31st July 2013

We've done quite a bit of boating since our last post, moving finally from Cheshire to Staffordshire. On Sun 21st we awoke to discover that we were adrift on the wrong side of the canal! Along with every other boat over a half mile stretch of moorings we had been untied by, presumably, one of the local comedians! Oh what fun they must have in Middlewich!

Friendly fishermen?

We set sail soon afterwards and joined the Trent and Mersey canal, which we followed in a southerly direction for the next week. For several miles we passed a succession of [mostly grumpy] fishermen - clearly it must be irritating to have to move your rod for passing boats, but the canal was designed for boat traffic after all!
On Tuesday morning, having gone to sleep with the side hatch open due to the extreme heat, we were awoken at 6.00 am by a violent thunder storm and rain pouring onto the bed!

Sabrina in her floating home

At Rode Heath we encountered Sabrina, an amazing German woman travelling alone, in a canoe! She's been travelling the world, using various modes of transport for nearly 20 years. Her travels have included most of Europe, Ethiopia, Madagascar and many other places.


On Wednesday 24th we went in convoy with 5 other boats through the Harecastle tunnel. It is just under 2 miles long and takes about 40 minutes to get through.

Entrance to Harecastle Tunnel

 One of three parallel tunnels through Harecastle Hill it is a masterpiece of engineering by Thomas Telford, constructed nearly 200 years ago to replace Brindley's earlier tunnel which was prone to collapse! The third tunnel used to carry the railway but was closed in the 1960s.

Bottle kilns at Stoke

We moored for a couple of days in Stoke on Trent before continuing our journey and on Monday 29th we turned on to the Coventry Canal at Fradley Junction and we're now moored at Fazeley near Tamworth. The boat will be moored here for a couple of weeks while Jean, David and the children visit Alex & Co in France.


Finally, some boat names which have amused us over the last 10 days!  We've also added some more 'family and friends' names, so if you weren't there last time you looked, you may have appeared by now....

20th July

Monday 15th
We finally left Chester, having said goodbye to our new friends at the boat yard, owners Yvette and Peter, and Colin and Katie, who are helping with the restoration work on the boatyard, and are also volunteer helpers on the staircase locks.

Colin and Katie

Stables at Bunbury Locks, formerly accommodation for
  the horses who pulled the boats

Despite difficulties with the boat 'grounding' (at one point requiring some help from a passing jogger  to push us off the mud), we had retraced our steps and the boat was back in Nantwich by Tuesday evening.


After retrieving the car from Chester, Roger drove down to Coventry for Peter's graduation ceremony at Warwick University.

Proud Dad with the new graduate

 The culmination of six years hard slog doing a part time degree whilst working full time! A splendid achievement.
After the ceremony Roger returned to Nantwich by train having left the car in Leamington again.



On Friday 19th we entered new territory again and took the Middlewich Canal in scorching heat to reach the outskirts of Middlewich.

A heron waiting to resume fishing

Our policy in this extremely hot weather is to make an early start and cruise until lunchtime, take a break, and resume again for a couple of hours in the evening.


Saturday 20th. We decided to visit the Anderton Boat Lift by bus, to avoid a two day detour by boat in this hot weather - our itinerary will take us in the opposite direction southward down the Trent and Mersey Canal.

Anderton Boat Lift from River Weaver

A boat emerging on to the Trent&Mersey

TheAnderton http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/Anderton-boat-lift  is a world-famous feat of engineering, a huge structure built in 1875 to raise and lower boats 50 feet between the River Weaver and the T&M Canal.  You can take your own boat through for free (which seems incredible, given how cash-strapped the C&RT is) or have a ride on a trip boat.

14th July

Sunday 7th July: Whew! After another extremely hard mornings work, sanding and painting we took the afternoon off to watch Andy Murray win Wimbledon in straight sets! Resumed work in the evening, and collapsed into bed covered in dust and paint, completely cream-crackered.

Taylor's Yard  covered dry dock

Monday 8th: We remained in the dock to finish the main bulk of the paintwork.Vincent Joseph is now green!!

Change of image

In the evening we went out to see the 'Mystery Plays' at Chester Cathedral. A spectacular production, only performed every 5 years,with a huge cast of locals, but sadly we were both so tired from our painting exploits we had to leave at the interval!

Tuesday 9th; Out from the shelter of the covered dock into the sweltering heat. Frantic tidy up in the morning before Ann and Colin arrived by train at lunchtime - we see them all too seldom, since New Zealand is a bit far for a casual drop-in.

With Ann and Colin - bloated at Bunbury

After lunch we went on a cruise towards Ellesmere Port and stopped overnight at Stoak. Enjoyed a splendid meal at the Bunbury Arms.

Wednesday 10th: Meandered back to Chester fighting the mud and weed all the way, with a couple of unscheduled stops to untangle yards of tenacious greenery from the propeller.

Ann at the tiller

 In the afternoon drove Ann and Colin back down to Leamington. Stayed overnight at the Wharf Inn, Fenny Compton.

Thursday 11th: Spent the day looking for possible winter moorings on the Grand Union or Oxford canal. Largely unsuccessful so looks likely we will have a Canal and River Trust (CRT) winter mooring. Had a meal at the Wharf with Jen, Rich and Joseph and Sam.

Friday 12th: Drove back to Chester and painted the gunwales in the evening unhindered by Benny who was still at the cattery.

Saturday 13th: Maxine the signwriter arrived at 11.00 am to start painting the name on the boat.

Signwriting : name chalked out

The finished result

Painting in the noonday sun

Sun 14th Signwriting finished by evening, and looks excellent. We completed a few other minor bits of painting - the boat is pretty much finished now, but we need to paint a line along the top in red at some point when we can summon the energy. Meanwhile, we're preparing to leave Chester tomorrow. It's a beautiful city, but we've spent most of our time with our noses 2 inches from hot metal, applying paint to the boat

6th July

This has been an extremely busy week! Roger was away on Mon and Tues seeing the family,then on Wednesday we took the boat into the covered dock at the historic Taylors Boat Yard, ready to start the paint job.  After endless more sessions of sanding, scraping and priming, we actually began putting paint to metal on Thursday.  The roof has had two layers of undercoat and two more layers of gloss, which had to be applied on hands and knees crawling backwards down the boat.  Jean's knees may never recover, while Roger vibrates in his sleep from so many hours of using the electric sander...

A labour of love

A labour,
 but not so sure about the love!

It was Jean's turn to play hookey on Thurs/Fri, taking a quick trip to York to celebrate David's birthday, but rushing back to continue the hard work.

Yvette and Peter delivering our gas and diesel

We have been given an enormous amount of help, advice and
encouragement by Yvette and Peter
who own the Grade 11 listed boatyard and dock which dates back to 1845. More can be discovered about them at:
www.taylorsboatyard.co.uk

Unexpected entertainment!

We were pleasantly surprised on Friday by a free show of acrobatics from two amazing young women, instructors from  Apsara Dance Studio which is situated by the canal basin.  They were practising for a competition, and came outside to enjoy the glorious sunshine. You can find more about them at www.apsaradance.co.uk