Whitchurch Arm

There was certainly the sound of sleet last night hitting the roof of Oleanna, but this morning it had turned to just cold rain and quite a lot of it. Tilly was allowed out to explore whilst we stayed inside by the warmth of the stove, Mick braving the elements for a newspaper. The dry stone wall by our mooring was very soon scaled (this is the cat who managed to climb the high wall in Marple last year) and the vista on the other side was heaven to Tilly. She was gone for hours only to return during a particularly heavy down pour.

The day gradually brightened up, so with some mince, onions and other things gradually cooking on the stove top we ventured back into Whitchurch. Sadly my thought of going to the Heritage Centre was thwarted by it being closed on Saturdays! So we decided to have a wonder around and loiter to see the Christmas lights get turned on.

Today we walked along Chemistry into town and through Jubilee Park. We then had a good look around the town finding the Heritage Centre that we’d missed yesterday (when it was open!). Whitchurch is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire.

Town was packed, today the Christmas lights would be turned on. There was a small fun fair. The local Rotary club had a wagon with a queue right across the street for people to visit Santa. I usually insist on calling him Father Christmas but when someone dresses up as him with a bad plastic wig and beard they become Santa. Being born on Christmas day Father Christmas used to make two visits to my house, one at the usual time when we were all asleep and an earlier one, to my birthday party. So I can tell a fake when I see one.

We soon found a charity shop that had some towels, so we now have a full complement for when Tilly comes in covered in mud. She refuses to wipe her paws on the mats provided and just jumps over them instead! Then we wondered away from the throngs to see what we could see. Some wonderful buildings and others not so wonderful. This is the first time I’ve seen a half pebble dashed house, I’m hoping it will be the last.

Wonderful windows of all shapes styles and sizes.

If you fancy a project there is an old pub that stands at the back of the church, currently it is unsafe so would most probably need pulling down, but what a great site. We stopped off to look in a couple of shops and un-secretly bought invisible things for in a months time.

Back onto the High Street we looked at stalls all showing their Christmassy wares. People were now starting to congregate for the lights. Looking around us we decided that we were unlikely to be amazed at the display, it wasn’t going to be anything like Newarks market square, that was special. Even the mulled wine didn’t entice us to stay another half hour. Instead we headed back to the boat leaving everyone else to have a good time and get chilblains.

More of my goods went on sale today on my friends Etsy shop. Two have already sold, so maybe we’ll be able to afford a duck for Christmas.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 cold wet sunny wet day, 1 dripping cat, 2 extra towels, 1 secret present, 7 hours cooking for mince, 1 crumble, 1 near ruin, 3 days a week, 11 snowflakes, 1 cardie, 2 pairs socks finished, 1 cosy boat.

Grindley Brook to Whitchurch Arm

The water tank was very low after all the washing we’d done yesterday, so Mick laid out our two hoses to top it up. As we’d had the central heating on for a while this morning I used the hot water and had a shower so that we could leave our mooring with a full tank and a clean me. Tilly was back on form as the bath mat was thoroughly murdered! The small amount of white fish had been picked out carefully from the rice she got for breakfast and so far it has all stayed in her tummy, fingers crossed that the system reset has worked. I think I’d like fish everyday from now on, pink food is nowhere near as good!

Before going to bed last night I had found my other type of double sided tape. I applied a layer of this on top of the original tape. The original had stuck very well to the porthole, but not so well to the carry mat. This other type didn’t look that different but had worked with the carry mat on our freezer. So foam layer applied we waited for it to pop off over night. It didn’t! The temperature had dropped over night and the foam had done it’s job. No condensation running off the frame, I just need to add some more bits to the brackets that the window rests on as these were dripping.

Time to move on. Not far, but onto new water for all of us, not much new water, but new. The sun was out making it a chilly but bright morning. We pootled past the Winter Moorers. A short distance on a dog walker was drawing our attention to a large pile of logs freshly cut. He was of the opinion that it was Ash but the tree surgeons further up said it was Elm, much harder to split than Ash. We may go back for some.

A mile on and New Mills Lift Bridge sat waiting to be lifted. This bridge sits at the end of the Whitchurch Arm which goes off to the left quite sharply, not enough room to turn Oleanna in. A short distance further along there is a winding hole where we turned and made our way back down onto the arm. We pulled into one of two gaps as a Kingfisher dashed overhead (our first sighting on the Llangollen), tied up and retired inside to warm up and have lunch before going to see what Whitchurch had to offer.

