Killer Bunny Sunset. 23rd February

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.

Kangaroos At The Castle. 22nd February

Duttons Bridge 112 to Beeston Castle Winding Hole

Our destination for today was always in our sight as we pootled our way along the two miles to The Shady Oak moorings. Beeston Castle can be seen for miles around as it sits on a great big blob of sandstone 350ft high that stands out from the Cheshire Plain. We’d promised ourselves that we would climb up to the top this time.

Mick had remembered a good mooring with great views, he was certain that it was above the next lock. But I remembered us commenting that it was a shame that the hedges were so high there. Sure enough right at the end of the visitor moorings the hedge has been cut very low giving a great view over the railway to the castle.

I got a pork stew together so that it could sit on top of the stove for a good few hours. The amount of pork that had arrived yesterday means that we may have to eat stew for the next week! The pot was very very full.

We decided to walk up to the lock and then across to the castle on footpaths. The top gates of the lock were open so we closed them to save the pound above, but also so that it would empty itself for us tomorrow. It was a bit of a boggy mile under foot passing under the railway and across a few fields. We then joined the road and walked up to the eastern end of the castle where the gate house is.

The chap at the desk tried his best to get us to join English Heritage, but we’re not sure how many sites we’d be able to visit and anyway buying membership right now wouldn’t make sense as Mick will get extra cheap entrance when he turns 60 in a few months time. All the information about the castle is on boards in the Victorian gate house which we had a brief look at before we started to walk up the hill to the top.

We walked up through the woodland that surrounds the lower parts of the site to the Outer Gatehouse. Here the second line of walls is surrounded by iron age earthwork defences. Evidence of earlier Bronze Age metal works have also been found on the site. The first castle was built by Ranulf, 6th Earl of Chester in the 1220’s. Works continued on fortifying it through to the 1360’s. Legend has it that Richard II hid his treasure in the Inner Ward well before the Castle was captured by the future Henry IV.

In 1643 during the Civil War, the castle had a garrison of up to 300 Parliamentarians living there. But six months later Captain Sandford led a midnight raid with nine Royalists to take control of the inner ward. The Parliamentary leader dined with them and sent beer to their men before surrendering. A year long siege followed, the royalists were said to be eating cats before they surrendered. In 1664 the castle was partially demolished to prevent it’s use as a stronghold.

In 1840 the castle was purchased by John Tollemache who was the largest landowner in Cheshire. This was part of a large estate which needed a castle that he could live in, so on the next sandstone outcrop he had one built, Peckforton Castle. He promoted Beeston Castle as a tourist attraction and brought deer and kangaroos into the grounds. A two day festival was set up which brought 3000 people each day raising funds for local widows and orphans.

Surrounding the Inner Curtain wall is a shear rock-cut ditch. A 1970’s concrete bridge steeply arches itself up over this to the Inner Gatehouse. So far the terrain would have been challenging to wheelchair users, but this and the lack of any flat surface inside the inner bailey would make it impossible. As if we hadn’t climbed high enough already there was still more to come. The ruined walls surround you and at times you are not aware of the great drop below, a sheer rock face back down to the Plains.

We could only imagine what the views would be like on a clear day, apparently you can see eight counties. But still even with the hazyness we could see for miles, the chimneys of Ellesmere Port just in view. We took time to work out where Manchester was and wondered if White Nancy near Bollington would be visible in better conditions. The castle was good, but these views upstaged it.

Can you spot Oleanna down there? Lucky we’d had the roof painted cream enabling us to spot her. No sign of Tilly in the window, not enough people to admire me!

We also had a wonder around some of the rest of the site. In the southern most side are the caves. Sandstone does good caves, these were used in the film Robin Hood starring Uma Therman and Patrick Bergen. A shame that they are gated off, so you can’t go into them. There is also a walk around the base of the castle, but we refrained from that mostly because we had to walk back to the boat. This time we followed the road back, far less muddy, well until we reached the towpath!

Tilly was given the freedom of the towpath and the stew had reduced enough for me to add a Bramley apple to it. We are hoping that the temperature doesn’t drop too much tonight as we hope to reach Nantwich tomorrow where we can be near a tap and shops should the canal freeze over for several days. If it happens tonight then we’ll have to make the stew last, oh and there’s always the pub!

