Above Winsford Top Flash to Bridge 14

After breakfast Mick climbed back into his diesel smelling clothes and returned to the engine bay to see if he could work out why the in-line filter was leaking. The sun was out and I so nearly got my painty clothes on to sand back the cratch board to give it a coat of Woodskin, but not knowing when or if we’d be moving I didn’t want to get everything out to then just have to put it all away again.

‘Five more minutes’, ‘A bit longer’, ‘Should be able to tell you in about fifteen minutes’ I really wasn’t pressurising Mick.

The Wasp Fuel Filter has bolts both top and bottom. The top one releases the container which houses a metal mesh filter, the bottom one you use to bleed any water from the system (my old D reg Peugeot used to need this doing). This type of mesh filter you check to see if it is clean and then return it into it’s housing to carry on doing it’s job. The inside of the container has a central post around which the mesh sits and the two bolts screw into. Problem found, the post was no longer fixed in position, sheared off.

Thanks Alf for your suggestion, Lillian had a cartridge filter, but sadly as you can see not quite such a simple solution as a washer here.

A call out for RCR was called for. Might as well make use of our membership. But being nowhere near a road would mean that an engineer would have quite a walk to get to us. A road a mile behind and another two miles in front. If we were to move Oleanna for easier access we’d have to cruise to the next winding hole which was a mile ahead, so the one behind was actually three miles away. Mick managed to find where the central post in the filter sat best and carefully reassembled it. With the diesel turned back on there was a slow but steady drip from it. A foil tray was positioned underneath attached with cable ties. This would hopefully do us for the two miles or so.

Everything that needed charging was plugged in to make the most of the engine running, who knew how long it would be before an engineer would be with us. We counted down the bridges and as 14 came into view with plenty of traffic going over it we had reached civilisation. Moored up, kettle on, call RCR. We may have been back in civilisation but our EE phones didn’t have signal. Walking down the towpath Mick managed to make the phone call, they would ring us back. Time for Houdini`s phone (our emergency phone) which is on O2, this had full coverage. With Mick`s phone on divert we could now receive the call back. Lunch time and shore leave for me.

Within an hour of the initial call we had a tap on the window. RCR. The chap clambered down into the engine bay, Mick explained, we then showed him photos of what was wrong, this saved dismantling the filter and getting diesel everywhere again. A bypass was needed to keep us going until we could get a replacement. He went off to his van to get some suitable bits. Once these were plumbed in the engine was turned back on to make sure there were no air locks. All sorted for £4.50 and within 90 minutes of our phone call.

With Tilly out we decided to stay put for the rest of the day, running the engine to charge up the batteries fully. The broken filter was still leaking as it had diesel in it. But then Mick realised that the bypass was also leaking! We were no better off than before, good job the drip tray was still in position. These things happen, so another phone call to RCR. We didn’t expect anyone to come back out to us, it was now dark and it would be a lot easier in the morning.

So we settled down for the evening, with full batteries. Mick was allowed to have my shower to help get rid of the diesel smell and Tilly stayed out until she was really hungry! We’ll see what can be done tomorrow morning.

0 locks, 2.44 miles, 1 turn of a bolt too many? 1 broken filter, 0 yankie candles, 2 phones 1 signal, 90 minutes, 4 hours! 4 windows removed and cleaned and all channels cleared and cleaned, 1 test frame with washing up liquid, 1 new leak, £4.50, 1 fish crumble, 1 pot homemade hummus without the zuzzer, 16 inches sontag, 0 nappies left.

Above Winsford Top Flash

Someone outside kept turning a tap on and off last night. A wave of major rain would come overhead and then just stop as suddenly as it had started. This lead to an unsettled nights sleep. So when we woke to brilliant sunshine this morning it was a bit of a surprise.

