Shortly after starting out this morning, we passed Neil Morrissey’s Plume of Feathers pub in Barlaston. We may be sampling it on the way back. Today we were aiming for a favourite spot at Tixall Wide. This meant getting through 13 locks and Stone. But first we had to get to the Meaford flight. This…
Looking forward to Leicester?
How often can you say that you’re looking forward to Leicester? When you love your narrowboat and the English canal network you can. The Leicester Ring is a favourite of ours because it includes Foxton locks, the Trent and Soar Rivers, tunnels, narrow locks and wide locks. Leicester isn’t the best part, but if you’re…
Grumpy Boaters
This morning we started ascending back up the Cheshire Locks, and tried hard to ignore inconsiderate and grumpy boaters. We encountered inconsiderate at Wheelock where a boat steamed past us far too fast. I was holding Heron on the midline and failed in the attempt. Of course I muttered my usual “Really?”. There were also some…
It Finally Rained
It finally rained on us today. Of course, it had to be when we got to the Booth Lane Locks. When I passed this way in June, that was the day that I got completely soaked at exactly the same location. Today’s rain was much less dramatic, but still wet. We are slowly making our…
Fluffy Clouds Continue
Despite dire predictions about changeable weather, the fluffy clouds and blue skies have continued today. Yes, it was noticeably cooler, and the day started overcast, but it soon improved. The only fly in the ointment was the wind. It has died away now, but this afternoon, it made it very difficult to steer a narrowboat…
Descent
Leaving Llangollen certainly feels like you are beginning a descent. Not only are you making your way out of the hills that surround the town, but you are moving with the flow. It all feels like you are going down hill. Even the locks are all descents from here. One characteristic of the Llangollen canal…
We Flew Heron
Two aqueducts, two tunnels. Today we flew our Heron 126 feet over the River Dee, and we passed through the underworld in “Darkie” Tunnel. We got a reasonably early start. At first there were no other boats moving, but gradually we cam across more and more boats, all seemingly heading in the opposite direction. We…
Ascending the Staircase
Today was mainly about ascending the staircase locks at Grindley Brook. OK, full disclosure requires me to inform you that there were other locks to enjoy today. But there is something special about a staircase. This is where the top gates of one lock form the bottom gates of the next one up. This gives…
Problem at Marbury Lock
We came across a significant problem at Marbury Lock today. We were making steady progress towards our goal of reaching Grindley Brook by the end of the day. But when we got to Marbury Lock we discovered the complete ground paddle, on the ground! This made the lock a little tricky to empty. Even with…
Minshull Lock Queue – Again
We were planning to get a bit further today, but the usual Minshull Lock queue stopped that. I’m assuming that it is usual. My evidence has a 10 year gap in it, but the locks seemed as slow and the queue was certainly as long. So my assumption is that it is normal. At least…