0 locks, 2 miles, 1 cheese finished, 350 ft, 3.25 miles walk, 360 degrees of views, 0 kangaroos today, 0 deer too, 1 steep bridge, 1 tiny Oleanna, 1 vat of stew, 1 chilly evening.

The Northgate Shuffle. 21st February

Chester Basin to Duttons Bridge 112

Chester students are far quieter than those in Nottingham, we hardly heard a sound from them all night. The down side however of mooring on that side of the basin is the bright lights along the towpath, Tilly is a right b**ger at opening the curtains for a nose at 3am! But on the up side it was very easy for the man from Sainsburys to find us this morning. The back steps are almost hovering with the extras that get stored under them!

The bins were sorted ready to be disposed of at the top of the staircase and we made use of the nearby elsan to empty our yellow water tank. We were then ready for the off.

Swinging under the bridges at the bottom of the staircase we could see that the bottom chamber wasn’t empty, well there had been a Carefree Cruising Boat head up earlier in the morning. Then we could see a red boiler suit near the top, it had to be Brian from NB Harnser. I walked up and introduced myself. They were sharing the top chamber with another boat, but we were welcome to enter the bottom one and then we’d do a shuffle.

By the time the bottom chamber was empty both descending boats were in the middle one, water cascading over the gates. As soon as I’d looped our centre rope around a bollard and closed the gate Brian did the honours and started to lift the paddle to lower their boats and raise Oleanna. The other day when we’d walked up the middle chamber had been as empty as it could get and we’d been puzzled as to where the water came into it from the chamber above. We’d looked along both sides but could see anything. Mick did a bit of hunting on the internet and discovered that the water actually enters the locks below the cil, so centrally below the next set of gates, not from the sides. This made for an easy transit up the staircase.

Once the two chambers were level Brian moved NB Harnser into the bottom chamber alongside Oleanna, the chap on the other boat moved over to create a space for Mick to move forward into. As soon as Oleanna was out of the way Harnser was pushed over to take her place and the other boat could then move in along side. Gates closed, shuffle completed, we could all carry on up and down the staircase. I still had to fill the top lock as I’d been too busy chatting to Brian to do it earlier, so they reached the bottom before I’d even started to fill the middle. Waves all round as they disappeared under the railway bridge.

Hoole Lane Lock is the first out of the city. The two times we’ve come up these locks before to The Cheshire Cat we haven’t been able to control the boat and poor NB Winding Down got biffed around quite a bit, even dropping paddles didn’t help. Today we are four years more experienced, but this didn’t help!

We passed the centre rope round a bollard, tried the same side ground paddle, no! Other side paddle, no! A bit of one then the other, no! Sitting closer to the top gates, no! Sitting further away, no! Other than just letting a trickle of water thorough and it taking forever, is there any way of working these locks with one boat and not biffing around?

Once up Christleton Lock we pulled in and filled with water. We took the opportunity to have a late lunch too. The first of the cheeses came out, Cenarth Brie and Ribblesdale Blue Goat. Both very nice especially the goats cheese, shame it was the most expensive.

Originally we’d planned to stop at the Cheshire Cat again but instead we decided to push on a bit further today. The next pound is over eight miles long, so steady going. Tilly was making quite a fuss inside, shouting at us I don’t shout! So I offered that she could join us for a bit. This means her wearing a harness and being attached to a lead, I don’t trust her not to jump off or get into trouble. Putting the harness on is quite easy and once out on the roof on a short reign she had a good nosy around. Sitting on the wood above the morse control seemed to be a favourite today. Metal can be so cold on one’s derriere. She stayed with us for a good twenty minutes, she normally only lasts five. That is because I am far more experienced now, it’s just when someone steals the sky that I get worried. She finally made up her mind to return indoors as we approached Golden Nook Moorings, the mile of boats.

As we passed NB Blackbird we wondered when we might see her again, our paths aren’t likely to cross this summer. One more boat in the line today. We carried on to bridge 113 where there are moorings, but decided to go past the entrance to Tattenhall Marina and pull in. Well we would have if we could have, but the bottom was too close to the top on numerous attempts. First spot that we could pull in at was through the next bridge. Tilly had been shouting at the bathroom window so I quickly recited the rules and even though it was half an hour before sun down she was allowed out.

The day she moved in

A year later, well setlled

Two years later, she rules our lives.

Today marks the second anniversary of when Tilly came to live with us. She has grown up and is very accustomed to living on a boat now, I often wonder what she’d make of living in a house.

