Category Archives: Uttoxeter Canal

The Missing End. 30th August

Froghall Basin to The Boat, Cheddleton

There was no point in putting things back on Oleanna’s roof yesterday as we’d be going back through the tunnel today. Well the chimney went on in case it rained overnight. The mooring had been quiet apart from what sounded like a distant dog kennel, one with lots of hounds.

Not CRT bins!

Yesterday we’d wanted to dispose of some rubbish. CRT signs suggested that the bins were theirs, but another sign said there were not and there would be a £600 fine for anyone using them, they belonged to Hetty’s. Mick popped over this morning to check on the situation. Apparently CRT removed the bins a while ago, Hetty’s then took over the contract with Biffa, so they are theirs. The chap at Hetty’s said we’d be okay popping one bag of kitchen waste in them before we left.

A very green lock

Time to make our move. Mick headed off to set the lock, no need to as there was no chance it would have filled up overnight. The chap from the waterpoint yesterday was walking his dog and came for a chat, at least someone other than us had now seen that we’d made it through the tunnel. Blimey the lock was like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon when empty, so much plant life. Up Oleanna rose, we then pulled onto the water point to top up the tank again.

Chatting funding and bins

Not such a powerful tap and I suspect it was connected to Hetty’s as the pressure varied. A CRT fundraiser came over to chat, full of the problems to do with funding. He confirmed the bins were no longer CRT’s, maybe someone should remove the CRT sign.

Nice click photo for details

Opposite the lock is a rather nice building containing several holiday lets. They have their own swimming lake behind them. A lady came out to wave at us as we passed, heading back to the tunnel.

Can we do it in 2 minutes this time?

It took a while to line up with the tunnel again. Then we plunged back into the 75 yards, repeating yesterdays slow progress, only a little bit quicker this time, 7 minutes instead of 10 for Mick’s head to pop back up at the stern.

With all the covers removed it made sense to me to give the roof a much needed wash. Mick wasn’t so keen and busied himself putting nav lights back on and reassembling the horns. I however was determined to finally give Oleanna a wash, sick of the green and grey the cream had become.

Revolting!

With other items removed the roof needed a prewash and rinse to get rid of the worst of the muck. Then followed with a soapy wash and scrubbing brush, rinsed down. Mick ran out of jobs he could get away with, he really hates washing boats, doesn’t see the point in it! So I got him to do the prewash and rinse on the off side. Where the coal lives on the roof both sides got the full works the rest of the offside could wait for us to be moored later on.

So much better

Oh finally the cream was back with us. Unfortunately it did mean that I’d got to see just how bad the grabrail had got close up on the port side. Last year I’d prepped the starboard side for painting, then ran out of time. The port side didn’t get a look in. I’m going to have to find the time this year along with knee stamina to stand on the gunnels to get the job done. Washing the roof was at least a start.

Back under the railway

As we had lunch a boat came past. Where had it come from? It had come from the tunnel, we’d not seen it go past earlier. Mick said he’d spotted it down an arm when he went into Hetty’s. So when we came across a boat heading to Froghall, thankfully not on a narrow section, we could confidently tell the helm that there would be no-one heading towards him as there were no boats behind us. We kept sounding our horn, just in case, but met no other boats.

Just by the water point at Consell Forge there was a For Sale sign. Not much of a river frontage, but hardly surprising as the house was up a track away from the weir and river. If you like a good pint and heritage railways along with a bit of seclusion this is your house.

Back off the river

Back up the river, back onto the canal. No Bob or Rob to help at Wood Lock, but that didn’t matter. We now wanted a mooring. A hire boat and CRT boat occupied the first length. The boat from the water point yesterday sat on the next mooring opposite The Boat pub. We pulled in behind, tucking in as close as we could, with boats moored opposite we didn’t want to be in anyone’s way. It did require some creative mooring, but we got there in the end.

Pheasants? A touch pale though

Time to put Oleanna back together again. I finished off washing the roof, the offside no longer off, whilst Mick put the cratch cover and pram hood back on. Except there was a vital bit missing from the pram hood. An end that connects the end of a piece of frame to attach it to the cabin sides. When we’d taken the frame off it had been stored inside, last night it was put on the roof out of our way, then back inside again today. We hunted high and low, inside and out. Tilly was questioned in case she’d found it interesting and batted it under the sofa for safe keeping. It was not to be found, we needed some means of attaching the frame to the roof.

Boy things kept for what? But that broken thing might just

In amongst the things that have been kept for some reason was a broken bit from the tv aerial pole. A rubber end to it and a broken metal prong. It fitted into the frame leaving the prong which we might be able to clamp into the connector. Mick played around with it for a while, cable ties and for now we have a way to attach the frame when it’s up, it always gets folded down for cruising no matter. A new connector will need ordering next week.

