Nantwich Embankment

Every morning we wake up and peek out of the porthole behind our bed to check on the water status. Despite being a bit chilly in bed last night the water was still very fluid around us. It must be that with little tree cover and bright sunshine the last few days that the canal warms up in the sunlight and holds it’s heat. Today however we woke to a snow shower, not very deep but enough to put Tilly off exploring until the sun had melted it.

After a cooked breakfast (photo for Mr Carley’s benefit today), we decided to head into town to top up on food supplies. Fresh things mainly. If the weather forecast for this week is correct we will be in for a few days of not wanting to venture off the boat. We also wanted to equip ourselves with some means of being able to carry water. No containers around town that we could fill and keep to top up the water tank, so we purchased a couple of cheap buckets instead. These at least will be useful for other things in future and will sit inside one another taking up little space. All we needed now was a funnel so as not to loose a drop whilst filling the tank. The chandlers came up trumps.

The diesel pump opposite was busy filling containers for much of the day and a handful of boats moved past bringing with them slushy flat icebergs. The canal was starting to freeze, just not alongside us.

During the afternoon I continued with my sock knitting and Mick debated whether to walk to the service block for a shower or to move the boat. Snow showers had come and gone all day bringing with them strong gusts of wind, not good to reverse in without a bow thruster. But the showers haven’t been cleaned for about a week and the floor in there is ever so muddy! In the end it seemed daft not to top up our water tank if we could move. Mick checked that the water point tap still worked, which it did, then when we had enough hot water on board we both had showers in the late afternoon.

Tilly obliged by being on board so we pushed off and reversed to the water point as the sun was starting to set. As we pulled along side the service block we could see that straight lines had started to form in the canal, very thin ice. Would we be the last boat to move before the canal froze? With the tank and two milk containers full of water (to rinse the yellow water tank out next time) we pushed back over to the moorings and settled down in front of the stove.

The evening got colder and colder outside. A draught across our knees puzzled us for a while until we realised that it was cold air coming in from a mushroom vent directly above us. Nothing much we can do about that as ventilation is very important in a boat. A blanket on our knees may well do the trick though.

0 locks, 0.14 miles, 1 reverse, 7 snow showers, 1 dusting, 1 full water tank, 1 almost sunk bottle of water, 1 freezer full, 1 fridge full, 1 fruit bowl nearly full, 2 buckets, 1 funnel, 1 clean shaven chin, 2 showers, 1 pair of Pip socks complete, 4 years of cones, 1 traffic island!

Nantwich to Nantwich

Tilly had obviously made her point to Lowkey yesterday as she had free run of the towpath between walkers and woofers this morning, it is a busy stretch.

Quite a few boats were on the move, some share boats, others we assume were weekend boaters making the move back to their moorings after breakfast.

On his way back from the service block Mick had spotted a coal boat so had flagged them down. We’ve not come across NB Effingham before, their timing was good for a small top up of coal before NB Halsall comes through next week. If the temperatures plummet as they are forecast to, then even the coal boats may have difficulty moving. Although they do try to deliver by van where they can, little stops them, which is why they are such a valued asset to the system. With a buffer of three bags of Excell on our roof we could relax knowing that we’ll be warm for the next three weeks.

With quite a few boats moving a space on the embankment had shown itself, the end spot within easy reversing distance to the services. Tilly was home, it was time to move! We quickly pushed off, pootled through the bridge and pulled in at the services to top up the tank. Having had the heating on for a while this morning there was hot water, so whilst we filled Oleanna up I had a quick shower on board. By the time I was dressed again Mick was already coiling back up the hose. So as soon as my shoes were on my feet we pushed off and moored up at the end of the embankment moorings, there’s more sky here.

This outside has a few trees. Not easy ones to climb as they have sideways trees growing up them. This is more of a challenge, which I like. From the branches I can look down on the woofers walking by without them knowing where I am. There are also lots of holes for me to stick my arms in and dig through the soft soily mounds. It’s going to be good here. Tilly was out for much of the afternoon, returning for a snooze every now and then, A good outside can be exhausting!

We had a wonder over to the Launderette, suspect we’ll be bringing a large bag of washing over tomorrow so that we can save our water. The rest of the day we enjoyed the bright sunshine heating up Oleanna. I washed off the mud that had built up on the stern and bow and watched steam rising from the gunnels as it dried almost instantaneously.