8 locks, 3 a staircase, 1 shuffle, 8.67 miles, 1 blogging boat, 1 ex-blogging boat, 2nd water point working, 4 croggies, 5 annoying locks, 2 cheeses, 20 minutes they just stand around whilst the outside changes itself! 118 boats, 1 mooring too close to a chilled medication farm, 2 years of not needing a hot water bottle, 2 years of purrs, 2 years of being shouted at, 2 years of life with Tilly.

The Other Chester’s Not Much Better! 20th February

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.

TREES!!! 19th February

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?

Mob Handed Or Too Many? 18th February

Ellesmere Port Basin

Sunday morning, a cooked breakfast with a difference. We’d spotted in Sainsburys some mushroom saugsages, Shroomdogs, and thought we’d give them a try. They were nice, low in fat (although you have to pan fry them), but we’d rather have proper sausages, or if being good, turkey ones, but they were nice for a change.

I got to have a bit of an explore, not that there is much on this island. Somehow she thought I was up to no good, no idea what made her think that!

Once I’d seared the outside of a joint of Silverside and sat it on top of some onions and carrots in the cast iron pot, given it a tipple of red wine, I sat it on the stove top to slowly cook whilst we had a look at the rest of the museum.

A narrowboat sat in the top lock ready to do a lock demonstration, smoke could be seen rising from one of the cottage chimneys and a couple of ladies were walking round in period dress. There was certainly more activity going on today than yesterday, the volunteers were out in numbers.

We took time to look around the boats moored outside. The amount of space you get in a Leeds Liverpool short boat is vast, if we ever upgraded to a fat boat I’d want one of these.

A group of volunteers were getting ready to move George, another short boat, out from under cover. George is one of the last horse drawn short boats, therefore has no engine so was going to have to be poled and pulled out from her position. Ropes were being attached to a pontoon bridge which connects the Island Warehouse to the Toll House. We decided to take a seat and watch what was going on.

Containers under the pontoon needed to be pumped out so that it could be floated out of the way, this was going to take time so we watched the lock demo for a bit. However having already done 721 locks with Oleanna there was nothing said that we didn’t know already.

The narrow locks were built with problems. The top chamber is getting on for 8/9 feet deep the second one maybe only 5 feet. This means that there is an excess of water and the bottom lock and pound above were prone to flooding, added to this that the bottom lock is around 8 inches lower than the pound above it most probably flooded every time it was used. A channel was added linking the intermediary pound to the one between the two broad locks. This meant that the water had a much larger area to level itself out. As we came down the locks I’d noticed water coming in from the broad side and the bottom narrow lock did look like it was going to flood the towpath and surrounding area, it didn’t due to the underwater channel.

Once the bridge was moveable it was pulled across and tied up to the side, then it was George’s turn to move. Ropes were flung across to waiting volunteers and a lady poled her from the stern. From where we were it was very obvious that the gap left was far too narrow to get such a broad boat through, but they carried on, realising the bridge would need to move some more. Juggling boats here must have been such a nightmare when there were still the sunken boats about, today it was hard enough.

We moved up onto a bridge and from our higher position we could see that more space was needed, but we refrained from calling out directions and left it to the volunteers. Eventually after nudging boats about they got George clear and to the top of the locks where they would need to turn her. There were already too many people helping so we decided we’d be better off inside the museum and left them to it.

George will be going out onto the Ship Canal on Wednesday, from where she will be taken onto the River Weaver and taken to Northwich where she will be getting a fresh coat of blacking on her wooden hull.

The upper floor of the Island Warehouse is filled with even more interesting things.

NB Friendship is the centre piece and she deserves to be.

Built by Sephtons at Hawksbury Junction for Joe and Rose Skinner in 1924 she was a horse drawn narrowboat. She cost £300 and the Skinners paid an initial £140 the remainder being gradually paid off by weekly 10 shilling instalments. NB Friendship became their home for over 50 years. Joe purchased Dolly their Mule from the US army at the end of WW1, she was a faithful worker giving 40 years of service. She fell into the Oxford Canal and then developed pneumonia which sadly led to her being put down. Without Dolly it wasn’t the same and with motor boats everywhere it was hard to compete, so they decided to retire at the end of 1959. Even though they had a house at Hawksbury Junction they continued to live on board NB Friendship using the house to store Joe’s scrap and occasionally cook Sunday dinner.