It’s about a mile walk along what used to be the old line of the canal. There are plans to extend the canal and build a basin on waste land, but this will no doubt take years to achieve. Plenty of new housing is going up. Opposite our mooring is busy with houses being built and then along the path further towards the town there is a new estate. Signs by one house suggest you should ask about the pumping station before you buy it! Maybe there are issues with water levels here.

We had a brief look round the town, sadly we’d missed the Friday morning market but there was still plenty to see. Half timbered buildings, new small arcade leading to Tescos.

Down Watergate Arcade there wasn’t much to see at first, a dog grooming parlour, but then a window that we couldn’t but help stop and look in. This was Powells Pies. Inside there were three people gradually working away making pork pies. A chap, grandson of the original Powell butcher, was raising the hot crust around wooden dollies. A lady sat opposite weighing out the pork then packing the correct weight into them. Another lady sat crimping the lids onto the pies. Ovens lined the back wall and cooling trays were crammed with a sea of freshly cooked pork pies. What a shop window! There was a small sales counter so it would have been exceedingly rude not to have gone inside and buy a pie.

Powells Pies sell mostly at farmers markets across North Shropshire and Cheshire and earlier this year won  a Bonze Medal for their pork pies at the Great British Pie Awards. Mick is looking forward to sampling his pie tomorrow.

Next we found a cross between Boyes and Barnitts (if you ever go to York Barnitts is worth a visit). Colour Supplies has almost everything under one roof, sewing, bikes, skateboards, gardening, diy, bedding, Christmas, paint, lights etc. We had a good look round finding some high ball glasses (down to only two now) and something else that Mick paid for but has immediately forgotten about (Christmas is only a month away!). It being Black Friday we got money off too.

Walking back we popped into the church on the hill, St Alkmunds Church.

In the late afternoon sunlight it glowed and the patterns on it’s large arched windows drew us in to have a look. It is the forth church on this site since White Church was founded in 900AD. It is the first neoclassical style church in Shropshire and was built in 1713. When first built all the windows were just plain glass apart from two crosses made from glass for the previous church. The Victorians had a love for stained glass, so parishioners set about filling the windows with colour. Warrington designed the windows which are very fine. One has been removed for essential restoration in Chester leaving a large scaff tower in it’s place.

A lady busied herself arranging flowers so that the church can look good for the Festival of the Crib tomorrow.

0 locks, 1.02 miles, 1 lift bridge, 2 rights, 1 wind, 1 full water tank, 1st Kingfisher, 0 soya mince, 1 of many pork pies, 6 for the price of 4 and 20% off, 1 chopping Christmas present, 1 much better cat, 2nd type double sided better, 1 dry window, 2 dripping supports!

Grindley Brook

This will not do!!!!!!

So I feel like I needed a bit of a lie in this morning, not feeling like I want to have much for breakfast. Well I didn’t get any anyway!

They said I needed a system reset, again! This meant no food ALL day!!!!!!!!!!

They were lazy, not moving the outside and leaving the inside sat on the services and it wasn’t even that blowy!

Normally when there is no outside moving I get to go out into it and explore, find friends etc. But today the doors were kept firmly closed, all part of the System Reset apparently. Well I don’t like System Resets they can go do one.

As this evenings ‘Ding Ding’ approached I couldn’t find my bowls, they had vanished. So I took their place and gave the floor there a good clean. There wasn’t much to be had just a pink biscuit tucked away right in the corner, a bit stale and dusty. How is an active cat like me meant to survive with no food!

Then she has the audacity to cook something that smelt incredibly nice right in front of me! The smell pulled my nose up into the air and my insides rumbled in protest. Apparently it was fish, I’ve smelt it before but today it smelt even betterer. Still a very empty space where my bowls live and inside me!!!

She said that I’d get to try some fish in the morning if my insides behaved better. Well my insides are starving and I am wilting. This is pure cruelty.

