Friday 17th April 2020



We left the mooring just after 8am for the 2 mile run into Nantwich and moored on the embankment just before the aqueduct, very handy for the town. Neither of us were looking forward to the day ahead and so, without further ado, we headed off with our rucksacks and sack trolley.

Welsh Row was almost completely deserted and eerily quiet. We had to queue outside Boots and the Post Office. The fishmongers were open and the butchers seemed to be doing a roaring trade making up bagged orders for home delivery. We were not allowed in the shop itself but were served from a table outside the door.

At Morrison’s we queued for 30 minutes before Brenda entered the store while I stayed outside. Just as well it wasn’t raining.  Once Brenda emerged, we loaded our bags and trudged the mile back to the boat. Once unpacked, we made a second journey to Morrison’s, buying many more heavier goods and alcohol as we found the sack trolley a great help. We reckon we now have enough food and drink on board to last a fortnight which was the intention.

Once the second lot of shopping was unpacked, we moved off. It is fascinating watching Brenda fit so much stuff into such small spaces. We had to travel the mile to the winding hole before turning and heading back across the aqueduct to the service point. Here we disposed of so much rubbish. Not just the packaging from the shopping, but we had a full bin, boxes scattered about the boat, and bags on the roof. The bedding was washed, tanks filled, toilet emptied and then, gratefully, we headed back out into countryside once again.

We had arranged to meet with Lol and Jackie at Calveley straight beyond Barbridge Junction, a cruise of about 6 miles but with lots of moored boats en-route. It took us over 2 hours and it had become cold for the last 30 minutes or so.

We moored in front of Caramia and the Coffee Boat. Lol helped us to moor and Jackie gave us a welcome, but the day had turned cold so both quickly retired to their own boat.

It had been a very long day for us. The shopping alone took over 4 hours. The shops lie a mile from the canal and, with doing two trips, heavily laden on the return journey, we were both exhausted and a bit stressed out.

Neither of us can remember the last time we felt either exhausted or stressed. The canal lifestyle doesn’t normally allow for it.

Thankfully, Brenda had bought an Indian supermarket meal deal in Morrison’s which we both thoroughly enjoyed before having early nights.

There should be a brilliant display of meteorites and shooting stars in the North Eastern skies at the moment, but unfortunately, we had cloudy skies and it came on to rain before bedtime. The spectacle should last until 22nd April so hopefully, there will be another opportunity to witness it.



Day Total: 0 locks; 9 miles; 0 Tunnels; 0 Swing Bridges; 0 Lift Bridges; 0 Boat Lift; Day’s running hours 2.4

Overall Total: 907 locks; 1613 miles; 53 tunnels; 61 Swing Bridges; 17 Lift Bridges; 2 Boat Lifts; total engine running hours 1090.4






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