Marston to Market Drayton

Marston to Market Drayton

Sunday 26th July 2009

Here we are once again at Marston, on the Trent and Mersey, where the Salt Barge pub is located. Once again it’s also threatening to rain. I wonder, where did that looong, hot summer, get to? Not that I enjoy such weather as you all know, but it would be nice to see the sun now and again. So far, in the past week, we have managed to get ourselves soaked through twice. I’m just wondering at the state of the River Soar when we pass along part of to get to our new moorings. We have to pass through Kegworth to reach Pillings Lock Marina and we don’t want a repeat of 2007.

This lunchtime we’ll spend a chatty hour in the local then, later this afternoon, we’ll make our way to Broken Cross and hook up to the mains at Nicks friends house whilst he has our starter motor repaired.

After that a slight change of plan. Because we have quite a bit of time to spare before we need to be at our moorings, we’ve decide to try stretching it out a bit by taking the long way round via the Middlewich Branch and the Shroppie, instead of continuing on down the Trent and Mersey. We’ll then come up the Staffs and Worcs and back on the T and M up to the Caldon. We’ll then backtrack along the T and M and around to the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union and on to Pillings Lock.

Sadly, as much as we would have liked to, and as much as Wifey really wanted to go there, we decided to give the River Weaver a miss, simply because we could not trust the starter and did not want to be stranded on the river. I might just suggest it to Wifey, after the job is done of course but, after all the rain we’ve had, I’m still not sure it would be a good idea.

Monday 27th July 2009

Yesterday was fun. Our intention, as I mentioned in the last blog, was to spend an hour in The Salt Barge, then have an early lunch and then to mosey on down to Broken Cross and wait for Nick, when we would shift along another coupla hundred yards or so to his friends moorings.

Naturally, as you are all well aware by now, not everything goes according to plan, especially for folks who live on their boats.

Since we had run out of bread; in fact we were pretty much out of the stuff by Saturday night, but she was too knackered to make it; Wifey decided to make some, a task at which she has become most proficient. For some reason, probably because it was a pretty cool day, not to mention wet, the dough took forever to rise and so it didn’t go into the oven until quite late. So, no drinkies for us then. Besides, everybody and his brother, well, every noddy boat owner for miles around had descended on the pub the night before and they were still there for lunchtime. So, perhaps it was just as well.

Anyway, what with the late bread making and the rain, we decided to stay put until the bread was done then get ourselves down to Broken Cross. In fact we stopped a few hundred yards short, just before the next bridge. I gave Nick a bell about 5.30 and, despite the pouring rain, we moved on to his friend Les’ moorings, which are at the bottom of his garden.

After imposing himself on Les for a cup of tea, Nick then removed the starter motor; still in the pouring rain; plugged us into the mains and left. Before leaving he had asked me to isolate the starter battery but, unbeknown to him, we can isolate all or none at all, which I did. Obviously he wasn’t aware of this because, later on, when we tried to use the loo, it wouldn’t flush.

Here we go again, it never rains but it pours, as my old mum used to say. Phoned Nick and told him the problem and discovered, that he only wanted to isolate the starter battery because he had left some bare leads hanging down after removing the motor, and he didn’t want them shorting out. All I had to do was to tape them up and all would be OK.

Before leaving us to our fate he had also told us that, sometime on Monday, hopefully late in the afternoon or evening, Les’ wife would be back with their boat and, if they do so before he returns with the motor, I’m going to have to “pole” the boat across the canal to make way for her. It just so happens that we’re on a blind bend here so, should another boat be coming the other way if we do have to move, it should be an interesting experience. More later!

It is now 3.30 pm and we spent an hour or so in The Old Broken Cross pub but, before doing so, we received a text from Nick to say that Les’ Wife would be back with the boat at around 12.30, which means we now had to “pole” the boat across to the towpath. It also meant that, until Nick brings the starter motor back, we have no means by which to run the engine and charge the batteries.

Now, having returned to the boat after our lunch break, Nick has phoned to tell us, that the motor is not repairable at the workshop and that the best he can do is send it off for an exchange unit, which won’t get here until tomorrow afternoon. Oh, deep joy, we’re now left without power for another 24 hours. When he met us at Anderton I did suggest we moor up at the marina there for a couple of days, but he wouldn’t hear of it, suggesting instead that we spend a couple of days at Les’ place. The sooner this problem is sorted out, the better I will like it.

On a totally different subject, looking through the latest edition of Towpath Magazine, we notice that the Roydon Mill Estate has now got the go-ahead to build a 315 boat marina. Without more ado I have registered our interest and, assuming they take liveaboard boaters and, assuming they are not too expensive, we will see if we can book a mooring there. The site opens Spring or Summer of 2010, which would be just right for a short cruise from Pillings Lock and we would be closer to family.