Maps were put on the table  and we had a cruise planning session for the first half of this year. There are various dates when we want to be in certain places, visitors (yes, you Duncan!), birthdays, cricket, a play, a wedding, a train and appointments. They are all possible and we may not have to go through Worcester too many times either!

My plans for a pot roast chicken this evening were scuppered as the chicken that came with our shopping was far too big for my cast iron pot, so we enjoyed a conventional roast chicken instead.

0 locks, 0.15 miles, 3 bags coal, 1 full water tank, 1.6kg too big, 4 exhausted paws, 1 ivy clad tree slightly worse for Tilly, 3rd sock attempt a good one, 5 months almost planned, 2 made to measure hearth rugs photographed, 1 mooring in pole position but too far for our hoses.

Nantwich

A sunny morning to explore my new estate. They keep saying we might be here for a while if the canal goes solid. I have my own picnic bench and they have been suggesting that maybe we should have a barbecue one evening. It however is a bit too chilly on my bum for that.

So I was minding my own business making sure I’d marked everything as being mine, doing my best to fend off the masses of passing woofers and succeeding at this mostly, when I turn round and there was a trespasser! What was he doing? This is my estate! He’s certainly not having my bench!!!!!

I sat down under MY bench and sat my ground. He sat down too. We sat and avoided looking straight at each other for what could have been days. The non stare zone was strong, who would give in first? Certainly not me!

People walked by with their woofers and still we sat. ‘Ah look at the sweet kitties’ Sweet my …….. if he comes near my bench! Still we sat, the zone stronger still. Then this man arrived, ‘No fighting you two!’ He walked into the zone and broke it! Go away, we were doing just fine until you came along!

Because the bond between us was broken he started to back away slooowly, I started to regain my estate, slooowly. This was all going to end well in my favour. If I was lucky I might end up with a second picnic bench. but the stupid man kept trying to stroke us, couldn’t he see we were involved in some serious feline negotiations, things started to get edgy.

That is when Tom appeared, trying to pick me up. Nothing for it, the sloooow careful negotiations were on the rocks and our time was running out. Nothing for it but to speed everything up. Arched back, mohican fur, chimney sweep tail, side ways running put into action. Just a shame that my arched back made it easier for Tom to pick me up!

Tilly was returned to the boat so as to avoid any possible vets bills. She certainly seemed to have the upper paw in the situation. But now he was strutting his stuff around under my bench, even daring to sidle up to my hatch! For the next hour or so Tilly ran from window to window keeping a close eye on her new neighbour. He had been here before her, so she had most probably been stealing his estate.

Mick had done the paper run on a bike first thing and had had a look around the Farmers Market that is held every last Saturday in Nantwich. He returned with a pork pie for himself and a parsnip quiche for me which was very tasty. With Tilly safely indoors, we decided to make the most of the beautiful sunny afternoon and go for a stroll. Knowing that Jaq from NB Valerie had been moored on the embankment this week we decided to see if she was still there so that we could finally introduce ourselves.

Almost at the winding hole was sat a dark green boat with solar panels catching the sunlight. We tapped on the roof and could hear stirrings from inside. Jaq’s head popped out from the bow doors and when we said who we were a smile quickly crept across her face. We were invited in out of the cold for a cuppa and a long chat. When you follow peoples blogs you know all that they are willing to tell of their lives, you know what they look like and certainly with us you know what we like to eat! At last we could put a voice to Jaq. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, thank you for your warm welcome.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 happy cat, 2 not so happy cats, 1 newspaper, 2 pies, 2 puddings, 0 juice, 1 item listed, 1st stages of etsy done, 1 hour stand off, 1 stupid name Lowkey! 2 many woofers, 1 stupid man, 1 bench to reclaim, 2 cuppas, 1 green boat, 1 Jaq smile, 4 fingers crossed for Tuesday, 20 minutes catch up with Australia, 1 bully beef ding ding for Tilly tonight.

Beeston Castle Winding Hole to outside Nantwich Basin

Jack Frost had visited us over night and the surroundings looked very picturesque this morning. We were relieved that the water around us was still fluid so that we could carry on to Nantwich.

For the first time this year, maybe this winter, I put thermals and padded trousers on this morning as it looked so cold and with wind chill added we could get nithered if not wrapped up well.

