Sunday 26th June.
I have just spent some time posting the latest blog and, not for the first time, I noticed I had some followers. Followers, for you non-boaters are, as the name implies, other like-minded folks, who actually take the time to read blogs posted by other bloggers.
A very nice couple from North Yorkshire, Mike and Maggie, along with their two wire-haired Yorkshire Terriers, own a boat called Rose of Arden and, many moons ago, when I was bemoaning the fact that I hate putting our Rusty in kennels when we go visiting, they left a comment suggesting we might do as they do, which is to have a reciprocal arrangement with other dog owners.
I have to confess that it has taken me many months to get around to responding to that comment, not least of which has been the problem of how to do so. Sadly the people at Google, whose baby Blogger is, are not very forthcoming in this regard. However, I did manage to find a simple suggestion from another Blogger, and that was to log on to the blog of Mike and Maggie and leave a comment of my own. Now, why the heck didn’t I think of that?
As most folks know, our JTR lady, she who seems as forever young as Pluto, but is well into doggy middle years at 13, does not get on too well with others of the canine world. Puppies, older dogs and dogs of her own size, she seems to tolerate better than bigger breeds, such as Alsatians etc.
Obviously I have apologised to Mike and Maggie for the delay in responding and, being boaters themselves and obviously good natured ones at that, I have no doubt they have accepted my apology. But, as I pointed out in my response to their comment, nobody with a dog of their own would want our Rusty on board with it and, if they accepted the idea, certainly wouldn’t want to repeat the experience. I certainly thank them for the suggestion and, should we be fortunate to find somebody willing to do so, we would rather farm her out to a fellow boater than have her return from kennels with that god-awful cough. No, not Kennel-Cough, simply a result of continuous barking on her part.
Anyway, many thanks to Mike and Maggie for following our blog. Now all I have to do is find out how to follow theirs and others, which could take a few months longer. Cheers me dears!!
Monday 27th June and what a day we had yesterday, all hot and sticky, but that didn’t stop us spending a pleasant hour at The Boat pub here at Gnosall. In fact this was probably the best hour of the day, given that the temperature was easily in the 80’s for the rest of it. Had we moored between the next two bridges, I for one would not have suffered so much, because that section of canal is sheltered by houses on one side and trees on the other.
I really don’t like the heat much, not as much as when I was younger and the five years I spent in the RAF, those two years in Malta were sheer magic. Today though, what with me being well and truly overweight, excessive heat and humidity drive me to distraction.
Apart from our hour at the pub, nothing exciting happened, as is normally the case when cruising, very much like you folks who live a ‘normal’ life, time simply drifts along with the same old same old. Not that life is boring on the cut you understand, far from it, what with birdsong to wake us up and some of the scenery, which really is special. Indeed, cruising from one town/village or open space after another, we could be in danger of forgetting just how lucky we are.
Just like you folks at home we moan about the weather, especially when we are caught in a heavy downpour, just as we are mooring up. However, when we sit down to a cuppa on those rare occasions, we realise it could have been much worse, we could have been in open country, with nowhere to moor and been absolutely drenched. Almost five years now we have lived on Shiralee and we can honestly say we wouldn’t have it any other way. Indeed, tomorrow we celebrate our 31st wedding anniversary and will take a pub lunch for the occasion.
Today we will head off to Wheaton Aston, a place where I’m pretty sure we won’t get online. Once again this is a place that is well and truly sheltered by trees and houses, all of which are high up on hillsides. But we have to stop there, because I need to see the local GP for some medication.
Talking of which, I was reading an article in the mail the other day, about tests being carried out on diabetics. This test involved the patients being put on a strict, 600 calorie a day diet for two months which, according to the report, had the effect of removing fatty deposits from the pancreas, allowing it to carry out its normal function of producing Insulin at a normal level. But, don’t try this at home folks! I have kept the article to show my diabetes nurse when we get back to Mercia. And it’s not simply a matter of losing weight, that won’t do it on its own, the diet is designed to remove the fatty deposits, although the loss of weight comes with it and is a bonus side effect.
Tuesday 28th June is a day I would be foolish to forget, not only is it Wifey’s birthday, it is also our 31st wedding anniversary, for which we will celebrate in the time honoured manner, of a pub lunch. But first we must take a walk to the local surgery and ask for a prescription for medication.
The trip from Gnosall to Wheaton Aston yesterday, even though it was very warm, was a most enjoyable one, aided by a light breeze. Now that we are well into our summer I’m always concerned that we’ll experience difficulty in finding new moorings. I needn’t have worried though, there was plenty of space on offer here, nicely set among the trees and well shaded against the sun. That too shouldn’t have been a problem because the weather changed later in the afternoon and down came the rain.
Now, for you budding, or even experienced mathematicians, a problem I have known about since I was at secondary school, a looonng lime ago.
You are a farmer who has a field of exactly 100 yards, - yes, yards, not those pesky metres – in diameter. You have a goat that you intend to tether to the edge of said field and you want it to eat exactly half of the grass in that field.
Question: How long should the tether be in order to accomplish this task?
You can ignore the fact that the goat’s head will be in front of the tether. Do not be fooled by what looks like a simple answer, it’s not!! Good luck!
So, back to today. Our first port of call is the doctor who, for some reason best known to himself only opens between the hours of 9 and 11 am, a fact I hadn’t realised until I consulted our First Mate book yesterday for the telephone number. The chances of an appointment are, I fear, pretty remote, especially as we only have another 24 hours on these moorings. No matter though, I’m not desperate yet and we can always wait until we get to Brewood, which is our next stop along the way.
Now, on the subject of being kind and considerate to fellow boaters, a subject I touched upon in my last blog, when we first took up this lifestyle, we had something of a learning curve regarding such mundane subjects as tying up efficiently, running the engine and speed limits and locks and any number of common sense details. We even took a course on boat handling and another on engine maintenance. The latter can come in useful, but I tend to leave such things as servicing to the professionals.
In the early days we seemed to be beset with high speed morons who would pass us at excessive speed and rock our boat quite considerably. It didn’t take long for us to realise that, if the boat is moored correctly the speed of passing boats will have little effect. We no longer find it necessary to yell at those boaters who choose to ignore the 4 mph limit on canals. In fact there are times, such as in a high cross-wind when, in order to avoid hitting moored boats, it becomes necessary to pass at a higher speed than usual, and most boaters accept this. Well, we do.
Looking up between the trees I can see a clear blue sky and, according to the weather forecast, we can expect another very warm day. No matter, being amongst the trees has its compensations, not least of which is the shade. It also has its hazards, although not serious ones, one of which is falling twigs and small branches, most of which choose to become dislodged during the hours of sleeping. I wonder why! I heard several during the night and, now that it is daylight, nary a one. How strange.
And that is that for today. Cheers me dears.
Ooops! I’ve just taken doggy for a walk and didn’t notice much by way of twigs on the roof. Instead, and all in one place, were loads of bird droppings. Surely this could not be what I heard? Nah! Not unless they were laden with rocks.
Wednesday 29th June.
Yesterday was a really good day, starting with our walk into the village. Our first port of call was the doctor’s surgery, which just happened to be non-existent, well, in its original position that is. From previous experience and knowing our First Mate book to be almost five years old, we assumed it had relocated, and we were right. A visit to the nearby Post Office confirmed our suspicions and it was but a short walk to the new premises.
The opening times of the surgery had also changed, very much in keeping with surgeries around the country with two sessions per day Monday to Friday. The receptionist here was most helpful and we have to call in again later this morning to pick up a prescription.
Our next stop was the Spar shop, and again we found the staff there very pleasant to talk to. The shop itself, although of a mini-market size, stocks just about everything you are likely to need whilst travelling by boat, we probably spent a wee bit more than we normally would have done, but our visit was well worth it.
From where we are moored here at Wheaton Aston, it was easier for us to turn back to the nearest bridge and take the pathway between houses and through the housing estate. However, once our shopping was complete, we took the road that leads to the pub, The Hartley Arms, and then across the bridge and onto the towpath and back to the boat, approaching it from the opposite direction from which we left it. Does that make sense?
