Hack Green, Audlem and Addersley at the end of February.

Colin and Linda visited after travelling down from Cumbria, it has been the first time either of them had seen the boat. We had a catch-up along with a pan of Brenda’s soup, before they left to check into their hotel.

In the evening, we again met with Colin and Linda in town and, after a few pints in the Crown, had a lovely Chinese meal in the Chopsticks Restaurant.



Weather: a misty start to a nice, mild day.

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