Only one thing for it. I need new crew. Please apply to this blog. Ding Ding serving and outside moving and door opening skills a must along with warm comfy knees and feet required to sit on. The ability to read my user manual is not required.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 boat bound cat, 0 food, 7 long sleeps, 1 tiny miniscule pink biscuit all day, 1 mouth full of fluff, 1 big bowl of fish, 0 bowls for cats, 1 twitching nose, 1 comfy knee to sit on, 1 warm box, 6am wake up, 1 cleaning of floor at least I missed the bed, 3 loads of washing, 2 loads of drying, 1 hire boat moving all day, £800 to hire it next week that’s with discount! 1 short walk, 1 fish crumble, 1 improving Tilly, 1.5 socks, 1/4 water tank, 0 exclamation marks left.

Grindley Railway Bridge to Top of Grindley Brook Staircase

Today started wet and windy, very windy. On days like this we normally have found a place to tie up without too many trees, shame we needed to move.

We gave ourselves plenty of time to move up to below the locks. Pushing off took both of us on the bow as the wind was holding Oleanna firmly to the bank. Below the locks a bridleway crosses over the canal, this is accessible by car/supermarket delivery van. The only down side is that to be able to moor you are virtually on the lock landing. We tied up to the last bollard and Mick found a ring for the stern. There was little likely hood of anyone coming up or down the locks as it was so windy, but we stayed alert should anyone need assistance.

Mick walked up to the garage to meet the delivery chap who was quite happy with our location, although he didn’t want to reverse up the bridleway. By the time everything was on board and stowed away I had done a full step aerobic workout and the delivery driver had decided that he’d go home and persuade his wife that they needed to buy a narrowboat.

Decision time, do we reverse or more likely pull Oleanna back to the visitor moorings we’d just come from, or do we go up the locks and moor above where there is water. We decided on the latter as tomorrow may well be as bad and the water tank was getting low.

It was strangely quite warm but despite the rain having passed over we put full waterproofs on, just in case, they’d at least keep the howling gales out. Two boats had headed up the locks yesterday late afternoon so we wondered how water tight the gates on the locks were. Lock 6 was full, water tight gates, the two above, 5 and 4, almost empty. On windy days like today the last thing you want to be doing is treading water waiting for a lock to be ready. So I headed off once Oleanna was rising to set the next lock and open it. Once open I’d walk back down to close the gate on the previous lock so that Mick could bring Oleanna straight from one lock to the next. But strangely enough it wasn’t the wind that caused the most problems, it was the mass of leaves in the water and the amount of water coming down the bywashes. Leaving locks was seriously hard work.

With Oleanna rising in Lock 4 I headed up to the staircase. There was nobody wanting to come down, not a surprise as no one in their right mind would be moving today! Each of the chambers was full, or just about. This was a bit of a surprise after seeing them empty yesterday. There had also been a comment on a Facebook group about someone having left a paddle up on them which had drained the water. The paddle won’t have helped, but we had suspected that the gates leaked. Maybe when the locks are full the gates seal better (more water pressure) than when they are empty.

The middle lock was actually so full that water was flowing over the bottom gates. Now that had to mean that water was coming from somewhere and sure enough there was a paddle just open, enough to keep the chambers topped up. Mick had now joined me so we set about setting the chambers, most of which was already done. We lifted a paddle on the top chamber to keep that topped up to the level of the pound above and then emptied the bottom chamber. To go up a staircase of locks, you need the bottom chamber empty, then the next chambers above to be full, each one in turn empties into the one below raising the boat so that it can pass into the next chamber when level with it, the last chamber gets filled from the pound above.

With everything ready Mick went back to get Oleanna, she’d been left in the lock below with the gates open. Two very short ponies came out from behind a fence to check what was going on, I wonder if in the summer they sit on the swing and watch the hire boats come and go.

We worked Oleanna up, when the water was level to move from the second chamber to the third it looked like it was a bit low, around 16 inches lower than when it had been full. Would this give us enough water depth to get over the cil into the top chamber? Not wanting to risk it I opened up a top paddle to let more water down and bring the level up. Mick kept an eye on the level and signalled when it was back to full.

Once up we went straight to one of the four water points. Washing machine was filled and the water tank filling as Oleanna rocked around with the blustery wind outside.

Up ahead there wasn’t quite enough space behind the last boat on the moorings for us, anyhow there were a lot of trees. Further along there was space but more trees. So not wanting to go far in the wind we decided that if we pulled back we could position ourselves so that there was space for boats at the pooh sucky machine and lock landing behind us and that we were a boats length away from the first water point. We couldn’t be classed as being in the way, especially as no one else was moving. The weather is meant to be similar tomorrow, we may stay put, but we’ll see.

