Wednesday 29^th January 2020

In contrast to the last few days, it was a lovely morning and quite warm in the sun. Leaving the mooring it was a delight moving through the countryside, very quiet and peaceful. At Stanthorne Lock, we parted company with Kenny and Sue, who were going right into Middlewich to their normal mooring, while we stopped at Hannah’s Walk, which Brenda thought more convenient for the town and shopping.

In all our travels, Middlewich has to be nominated as Dog Shit Capital. It is disgusting and probably the worst town encountered for this problem. Whenever we moor in an urban area with grass alongside the towpath, we always check the grass for poo. With a few feet either side of the boat, this would be about 60 feet. In that distance I cleared no fewer than 14 piles. In Middlewich the canal was sometimes referred to as ‘Dog Shit Alley’. No doubt the majority of residents are responsible dog owners and, like myself, have poo bags in the pockets of every pair of trousers they own. However, there must be an awful lot that just do not care. There is a virus at present affecting dogs with 3 days of sickness and diahorrea, small wonder.  

Weather: A lovely day with a warm sun.

Day Total: 1 lock; 3 miles; 0 Tunnels; 0 Swing Bridges; 0 Lift Bridges; 0 Boat Lift; Day’s running hours 1.8  

Overall Total: 868 locks; 1516 miles; 53 tunnels; 61 Swing Bridges; 17 Lift Bridges; 2 Boat Lifts; total engine running hours 1002.5