Anyway, I tell you this so as not to confuse you with which shop we used. You see, if you are moored nearer to the pub and go into the village in the direction from which we returned, you will find another mini-market that is much closer to the canal.
Around 12.30 we ventured out for our celebratory meal at The Hartley Arms which, I have to say, was a very pleasant surprise. Whilst the place wasn’t exactly jumping when we arrived, it soon began to fill up, which came as something of a shock to us, it being a Tuesday, which is a day not best known for busy pubs. Mind you, they do have a Pensioners Menu that offers two meals for just £6.00 and, judging by the ages of the vast majority of customers, I would say it is a well frequented establishment. Whilst the list of meals on said menus was pretty attractive and of a fair variety, we preferred the main menu, but still we only spent £25 in total, including drinks and a sweet for Wifey. To all travellers through Wheaton Aston, we highly recommend this pub.
Today, after collecting my prescription, we’ll be heading off through Brewood and on to some 48 hour moorings where, we hope, Dave and Jackie will still be moored. Their plan was to stop overnight at Brewood and then move on to said moorings.
Now, not knowing how and when we’ll next access the Internet, I’m going to post this blog right now.
Cheers me dears.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #12
Monday 20th June.
It must either be pretty cool outside on this Monday morning, or rather warm inside the boat, because our windows are all steamed up. It is after all, supposed to be summer and Wimbledon starts today, so where’s the warm weather and sunshine then? Still at least it isn’t raining and we don’t have a gale force wind for the next stage of our cruise.
Yesterday we paid a visit to The Talbot, a pub we last used in 2008 and it seems to have undergone some changes. The first thing I noticed, as would anybody waiting at the bar to be served, was the gay calendar hanging on the wall. The obvious second thing was the all male staff, not a female in sight. But the third thing was the cleanliness of the place and the light, but pleasant aroma of polish. The bar furniture positively sparkled.
We were the first customers through the door as the place opened, in fact we were a little early and had to wait outside for a few minutes. But, over a period of about an hour, people drifted in and ordered food, all of which came out freshly cooked and steaming. The last place we experienced such fresh food was on the Montgomery at The Queen’s Head, so The Talbot is a very popular eating place. They even offer a free buffet to their customers on a Sunday evening, and that’s something I’ve never seen.
Today we have to move on and will be heading for some bridge or other. It’s far too early for me to be conjuring names out of my head, so you’ll have to wait for that information. I do know it’s only about three miles away and that, before we go Sheila is taking a walk into town for a few items we forgot on Saturday.
I’ve just been going back over previous postings and statistics for same. On 14th June I had 37 page views, compared to single figures on a normal day. Having read the offending blog I am no wiser as to why this should be, especially after I spotted a couple of typos. Stats read like a horizontal spikey line and, for this particular day, the spike had shot up. Still, it’s nice to know that people, other than those who receive the blog by email, are actually reading my entries. It gives a warm glow all over. Aaah!
Back to today. The sun is shining and all’s well with the world – at the moment and that place we’re heading for is Goldstone Bridge. Yes indeed folks, I looked it up in the Nicholson Guide just a minute ago, and it’s still not yet 7 am. Wow! Beat that for keen. Actually Goldstone Bridge is just a short walk to the village/hamlet of Cheswardine but, since there is no mention of shops or pubs in said guide, we won’t pay it a visit. If the weather remains good, work on the boat is a possibility.
Tuesday 21st June.
Left Market Drayton at about 9.15 yesterday after topping up with water and such and after Wifey took another walk into town for bits we forgot yesterday. The day started off really great, all sunny and bright and continued as such all the way to Goldstone Bridge. This looked like the golden opportunity to get stuck in to some much needed repair work on Shiralee. Alas, it is now Wimbledon Fortnight and, with the new roof on Centre Court, we’ll always have something to watch. So I’m very much afraid work on the boat is now on the back burner.
The cruise to these moorings took us up the five Tyrley Locks and also through a narrow stretch of canal called Woodeseaves Cutting. While this cutting is very deep with steep, wooded sides, and although two boats are able to pass in relative comfort, it does have a few places where this is all but impossible. But, with a little care and by maintaining the 2 mph limit, it is not difficult to navigate. There is also clear evidence of falling rocks and trees along the way but, as usual, we came through it unscathed.
We arrived here at about 11.45 and settled down to a cuppa and a read of the paper before attacking those scratches in the paintwork. Wouldn’t you know it, no sooner had we done so than the clouds started building up and, before very long they opened up. The outside courts at Wimbledon were quickly awash and the roof had to be closed over Centre Court. This, along with waiting for the air conditioning to bring the atmosphere up to an acceptable level, takes about 40 minutes.
The rain put paid to Dokic’s efforts to beat the Italian player, whose name I have quite forgotten, but which ended with ‘ione’. I put this down the Italian player being much stronger in her mindset. Besides which Dokic has, apparently, quite a few family and lifestyle problems, which must have given her food for thought during the interim.
Naturally our own Mr. Murray started off looking as though his opponent was going to wipe the floor with him, but he came good in the end. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of his Spanish opponent though, even though he proved to be outclassed.
Enough of tennis. Unfortunately, as with the last time we visited this place, we can’t access the Internet and our mobiles have no signal, so I was unable to advise of our journey here. Goldstone bridge is one of those frequent dead-spots along the Shroppie and, short of taking the mobile to the eponymous bridge in the pouring rain, there’s not much I can do about it.
At 5.30 am the sky is still heavy with scattered rain clouds, but I’m hopeful we will be able to make it to Norbury Junction, about 2 1/5 miles away. First though I must check the weed hatch and see if I can apply a bit of grease to the throttle linkages, which seem to be a wee bit stiff in places. Our engineer back at Mercia tightened these up before we left, but he did suggest that the gearbox is on its way out. Hopefully this won’t happen whilst we’re still out cruising but, if it does, perhaps it will be kind enough to do so just as we’re about to moor up. That way I can call in River, Canal Rescue and it won’t cost us £800 to replace.
Wednesday 22nd June.
Yesterday morning after breakfast and after checking the sky above for signs of rain, we decided to chance our collective arms and head towards Norbury Junction. We weren’t intending to go all the way and finally ended up at Shebdon Wharf, which is about four miles away and three miles short of Norbury.
My earlier attack on the gearbox cable and linkages with WD40 has worked the Oracle, the movement of the throttle arm being much smoother now. A generous pat on the back for yours truly.
Two miles from Goldstone Bridge is the start of another cutting called the Shebdon Embankment, part way along which is the old Cadbury’s Wharf and the old chocolate factory, where goods used to be carried to and from Bourneville, on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal by narrowboat.
At the end of this embankment is Shebdon Wharf, a short aqueduct and a pub called the Wharf Inn. Nicholson’s Guide tells us that travellers are amazed that this and the other pub along this stretch, the Anchor Inn, actually manage to survive, being on quiet roads and miles from regular habitation. Where the Wharf Inn is concerned, it seems they only open in the evenings, do not open Sunday evening and don’t open at all on Mondays. I’m surprised the still exist at all with those opening hours!
Norbury Junction is just three miles away and, assuming the rain holds off for long enough, that’s where we’ll be later today. At the ungodly hour of 5.30 am I can see heavy and thunderous looking clouds overhead, with a light breeze stirring the trees. After about an hour of quite heavy rain between 4 and 5 am, I don’t think it’s quite finished with us yet.
I’m pleased to say we have no problems with mobile or Internet here, but I have been bitten by some nasty little beast, both on my back and on my arm. The worst thing about these bites is that they itch so much, especially during the night. Have you ever tried applying anti-itch cream to your back? Impossible, and I hate to wake Sheila up, so just have to grin and bear it. More like a grimace really, but you get my drift. And anyway, how the hell did said beast get inside my shirt? Three bites I have there and the itch is showing no signs of abating, despite liberal amounts of cream being applied, but only when my wife is awake!!