6 locks, 3 of them a staircase, 0.52 miles, 100ft backwards, 0 25% off, 1 full wine cellar, 1 boat full of essentials, 0 cheese twists, 2 diddy ponies, 1 full water tank, 1 pair socks finished, 1 pair socks started, 3 hours playing in fields, 1 boat hoping not to be in the way, 1st Welsh accent.

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Middle of nowhere to Grindley Railway Bridge

With the weather set to get wet this afternoon we moved off quite early after emptying the yellow water tank. Not far ahead was Marbury Lock which was sat empty waiting for us. Just as I pushed the gates open a boat appeared up ahead meaning we could swap over once we’d ascended.

Just before bridge 24 there were a couple of chaps trying to haul a large branch out from the cut. A chop with a chain saw meant they could haul the section of branch out of our way. It looks like several trees are being felled along this stretch and piles of Boaters Gold are sat waiting to be picked up.

For the last week or so I’ve had an image in my head of a pub right by a lock with a car park on the off side, I couldn’t for the life of me think where it was. Well today we passed through it, Willeymoor Lock and Willeymoor Lock Tavern. Maybe we’ll pass by when it’s open on our way back next year and stop to sample their wares.

We must have been the first through the locks today as below each one was a mass of leaves, then above them there were more, leaf porridge. As I opened up paddles the leaves were sucked through and the whole of the lock became a mass of whirling leaves. Once the top gate was opened Mick fought his way out of the lock. No matter how much power he used Oleanna only just managed to glide out. Even blasts of reverse weren’t enough to clear the prop as there were so many leaves. I reckon we’d have been quicker bow hauling her out!

As the Grindley Railway Bridge came into sight we pulled over onto the end of the visitor moorings, the only boat on them again.

A walk up to the locks to have a look. We have a supermarket delivery booked for tomorrow and wanted to check where we were hoping to have it delivered to. The A41 passes through Grindley Brook and between the first two locks there is a petrol station with a gate that leads to the towpath. Our delivery details were for here, we would work our way up the first lock and wait, helping any boat that came through. But as we walked around a better place to wait was just below the first lock where a van can get to the side of the canal by a bridge.

Here there is a staircase of three chambers. Between April and October they are manned by a Lock Keeper and volunteers, but now they are unmanned. The bottom chamber was half full and the top two were empty. When I say empty I mean that we could actually see the bottom of them. Ideal for checking a bow thruster tube! We won’t be emptying them that much as we go up.

Outside a house by the bottom lock were two large boxes of wind fall cooking apples with a large note attached saying they were up for grabs. Not being greedy I picked up three hoping we had enough eggs to make a cake. The heavens then opened so we retired to the boat to let Tilly out and to bake. I decided to use gluten free flour which has worked out well, however the top of the cake caught just a little bit in the top oven. I don’t know if this was to do with the flour or our oven was just a touch too hot.

Staying indoors whilst Tilly got very wet we deserved a slice of still warm Dorset Apple Cake with a cuppa. Very nice it was too.

4 locks, 3.91 miles, 4 lots of porridge, 1 monolith of stock defrosting, 2 empty chambers, 1 shopping rendezvous altered, 3 apples, more if there’s any left tomorrow, 1 apple cake still warm, 1 soggy moggy.

Wrenbury Church Lift Bridge

A day of pottering as other boats drifted by and Tilly gradually got bored of this outside. When she came back for some treats we decided that it was our turn to go out and check what fresh veg the Spar shop had. So with Tilly left in charge we crossed over the field to St Margaret’s Church.

Yesterday when we’d been for a look round we were accosted by a bushy black cat who had a really high pitched meow. He was ever so friendly and had crossed over a road aiming for us weaving around a moving car. One determined cat! For a while we thought he was going to follow us home, but then just as quickly as it had appeared it vanished. Today as we reached the graveyard there he was running over to say hello again. Such a fluffy cat. We wondered what Tilly would think if we brought him home for a treat or two. Really! No way is anyone having any of my treats!

The shop provided us with some veg and bits to keep us going for a couple more days. The church was open as we made our way back so we popped inside to have a look round. Services for the day had finished and we’d heard the bell ringers (two down today) practicing this morning.