The lock ahead was empty as planned, so was the next one, but the following two were set against us, all that winding of geared paddles!

Above Beeston Stone Lock the pair of boats was still moored on the visitor moorings and just after the rings finished was a short narrow boat with a tarpaulin over it’s stern. As we slowly made our way towards it, it became obvious that the bow had come adrift as it swung out from the bank. It then proceeded with the assistance of the bitter wind to do a perfect wind (turn, called wind as you use the wind to your advantage to make the manoeuvre) right in front of us, returning it’s bow to the bank. No shunting back and forth, just a simple clean swing all the way round.

We could see that it had been tied on pins which looked like they were still hanging on it’s mooring ropes in the water. Once we’d managed to pull in I held Oleanna whilst Mick headed back to moor it back up. It then decided that it would rather be on the other side of the cut, but the wind soon pushed it back over. With all it’s ropes now on the off side and hard to get to, Mick managed to grab the centre line. By now the boat was by the start of the visitor moorings so he tied it to the first ring. It may have drifted from further up the pound, but it was certainly now facing the opposite way from where it had been left and moored a touch more securely.

A squeezing through the Anglo Welsh boats below Bunbury, then up the staircase on our own, just a family watching our every move. By now we were cold and hungry so we made use of the moorings before the services at Calverley.

The next treat cheese came out, Black Bomber Snowdonia Cheddar, creamy but with a kick. With time getting on we didn’t have time to stop at the cheese factory, next time.

We toped up the water tank whilst I cleaned out Tilly’s pooh box and then had a shower. The water tank needs to stay as full as possible with the likely hood of the canal freezing over, no water point will be passed without being used. Straight on at Barbridge. Obeying the sign at the bottom of Hurleston locks we kept straight on towards Birmingham, we’ve been to the furthest points in the other two directions so it’s south for us now.

Being not far from Snugburys Ice cream we could make out the ears of Peter Rabbit in their field holding onto his dagger carrot as the sun was setting behind him. I’ve started to find him quite menacing.

So far this winter we have always seen a kingfisher along this stretch from Barbridge to Nantwich. I was beginning to think that today was going to be the occasion that proved the rule. But a flash of blue by the moorings at Henhull and one came out for a photo call, first sitting on a cratch cover and then a tiller. As soon as we passed he was away back low along the cut flitting this way and that to give us flashes of his blue back.

Arriving at Nantwich there were a couple of spaces before the service block, these are normally 24hrs, but for another month are 14 days. We decided to see if there was any space on the first stretch of the embankment so carried on through the bridge. However there was a line of boats stretching all the way to the aqueduct. Mick popped Oleanna into reverse and gradually pulled us back through the bridge hole to moor in one of the gaps. By now the freezing breeze had frozen our bottom jaws and we were glad to get back inside to the warmth of our stove. Stew and a Hot Chocolate Cake for pudding was well deserved.

We’ll most probably stay here for a few days and see if the icy winds from Siberia do their worst. We have shops nearby, a water point and if we run out of coal there’s the chandlers to top up our stocks.

This morning we heard of a boat fire in Stone last night, where the owner and her dog passed away. Tragically it turns out to have been Alex Bennett who we saw in the New Year with at Bugsworth Basin 2016/17, we also bumped into her on NB Tench last October on the Caldon. She was a well known face at boat rallies and she loaned NB Tench to Alarum Theatre Company last year for their Idle Women Tour (click on the link for a bit more about Alex). We hardly knew Alex but will miss crossing bows with her somewhere on the network. When we next see NB Tench she will have a new owner. Our thoughts are with her family and friends, such a sad loss.

6 locks, 2 of them a staircase, 8.81 miles, 1 reverse, 2 straight ons, 1 perfect wind, 1  freezing wind, 1 full water tank, 1 frozen head, 1 photogenic kingfisher, 1 less boater on the cut.

Tilly Trees to Chester Basin

The sun was back out this morning but accompanied by a strong wind. I suspect normally we’d have stayed put until it calmed down, but we had quite a list of things we wanted to get done back in Chester. So after breakfast  we pushed off and made our way back to Chester basin.

This time we pulled up on the other side in front of the student accommodation. I hoped off and went searching for a postcode. The buildings here are shown on Google as a building site so searching for a postcode on the internet last night had been guesswork. Luckily the student block had it’s address written on it and the flats on the other side of Wharf View shouted out their numbers. Why a postcode? Well we wanted to get a grocery delivery. Yes we could  stop in town on our way through and stock up at Tescos, but this way our wine cellar restock will come right to the boats stern on a trolley.