Thursday 23rd June.
We arrived at Norbury Junction at about 10.15 yesterday and moored up just before Norbury Bridge, #38. Normally we would stop off further up the canal but, as with most places where there is a choice of moorings, it’s impossible to know how much space is available until you reach it, thus making it a much safer option to pull in where spaces are available and move along later if necessary.
The moorings both sides of the bridge are normally well attended, but we found several places on our side and, looking up the canal later found only about four boats moored. However, stopping where we are has worked in our favour because we want to stay here for three days in total. So, tomorrow we’ll spend where we are and will move along on Friday morning. But first we’ll top up with diesel; something we like to do when my pension goes into our account; then top up with water and move along to moorings further up for the rest of that day. Simple!!
Since leaving Mercia Marina almost three months ago, I have been keeping an eye on our access to the Internet and, much to my surprise I have been able to get online a good 90% of the time so far. Unfortunately the Shroppie has many quite remote areas that it passes through and, from the experience of about two years ago I’ve been expecting some black spots. Back at Goldstone Bridge was one such place, and here at Norbury Junction is another. No service whatsoever. Sometimes it is possible if I run the lead from the dongle up to the roof of the boat, and this is something I will try later on.
On our first trip out from our moorings at Sawbridgeworth back in 2007 we pulled in to what would later be our winter moorings at Bulbourne on the Grand Union Canal. Being somewhat ignorant of the rules and regulations that one accepts when purchasing a licence from BW, I allowed the engine to run well past the latest time of 8pm when charging the batteries. In fact it was closer to 9 o/clock when there came a bang on the door and I was told, by a local resident BW official, to turn the engine off. After a wee bit of an argument, during which he suggested I might look up the relevant section, he told me that the running of engines for battery charging purposes was only allowed between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm.
You can imagine our surprise then when, at precisely 7 pm yesterday, just as we were enjoying some tennis, someone from the boat that had pulled in behind us knocked on the side of the boat and, when I asked what he wanted, asked me how much longer I intended running the engine for.
Now, since it had already been running for 1½ hours and we’d enjoyed several hours of sunshine on our solar panel, I had been considering shutting the engine off anyway. But, because of his bossy boots attitude, and his insistence that 7 o/clock was the latest time for running engines, I instead reminded him of the rules and left the engine running for the full two hours. Don’t you just love it when somebody leaves themselves wide open to being slapped down?? What goes around, come around, etc. etc.
It is now 05.45 and I can now see the first spots of rain and, since I am unable to get online, I am also unable to post this offering. Hopefully, when we move along the canal on Friday, I shall be able to do so. Until then I shall just have to wait a while before I check my emails and such.
Later…….
After a trip to the shop cum chandlery at about 10 am, we returned to the boat for our mid-morning coffee. Shortly thereafter our new found ‘friends’ from yesterday evening pulled out and passed us but, as expected, the look on that gentleman’s face was less than friendly. I do hope they enjoy the rest of their trip. No doubt he’ll try his bossy attitude on some other, unsuspecting holiday boater.
Since then I have taken our dongle up to the roof, but we are still unable to get online. Obviously the wilds of Staffordshire are not conducive to good communication and, with the mobile signal also a bit weak, it’s pretty obvious that folks hereabouts still rely on bush telegraph. Hopefully, when we move along tomorrow the signals will be somewhat improved although, as I recall from last time we moored there, the signal was pretty weak on both counts.
If no joy tomorrow I am hopeful that contact with the outside world will be re-established from Gnosall. If not then, after a long weekend my Inbox will probably be full and I’ll have to wait until we reach Wheaton Aston, which is another five miles away.
Sunday 26th June and we are now at Gnosall and moored up just before the water point, between two bridges. The bridge behind us leads to a disused railway line that has been tarmacced over and turned into a track for walkers and cyclists.
We left Norbury Junction at about 8.30 am yesterday and arrived about 9.30. In actual fact we are not at Gnosall but Gnosall Heath, the main town/village is about a one mile walk further down the road. However, the heath has enough small shops for us to purchase all we need without going the extra mile, with two convenience stores and a butcher’s to mention but two. They even have a Police Office set in amongst the shops.
The further of the two convenience stores also sells fresh bread and pies, so we stopped there first. On the way back we spent a few quid in the butcher’s and were rewarded with a free Pork and Stilton pie, which we’ll probably enjoy with some salad later today.
When we stopped off here yesterday morning, the last thing we expected when we returned from our shopping trip was to find Dave and Jackie moored up behind us when we returned. You may remember me mentioning them while we were on the Llangollen and heading for the Montgomery. At that time they were on their way to Llangollen and it really shouldn’t have come as a surprise to see them here, because they would normally spend more hours cruising than we do on any given day. So far we have only averaged about 2 miles per day, whilst they have to get back to their moorings some time in July, because they are off to France for a couple of weeks.
Anyway, it was a pleasure to see them again and, assuming our timing is the same as theirs, we might even join them at lunchtime at The Boat for a drink today. Last time we used The Navigation Inn, so it will be the other one today.
Now, this is a rather long log, simply because I have been unable to get online for the past few days. But, before I post this one, I want to have a wee moan about diesel prices on the cut. When we called into the shop at Norbury we noticed that their price for a litre of same is just 74.9 pence, the cheapest we have seen along the cut and even long before we left Mercia Marina.
So, how does he keep the price so low? Well, I had a chat with the owner of the place and he explained it thus. At Wheaton Aston, which will be our next port of call, there is a canal-side garage that charges the same price and he doesn’t want to go any higher than him in price.
However, there’s an even more shocking reason for such a low price. Even though he still makes a profit at 74.9 ppl, he reckons all the other places along the cut are making at least 30ppl profit. At about 92ppl, which is about average we’ve seen so far, while our friend at Norbury is making about 12ppl, the others are sticking another 18ppl on top.
With the maintenance of equipment and staff salaries, I can accept 12 pence per litre profit – just – but 30 pence profit seems to me to be stitching us boaters up. Some places, especially along the Llangollen, are charging up to £1.10ppl. Now that is extortionate so, any boaters reading this, make sure you are fully topped up before yo enter the Llangollen and, if at all possible, arrive at Norbury running on fumes.
Incidentally you non-boaters, although the price of fuel seems cheap compared to road vehicles, this is because we run on red diesel, which has far more impurities in it and was really designed for tractors. We do however have to pay the full price for propulsion purposes. In other words, when we are cruising and we stop to top up, we must declare how much we use for cruising and how much we use for domestic purposes, such as charging the batteries and heating or cooking.
And that, as they say, is that. Time to post I think.
Cheers and best wishes to all.
From Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
It must either be pretty cool outside on this Monday morning, or rather warm inside the boat, because our windows are all steamed up. It is after all, supposed to be summer and Wimbledon starts today, so where’s the warm weather and sunshine then? Still at least it isn’t raining and we don’t have a gale force wind for the next stage of our cruise.
Yesterday we paid a visit to The Talbot, a pub we last used in 2008 and it seems to have undergone some changes. The first thing I noticed, as would anybody waiting at the bar to be served, was the gay calendar hanging on the wall. The obvious second thing was the all male staff, not a female in sight. But the third thing was the cleanliness of the place and the light, but pleasant aroma of polish. The bar furniture positively sparkled.
We were the first customers through the door as the place opened, in fact we were a little early and had to wait outside for a few minutes. But, over a period of about an hour, people drifted in and ordered food, all of which came out freshly cooked and steaming. The last place we experienced such fresh food was on the Montgomery at The Queen’s Head, so The Talbot is a very popular eating place. They even offer a free buffet to their customers on a Sunday evening, and that’s something I’ve never seen.
Today we have to move on and will be heading for some bridge or other. It’s far too early for me to be conjuring names out of my head, so you’ll have to wait for that information. I do know it’s only about three miles away and that, before we go Sheila is taking a walk into town for a few items we forgot on Saturday.