They would go to boat rallies and in 1973 they did their last long trip to Northampton, Joe was now in his 80’s. Joe died following a stroke in 1975 followed a year later by Rose. They had been married 56 years. Friendship was left to Rose’s niece, by 1978 enough money had been raised to bring the boat to Ellesmere Port. Much work was needed, but it was decided that it would be best to store her on dry land and retain the original boat as much as possible. To get her to her location in the museum she had to be cut in half and craned onto the first floor, rolled into position on scaffolding bars where she was put back together.

On this floor there is so much, you can rock an ice breaker, I managed to clear 5.3m of ice. You can look around a wooden cruiser, virtual tours of several other boats, watch footage of the Telford Warehouse burning to the ground in 1975. Listen to a navvie having a break, look at wooden patterns that were used for casting lock pieces, 1:24 scale models of hulls and try counting the number of granny squares it took to cover Rainbow.

A good information packed afternoon and we feel that we most definitely got our moneys worth. We could even have returned for some more as we found ourselves skipping over parts. Another £4 to moor another night and some chilled medication to walk back to Oleanna with. Tomorrow when we leave the museum will be closed, so no gongoozlers to help push gates.

Our pot roast beef was delicious, we’ll defiantly be doing that again.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 more night, 1 moor hen, 4 shroomdogs, 48 hours of lights, 8+ to move a bridge and boat, 2 more voices not needed, 94 years old, 1 special boat, 5.3m, £300, 5 boaty craft stalls, 283 squares, 1 super tasty joint of beef, 1 hearth rug finished.

Pregnancy Trekking. 17th February

Ellesmere Port Basin

Last night we realised that where we are moored is opposite the Holiday Inn’s function room and we wondered if we would be kept awake tonight with a noisy disco from a wedding or some such. Mick ventured out of the museum to find a Saturday paper, he succeeded at a petrol station, most probably having had to dice with death vaulting over barriers on the big roads around here. But he returned safely for breakfast.

Across in the function room we could see people milling around, a bit early for a wedding. Maybe it was a conference. I zoomed in with my camera to some things that were on a table at the end of the room, sadly I didn’t take a photo. Next to what looked like a raffle prize of a basket of fruit was a display board. There was a map of Africa, a photo of a group of people in football shirts and across the top it said Pregnancy Trekking. All the people in the room were women of various ages, but mostly ladies who had long passed the days of child bearing. Maybe it said Pregnancy Training! They spent the day in that room, had lunch and at one point the curtains were firmly closed, either a film or some group activity that required some privacy.

Anyhow, after breakfast we walked up to reception to finish checking in. Our mooring fee for two nights was the entrance fee for us both for the first day followed by £4 a night for Oleanna, £23.50. The entrance fee covers us for a full years admittance here and at The National Waterways Museum Gloucester too. This is very handy as we plan on heading to the Gloucester Sharpness Canal this year, just hope it reopens after a refurbishment before we get there.

The Ellesmere Canal was Thomas Telfords first canal building job, linking the Mersey to the Dee at Chester and then the Severn (this section was never achieved). Ellesmere Port was a holiday destination in the 1790’s, very hard to believe now. Golden sands, a modern bathing house and the tourists were brought here by packet boat from Liverpool and Chester. The first canal basin was small, with only a lock keepers cottage, an inn, stables and an engine to pump water from the upper basin.

The red dot is where we are moored

By 1843 a new dock was opened, updated with warehouses, offices and upgraded locks, it could now be a busy commercial port. New links with the Trent and Mersey, Birmingham and Liverpool Canals meant that the port grew quickly. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, bringing with it much industry. The Shropshire Union and Railway company advertised itself as the ‘first port on the Manchester Ship Canal’. Metal work, oil and chemicals all brought with it a growth in the population, no longer a holiday destination, just a mass of industry! A lack of housing and increase in pollution followed. The port expanded.

No warehouses around us today

Oleanna would just be through that archway

Moving goods on and off ships and canal boats took time, so hydraulic cranes were used around the docks to speed the process up all powered from a central Pump House. Later a dock railway did a similar job. They even produced their own gas on site, so work could continue through the night. Where Oleanna is moored at the moment there used to be warehouses spanning the islands, with archways below where boats could be loaded and unloaded. There are still signs of the supporting pillars as we walk to and from from Oleanna.