Wednesday 29th July 2009

Yesterday we had hoped that our starter motor would be replaced, but having sent a text to Nick at about 5 pm and received the reply that he was in Yorkshire, we didn’t hold out much hope of a happy end to the day. As it turned out, even watching TV in the evening, our batteries were still able to keep the fridge going and the water pump, so we survived another night without problems. We received another text from Nick at 10.30 pm to sat that he’d just got back and would see us sometime today.

This morning, when I checked the state of the batteries, our domestic set was down to 11.7 volts. Even so there was still enough power for the fridge and pump, and we even had the radio on for a couple of hours.

Nick finally turned up at about 10 am and had the new motor in within a few minutes. Hopefully that’s the last we’ll see of that problem. Cost wise we did pretty good, because, had we ordered from Isuzu, it would have cost £485, plus postage, plus Nick’s labour charges. Instead the motor cost just £197 and Nick charged us only £30 for his time. Like the man said, it pays to shop around and, like all really good engineers he knows just where to go for the best deal.

Nick couldn’t resist telling us about his wedding last year, when his dearly beloved pointed out that she wanted a wedding dress by Stella McCartney, which would have cost £4000. As far as he was concerned such a price was way over the top and besides, she wanted it in Ivory but Stella’s dress only comes in white.

Obviously there next step was to shop around on the Internet, which was where they found a Chinese company who could supply the same design of dress, in Ivory and without the necklace of sequins that come with the original, for less than £100, including delivery. Job done!

We are now moored just past Billinge Green Flash, which is a very wide stretch of canal that stretches about 50 yards across to the neighbouring farm field. There are several such wide areas along here, but it is still necessary to keep fairly close to the towpath on this side, because there is the danger of grounding in the shallows if you go too far over. The River Weaver also has a flash, which is called Winsford Flash, where boaters are advised not to enter. If some fool does so and manages to ground himself, there is no guarantee that BW will be able to help. So, don’t go there, is the general rule.

Tomorrow, assuming this pesky rain lets up, we’ll be off to Middlewich and then onto the Middlewich Branch of the Shroppie.

Thursday 30th July 2009

We decided to get an early start this morning because we not only had six locks to go through, but seven miles to go before our intended moorings on the Middlewich Branch. On the way we also needed to stop off at Middlewich for essential shopping.

As is usually the case, even though we set out well before 8 o/clock, a holiday boat cruised slowly past us, so we knew we were in for a long trip. On top of that, as if we needed further evidence of what was in store, we rounded the bend just in time for another holiday boat to pull out ahead of us. And so it was that we sat back and dawdled along as if we had all the time in the world.

In actual fact we didn’t do too badly time wise. We arrived at Middlewich around 10 am and, after Sheila did the shopping, we were on our way again before 11. We were now left with just five locks to do and eventually arrived, during what can only be described as the second flood, at our moorings just after bridge 22 on the Middlewich Branch. Naturally, no sooner had we tied up than the sun came out, by which time we were both thoroughly soaked.

Friday 31st July 2009

Today we were fortunate enough to travel six miles, go through two locks and spend 2 ½ hours doing so, without so much as a hint of rain. We’ve made it to the top of Cholmondstone Lock and here we’ll stay until tomorrow morning when we’ll head off to Barbridge. We might moor up at the junction and walk to the nearest bus stop for our trip into Nantwich. Alternatively, we’ll top up with water and move on to the moorings opposite The Old Barbridge Inn; which is where we stopped after coming off the Llangollen; and walk to the nearest bust stop to the pub. Either way we should be set fair for a Sunday lunchtime drink. If we don’t take advantage of that pub we’ll have to wait until we get to Audlum, which will be followed by a long flight of locks.

Monday 3rd August 2009

Hello from Hurleston Junction, which joins the Shroppie to the Llangollen Canal. Having stopped overnight on Saturday at Barbridge Junction, we moved forward as far as The Olde Barbridge Inn on Sunday morning, enjoyed our usual lunchtime drink there and stayed the night. This morning we took the bus into Nantwich for shopping and we’ve now moved on to this spot.

On a good day Wifey would remember to take her camera with her on a shopping spree. Today, just when she could have used it to good effect, she forgot. Just a short ride on the bus and we passed a cornfield. In that field; as Wifey described to me on Saturday, when she took the bus into Nantwich; somebody had been building a clock. Not an ordinary clock you understand, but a rather tall one with a big, church-sized, clock face. I suppose the whole edifice was about 40 or 50 feet tall and, apart from the clock face itself, the whole thing was built from straw bales. It really was quite an impressive sight and we’ve no idea why it was put there. More importantly, we have no photographic record of it either.

Tomorrow we should be off to as near as we can get to the Audlem Locks. This, as usual, depends on the weather, and it’s not looking good.

Tuesday 4th August 2009

Despite the promise of heavy rain this morning, all we had was heavy cloud. It seems the Weather Centre is unable to tell the difference. When I arose from the pit this morning we had quite a strong head wind, so I wasn’t looking forward to leaving Hurlseton Junction but, as it happened, the six miles and two locks were completed in just under three hours. That’s not at all bad when you take into account the necessary stop to take on water, which can take up to 30 minutes if Wifey has done any washing, a task she undertook yesterday and Sunday.