I’ve just been going back over previous postings and statistics for same. On 14th June I had 37 page views, compared to single figures on a normal day. Having read the offending blog I am no wiser as to why this should be, especially after I spotted a couple of typos. Stats read like a horizontal spikey line and, for this particular day, the spike had shot up. Still, it’s nice to know that people, other than those who receive the blog by email, are actually reading my entries. It gives a warm glow all over. Aaah!
Back to today. The sun is shining and all’s well with the world – at the moment and that place we’re heading for is Goldstone Bridge. Yes indeed folks, I looked it up in the Nicholson Guide just a minute ago, and it’s still not yet 7 am. Wow! Beat that for keen. Actually Goldstone Bridge is just a short walk to the village/hamlet of Cheswardine but, since there is no mention of shops or pubs in said guide, we won’t pay it a visit. If the weather remains good, work on the boat is a possibility.
Tuesday 21st June.
Left Market Drayton at about 9.15 yesterday after topping up with water and such and after Wifey took another walk into town for bits we forgot yesterday. The day started off really great, all sunny and bright and continued as such all the way to Goldstone Bridge. This looked like the golden opportunity to get stuck in to some much needed repair work on Shiralee. Alas, it is now Wimbledon Fortnight and, with the new roof on Centre Court, we’ll always have something to watch. So I’m very much afraid work on the boat is now on the back burner.
The cruise to these moorings took us up the five Tyrley Locks and also through a narrow stretch of canal called Woodeseaves Cutting. While this cutting is very deep with steep, wooded sides, and although two boats are able to pass in relative comfort, it does have a few places where this is all but impossible. But, with a little care and by maintaining the 2 mph limit, it is not difficult to navigate. There is also clear evidence of falling rocks and trees along the way but, as usual, we came through it unscathed.
We arrived here at about 11.45 and settled down to a cuppa and a read of the paper before attacking those scratches in the paintwork. Wouldn’t you know it, no sooner had we done so than the clouds started building up and, before very long they opened up. The outside courts at Wimbledon were quickly awash and the roof had to be closed over Centre Court. This, along with waiting for the air conditioning to bring the atmosphere up to an acceptable level, takes about 40 minutes.
The rain put paid to Dokic’s efforts to beat the Italian player, whose name I have quite forgotten, but which ended with ‘ione’. I put this down the Italian player being much stronger in her mindset. Besides which Dokic has, apparently, quite a few family and lifestyle problems, which must have given her food for thought during the interim.
Naturally our own Mr. Murray started off looking as though his opponent was going to wipe the floor with him, but he came good in the end. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of his Spanish opponent though, even though he proved to be outclassed.
Enough of tennis. Unfortunately, as with the last time we visited this place, we can’t access the Internet and our mobiles have no signal, so I was unable to advise of our journey here. Goldstone bridge is one of those frequent dead-spots along the Shroppie and, short of taking the mobile to the eponymous bridge in the pouring rain, there’s not much I can do about it.
At 5.30 am the sky is still heavy with scattered rain clouds, but I’m hopeful we will be able to make it to Norbury Junction, about 2 1/5 miles away. First though I must check the weed hatch and see if I can apply a bit of grease to the throttle linkages, which seem to be a wee bit stiff in places. Our engineer back at Mercia tightened these up before we left, but he did suggest that the gearbox is on its way out. Hopefully this won’t happen whilst we’re still out cruising but, if it does, perhaps it will be kind enough to do so just as we’re about to moor up. That way I can call in River, Canal Rescue and it won’t cost us £800 to replace.
Wednesday 22nd June.
Yesterday morning after breakfast and after checking the sky above for signs of rain, we decided to chance our collective arms and head towards Norbury Junction. We weren’t intending to go all the way and finally ended up at Shebdon Wharf, which is about four miles away and three miles short of Norbury.
My earlier attack on the gearbox cable and linkages with WD40 has worked the Oracle, the movement of the throttle arm being much smoother now. A generous pat on the back for yours truly.
Two miles from Goldstone Bridge is the start of another cutting called the Shebdon Embankment, part way along which is the old Cadbury’s Wharf and the old chocolate factory, where goods used to be carried to and from Bourneville, on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal by narrowboat.
At the end of this embankment is Shebdon Wharf, a short aqueduct and a pub called the Wharf Inn. Nicholson’s Guide tells us that travellers are amazed that this and the other pub along this stretch, the Anchor Inn, actually manage to survive, being on quiet roads and miles from regular habitation. Where the Wharf Inn is concerned, it seems they only open in the evenings, do not open Sunday evening and don’t open at all on Mondays. I’m surprised the still exist at all with those opening hours!
Norbury Junction is just three miles away and, assuming the rain holds off for long enough, that’s where we’ll be later today. At the ungodly hour of 5.30 am I can see heavy and thunderous looking clouds overhead, with a light breeze stirring the trees. After about an hour of quite heavy rain between 4 and 5 am, I don’t think it’s quite finished with us yet.
I’m pleased to say we have no problems with mobile or Internet here, but I have been bitten by some nasty little beast, both on my back and on my arm. The worst thing about these bites is that they itch so much, especially during the night. Have you ever tried applying anti-itch cream to your back? Impossible, and I hate to wake Sheila up, so just have to grin and bear it. More like a grimace really, but you get my drift. And anyway, how the hell did said beast get inside my shirt? Three bites I have there and the itch is showing no signs of abating, despite liberal amounts of cream being applied, but only when my wife is awake!!
Thursday 23rd June.
We arrived at Norbury Junction at about 10.15 yesterday and moored up just before Norbury Bridge, #38. Normally we would stop off further up the canal but, as with most places where there is a choice of moorings, it’s impossible to know how much space is available until you reach it, thus making it a much safer option to pull in where spaces are available and move along later if necessary.
The moorings both sides of the bridge are normally well attended, but we found several places on our side and, looking up the canal later found only about four boats moored. However, stopping where we are has worked in our favour because we want to stay here for three days in total. So, tomorrow we’ll spend where we are and will move along on Friday morning. But first we’ll top up with diesel; something we like to do when my pension goes into our account; then top up with water and move along to moorings further up for the rest of that day. Simple!!
Since leaving Mercia Marina almost three months ago, I have been keeping an eye on our access to the Internet and, much to my surprise I have been able to get online a good 90% of the time so far. Unfortunately the Shroppie has many quite remote areas that it passes through and, from the experience of about two years ago I’ve been expecting some black spots. Back at Goldstone Bridge was one such place, and here at Norbury Junction is another. No service whatsoever. Sometimes it is possible if I run the lead from the dongle up to the roof of the boat, and this is something I will try later on.
On our first trip out from our moorings at Sawbridgeworth back in 2007 we pulled in to what would later be our winter moorings at Bulbourne on the Grand Union Canal. Being somewhat ignorant of the rules and regulations that one accepts when purchasing a licence from BW, I allowed the engine to run well past the latest time of 8pm when charging the batteries. In fact it was closer to 9 o/clock when there came a bang on the door and I was told, by a local resident BW official, to turn the engine off. After a wee bit of an argument, during which he suggested I might look up the relevant section, he told me that the running of engines for battery charging purposes was only allowed between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm.
You can imagine our surprise then when, at precisely 7 pm yesterday, just as we were enjoying some tennis, someone from the boat that had pulled in behind us knocked on the side of the boat and, when I asked what he wanted, asked me how much longer I intended running the engine for.
Now, since it had already been running for 1½ hours and we’d enjoyed several hours of sunshine on our solar panel, I had been considering shutting the engine off anyway. But, because of his bossy boots attitude, and his insistence that 7 o/clock was the latest time for running engines, I instead reminded him of the rules and left the engine running for the full two hours. Don’t you just love it when somebody leaves themselves wide open to being slapped down?? What goes around, come around, etc. etc.
It is now 05.45 and I can now see the first spots of rain and, since I am unable to get online, I am also unable to post this offering. Hopefully, when we move along the canal on Friday, I shall be able to do so. Until then I shall just have to wait a while before I check my emails and such.