In 1956 the docks closed, the site decayed and buildings became derelict. In 1971 an enthusiastic group wanting to preserve boats and the traditions of the canals decided to take action. They created The North West Museum of Inland Navigation, with local support Ellesmere Port became their home. The Toll House was the first to be restored and in June 1976 it housed a small exhibition. In 1980 The Boat Museum Trust was formed and in 1999 it was renamed the National Waterways Museum.

Last year a project funded by the Arts Council England Resilience Fund meant that many decaying sunk boats could be lifted out from the water and put into storage off site so that restoration work can be carried out on them. The Victoria Arm has funding to help develop it into a dry dock to be used to help conserve the museums boats and possibly for commercial use. The largest of the museums boats Cuddington (our nearest neighbour) will be able to fit in the dock.

We spent the morning exploring the slipway, carpenters workshops, stables, power house.

Then having home on our doorstep we returned to Oleanna for lunch before visiting the four Porters cottages which have been laid out spanning from 1830’s to 1950’s. Then we moved on to the Island Warehouse, but only managed to do the ground floor. There is so much to read and look at, things we thought we knew about, but there is so much more. Originally we thought we’d spend a day doing the museum, but because we can, we’ll finish what we started tomorrow, we may even stay another night.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 private museum, 4 cottages, 52 pregnancy trekkers, 4mm needles, 2 much to read, 2 much to take in, 2nd day needed, 1 quiet night on board.

Turd Hop Scotch. 16th February

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.

2nd Birthday 15th February

Tower Wharf to Caughall Bridge 134

We’d been hoping to meet up with some more friends today, but sadly work got in the way for them. One day we will manage to coincide with Ali somewhere. This however did mean that we would be able to head off out of Chester and give Tilly some much needed shore leave.

But first there were things to do. The engine was started up followed by the dishwasher as we had breakfast, soon followed by the washing machine full of bed linen. As the water tank filled Mick headed over to the boat yard to buy a new bottle of gas and I walked up the locks to dispose of rubbish.

All this activity looked promising, I didn’t get my hopes up too much though as they have been dashed several times recently, so I just snoozed away the morning, with one eye open. But when Tom put his fat trousers on I knew they would be changing the outside today! At Ducking Last!!!!

At 12.10am we were ready and the trip computer had the start button clicked, we were on our way. Goodbye Chester, well for a few days as we have to come back this way.

Two years ago today we headed over to Newcastle Under Lyme to Tim Tylers yard to stand on Oleanna’s base plate for the first time and see the first markings out of her stern. What an exciting day that was to see our dream starting to take shape. Today could be classed as her 2nd Birthday (or Baseplate Day).

So there was nothing for it but to go for a cruise to celebrate. The sun was out, bright blue skies, a chill in the air and at times some rather strong gusts of wind. But as there are so few boats moored along this pound we could keep the revs up to hold our course.

First we passed Taylor’s Boatyard. The original boatyard extended further along the canal than it does today, the next building being made in a similar style, higher and now with the sides filled in with breeze blocks.

Gradually the buildings receded and our surroundings became more and more rural. A large area of tall trees hugs the canal for quite a distance, but despite hearing Tilly counting them all from inside we carried on, we wanted a few more miles under Oleannas hull today.

The off side looked like it had recently been cut back and soon we caught up with a boat that looked like it might have been stuck on the off side. It was a work boat, depositing branches onto the bank before carrying on trimming back.

At the first moorings we passed there was a Winter Mooring sign, nobody was moored here, not an ideal site with no services nearby, nor a place we’d want to leave our boat for the winter. On we carried turning east to have a following wind, I really wished I’d had my padded trousers on then, chilly legs!

Soon we reached our destination Bridge 134, the nearest to the Zoo. We pulled in ahead of NB Greenlaw at the far end of the moorings, furthest away from the road. Once our vital mooring statistics had been noted Tilly was given four and a half hours to do as she wanted on the towpath. Brilliant! She came for a walk with me up the towpath something about making sure that my legs still worked, then I was left to get on with being busy. However in amongst the sideways trees there was one of those cat sized meshes, these obviously never stop me from gaining access. But today this one had mouse sized mesh with it too, far too small for me even with my dainty size. So I spent much of the time just checking out the friendly cover and avoiding woofers and cyclists. So much better than that Chester place. We don’t have to ever go back there, do we?!