So, we’re now moored at a very nice picnic area between bridges 83 and 84. We stopped here back in May on our way to Chester and the weather was much warmer and sunnier then. The canal side here has about 10 pub type outdoor all-in-one seats alongside of which are steel bar-b-que frames. These are put to very good use by quite a few boaters who stop here. Those people who use their boats just for leisure purposes; including owners of cruiser; come here in groups for a bit of a party, especially at weekends. Such a lovely way to pass the time, eh?

Thursday 6th August 2009

Having attended to a call of nature at 04.45 this morning, I took a peek through the curtains and there, surrounded by thin, dark clouds, was a beautiful, almost full moon. Now that is a sight to wake up to.

It is now 06.45 and there’s not a cloud in the sky, so there’s a pretty good chance of a very warm day. We’ll be trotting off to Market Drayton this morning, but we’ll only have five locks to contend with.

Returning to the big clock in the field at Hurleston, there was an item about it on the BBC’s Northwest Tonight programme only yesterday evening. Apparently the clock is just one of many projects carried out by the Ice Cream manufacturers whose field it sits in. Judging by the film shown of the thing, it might even be somewhat taller than our estimate.

We have no idea what the previous projects were about, but they are all done, in part at least, to draw attention to the company, a sort of static advertising campaign I suppose. At first a huge metal frame is built by a local man, this is then filled with and encased by straw bales, upon which the clock is mounted and the rest of the pointed tower, again of straw bales, is built on top. Sheila did actually manage to take a ‘photo of this most impressive clock tower, but it was from the canal and from quite a distance. We’re hoping to enlarge it on the laptop when we download her latest crop of snaps.

Yesterday, although we awoke to heavy cloud cover, we made the four miles and 15 locks through Audlem to Adderley, without getting wet. Indeed, as the day progressed, it brightened up considerably. So much so that I found it just a bit too warm. We were eventually joined by many more boats, and a few of them sat outside whilst enjoying a glass of wine or beer. The family behind us even pitched a pup tent, presumably for the kids to sleep in overnight.

Adderley, according to the Nicholson Guide, is a rather under-populated Cheshire village, boasting a Post Office, stores and garage (no fuel), bisected by the now defunct railway and flanked by the large Shavington and Adderley Parks. The unusual church, set by itself, was rebuilt of red sandstone in 1801 in neo-classical style – whatever that means.

In 1958 a large portion of the church was closed to save on maintenance costs. This included the tower, which dates from 1712, the transept and the chancel. The result is a much smaller interior, which is better suited to contemporary need and feels more like a large, formal drawing room. There is also q village club, which welcomes visitors. All of which is all well and good, but it’s rather a long walk away, at least for me it is.

Sorry to say, having just tried, I am unable to access the internet from here. With luck though I should be able to post this from Market Drayton, or wherever we tie up next.

Friday 7th August 2009

How could we have got it so wrong? Mind you we were travelling on a bus at the time and distances and heights are not that easy to estimate, especially through tired old eyes. My first estimate as to the height of that clock tower at Hurleston, was so wide of the mark as to be laughable. Our combined second estimate of 40 or 50 feet, whilst being somewhat nearer the mark, was still way out. The actual height as we read in the national press and saw on the news, was a staggering 70 feet.

Anyway, here we are at Market Drayton, it’s only just past 6 am and that’s only because I couldn’t get comfortable in bed. Indeed, I could, quite easily, have been up at 5 o/clock, but I didn’t want to disturb herself. I won’t go through all that the Nicholson Guide says about the town, because I’ve probably already done so in a previous blog. Suffice it to say that it is blessed with the usual array of shops, including a Morrisons Store, Post Office, garage and banks etcetera.

Just across the canal by bridge 62 is a large pub called The Talbot, which is described as a warm, friendly, cheerful pub serving real ale and bar food. We called in there last year, but can’t remember if that three year old description still fits the place. We may find out later if we feel like paying another visit.

Apparently the town received its charter in the 13th C but was destroyed by fire in 1651, which has left many buildings being built of the same black and white timber frames, the best of which is The Tudor House Hotel.

The town, for what it’s worth, now claims to be the home of Gingerbread, but such claims are somewhat spurious since it is just as famous in other parts of the country, in particular in Grasmere in the Lake District. There was a recent and very tragic suicide in the area, to my mind as a direct result of somebody trying to force another maker of the stuff to stop doing so. The resultant court proceedings saw the accused commit suicide rather than face ruin at the hands of this nasty woman. Had he known that patents and copyrights were totally unknown when gingerbread was first invented, he would have continued and therefore made a laughing stock of the other person. It seems to me that he had pretty lousy legal counsel.

Anyway, unlike our last moorings, we are able to get online, so I’ll attempt to post this blog and wish you all a jolly weekend.

Luv and stuff from Dave, Sheila and Rusty the mighty cur!!