Later…….
After a trip to the shop cum chandlery at about 10 am, we returned to the boat for our mid-morning coffee. Shortly thereafter our new found ‘friends’ from yesterday evening pulled out and passed us but, as expected, the look on that gentleman’s face was less than friendly. I do hope they enjoy the rest of their trip. No doubt he’ll try his bossy attitude on some other, unsuspecting holiday boater.
Since then I have taken our dongle up to the roof, but we are still unable to get online. Obviously the wilds of Staffordshire are not conducive to good communication and, with the mobile signal also a bit weak, it’s pretty obvious that folks hereabouts still rely on bush telegraph. Hopefully, when we move along tomorrow the signals will be somewhat improved although, as I recall from last time we moored there, the signal was pretty weak on both counts.
If no joy tomorrow I am hopeful that contact with the outside world will be re-established from Gnosall. If not then, after a long weekend my Inbox will probably be full and I’ll have to wait until we reach Wheaton Aston, which is another five miles away.
Sunday 26th June and we are now at Gnosall and moored up just before the water point, between two bridges. The bridge behind us leads to a disused railway line that has been tarmacced over and turned into a track for walkers and cyclists.
We left Norbury Junction at about 8.30 am yesterday and arrived about 9.30. In actual fact we are not at Gnosall but Gnosall Heath, the main town/village is about a one mile walk further down the road. However, the heath has enough small shops for us to purchase all we need without going the extra mile, with two convenience stores and a butcher’s to mention but two. They even have a Police Office set in amongst the shops.
The further of the two convenience stores also sells fresh bread and pies, so we stopped there first. On the way back we spent a few quid in the butcher’s and were rewarded with a free Pork and Stilton pie, which we’ll probably enjoy with some salad later today.
When we stopped off here yesterday morning, the last thing we expected when we returned from our shopping trip was to find Dave and Jackie moored up behind us when we returned. You may remember me mentioning them while we were on the Llangollen and heading for the Montgomery. At that time they were on their way to Llangollen and it really shouldn’t have come as a surprise to see them here, because they would normally spend more hours cruising than we do on any given day. So far we have only averaged about 2 miles per day, whilst they have to get back to their moorings some time in July, because they are off to France for a couple of weeks.
Anyway, it was a pleasure to see them again and, assuming our timing is the same as theirs, we might even join them at lunchtime at The Boat for a drink today. Last time we used The Navigation Inn, so it will be the other one today.
Now, this is a rather long log, simply because I have been unable to get online for the past few days. But, before I post this one, I want to have a wee moan about diesel prices on the cut. When we called into the shop at Norbury we noticed that their price for a litre of same is just 74.9 pence, the cheapest we have seen along the cut and even long before we left Mercia Marina.
So, how does he keep the price so low? Well, I had a chat with the owner of the place and he explained it thus. At Wheaton Aston, which will be our next port of call, there is a canal-side garage that charges the same price and he doesn’t want to go any higher than him in price.
However, there’s an even more shocking reason for such a low price. Even though he still makes a profit at 74.9 ppl, he reckons all the other places along the cut are making at least 30ppl profit. At about 92ppl, which is about average we’ve seen so far, while our friend at Norbury is making about 12ppl, the others are sticking another 18ppl on top.
With the maintenance of equipment and staff salaries, I can accept 12 pence per litre profit – just – but 30 pence profit seems to me to be stitching us boaters up. Some places, especially along the Llangollen, are charging up to £1.10ppl. Now that is extortionate so, any boaters reading this, make sure you are fully topped up before yo enter the Llangollen and, if at all possible, arrive at Norbury running on fumes.
Incidentally you non-boaters, although the price of fuel seems cheap compared to road vehicles, this is because we run on red diesel, which has far more impurities in it and was really designed for tractors. We do however have to pay the full price for propulsion purposes. In other words, when we are cruising and we stop to top up, we must declare how much we use for cruising and how much we use for domestic purposes, such as charging the batteries and heating or cooking.
And that, as they say, is that. Time to post I think.
Cheers and best wishes to all.
From Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #11
Thursday 16th June.
Yesterday was not a bad day at all, having left the marina at about 9.30 we moored at the bottom of the Audlem flight of 15 locks at about 10 am, having already decided to stay there for the night.
The Shropshire Union Canal is well known for mooring difficulties. For some reason best known to themselves, the builders of this canal left a rocky ledge jutting out below the water line. This means that, when mooring up anywhere other than designated mooring sections, which have rings set into the ground, the boat sticks out several inches from the towpath.
In itself this does not pose a problem. What does become annoying is that fenders are useless here, unless they are long enough to push down to below the ledge, thus cushioning the effects of passing boats. It also means that, for every passing boat, more paint is scratched off the boat below the water line, not to mention the banging and bumping that the boat is subjected to throughout the day. A real pain in the butt.
When we were at Pillings Lock we were given a couple of old Go-Kart tyres, which we have rigged up for just this purpose. Useless! The ideal solution would have been to have the wheels in the tyres. That way we could lay them flat on the water, which would push the boat away from the bank. But we would then have to walk the plank every time we wanted to leave the boat. Anyway, we finally managed to minimise the problem with fenders and tyres, so that it was just bearable.
For lunch we decided to try the Shroppie Fly, a canal-side pub just past the third lock up. There are three pubs in the small town of Audlem in Cheshire that we know of, the one mentioned, The Boat which is just a few yards further on and sitting beside the High Street and the Lord Combermere, which lies in the middle of town. This is the one we used last time we passed through here.
The ’Fly’ is usually fairly busy and seems to attract far more customers than the others, though I’m not sure why that should be. It’s probably because of the history of the pub, which is something I’ll look into and report on soon. Anyway, noticing that The Boat was somewhat less than a hive of activity, and much preferring a pub with some hustle and bustle, we opted for the ‘Fly’ and were very glad we did.
The meals served here are of excellent quality, hot and freshly cooked. Although, £3.25 for a pint of Guinness was rather expensive, the food more than made up for it.
I almost forget to mention the stunning view from our moorings, absolutely amazing. Going downhill from the towpath the nearby field runs down to a huge lake, which has a tree packed island in the middle. You could liken the area around the lake to that of a crater, because the fields around it slope away upwards on all sides. To the left and beyond the lake is another stand of trees, with more trees and bushes on the horizon-line. To set it all off there are also sheep, with accompanying lambs, along with quite a few geese. All in all the finest example of an English rural setting you would be hard pressed to beat.
The Shroppie Fly.
The Shroppie Fly is situated on the banks of the Shropshire Union Canal in the pituresque village of Audlem, South Cheshire.
The building has a history that goes back to the construction of the Shropshire Union Canal itself. It was originally constructed as a canal warehouse and performed that function until its closure in 1970.
Not long after this, the building was purchased privately and underwent an extensive conversion exercise. By 1974 the old warehouse had been transformed into a pub and the ‘Shroppie Fly’ was born.
The name originates from a type of canal boat. ‘Fly’ boats were the express craft of the waterways, running around the clock delivering the most important as well as perishable goods. The ‘Shroppie Fly’ boat represented the finest example of wooden narrow boat construction with ‘Shroppie Fly’ boatmen being the elite in their field.
The current owners are Kate and Andy Griffiths. Since taking over the Shroppie in February 2004, they have been investing a lot of time, money and effort into making improvements both front of house and behind the scenes. Hopefully, this ongoing effort has benefits for both staff and customers alike.
Kate is an Audlem girl born and bred. She is more than qualified for this role having enjoyed pub work since the age of eleven, covering all aspects of the job from pot washing to restaurant management. Her job – to keep an eye on the Landlord!
Andy originates from the village of Hodnet. He has lived mostly around the Nantwich & Crewe area and moved to Audlem in 2001. Having spent 30 years in the IT business, he thought it was time for a change! His job – to keep an eye on the beer!
The centre piece of the pub is the bar which is incorporated in an original ‘Shroppie Fly’ boat salvaged from the Shropshire Union canal near Birmingham
End of short history of The Shroppie Fly.