0 locks, 3.95 miles, 1 bottle gas, 1 full water tank, 1 set of clean bed linen, 13 days in one place, 0 Ali, 0 Michael, 1 straight on, 1 blue sky, 4.5 hours of bliss, 2 friends, 1 cat with tail high in the air, 4 hours is too long on the stove for cooking squash, 2 years, Happy Birthday Oleanna!

Pancakes And Valentines 14th February

Chester

A couple of deliveries had arrived overnight on Oleanna. A card and a box of chocolates had been left in the pram cover and in the cratch there were two cards, a box of chocolates and three cream eggs! Mick got the cards and goodies from the cratch and I got the ones from the pram (who was his other card from?!). My box of chocolates was bigger than the one Mick received, however the card I got had no xxx’s in it! Mick says that he doesn’t know anything about it as the card isn’t from him! But if that’s the case he didn’t send me a Valentines Day card! Not sure which is worse.

As we’d had visitors yesterday we made a management decision to postpone Pancake Day and have a Pancake Wednesday. We are aware that today we are meant to give things up for lent, but as we never do, eating pancakes wouldn’t matter. So this morning we started the day with some Blueberry American style pancakes. Recently I’ve been using gluten free flour more and more, so far simply swapping it for normal flour in recipes has worked, however today I ended up with an extremely runny batter and ended up having to add more flour. Later looking at recipes I’ve noticed that they tend to have a lot more flour in them than with a normal pancake batter. They were tasty, but not as good as they could have been.

The weather today has been extremely windy, so no going anywhere by boat. As the forecast for the day was really rather miserable we decided to catch a bus out to Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet for a day out, we know how to live!

Half an hour on the bus and we arrived at the side of the Outlet. Here there are numerous eateries that look like they have just been dumped in the car park of Vue Cinema. We resisted their offerings and headed straight indoors to the cinema. Showing on screen 5 was The Post, starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep directed by Stephen Spielberg. Set in the early 70’s it recounts the true story of The Washington Post journalists and their attempts to publish the Pentagon Papers, classified documents regarding the 30-year involvement of the US government in the Vietnam War. The story predates the Watergate Scandal. A very wordy film, but well worth the listening, we’d both now like to watch ‘All the President’s Men’ again.

A bite to eat was next on the cards, we started to look round the Outlet and eventually managed to get served in Costa, everywhere seemed to be vastly understaffed today.

There were a few things that were on my list to find. Firstly a new pair of jeans. M&S came up trumps and provided me with a pair that will fit me and not have space for half my legs again. Then a good look around Joules for some wellies that would fit my chubby calve muscles. There were none that I fancied, although the glow in the dark kids ones were pretty good, I at least know what size now to order.

Next was the main reason for our trip, Whittards. Every morning I have a cup of their Afternoon Tea, it used to be called Pelham Tea. Whittards are not as common as I used to think when I had a car, so when ever we are near to a branch I have to stock up, especially when it’s at a Designer Outlet, it’s cheaper. I’m also on the hunt for some loose leaf decaf tea, this is much harder to find than you would think, most manufacturers only produce decaf in tea bags. We are in the process of switching over from using tea bags due to their plastic content. After my first cuppa of the day I then only drink decaf. Whittards do normally stock one, but currently they are out of stock until the spring. My hunt will continue.

Our walk back towards the bus meant that we passed the Cadburys shop. The purple branding always pulls us in, but we were very good leaving through the door with only a bag of Mis-shapes.

This evening we have had savoury pancakes for tea, stuffed with chicken in a tomato sauce topped with a cheesy one baked in the oven. On cue our gas bottle ran out shortly after they went in the oven. We’ve been waiting for this to happen as we’ve just seen a coal boat! Sadly there was only enough batter left for one sweet pancake each. Gluten free pancakes are not quite the same, good job we’ve both got plenty of chocolate to keep us going.

0 locks, 0 miles, 7 blueberry pancakes each, 2 buses, 3 cards, 14 x’s for Mick, 0 x’s for me! 3 cream eggs, 2 boxes of chocs, 14 watching the film, 1 option for lunch, 16! 4 packets of tea, 750grams misshapes, 2 boxes of wine, 2 savoury pancakes each, 1 sweet pancake each, 1 more day of this boring Chester place!

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna