We nearly had a sunset last night, but then the clouds got in the way. The mooring spot is a good one for sunsets, you can get a good reflection off the water. But you do need the clouds to cooperate.
This morning was about odd jobs, also known as avoiding the rain. I tightened the stern gland. There are more sophisticated ways of stopping water entering the boat through the hole for the propellor shaft, but Heron has a traditional stern gland. This is packed with PTFE coated wadding. It prevents a lot of water entering but it does wear away over time. When this happens you have to tighten up the stern gland to re-compress the wadding. I had noticed more water than usual last night. It’s not a problem, we have a automatic bilge pump which keeps the levels down. But I knew it was a job that needed doing. It was also time to check the gearbox oil level. It’s not a check that I do often, but I have been running the boat almost continuously for over 4 weeks. The oil level is important because Heron has a hydraulic PRM gearbox. Oil is the hydraulic fluid, so the gearbox won’t work without it. I had topped the oil up at the beginning of the trip, because the gearbox seemed to have some form of slow leak. Not disastrous, but worth keeping an eye on. Well, it seems to have enjoyed this period of continuous running. The levels were right where they should be.
I was going to mend the shorts that failed so spectacularly a week ago, but the dog needed playing with. When she’d lost yet another tennis ball, it was time for lunch.
The rain slackened off in the afternoon, so we made a move. It did mean we wouldn’t get onto the Macclesfield today as I originally planned, but there are some reasonable moorings at Church Lawton. That is if they’re not too crowded. Of course as soon as we started, the clouds began to look a bit grim. At least that’s what Sam was thinking. And then it started to rain. We arrived the first locks of the day and that’s when I learned the consequences of stepping over a gap that was a bit too large, onto wet stonework whilst wearing the wrong footwear. Not seriously injured, just removed a patch of skin on my big toe and received an impressive shin graze. The major effect was more psychological. I was a bit shook up at the sharp reminder of the need to be more careful when boating single-handed.
Then it was back into the relentless sequence that is the Cheshire Locks.
Today, there is only a single traditional lock at Thurlwood Lock. Its companion had been affected by subsidence due to brine pumping and in the 1950s was replaced by an experimental steel lock, that could be jacked up and down to accommodate the subsidence. Very high tech. Unfortuanetly, it was unreliable and was slower to operate than the adjacent, traditional lock. As a result it was shunned by commercial boats and its maintenance was neglected. It was eventually demolished in 1988. Had it survived, it would probably have been given listed status by now.
Shortly after Thurlwood Lock, we passed a wharf used by one of CRT’s contractors. Usually it is very busy with boats, but today, there were just two barges. What was impressive was the array of old locks gates just casually piled up.
Then round the corner to yet another one of my random personal landmark, Snape’s Aqueduct. Although why Severus Snape allowed such a minor waterway feature to be named after him, I don’t know. The Lawton Treble Locks and Halls Lock followed next. Four locks in quick succession, at least today there were some boats coming the other way, making working through them a little easier. I like the way these locks are nestled into the rolling countryside, you can never tell what’s going to be around the corner.
In this case, after a short breathing space, you come to the two Church Lawton Locks. In each of this pair of double locks, the right hand one (going up hill), is closed. They both look forlorn and unloved. One of them is, rather unnecessarily, padlocked. To prevent it collapsing completely, it has been braced with some steel bars. And the top end of the lock is completely overgrown. You couldn’t get a boat in there if you tried.
The other closed lock looks in a bit better condition. But still unusable.
The moorings after the lock were busy but I found a spot. And then, despite the relatively late hour, boat after boat passed us.
Tomorrow will be our last day on the T&M, we will be turning on to the Macclesfield at Hardings Wood Junction. But there are few more locks to do before then. And we have to pass under the Macclesfield Canal.
More about that tomorrow, if the weather allows.