It is now almost 06.30 and, as expected, the rain has started to fall, so unless it stops, we’ll be staying here another night at least. Still, it’s early yet and could clear up later, in which case we’ll make some headway up the locks. The fact that most of the 15 locks are pretty close together, with no room for mooring in between, makes it advisable to climb them in fine weather, because it ain’t much fun operating locks in the poring rain, so we don’t. Holiday boaters don’t have much choice, but we’re retired, with stacks of time on our hands, and can please ourselves. So there!!
Friday 17th June and we will be off to Adderley this morning and we’ll make an early start. Late yesterday afternoon we had the pleasure of seeing one of the Museum Boats moor up in front of us. This consists of two boats, the second being a ‘butty’, which is towed by the first.
Since we are only on 24 hour moorings, having moved up the canal yesterday morning, stopping only because we were following two other boats up the locks – a most tiresome business – we must move on today and, not wishing to be stuck behind the Museum Boat, I asked what time they planned on leaving this morning. We’ll be leaving about 07.30, since they won’t go until after 08.00.
Friday (Cont.)
Left the Shroppie Fly moorings at 0700 to ensure we didn’t have to follow the museum boats. We had 12 locks to go through and just 2 ½ miles to Adderley where we intended to stop for the rest of the day and night.
Just as we were getting ready to go, another boat across the canal from us was also preparing to do so. Not wishing to be stuck behind them either, we hurried along and beat them to the first lock. We needn’t have worried though, because there were five of them on board and did their best to help us along, which is why it only took 2 ½ hours to complete the trip. Imagine that, moored up for the day by 09.30.
We could have continued on through the next five locks but, with the wind increasing in strength, we decided to call it a day. Besides which we want to be at Market Drayton for the weekend and moor up near a pub called The Talbot, which must be quite good as we have used it twice in the past.
Saturday 18th June and, despite what the weather people told us last night, the day has dawned bright and calm, no rain as yet. Of course, it’s early yet and there is still plenty of time for this situation to change for the worst.
We’re off to Market Drayton this morning, where we will have something of a trudge into town for shopping. Fortunately they have a Morrison’s there, something of a blessing these days. Hopefully the Internet will be easier to access from there; this place has it either perfect or no service at all, so we must be on the fringes of the nearest mast. While it is great being moored in the sticks, where the views can be quite stunning and the days are peaceful, it does have its disadvantages.
I will report again from Market Drayton.
Later…….
Arrived at Market Drayton about 10 am and moored up just before bridge 63. We then took walk into town; after the obligatory cuppa; and walked into a monsoon. Honest Injun, would I kid you? Initially I intended wearing just my short denim jacket but, with a slight drizzle in the air, opted for my, so called, waterproof. By the time we reached the shops – and we were a long way yet from Morrison’s – the heavens had opened up and, despite the umbrella, we were both looking pretty much like drowned rats. The fact that the general populace of Market Drayton looked much the same, really didn’t make us feel any better.
From information gleaned from the ‘You Are Here’ sign by the side of the canal, the town was granted Market status by King Billy III about 750 years ago and there still exists a market to this day.
From the high street shops is still quite a walk to Morrison’s and, by the time we reached there, after waiting for the torrents of stair-rods to slow down, we might just as well have left the jackets behind and swam.
This is one of those days where we wished we had left the shopping until tomorrow and, wouldn’t you know it, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining just as we got back to the boat.
On to another subject, this time to do with a wee problem I have with the laptop.
I recently purchased some stuff online which contained links to a site that had informational videos on it. Now, having to watch videos online can be something of a trial when travelling and using a dongle, simply because, if the signal is weak the videos tend to break up. However, although the videos are as clear as a bell and I have a strong signal, the sound is very low and I can’t figure out why.
I’ve carried out a full diagnostic check, using the tools that came with the computer, and all seems to be well. I have also followed links from emails that have come to me from various friends and family, and they are all perfectly fine.
Having carried out all the checks I could, I then referred the problem to the person I purchased the info from, who tells me he has had no problems of this nature from other customers, so the problem must be with my signal.
Now, to give the man his due, when I first approached him to buy the info I did tell him that problems can arise when using a dongle to watch online videos and he assured me that, should I have any problems of any kind whatsoever, he would put the videos onto a DVD, which he is now in the process of doing. So, I really can’t fault his after sales service.
But, this doesn’t solve this particular problem. Any ideas you technophobes? I’m stumped, but I do believe the problem lies with the site at which the videos are stored, rather than my laptop.
Prior to bringing this blog up to date, and well after our soaking and a snack at lunchtime, we took another walk, this time to a local pub called The Talbot, one that we have used twice before on our visits to Market Drayton. Having reminded ourselves as to the look of the place, we now feel it is safe to stay for the weekend and enjoy a drink there tomorrow.
With that pleasant thought in mind and, since I do have a strong connection here, I will now endeavour to post this blog.
Cheers for now.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Yesterday was not a bad day at all, having left the marina at about 9.30 we moored at the bottom of the Audlem flight of 15 locks at about 10 am, having already decided to stay there for the night.
The Shropshire Union Canal is well known for mooring difficulties. For some reason best known to themselves, the builders of this canal left a rocky ledge jutting out below the water line. This means that, when mooring up anywhere other than designated mooring sections, which have rings set into the ground, the boat sticks out several inches from the towpath.
In itself this does not pose a problem. What does become annoying is that fenders are useless here, unless they are long enough to push down to below the ledge, thus cushioning the effects of passing boats. It also means that, for every passing boat, more paint is scratched off the boat below the water line, not to mention the banging and bumping that the boat is subjected to throughout the day. A real pain in the butt.
When we were at Pillings Lock we were given a couple of old Go-Kart tyres, which we have rigged up for just this purpose. Useless! The ideal solution would have been to have the wheels in the tyres. That way we could lay them flat on the water, which would push the boat away from the bank. But we would then have to walk the plank every time we wanted to leave the boat. Anyway, we finally managed to minimise the problem with fenders and tyres, so that it was just bearable.
For lunch we decided to try the Shroppie Fly, a canal-side pub just past the third lock up. There are three pubs in the small town of Audlem in Cheshire that we know of, the one mentioned, The Boat which is just a few yards further on and sitting beside the High Street and the Lord Combermere, which lies in the middle of town. This is the one we used last time we passed through here.
The ’Fly’ is usually fairly busy and seems to attract far more customers than the others, though I’m not sure why that should be. It’s probably because of the history of the pub, which is something I’ll look into and report on soon. Anyway, noticing that The Boat was somewhat less than a hive of activity, and much preferring a pub with some hustle and bustle, we opted for the ‘Fly’ and were very glad we did.
The meals served here are of excellent quality, hot and freshly cooked. Although, £3.25 for a pint of Guinness was rather expensive, the food more than made up for it.
I almost forget to mention the stunning view from our moorings, absolutely amazing. Going downhill from the towpath the nearby field runs down to a huge lake, which has a tree packed island in the middle. You could liken the area around the lake to that of a crater, because the fields around it slope away upwards on all sides. To the left and beyond the lake is another stand of trees, with more trees and bushes on the horizon-line. To set it all off there are also sheep, with accompanying lambs, along with quite a few geese. All in all the finest example of an English rural setting you would be hard pressed to beat.
The Shroppie Fly.
The Shroppie Fly is situated on the banks of the Shropshire Union Canal in the pituresque village of Audlem, South Cheshire.
The building has a history that goes back to the construction of the Shropshire Union Canal itself. It was originally constructed as a canal warehouse and performed that function until its closure in 1970.
Not long after this, the building was purchased privately and underwent an extensive conversion exercise. By 1974 the old warehouse had been transformed into a pub and the ‘Shroppie Fly’ was born.
The name originates from a type of canal boat. ‘Fly’ boats were the express craft of the waterways, running around the clock delivering the most important as well as perishable goods. The ‘Shroppie Fly’ boat represented the finest example of wooden narrow boat construction with ‘Shroppie Fly’ boatmen being the elite in their field.