Whilst waiting for the boat behind to move off this morning we made good use of the time and had a cooked breakfast. Tilly was allowed out early and didn’t show her tail tip for at least a couple of hours. Why were we waiting for them to move? Well as good as our view was, they had a better position with a big gap in the trees looking down to the flash. So after a dignified pause we pulled Oleanna back to the end of the moorings. The chap on the boat in front hoped he’d not disturbed us last night. He’d run his engine and turned his TV up to help keep his old dog calm as all the fireworks were going off. I explained that he hadn’t and we just wanted a better view, a bit more space between the boats would also mean that Tilly and his dog would get along better.

We then set about with our chores for the day. Whilst Mick got himself ready to do a 750 hour service, I got out the cast iron dish my Mum used to bake rice pudding in. I was going to have a go at making stove top rice pudding. In an oven it takes around three hours to cook, I was hoping that around seven on top of the stove would achieve a similar result. My 1970’s copy of Perfect Cooking by Margarite Pattern came off the shelf (the Blue Print recipes never fail you just have to avoid looking at the pictures for too long!). Using soya milk instead of full fat I hoped it would be a touch less unhealthy. Covered with foil I left it to cook by itself.

Next was packing away the summer clothes and getting the extra layers out from storage. Mick was after an old work coat to give him an extra layer in the engine bay, but it looks like this must have been culled when we moved boats. The storage area at the back of the bed seems to be getting a little bit damp. The bed base has plenty of holes in it, but with the mattress on top there is no movement of air down into this space. The space in front has two large drawers, one of which gets opened at least once a day, so air is moved around. We’ve been moving our mattress away from the cabin side during the day, but this isn’t far enough out to expose the holes in the base, so we may have to ask for a ventilation grill to be added here. All part of getting to know your boat through the seasons.

I took the opportunity to have a cull of t-shirts as I packed away my summer clothes. These could have just gone in the bin, no future life for them as clothes. But instead I decided to make some jersey yarn out of the main body of them, I may use this to make a rug or something, not sure yet. Cut into one continuous inch strip, several shades of blue and a couple of red now added to my bag of fabric yarn.

Summer clothes now in a vacuum bag had to wait to be reduced fully as Mick was hard at work changing the oil, filters and filling up the greaser etc.

I had very busy morning sorting out my local friends. Time for a quick bath before getting muddy again I came back to the boat. But it wasn’t there, or was it, it didn’t smell right or look the right colour! Then familiar voices came from the boat that had been behind us, why were they on that boat? What had they done with ours? As I got closer I realised that they’d been at it again, moving the outside with me in it. That was a relief, I could now have a drink, visit my box and have a quick wash before going out again.

Half of the remainders of yesterdays stew had some more veg added with a glug of cider. Once up to temperature it was put next to the rice pudding on the stove top to gradually simmer away, jacket potatoes added inside too. The sunny day kept inviting us to go for a walk, but with Tilly out and Mick in the engine bay it wouldn’t be fare so I carried on with my knitting. This sontag is taking an age, but at least I’m now over half way with it.

As the day went on the sun started to set, Tilly came in for a good long snooze, but Mick was still in the engine bay. He’d been there a very long time. The 750 hour service included changing a fuel filter he’d not done before, maybe this was causing problems. An occasional big sigh came through the vent from the engine bay, it was starting to get dark now. The engine was started up several times, there was quite a smell of diesel.

The change of the fuel filter on the engine had gone well, that was fine. It was the in line filter that after being checked today decided to develop a leak. To stop the leak Mick had to turn the diesel off, which meant we couldn’t run the engine. The sunshine today had helped top up the batteries, so we’d be fine for power tonight. A nights sleep and daylight will help. Hopefully he’ll solve the problem, if not then we’ll see what RCR think.

Once cleaned up we walked a good distance up the towpath with our Immortal Jellyfish firework, found a gap next to some armco to slot it into lit the blue touch paper and retired to a safe distance. Twenty seconds, 12 wizz bangs with showers of red, blue and silver stars and our £11 had gone up in smoke. We retired inside to warm up and eat stew. The rice pudding was cooked and very yummy with a blob of my 2015 Trent and Mersey Blackberry jam stirred into it. No brown skin on top, but a success and no gas used in it’s creation.

0 locks, 120 ft backwards, 1 confused Tilly, 8 t-shirts culled, 2 summer chairs under the bed, 2 fat winter coats in the cupboard, 2oz rice, 1 oz, sugar, 1 pint milk, 1 knob butter, 7.5 hours on the stove, 1 creamy rice pudding, 1 fuel filter changed, 9 litres oil, 1 oil filter, 1 leak, 1 smelly boat, 16 inches of sontag, £11, 12 bangs, 20 seconds, 1 exhausted Tilly.

Wheelock to Above Winsford Top Flash

Last night Mick had spotted a Farm Shop on a map in Wheelock. Always worth a look, even if they tend to be a bit expensive.

It was a bit further than we thought up Crewe Road, but it turned out to be worth the walk. Outside there was a mountain of pumpkins all priced reasonably. Then inside there were sacks of potatoes, and cauliflowers that greeted us. The fruit and veg was displayed more like in a green grocers than a Farm Shop. Normally we’d be careful what we spent our money on, but here the prices were reasonable. So we picked up everything we were after including a hand of sad gits bananas for 30p! Along with the fruit and veg there is a lot of garden centre tat, stuff that has little or no purpose but is liked by some house dwellers. We have no room for such stuff so a cursory glance is all it requires. Hidden towards the back though were freezers where Hash Browns tend to lurk, a treat worth hunting out.

With a full bag of fruit and veg, a loaf of bread and a pie we refrained from the rather tasty looking custards and vanilla slices by the check out. A bowl of steaming beetroot sat tempting me as the lady popped our purchases into a bag. No need to go into Middlewich, we now had everything we needed for a few days in the middle of nowhere. A small portacabin next door even came up trumps with a firework of our own for tomorrow night.

We pulled in at the services to empty and fill as required. I’d had a thought over night that with Bonfire night being on a Sunday then organised displays might be today. So we decided to push on and get to our mooring today. The one filter needed for Oleanna’s next service that we didn’t have is an air filter, which can be changed very easily, so that wouldn’t stop Mick from doing the rest of the service and we have plenty of time to return to Kings Lock to get one.

The temperature today had dropped, woolie hats, scarves and gloves needed to be found from the back of the cupboard.

When we first bought into Winding Down the outskirts of Sandbach were run down, desolate scrub land by the railway lines. Now with all the new housing it has a different feel to it. With an increased population the towpath has been improved. We just wonder how Father Christmas manages in such places, with no chimneys. Or is it that only naughty children can live here?

We made our way with most locks almost set for us, just requiring a bit of topping up. At Lock 67 we still get that holiday feeling we used to get when setting off from Elton Moss on NB Winding Down. The sun was out and the occasional shower would follow us for a few minutes from an invisible overhead cloud.

Dropping down Rumps Lock I could see swans up ahead! Back in September there had only been one in this pound, but today things were looking up. A Mum and quite a few juveniles escorted us some of the way before taking off and flying overhead. I did wonder if they were going to try to increase the count by landing before Kings Lock, but here there were more mature swans. A count of 21, the best we’ve had in years here.

Wardle Lock needed to be emptied whilst Mick held Oleanna in the bridge hole at the junction. As he sat treading water I could see a boat appearing out from the arm behind him, this had to be a Carefree Cruising boat, one of the early ones NB Dragonfly. The lady came up to help and we had a good chat. They are one of the original syndicate on Dragonfly and were setting off for a two week trip up the Llangollen, so our paths were likely to cross again.

As we rose up Stanthorne Lock the sun was getting lower and the temperature dropping. We wound our way along the two miles to our chosen mooring. Here two boats were already moored up, so we slotted in between them, selecting a spot with a good view across to the flash below. Tilly was given half an hours shore leave before the sun would finally dip below the horizon. She took two hours, but at least she was inside away from all the fireworks being set off.

With a stew on a low light and jackets on the coals of the stove we stood outside to watch the display from Winsford. Another good display and plenty more fireworks going off in view.

7 locks, 8.5 miles, 1 left, 1 full water tank, 1 empty yellow tank, 0 rubbish, 30p for five bananas, 1 loaf to make, 6 onions, 1 savoy cabbage, 4 hash browns, 1 bag carrots, 6 mushrooms, 1 pork pie, 1 Immortal Jellyfish, 21 swans! 2nd year for Bonfire night, 3 nights worth of pork stew, 2 jackets.

Church Lawton to Wheelock

Once the car was returned and we’d both had breakfast it was time to get a move on. We’d like to try and be moored on the Middlewich Branch for bonfire night as we did last year. With the weather report not so good for tomorrow we wanted to get as many of the Cheshire Locks done today. By the time we were ready to push off it was 11am.

The day started well with locks already set in our favour and we very quickly fell into our downhill routine. As I walked up to the first of the Lawton Treble locks I could see a chap lifting a paddle to empty one of the paired chambers, someone coming up. The other chamber had a paddle lifted on it too, but in our favour, so I just had to push it open before returning to let Mick out of Halls Lock. Knowing there was a boat on it’s way up I could leave the gates open for them, which they were very grateful for. They hadn’t seen us coming so hadn’t left the gate behind open for us, but if that was the case who had lifted the paddle for us?

I walked down and had to lift a paddle as the lock had started to leak and the level had dropped. Back up to let Mick out and then leapfrogging him to the chamber below. I thought of mentioning about the paddle still being up, but he always notices. When I returned to lift the second paddle Oleanna had only dropped half way and wasn’t getting any lower. Oops! He hadn’t seen the paddle and was wondering why he was being dragged backwards in an emptying lock. Luckily for those following us the short pound above had only dropped a bit and the by wash was doing it’s best to refill it, so it would recover quickly.

As we approached Thurlwood Lock there were people there so I hopped off to lend a hand bringing their boat up. This is the lock with a gate paddle and a lady whipped this up a bit quickly, I hoped their boat was a long way back. But as I got closer all became apparent there was no boat. They had just started to empty the chamber when they saw us coming so had started to refill it as their boat hadn’t as yet got to the lock from the previous one. We stood and chatted as the lock filled, except it was taking a rather long time. That would be because they hadn’t dropped the bottom paddles fully when they decided to refill it. Mistake spotted and rectified. What was it with today, this was our seventh lock and the third one with a paddle left up. Another member of the crew came up and suggested that I could walk ahead where the next lock would be set for us. I however decided to loiter, just in case.

As we got to Pierpoint Locks there was yet another paddle lifted, not in our favour. I walked down to see what was happening and there was a crew at the lock below preparing to come up. So I swung the gates open ready for them and went down so that they knew they could leave the gates for us. Here there was a chatty lady and chap. She wound the offside paddle up said a few words then walked off to the next lock which was already for them. I stayed and wound the other paddle up, opened the gate. Their boat was put into tick over as he hopped off and wound the off side paddle down and then stepped back on as the boat passed by. We were thanked for our help and informed that the rest of the locks would now be set for us as we were the first boat they’d seen all day.

A bowl of warming soup above Lock 57 restored us for the remainder of the locks down to Wheelock. Sure enough the first lock was just about set for us and just needed topping up. I could see that at the next pair one chamber already had it’s top gate open. This sometimes happens when you close a lock, there’s too much water squeezed in there and when the boat moves off the gate opens up. Nice for us to be able to just go straight in. From here I walked on ahead, saving the time it takes to pick me up and drop me off at locks, with the hope that Tilly would get an hour or so shore leave before the light went.

The next lock also had it’s gate open. Maybe the couple going up left the gate open. Then the next one. Maybe they would leave a gate open when the other paired lock was also full. Then the next one, this was a single lock. All very easy for us and it did speed up our journey down the hill, this was what he’d meant by them all being set for us, but bad practice. Having both sets of gates closed and all paddles closed is better for keeping pounds full. The couple on board should have known better as they were seasoned boaters, maybe they thought that their age gave them an excuse.

Then at the last three locks before Wheelock there were no gates open. They must have set off from around here.

We pulled in at just gone 4pm. Tilly was allowed out for an hour. Except I had to share the towpath! There was this ginger cat who stepped off the boat ahead as I stepped off mine. Both of us looked each other up and down for a while. As neither of us had had chance to claim the towpath yet there was no need to have a stand off. So I went my way whilst he went the other. I did manage to claim quite a lot though as he walked quite a way!

20 locks, 5.01 miles, 4 cases of paddleitus, 6 gates open, 0 soup left, 48% of sontag knitted, 1 hour, 1 pesky ginger!

Red Bull to Church Top Lock

Time to move on as everything had been washed, well apart from the bath mat that somehow clung onto the towel rail to avoid it. We pulled back to fill with water as a C&RT tug came past. Volunteer Lock Keepers appeared from all over, the masses are on the move and lock wheelers were obviously required up the Cheshire Locks.

Only three locks for us today and all but the last one was sat waiting for us. At the bottom of the three locks another C&RT boat was coming up. I recognised the Middlewich Volunteers who were operating the lock and at the helm. As it rose a paddle was dropped with the hope that it would stop the boat from being pulled towards the top gate (this happens a lot of the T&M). The chap at the helm put the boat in gear, but I’m not too sure in which direction as it had no effect on the pull forward. The flat front end of the boat gave the top gate quite a biff! I made a comment to the chap with the windlass that the gates wouldn’t last too long if that happened everytime! 

Once down I opted to walk to where we planned to moor. Passing NB Mellow I got a shot of both boats, but it still isn’t the same as it used to be when we were yellow. The moorings above the next lock had spaces, in the end we opted to moor at the far end away from the busy road for Tillys benefit. Tied up and our days cruising done all by 11.30am.

This afternoon we have had wonderful sunshine. The farmer on the off side has been busy ploughing his field and Tilly has been busy digging up the one next to us.

We are moored right by a footpath to All Saint’s Church at Church Lawton. When we first did the Cheshire ring on a hire boat it had snowed the night before we passed here and a photo I took that day became our Christmas card a couple of years later. Despite the number of times we’ve done this stretch, we’ve never been to look at it, so today we changed that.

Walking in through the gates we were surprised at the construction of the building. To the left was a stone bell tower, but then to the right was a brick built church with arched windows. The two halves obviously built at different times. Rector John Byber left a permanent memorial of his life, he was responsible for the building of the church tower during his ministry between 1530 and 1559. At this time the rest of the church may well have been built in wattle and daub with a thatched roof. Despite being hit by lightening in a storm in 1652, the building remained unscathed even though eleven men died in the bell house. But in 1798 the nave of the church was destroyed in a fire. A decision was made to rebuild the nave in a more substantial way, using stone and brick.

Inside the nave is really quite plain, it felt odd for it to have a flat ceiling. A balcony over looks and houses the organ that goes up into the ceiling void. The place had a good feeling about it and very welcoming.

Outside the large graveyard has head stones from at least 1763. There are references to the canal with a headstone for Hugh Lanyon of Truro 1846, he had been an assistant surveyor for the Trent and Mersey Company. For a small village it was a very big graveyard. I particularly liked the stone which had been corrected.

3 locks, 0.83 miles, 1 full water tank, 1 avoiding bath mat, 1 very big biff, 4 volunteers, 1 church in 2 halves, 1 dead, 3 reduced to 2! 1 week delay hopefully, 18 inches of sontag, 5 hours promised, 3 hours taken, 2 on account!

Red Bull

NB Halsall pulled away shortly before 7am to make it up the locks, stopping at NB Tilly Mint and friend on the way. Martin wanted to be at the tunnel for when it opened this morning, suspect he likes to be first through. We weren’t quite so keen to get out of bed.

The brackets that hold the glass in the door of our Bubble stove have moved slightly, so the glass and it’s seal were in danger of opening up a gap that fumes would come through. This all just needed realigning and tightening up, so the stove needed to go out and cool down, this took most of the day, glad it was warm. More loads of washing went through our washing machine and then all that could be was tumble dried. Everything is now clean again and the dirty linen drawer empty.