St Margaret’s is one of nine churches in Cheshire to have box pews. They were installed in 1608 to allow the congregation to sit draft free during services in an unheated church. With the sides being four foot high the congregation would quite often be found asleep or amusing them selves with games out of view from the pulpit. At the back of the church by the door is the Dog Whippers Pew. The Dog Whipper ( known as The Beadle from 1826) would remove any unruly dogs from the church, well behaved dogs were welcome, he also would prod members of the congregation who had fallen asleep during the sermon.

A pretty small church. The Tower Captain and helpers spend 20 minutes winding up the weights of the clock each eight days. Mooring where we are the church reminds you of it’s existence every fifteen minutes. Just a shame it’s three minutes slow!

Someone stole our table! All of a sudden it had disappeared, where was I to clean my paws? We moved the table so that I could attack the window frame around the dinette window. Keeping the gullies around the windows clear form leaves necessitates removing the glazing. Our taught curtains make this a little bit tricksy, but with an extra pair of hands the whole window comes out and everything can be cleaned. Whilst the table was down we had a look at how the spare bed folds down as we will have guests to stay next month. There is one section which doesn’t fold, meaning that one end of the bed is 1m wide, the other 1.2m wide. This most probably made sense to the builders, but with a small modification, four screws removed, a small piece of ply and some four inch foam we can make the bed full width. Just need some foam and ply.

Whilst able to access the section under the dinette that houses my work bits I got out my big compass. The porthole above our bed is prone to condensation, if we stopped breathing it would help. So I set about making a covering for the aluminium frame. First I cut a template out of thin card and then cut a large O from the carry mat we’d bought to help insulate the freezer. This I have temporarily fixed in place with double sided tape. If it works I’ll look out for something similar that isn’t bright purple!

My next lot of knitting and crochet was complete. All that it needed was blocking to shape and size. This involves pinning out the pieces of knitting and then steaming them, this evens out the stitches and gives a better finish. So the engine was popped on to help the batteries with the power draw and the flip down end of our bed became a good surface (covered in a towel) to pin the huge sontag to. With this all done it and a couple of hats and pairs of gloves can go in the post tomorrow freeing up some space on board.

Another thing that will be going in the post tomorrow is our spare blinds, well the ones we bought that were the wrong size! Last year I tried selling them on ebay a few times with no luck. We found a handy place for them to live on Oleanna, but that would also be a handy place to fix our third fire extinguisher, so last week I relisted them. I must have timed it well as this time they have sold! A lady at New Mills is getting an absolute bargain, but what is more important we are gaining that little bit more space on Oleanna.

0 locks, 0 miles, 6 hours, 1 outside needing changing, 1 fluffy bum, 1 large batch of black granite, 13 white, 10 brown, 3 carrots, 1 squash, 1 more window cleaned out, 15 inch O, 1 sontag, 2 wrist warmers, 2 hats, 22 snowflakes ready, 2 blinds finally SOLD!

Martin’s Bridge 3 to Wrenbury Church Lift Bridge 19

Last night I transposed the winter stoppages into our Nicholsons guide. From Monday we will be cut off from the rest of the network until mid December, then there will be a gap over Christmas and new year before a lot of work is carried out on the Llangollen Canal. The stoppages don’t start at one end of the canal and work their way along, this would make it easy for us to pass them, they are all higgledy piggledy here and there. We could get ourselves blocked in, which may happen if it gets really cold anyway, but if we can we’d rather keep moving albeit at a slow pace. Having the dates written in our guide meant it was a lot easier to see a route through.

Mick worked out our average traveling each day so that we could reach Llangollen a bit before Christmas. 40 minutes a day! We are going to be worn out!

Awaiting the kettle to boil this morning Oleanna suddenly tipped around violently as a boat steamed past aiming to break through the stratosphere. At that speed he’ll make it to Saturn in no time! A few carefully chosen words were said loudly by both of us, but fell on deaf ears, the engine was making quite a lot of noise, straining to churn up the bottom of the canal in an attempt to gain more speed! Once he had passed we could resume our peaceful Saturday morning.

With a paper to buy and no shops within a bike ride we weren’t allowed to be tardy this morning, we had to get to Wrenbury before our choice of paper was sold out.

As we made ready to leave a boat came past meaning that we’d be following them up the locks. We pushed out behind and pootled along through wonderful low autumn sunlight. The trees have been holding onto their leaves giving us golden views everywhere. The orange and yellow against the bright green fields is beautiful.

The boat ahead had pulled up at Swanley Bridge Marina for a loaf of bread, but as it was plastic sliced we didn’t bother to stop ourselves and carried on to the locks. This however didn’t mean that the locks would be in our favour as we had caught up with another boat, just finishing ascending. Once emptied for us Mick brought Oleanna into the lock with quite a bit of speed. This is needed as the flowing bywashes are quite strong and you need a strong line so as not to get pushed over to the towpath.

We travelled the Llangollen on NB Winding Down some six years ago, we of course have memories of that cruise but not in much detail. I also had my first boating holiday here when I was sixteen with my boyfriend at the time  and his family, I definitely have memories of that trip! Today it felt like we were discovering the canal for the first time. Our agenda is different than when we were on Winding Down, we don’t have to be back at base in two weeks, we’ve got six weeks to get to the end and be back through the first stoppage.

The boat ahead of us was taking it’s time and pulled over after the second lock. Another mile and a half and we were at the Baddiley Locks. Here we met boats coming down, a share boat that had been worried about Hurleston possibly closing early on Sunday and another returning to their base at Swanley Bridge.

We pulled up between bridges 18 and 19 where there was a stretch of 48hour moorings. Boats were pulled up either side of the mooring rings, this usually means they can moor for fourteen days, which is still the case. But for the last couple of years all visitor moorings revert to fourteen days during winter unless otherwise stated on the signs. Are we the only people who know this on the Llangollen?

Mick walked to the Spar shop whilst Tilly went out to explore the surroundings. There was a gap in the newspapers, possibly where our chosen paper should have been, so we’ll have to make do with a substitute this week.

We later had a walk up to the big lift bridge to see if we could see anywhere for a supermarket delivery. There is a stretch of winter moorings and past the bridge the visitor moorings are filled with hire boats. So nowhere here. We’ll make do with what the Spar shop has to offer and find somewhere else for a delivery, hopefully before Ellesmere.

5 locks, 4.86 miles, 6 mph, Voyager 1 into the stratosphere, 3 boats rushing to Hurleston, 2nd, 1st, 2nd in line, 0 proper bread, 1 substitute, 0 delivery options, 1 red beard, 3 hours of dodge the woofer, 20 snowflakes, 10 minutes of pink fireworks.

Hurleston Junction to Martin’s Bridge 3, Llangollen Canal

Boats were moving early, NB Halsall and NB Seyella passed as we were having our morning cuppa in bed. But once we were up it was time to turn right for Christmas which is only 44.5 miles away.

As Oleanna rose carefully in the bottom lock of the Hurleston flight we were glad that we’d insisted on our boiler flue being moved from the gunnel side. Today it would definitely have been broken as the lock is so narrow, just a couple of inches spare for us. Old boats that have got a bit of old age spread have difficulty with this lock which can be seen on some of the stonework low down in the chamber.

We worked our way up to the top of the four locks where there is still no sign of preparations for the stoppage next week. Normally equipment, barriers etc. are piled up at the sides of locks ready and waiting to be put in place. But no sign here, maybe as there is road access things will turn up on Monday. A chap walked down the flight to see if we knew anything about the stoppage, so I told him what we knew that the flight would be closed for about a month.

Pulling up at the water point we popped the washing machine on so that the tank could refill as it cleaned our clothes. Now was also an opportunity to clean the towpath side of the roof and see how much soot I could remove from the chimney. Whilst in Garstang we’d bought ourselves an expanding hose, for those times when you are moored near a water point, but the normal hose doesn’t reach. This came out for the first time today as it had come with a spray gun attachment which made rinsing down the roof very easy. There was no need to shoot my window whilst I sat in it though! Cruelty!!

We pootled on a short distance and decided to stop for some lunch. With milk and bread about to run out Mick was hoping to push on today to Wrenbury Mill where there is a shop, whereas I was hoping to follow the signs and posts across the fields to Snugburys Chilled Medication shop. As ice cream is made from milk we wondered if they might just have a pint or two spare and I would use up the out of date bread flour in the drawer and make a loaf. Mick gave them a call. Yes they could spare some semi skimmed, Hooray!!!!

Six years ago we didn’t know of Snugburys existence until we were on our way back to base on NB Winding Down, so we’ve never been. Some hoodlum has handily broken the maps on the stiles that lead across the fields, so we had to follow the white posts and hope that we weren’t going the long way around the circular walk! The paths lead us across boggy fields with no sign of the special farm that lay ahead. But then towering over trees we could see a blue jacket on the back of a giant bunny. Luckily he couldn’t see us as we approached from behind, then sneaking off to the farm kept us out of harms way.

The rather pretty farmhouse sits amongst golden orange trees and through the falling leaves we could see a blue canopy on the front of a barn. This was it.

First things first, the milk. They only had four pint bottles, would that be okay? It was. Then as we were stood right in front of the chillers it would have been exceptionally rude not to have partaken in some chilled medication! They boast on their website of forty flavours, well today I could only count 36, what choices were we missing out on?! This didn’t really matter as I would have liked to have tried at least fifteen.

With one flavour each in a single sugar cone we sat and watched as a steady stream of customers came in to sample the wares on a chilly November afternoon. The Hot Chocolate made with Death by Chocolate  ice cream looked very good, but we stuck with the pure medication.

A goat and three very hairy pigs snuffled around in a field, quite happily chomping at the grass right next to the fence. Then we had to have a look at the killer rabbit. Last year it was Beatrix Potters 100th birthday so they built a straw sculpture of Peter Rabbit. He stands at 38ft high, his ears are 10ft and so is his carrot! Sadly in February this year arsonists set light to him destroying the 1000 man hours that it had taken to create him. Locals rallied round and a new Peter was built. From some angles he really is quite scary, his carrot resembling a jagged knife!

4 locks, 0.96 miles, 0.5 clean roof, 1 full water tank, 1 load of pants and socks, 4 pints a good excuse for a fix, 2 chilled medications, 1 amaretto, 1 toffee crumble, 38ft of marauding bunny, 10ft carrot, 1 sachet yeast too old, 1 brick of a loaf.

Barbridge Junction to Harleston Junction

Martin on NB Halsall was heading towards Nantwich today so we texted him our order and stayed put waiting for him to come through, sometime between mid morning and mid afternoon. Whilst waiting and ignoring the Open Sesame meows from Tilly, Mick cooked us a big breakfast. Possibly the biggest we’ve had in a long time. Have to say it was nearly healthy, turkey sausages, nothing fried all cooked in the oven and at least two portions of veg, there was a glass of juice too. We’re just hoping somewhere up the Llangollen does pick n mix hash browns soon.

Breakfast whiled away some time and then we got on with chores around the boat. Mick renewed the bucket in the toilet whilst I gave the floors a good sweep and wash. A load of washing was made ready, but this won’t go on until we are near to a water point. I then got on with sewing ends into wrist warmers and the sontag I’ve been knitting. Mick had a good tidy up in the engine bay as we were close to bins. The new/old filter and connections seem to be fine still, so that problem has gone away.

NB Halsall came through at around 2pm. He filled the diesel tank, a bottle of gas and four bags of coal. This should see us through until we see NB Mountbatten up on the Llangollen. Last winter we relied on NB Alton coming past every fortnight, this year we’ll be looking out for the red and yellow bow of Mountbatten.

Fully stocked up and no-one else to wait for we pushed off. Back to Hurleston Junction. At the bottom of one very large lawn we were lucky in spotting some toadstools and a blue fairy. Later on, looking at my slightly blurred photos, I spotted another shy fairy hiding in the foliage. As we approached the large bank that holds the reservoir in there was a flash of blue as todays Kingfisher darted past and skimmed it’s way up the bank to lift at the last minute over the fence. All too quick for a photo.

With four locks ahead of us we decided to pull in and let Tilly out for the remainder of the daylight and go up the locks tomorrow. A boat was tied up at the end where the Shroppie Shelf is at it’s narrowest, so we deployed the tyres and let the cat out. The chap was about to set off to go up the locks, so we waited and then pulled back to where we’d been yesterday morning. At it again! Moving the outside with me inside it! I saw them doing it from my good vantage point up a Christmas tree. I did have to make a dash for it just in case they were going to go any further!

0 locks, 1.19 miles, 2 much breakfast to want lunch, 1 card posted, 4  bags coal, 80 litres, 1 gas bottle, 1 clean bucket, 1 empty yellow tank, 2 pairs wrist warmers finished, 2 hats finished, 1 sontag finished, 1 batch blocking waiting, 2 pompoms made, 1 skipping and jumping me, 1 white pawed looney on the towpath.