The current owners are Kate and Andy Griffiths. Since taking over the Shroppie in February 2004, they have been investing a lot of time, money and effort into making improvements both front of house and behind the scenes. Hopefully, this ongoing effort has benefits for both staff and customers alike.
Kate is an Audlem girl born and bred. She is more than qualified for this role having enjoyed pub work since the age of eleven, covering all aspects of the job from pot washing to restaurant management. Her job – to keep an eye on the Landlord!
Andy originates from the village of Hodnet. He has lived mostly around the Nantwich & Crewe area and moved to Audlem in 2001. Having spent 30 years in the IT business, he thought it was time for a change! His job – to keep an eye on the beer!
The centre piece of the pub is the bar which is incorporated in an original ‘Shroppie Fly’ boat salvaged from the Shropshire Union canal near Birmingham
End of short history of The Shroppie Fly.
It is now almost 06.30 and, as expected, the rain has started to fall, so unless it stops, we’ll be staying here another night at least. Still, it’s early yet and could clear up later, in which case we’ll make some headway up the locks. The fact that most of the 15 locks are pretty close together, with no room for mooring in between, makes it advisable to climb them in fine weather, because it ain’t much fun operating locks in the poring rain, so we don’t. Holiday boaters don’t have much choice, but we’re retired, with stacks of time on our hands, and can please ourselves. So there!!
Friday 17th June and we will be off to Adderley this morning and we’ll make an early start. Late yesterday afternoon we had the pleasure of seeing one of the Museum Boats moor up in front of us. This consists of two boats, the second being a ‘butty’, which is towed by the first.
Since we are only on 24 hour moorings, having moved up the canal yesterday morning, stopping only because we were following two other boats up the locks – a most tiresome business – we must move on today and, not wishing to be stuck behind the Museum Boat, I asked what time they planned on leaving this morning. We’ll be leaving about 07.30, since they won’t go until after 08.00.
Friday (Cont.)
Left the Shroppie Fly moorings at 0700 to ensure we didn’t have to follow the museum boats. We had 12 locks to go through and just 2 ½ miles to Adderley where we intended to stop for the rest of the day and night.
Just as we were getting ready to go, another boat across the canal from us was also preparing to do so. Not wishing to be stuck behind them either, we hurried along and beat them to the first lock. We needn’t have worried though, because there were five of them on board and did their best to help us along, which is why it only took 2 ½ hours to complete the trip. Imagine that, moored up for the day by 09.30.
We could have continued on through the next five locks but, with the wind increasing in strength, we decided to call it a day. Besides which we want to be at Market Drayton for the weekend and moor up near a pub called The Talbot, which must be quite good as we have used it twice in the past.
Saturday 18th June and, despite what the weather people told us last night, the day has dawned bright and calm, no rain as yet. Of course, it’s early yet and there is still plenty of time for this situation to change for the worst.
We’re off to Market Drayton this morning, where we will have something of a trudge into town for shopping. Fortunately they have a Morrison’s there, something of a blessing these days. Hopefully the Internet will be easier to access from there; this place has it either perfect or no service at all, so we must be on the fringes of the nearest mast. While it is great being moored in the sticks, where the views can be quite stunning and the days are peaceful, it does have its disadvantages.
I will report again from Market Drayton.
Later…….
Arrived at Market Drayton about 10 am and moored up just before bridge 63. We then took walk into town; after the obligatory cuppa; and walked into a monsoon. Honest Injun, would I kid you? Initially I intended wearing just my short denim jacket but, with a slight drizzle in the air, opted for my, so called, waterproof. By the time we reached the shops – and we were a long way yet from Morrison’s – the heavens had opened up and, despite the umbrella, we were both looking pretty much like drowned rats. The fact that the general populace of Market Drayton looked much the same, really didn’t make us feel any better.
From information gleaned from the ‘You Are Here’ sign by the side of the canal, the town was granted Market status by King Billy III about 750 years ago and there still exists a market to this day.
From the high street shops is still quite a walk to Morrison’s and, by the time we reached there, after waiting for the torrents of stair-rods to slow down, we might just as well have left the jackets behind and swam.
This is one of those days where we wished we had left the shopping until tomorrow and, wouldn’t you know it, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining just as we got back to the boat.
On to another subject, this time to do with a wee problem I have with the laptop.
I recently purchased some stuff online which contained links to a site that had informational videos on it. Now, having to watch videos online can be something of a trial when travelling and using a dongle, simply because, if the signal is weak the videos tend to break up. However, although the videos are as clear as a bell and I have a strong signal, the sound is very low and I can’t figure out why.
I’ve carried out a full diagnostic check, using the tools that came with the computer, and all seems to be well. I have also followed links from emails that have come to me from various friends and family, and they are all perfectly fine.
Having carried out all the checks I could, I then referred the problem to the person I purchased the info from, who tells me he has had no problems of this nature from other customers, so the problem must be with my signal.
Now, to give the man his due, when I first approached him to buy the info I did tell him that problems can arise when using a dongle to watch online videos and he assured me that, should I have any problems of any kind whatsoever, he would put the videos onto a DVD, which he is now in the process of doing. So, I really can’t fault his after sales service.
But, this doesn’t solve this particular problem. Any ideas you technophobes? I’m stumped, but I do believe the problem lies with the site at which the videos are stored, rather than my laptop.
Prior to bringing this blog up to date, and well after our soaking and a snack at lunchtime, we took another walk, this time to a local pub called The Talbot, one that we have used twice before on our visits to Market Drayton. Having reminded ourselves as to the look of the place, we now feel it is safe to stay for the weekend and enjoy a drink there tomorrow.
With that pleasant thought in mind and, since I do have a strong connection here, I will now endeavour to post this blog.
Cheers for now.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #10
Thursday 9th June (cont)
We have a kettle. So what?, I hear you say. Ah, but this kettle is designed to work with a cooker, none of this new-fangled, high technology rubbish for us boaters, at least, not whilst we’re cruising.
Anyway, this here kettle has been something if a pain in the rear end ever since we bought it. Once upon a time we, despite the advent of tea bags, always used loose tea in a proper tea pot. Eventually we gave way to accepted wisdom and now use tea bags, just like almost everybody else, except maiden aunts and such, who insist on bringing out their best china for visitors.
As I was saying, for some reason best known to itself, when pouring water from the kettle into the cups containing tea bags, we always seemed to be left with a film of scum on top of the tea. Most unsightly, as you can imagine. Yes, we do have a lump of wire gauze in the kettle, but that makes no difference.
We have tried allowing the water to go off the boil before pouring, and that does work – sometimes. We’ve tried rinsing the kettle out before filling and boiling, and that works – sometimes.
Yesterday I thought to myself, what the heck, since nothing else works, why not go back to pouring into the cups whilst the water is still boiling, just like we used to do. Guess what? It now seems to work perfectly and, having made at least half a dozen cups since then that’s how I will continue.
There, I’ve already written the first page of this new blog. It really is surprising the amount of rubbish contained within these little grey cells!!
By the way, despite threats to the contrary, we have a calm and bright day today. Goodness knows how long it will last though.
Now it is time to finish my second cuppa and take Rusty out, and it’s still only 06.45.
Saturday 11th June.
Popped into Nantwich on the bus yesterday, just for a bit of shopping you know, I couldn’t believe how much we came back with. I know we do tend to do a main shop only when we get to a good sized town, but this was ridiculous. We came back with a trolley load plus three bags full, and our fridge was nowhere near empty.
Coming from the direction of the Llangollen, as we did on Thursday, the main area of visitor moorings is obscured by a bridge and, if it isn’t possible to get in there, the next section is way off in the wild blue yonder. Fortunately, just before the bridge is a short stretch of 24 hour moorings and we were lucky enough to find a spot there. This was just as well really because, even at 09.45 the 48 hour stretch was still full.