I had a walk up the towpath to Tescos to see if there was any veg in the sad gits section to make some soup. The carcass of the chicken had made some rather good stock so that needed to be used. So when I got back parsnips, a Bramley apple and some old potatoes went into a pan and we now have plenty of warming soup to keep us going for a couple more days.

Few boats went past today, only one going up the locks. Just as we’d sat down with bowls of creamy soup there was a tap on our roof. The boat had just come up the locks and they were having engine difficulties, no fuel getting to the engine. One thought they had was that if they had a pump out then the list that had developed would go and fuel might just reach the engine again. To do this they would need to bow haul their boat to the pump out machine, could we move out of the way for them? Of course we could. Once the soup was consumed we untied and pulled out leaving them room to pull their boat up. We then pulled back in leaving them space behind us should the pump out not work and them need a mooring. Looking at their stern the list wasn’t all that bad, so if it had been the cause of their problems they would need to be filling their diesel tank very soon.

A couple of hours later we heard them trying to start up, after quiet a few attempts she obliged. They then carried on up the locks leaving us on our own again.

Mick had a hair cut on the towpath and Tilly spent much of the day coming and going until she’d totally run out of any energy and just had to sleep. This made for a quiet evening in front of the TV, knitting, watching the final of the Great British Bake Off.

0 locks, 100 ft, 3 loads washing, 2 loads drying, 1 Richard Briers, 3 days of soup, 7.5 hours, 4 woofers, 1 bullied! 2 outsides very similar, 1 exhausted Tilly, grade 3, 1ft of sontag, 1 stove sorted, 1 fire relit, 1 good news phone call, 4 glasses of wine to celebrate.

Etruria to Red Bull

The last boat to pull away this morning and we had plenty to do before leaving Etruria. One of our gas bottles had run out about a week ago, so the first port of call was Capital Gas. Here we wanted to see if we could fit a third 13kg bottle into the gas locker. On Lillian a bottle would last us around three months, but that was only for cooking. Now that we have a gas boiler on board it would be good to be able to have extra capacity for the winter should it get really cold.

The chap at the yard brought a full bottle before we returned the empty one, Bingo they all three fitted. We just need to buy a strop to be able to anchor all three together so that she will comply with the Boat Safety. Only down side is that we’ve had to fork out for another £40 deposit on the bottle. Really must start looking out for wayward empty bottles along the way to be able to get some money back.  At least we have saved a bit on the gas. Our last bottle cost us just over £28, but today they were £21.

Mick then walked along the towpath to Andrew Page for some engine oil as Oleanna is due a service very soon. This was also a bargain at under £40 for 9.5 litres. Just need to ring ahead to Kings Lock for filters and we’ll have everything.

With the washing machine on we pootled our way through Stoke, passing all the bottle kilns, old factory sites that are now flattened. Today with the sun in the trees Stoke looked less collapsed and forgotten. Kingfishers  lead the way from tree to tree.

Passing Stoke Boats the navigation was narrower than normal. Mike must be doing some work on this boat from Windermere, it certainly wouldn’t get to Stoke by water as it is too big for the tunnel or locks.

As we progressed quite a few boats were coming towards us. Most were trading boats that had been moored up for the weekend at Westport Lake. All of them now heading off to find places to trade over the winter. When we reached the lake there was a mass of mooring available and the Winter Mooring signs have gone up. One day when we stop here we will walk around the lake and have a proper look at the birds, but not today.

At the south portal to the tunnel there was a line of boats, we pulled in at the back. Up ahead were more trading boats, The Hippy Boat and The Pirate Boat (Heidi’s boat). I walked up to check in with the tunnel keeper and say hello to Heidi. Seven boats in all sat waiting. The keeper said he’d get the first three going through and then come to chat to us. We were lucky as we’d arrived shortly after a boat had come through from the north, so our wait was quite short. At the front were the boats that had left Etruria before us this morning, so they could have been waiting for an hour or so.

Mick wanted to check the weed hatch and remove the top of the chimney before we set off, so we quickly got ourselves sorted, we passed the Emergency procedure test and our light and horn were in working order. Being last to turn up we thought we’d have plenty of time, but Heidi and another boat have smokey engines so wanted to go last. Harecastle Tunnel doesn’t have any ventilation shafts, instead at the south portal large doors are closed across the entrance and huge fans are switched on to drag the fumes through the tunnel from the north. So if you have a smokey engine it’s best for everyone to be last.

All ready with our life jackets on and torch to shine above the cabin roof we entered the tunnel. We’ve not noticed what looks like a TV aerial at the entrance before, it must be for communications. With four engines and stoves lit ahead of us the atmosphere in there was already quite smokey and our torch beam lit up the fumes, it looked like we had our own follow spot. Once Heidi (the last boat) was in the tunnel the doors were shut and the fans turned on. All became noisy and very cold as the air was sucked past us. My toes were numb and I really wished I’d put an extra layer or two on today.

At the northern portal only one boat was waiting, most probably the last of the day. From the 1st November the tunnel goes onto winter hours, passage is only possible if booked 48 hours in advance and only on four days a week, so most people would rather get through before hand.

The trading boats turned left heading up onto the Macc and left us following a hire boat down through the locks to Red Bull. Two boats that had been at the front had pulled in before the last lock. NB Tilly Mint had lost it’s tunnel light at about the 100m mark of the tunnel, south end! Luckily he had a torch to hand so managed to see his way through. Always best to have a back up.

No one else was moored at the services, so we pulled in within reach of the water point. Here we will work our way through our washing mountain, using the tumble drier in the service block. We’ve also timed things very well as NB Halsall stopped here for the night, so Oleanna has been filled up with diesel and we’ve replenished our coal supplies too. Always nice when a plan just comes together.

3 locks, 6.49 miles, 2 straight ons, 2926 yrds of darkness, 3 gas bottles, 9.5 litres oil, 4 bags excell, 128 litres diesel, 1 bag kindling, 7th in line, 5th by queue jumping, 2 nithered boaters, 3 hours, 4 lots of treats, 3 lots of washing, 12 rows unravelled, 1 summer duvet put away for another year.

Stockton Brook to Etruria

It’s getting to that time of year when we recognise a higher proportion of boats that are on the move. Today out of the five boats we came across we knew two from last year, NB Skye who went up onto the Macc and NB Old Tom North who we shared some of the Leicester section with. We smiled to the chaps at the helm and said hello, but without the yellow of Lillian we get a smile but no recognition back. Advantage is that if we miffed anyone off whilst on Lillian they won’t know it’s us.

With the clocks having changed we managed an earlier start than normal. We passed NB Maple Knot just after pushing off, they had picked up someone’s keys at the electric lift bridge that were left in the control panel, they may have belonged to the chap on NB Skye as he’d passed us an hour earlier. Plenty of walkers with their dogs out for a Sunday morning stroll in the chilly sunshine. At the two lift bridges I only managed to hold up 1 golden retriever and his owner, who patiently waited whilst my finger pressed the close button and helped emit the high Ayckbourn squeak.

Once the sun came out it was really quite warm and after working us through Engine Lock I decided to loose a layer. This time I decided to stay on board and not walk my way back into Hanley.

As we got close to Bridge 11, NB Bramber pulled out from the towpath a short distance in front of us. Mrs Bramber walked ahead to operate the lift bridge. Once through we overtook them as the bridge closed. This meant we were ahead for the locks. Just over two weeks ago when we left Etruria we followed NB Bramber up the staircase locks , today we were to go down them in reverse order. As we hadn’t stopped Mick gingerly walked down the gunnel as we cruised along to remove the top of the chimney before Bridge 9, just in case we sat too high in the water now having used most of our coal. Still several inches to spare.

As I walked up to the staircase I could see a lady with a windlass in hand doing things, so I signalled to Mick to pull in. The lady apologised thinking that she’d stolen the lock from us, just because the top chamber was full. Certainly not the case, her boat was already in the bottom chamber before we got there. At a staircase of two you need to have the top chamber full of water and the bottom empty no matter which way you are going through it, so she must have had to empty or fill one of the chambers before they started.

I helped them up and once their boat was in the top chamber with the gates closed behind them Mick lifted a paddle to set the lower chamber for us. By now NB Bramber had also arrived, so he helped us down into the bottom chamber making sure the gates were closed behind us and then filled the top chamber back up for them.

The only boats on the moorings at Etruria were two that had been up at Leek and Cheddleton with us, so we tucked in in front of them.

In the afternoon Tilly had another good explore around the museums (without us!). She didn’t seem too enamoured with the new display that has been put up in the last two weeks. Presumably it is something to do with steam power, but as yet there isn’t a descriptive panel to tell you anything about it.

I climbed my way back up into Hanley to buy a new set of interchangeable needles for my latest project and also popped into Wilko for a cheap mat that I could cut to size to sit underneath the Brompton bike in the bike slot, I’d grown tired of looking at the ratty newspaper it was sat on.

A big roast dinner with that humongous chicken tonight. I think we’ll be eating it for the next week!

4 locks, 6.09 miles, 3 lift bridges, 3 held up, plus 1man and his dog, 5 familiar boats in all, 2 unfamiliar, 5.5mm needles, 75p mat, 14” of cord knitted, 1st Blue Planet 2, 2.2kg chicken, 2 full boaters.

Endon to Stockton Brook Lock 5

The next batch of bags and hats was ready to be sent off this morning, so once they were all labelled and parcelled up I walked the three quarters of a mile to Stockton Brook Post Office.

At Endon Basin the reason for the number of moored boats yesterday became apparent. They were all waiting to be lifted out. A team of chaps in high vis were busy craning boats into the water that had recently been blacked and then filling the spaces with the next batch. I did wonder about asking if Oleanna could be lifted so that we could look at the bowthruster, but I suspect we’d have been far too heavy for the crane as all the boats seemed to be quite short.

At the Post Office I handed over one parcel and received another that was waiting for me. Turquoise and buff wool for a Sontag shawl. When I got back to Oleanna pleased with my trip Mick reminded me that I was also meant to buy our Saturday Newspaper. Fail! I’d totally forgotten, didn’t even notice any newspapers in the Post Office.  So Mick walked to the Co-op which had the right paper, but no colour supplement. So he went to the Post Office where he found a paper with all the extras. Maybe I’ll be relieved of paper duties next week.

Two boats passed shortly before we pulled out, so we took our time before we pushed off as there would only be a queue at the locks.

NB Bounty was just entering the top lock as we arrived. The lady explained that they’d been at the services with the boat ahead and he’d asked if he could pull out first as he was wanting to reach Great Haywood today. Blimey, that’s 18 miles and 18 locks for a single hander! We were all in the opinion that he’d not make it (16.5 hours according to canalplan) especially as he must have left the services at around 1pm. As he was in a rush he had left the bottom gates open and the paddles up, so NB Bounty would have to close everything. He apparently apologised a couple of locks down, but they said that he should carry on, maybe to get a bit more space between them. I had joked that they must be heading northwards to Red Bull, so as to loose the single hander. But I can’t have been heard correctly, they thought we were hoping to get to Red Bull today. Mr NB Bounty must have thought he was surrounded by speeding boaters each with an unrealistic aim for the day, Harecastle Tunnel would be long closed for the day by the time we got there!

I corrected our destination for him, just below the bottom lock, only another 100 meters. We have an empty gas bottle so would like to stop at the Calor Gas place in Etruria and they won’t be open until Monday, so no rush for us. Red Bull by the end of Monday.

Once moored up, Tilly let out to explore the area we settled down for the evening in front of the stove. I worked up a tension square, which turned into two as I needed bigger needles. Sadly I don’t have the right size of circular needles so will be climbing the hill into Hanley again before we go through the tunnel. I really hope Abakhan stocks the size I need.

5 locks, 1.32 miles, 2 parcels, 800gms wool, 2 hanks now balls, 1 impossible mission, 1 way traffic, 1 very windy night, 1 failed paper girl, 1 successful paper boy, 5mm too small, 5.5mm better.