Once the food shopping was sorted we walked down to the retail park. Mick hunted for some cooker extractor hood filter and a 10mm drill bit, whilst I looked for cheap reading glasses, yarn and cushion pads. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to find everything I wanted so I carried on into the city to Abakhan to see if they could help.

With everything ticked off the list there was one place left to visit in Chester. At the end of last year Jennie from NB Tentatrice mentioned the Chester Cheese Shop. We have passed it so many times over the last few weeks and been exceptionally good. I used to eat cheese just about every lunch time until my doctor told me to cut back, so cheese is now rationed. I’d decided that if I went into the shop just before we left Chester that would be the safest bet, only being able to have one visit not several.

It was worth waiting for and maybe Mick should have been with me! Before I got there I’d decided that three cheese would be enough, well three was only going to be a tease, so I settled for four, not bad considering there’s getting on for two hundred in the shop. The lady let me take my time in making my choices. Because there was such a choice I decided that I wasn’t allowed to buy anything that we’ve had before. A couple of little samples meant that I wasn’t going to return to the boat with something I didn’t like. Not a cheap purchase, but treats don’t have to be. We’ll try to eek them out and make them last.

Back at Oleanna the sun was working wonders on our solar panel, just a shame the batteries we currently have don’t have the capacity to last without us running the engine early evening. So looking forward to the days when we won’t have to listen to Oleanna ticking over anymore.

It didn’t take me long to realise they’d moved the outside away from my trees to that Chester place again! This other Chester at least has a small tree and a sideways tree, but they are quite a distance from the boat so hard to reach without someone coming by. They really must try harder, I don’t want to go to another Chester again Thank you!

0 locks, 1.95 miles, 1 blowy morning, 2 more pairs glasses £1 each, 4 balls of wool, 47 buttons, 3 cushion pads, 5 drill bits, 1 big shop on it’s way, 1 blue goats, 1 welsh thick brie, 1 strong cheddar, 1 orange blue.

Ellesmere Port Basin to Knolls Bridge Visitor Mooring

Time to make our departure, so after picking up some milk from the petrol station we were ready to head off. With radio in hand I headed off to set the bottom lock, it’s quite a walk round from the lower basin. As the levels were about to equalise I radioed to Mick who pushed off, no hanging around hoping to avoid gusts of wind today.

I set the lock filling and walked up to the chamber above. The museum like to keep the locks full, people are less likely to hurt themselves falling into a full lock chamber than an empty one, so I wound down the top paddle before emptying it. As Oleanna rose in the bottom lock I opened up a bottom gate paddle on the top lock. The level rose and the bottom lock was full to the brim plus a little bit more. One of the paddles on the top lock is actually locked off so that the amount of flooding is limited until all the levels equal out.

Pulling in straight away to top up with water we also disposed of our rubbish. Then we were on our way. Tilly had become resigned to sleeping away the day, which made getting through the back doors with mugs of tea far easier than normal. Under all the bridges, the piles of scrap metal had been cleared from the other day but replaced with new bent metal objects. We passed the Cheshire Oaks moorings, no inclination to stop.

At the end of the line of off side moorings the Alsatian with the wonky ears appeared and barked us past. Do dogs ever get accustomed to things like boats passing? Do they ever realise that barking at us is just pointless? Or are they wanting us to pick them up and cruise away with them? No.

Trees and bushes along the towpath are starting to sprout their buds. Catkins and Pussy Willow bringing them back to life for the spring. We’ll soon be seeing Blackthorn blossom taking over the hedgerows, blocking off the views but giving us a prettier one.

We decided to push on past the Zoo moorings and carry on that bit further to where there is an abundance of trees all ready to be climbed!

Woweeee!!! Apart from there being too many walkers here is great, well worth waiting for. Tilly sprang from tree to tree like a squirrel, much better than at the zoo moorings.

From Yesterdays post I’ve come across a few more articles about Joe and Rose Skinner, also about their nephew Jack who helped to save the Oxford Canal. There is plenty more out there about Joe and Rose including ‘The Last Number Ones’ a compilation of articles about the pair which comes with a recording of them.

Here are a few links for those interested.