Not the quietest of moorings. Plenty of dog walkers and noisy drinkers at the pub. This was then followed by a lot of cars coming and going. We’d be able to cope with it for a night and before there is any boat traffic in the morning we want to be moving.

4 locks, 4.8 miles, 75 yards of tunnel, £750,000, 0 boats behind us, 1 year of grime, 1 sparkling roof, 2 sides still to do, 15 patches of rust, 1 noisy mooring, 2 dogs to get along, 1 bored cat, 1 missing end, 1 broken bit repurposed.

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Squeeeeeze!!!! 29th August

The tunnel light shone on the roof of the tunnel. The nav lights glowed by the top front corners of the cabin. I sat still hoping my weight would assist at the bow. Once Oleanna had been lined up fully with the tunnel, Mick gave the engine just a little spurt of power.

It’s only 75 yards long!

The portside was getting quite close to the curving roof, should I just push it clear a touch? It’s never a good idea to fend off at the bow, Oleanna’s made of steel, she can withstand contact with brick, skin is less effective. I checked with Mick at the stern, no idea what he may or may not be able to see.

Mick’s back there somewhere

A blast of bow thruster, then the other way just a touch. A jot more from the engine. Oleanna glided onwards. A little scraping noise from the port side, was that the grabrail or the gunnel?

A green arrow on the wall indicated the nearest exit was behind us, ‘That way out’. Another 60ft and the arrow pointed the opposite way, ‘This way out’. Oleanna was still moving, if we got stuck now would anybody know?! A hire boat had pulled up at the end of the moorings on the west side of the tunnel, maybe they’d know if we’d made it or not.

Slowly and steadily Mick nudged Oleanna onwards, a burst of power to starboard, forward a touch, port, forward.

After 8 minutes the bow of Oleanna was back out in the day light. We’d been warned that the canal takes a sharp turn to the left on exiting so it would be good to start moving the bow over as soon as you could, using the bow thruster.

Mick was still kneeling at the stern, torch pointing forward. Then gradually the stern appeared into the light, so did Mick’s head. The bow being pushed across to miss the bank. As he stood up we’d made it through!

The sign suggests a passage time through the tunnel of 2 minutes at 2mph, well it had taken us 10 minutes! But we’d done it. No-one there but ourselves to witness it!

Oleanna’s smile slightly relieved.

We pootled to above Froghall Lock 1, this is the first lock down onto the Uttoxeter Canal, the first of 17 locks and 13 miles. Today you can only go down one lock where there is a basin you can moor in. Time for me to turn the windlass, Mick could do it on the way back, but I had to work this lock.

Lock 1 of the Uttoxeter Canal

The bottom gates leaked like a waterfall, no wonder as they get little use. Oleanna dropped down into the basin. Would there be room for her? On past visits I think there has always been at least one boat moored, one occasion three, but today we had it all to ourselves. Mick backed us in, tied us off, a silver propellor location reached. Not that we’ve taken the evidential photos elsewhere, but we think we’ve now been to at least 18.

In Froghall Basin

A little walk round confirmed that despite it being a lovely mooring it wouldn’t be safe for Tilly, a road passing quite close by. We broke the news to her gently. GENTLY!!!!!! I’m a silver propellor cat and you just don’t give a monkey about my welfare!!

We walked over to Hetty’s Tea Room to see if there was a menu we could peruse maybe for breakfast, none on display. Across in the car park were the three cyclists we’d seen at Wood Lock earlier, they’d been heading to Leek. We stopped for quite a chat with them. They’d enjoyed their bike ride and met various interesting people and had been all the way to Leek and back in the time we’d not even done half the distance. We think they had all spent time on life boats, one of them said he used to work on the Chiswick life boat, another did training on the Humber.

No neighbours!

We returned to Oleanna and grumpy Tilly. A big chilli was cooked up, enough for three meals, and a glass or two of wine to celebrate getting Oleanna through Froghall.

So todays journey at the top of this post should read

Cheddleton Visitor Moorings to Froghall Basin

A slight scratch

6 locks, 5.6 miles, 1 lift bridge, 1 river section, 1 burst hosepipe, 1 chimney removed, 2 horns relaxed, 1 boats pensive smile, 1 pram and cratch cover removed, 1 tiller pin removed, 1 gauge, 10 minutes in the dark, 1 little scuff on the grabrail, 2 happy boaters, 1 grumpy cat! 0 TV but good internet signal!

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