Friendship remembered, Canal Junction

My Visit to Rose and Jack Skinner

Jack Skinner Obituary

2 locks, 1 right, 6.59 miles, 1 set of lights off at last! 1 full water tank, 1 empty bin, 2 dead ducks, 32 poohs, 1 wonky eared dog, 1 ecstatic cat, 15 trees conquered, 3 friends, 2 boaters sending thoughts to Frank, when are you and Steve coming to visit?

Caughall Bridge to Ellesmere Port Boat Museum Basin

Last night we watched the final parts of Hard Sun. Part way through one of the episodes I recognised one of the locations along side the Regents Canal. We’d passed it in early June last year as they were filming interior shots of a drugs den, wonder if all the acros were just set dressing or actually needed to hold the building up?

This morning the top bits of the muddy ground around Oleanna were crispy crunchy with what lay below still squidgy and frost still lay in the fields. We knew that from here on in to Ellesmere Port was likely to be not so pretty and quite noisy due to the proximity of all the roads and industry. The industry of days gone by and access to the sea is why the canals exist so we don’t mind it.

Bridges come at you almost constantly after the first pipe bridge. Old curved hump backed canal bridges, flat askew concrete motorway bridges. We worked our way along passing a long length of moored boats, the icy edges of the canal cracking as the water was sucked from under it.

Wanting to do a bigger shop to keep us going for a few days we pulled in at the 48hr moorings by bridge 141, which is half a mile away from Sainsburys.

Stepping off proved somewhat tricky as for on every foot of towpath grass there was a large brown dog crap. Marple was bad last year, Nuneaton is usually bad but nowhere near as revolting as here. Even the dogs had had difficulty avoiding the mounds. For every perfectly formed pile there were two that had been trodden in and another that was so flattened that it fooled you into a false sense of clear ground. We played hopscotch with the turds as we moored up, keeping ropes up high off the ground just in case.

Walking round a motorway junction to buy a joint of beef is not what you do every week, but at least we’ve got Sunday dinner sorted.

We pushed on, choosing not to stop and passed under more and more bridges. Then the welcome sight of the National Waterways Museum came into view through the last bridge hole. A chap who had been moored at Llangollen before Christmas was just about to pull away from the moorings so we carried on just past the gate to in front of the Reception building. On our very first trip out on NB Winding Down we came this far, filled with water, had a tiny look round the museum, winded and headed back towards Chester, today we were going to stay in the museum.

Two friendly ladies gave us information about the basin and where we could moor, how to get in and out of the museum after hours should we want to. We were also given a form to fill out which we could return with in the morning. It being a C&RT site we would need to find our Insurance Policy number. We’ll return in the morning to pay, the same as an entrance fee to the museum which we want to look around.

Tilly sat in the window being admired by visitors in the cafe, we were becoming an exhibit.

Here there are two sets of locks leading down into the basin, narrow and broad. New water to us, we worked our way down with a group watching us. I soon enlisted the youngest gongoozlers into helping with the gates much to their glee. We waved goodbye and swung Oleanna round into the basin. Here a couple of large boats sit moored to islands. As long as we didn’t moor directly in front of the Holiday Inn or along the long side of the basin we could moor anywhere. Easier said than done as there are not many mooring rings. There were some gaps, but none quite big enough for Oleanna. Only one place left to moor, by the exhibits in between the islands. Mick backed us in and we tied to one ring and ended up having to use spikes for the stern. Doubt they’ll get pulled out by passing boats!

She warned me that there was canal everywhere and that I wouldn’t like it. She even came out to check that I didn’t! It’s another Chester! Sure enough the only thing going for the place was that I could have a bit of a run around on the grass, no trees, no sideways trees, no friendly cover, no holes to put my arms down. The view from the roof was quite good though. I bet it’s fun in the boat next door, it’s huge!

We’d considered going to a talk this evening about the Arts Council Project that had the Boat Museum Society pump out a lot of sunken boats last year. But this was going to follow the Societies AGM, which we didn’t fancy gate crashing. They seem to have talks every month on various boaty subjects, wonder how many they’ll get in May when the archivist from Peel Holdings gives a talk?

2 locks, 4.54 miles, 1 canal with crispy edges, 367 turds, 238 squashed, 63 fully formed, 2 boxes of wine, 1 pair wellies, 25% off, 1 new exhibit, 1 very popular boat cat.