Anyway, having pulled into our spot, we stayed overnight and, the following morning waited until a space became available on the 48 hour stretch and moved up a bit. Shopping over we simply chilled out for the rest of the day.
This morning has dawned bright and sunny although, according to those pesky weather people, we can’t expect it to last. If necessary we can stay another day but, if it stays fine we’ll probably move on.
Our first stop will be way out in the sticks, where we want to catch up with work on the boat. Wherever places can be found to moor up, or even going through locks and bridges, the sides of the boat tend to be scratched below the rubbing strake. This is a length of beading that runs along the side of all boats, and is supposed to protect it from such damage. So, I have quite a bit of rubbing down and re-painting to do. Having spent 18 months unable to carry out such tasks, I’m going to be kept pretty busy on fine weather days.
Our next main port of call will be Audlem, where there are several locks but very little by way of moorings. Even then the towpath side has a rather nasty ledge below the water line, which is quite common on the Shroppie, even at designated mooring places.
However, some distance before we get to Audlem, so Wifey tells me, there is a new marina – they seem to be sprouting up everywhere these days – and, since we really do need to spend some time on mains power, we’re hoping to stop there for a couple of days.
While we were wandering around Nantwich yesterday, I received a text message from my sister Carole, telling me she was going to be interviewed by Jeremy Vine on his midday slot on Radio 2. Unfortunately, with the next bus not due until 11.55, I had my doubts about getting back in time to hear it. But, as luck would have it, we arrived back at 12.10 and switched the radio on just as Jeremy was introducing her.
I have to say that, even though Jeremy threw her a few unexpected curves; as he is wont to do to almost everybody he has on the show; Carole acquitted herself very well and didn’t get at all flustered. Mind you, our sister has had a lot of experience with the media – Big Brother comes to mind – so she’s well able to handle the likes of a radio interviewer. They are small beer to her.
Well done sis, keep up your good works. I for one know just how much effort you put in to your charities. I wish I had half your energy and the inclination.
I suppose I should mention before closing for this morning, the fact that Internet access and indeed mobile phone access, can be pretty sparse along the Shropshire Union and so, if you have not heard from us as much as usual, you will know why when you read this blog.
The weather really is looking good this morning, so I reckon we’ll be up and away just as soon as Wifey goes and gets the paper.
Cheers for now.
Sunday 12th June.
We’re moving on today, even though we don’t cruise on Sundays. Sadly we have run out of our 48 hour moorings and must move along. The plan for today is to moor up way out in the sticks and miles from anywhere.
Yesterday we walked into Nantwich but, because I was having a wee bit of a problem with the pinkie on my left foot, we bussed back. After a read of the paper over a cup of coffee, we had intended to get some much needed work done on the boat. Sadly the weather intervened and sent us some rain. Hopefully today will stay dry and we will be able to get something done.
Other than that we have nothing special in mind.
Monday 13th June
We left Nantwich at 8 am and headed for moorings just above Hack Locks, about three miles away. The weather was fine but cool and we took it kinda slow, completing the trip in 1 ½ hours, by which time the rain was really teeming. Some hope of working on the boat this day.
The two locks at Hack Lane are very close together and, as we pulled out of the top lock, we spotted another boat coming towards us, obviously intending to go down. This saved Sheila the trouble of closing the gate.
In the distance I could see another boat approaching the bridge and, as I needed to get across to my left in order to moor up, I had to be pretty nifty so as to avoid meeting in the middle. This I managed to do in plenty of time and we then tied up to the rings provided.
After the two boats I mentioned we counted another 10, all coming down to use the locks. With lock operation being quite slow, these being only single locks along the Shroppie, plus the fact that between the lock an the bridge there is limited mooring space, many of these boats had to tie up and wait their turn beyond the bridge. In the almost five years we have been living on Shiralee we have never witnessed so many boats so close together and all heading in the same direction. Had we been just a couple of minutes later arriving here, we would have stood no chance of stopping for the rest of the day.
The rain continued for the rest of the day and, judging by the state of our windows, most of the night too. The sky is still heavy with clouds, although they do seem to be breaking up now. This morning we are heading for a new marina about a mile away, the name of which escapes me at the minute. Here we will stay for a couple of night to give our nice new batteries a good charge up on mains electrickery. With a bit of luck the weather will stay dry and we’ll be able to get some much needed work done.
Wednesday 15th June.
We arrived at Overwater Marina at about 10 am yesterday in a very high wind by, thankfully no rain. When we telephoned we were told to pull in by the diesel point and call into the office. Easier said than done. I don’t know who designs these places, but they don’t do so for the benefit of visiting boaters.
The entrance is fine, nice and wide and, under calm conditions, easy enough to enter without giving the boat and entrance a bashing. The diesel point however, is a different matter. Instead of being directly ahead and parallel to the entrance, it is set back and at an angle away to the left. With a high wind beating at us and with a great deal of grunting and groaning, I finally managed this monumental task.
I wasn’t finished yet though because, with the boat now pointing away from the rest of the marina, when it came to pushing off and turning away from the diesel point in a strong wind, the task of moving the boat into our allotted moorings became almost impossible. I ended up reversing away from the point, with the nose of the boat being gradually swung around towards the entrance I had just recently came into the marina by.
I finally found myself having to give it full throttle, with the tiller arm fully over to the right and scribing a 180 degree turn, eventually gaining entry to the allotted moorings. All this could have been avoided with a common sense approach to the prevailing wind and the positioning of the diesel point, which is the point all visitors have to stop at.
From the entrance and office position, and assuming you are on the towpath side of the canal, the walk into Audlem is about a mile. However, as with almost all marinas, this one is positioned on the opposite side of the canal, and the nearest bridge across is at the far end of the marina, probably half a mile away. Being visitors and wishing to take a walk into town, and being allotted moorings very close to the marina office, this meant a walk of at least 1 ½ miles each way.
Now, I remember well the walk from Llangollen to Horseshoe Falls, so I was unsure as to whether I should attempt this one. But, since I really did need to blow the stink off, I decided to go for it. Actually I quite enjoyed it and felt much better afterwards. That feeling of much betterness only lasted until the evening, which was when my knees and calf muscles really let me know how they felt. Getting up during the night was even worse. I suppose I am going to have to limit my walks in future.
Other than the above we’ve had a very pleasant stay here and the weather looks set fair for today’s cruising, which will probably be no further than the mile we went yesterday. The Shroppie Fly is a pub we haven’t tried yet, but then we haven’t tried The Bridge either, both of which offer good food at reasonable prices and, since I missed out on lat Sunday, we really should give either of them a try.
All for now. Will post if possible.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
We have a kettle. So what?, I hear you say. Ah, but this kettle is designed to work with a cooker, none of this new-fangled, high technology rubbish for us boaters, at least, not whilst we’re cruising.
Anyway, this here kettle has been something if a pain in the rear end ever since we bought it. Once upon a time we, despite the advent of tea bags, always used loose tea in a proper tea pot. Eventually we gave way to accepted wisdom and now use tea bags, just like almost everybody else, except maiden aunts and such, who insist on bringing out their best china for visitors.
As I was saying, for some reason best known to itself, when pouring water from the kettle into the cups containing tea bags, we always seemed to be left with a film of scum on top of the tea. Most unsightly, as you can imagine. Yes, we do have a lump of wire gauze in the kettle, but that makes no difference.
We have tried allowing the water to go off the boil before pouring, and that does work – sometimes. We’ve tried rinsing the kettle out before filling and boiling, and that works – sometimes.
Yesterday I thought to myself, what the heck, since nothing else works, why not go back to pouring into the cups whilst the water is still boiling, just like we used to do. Guess what? It now seems to work perfectly and, having made at least half a dozen cups since then that’s how I will continue.
There, I’ve already written the first page of this new blog. It really is surprising the amount of rubbish contained within these little grey cells!!
By the way, despite threats to the contrary, we have a calm and bright day today. Goodness knows how long it will last though.
Now it is time to finish my second cuppa and take Rusty out, and it’s still only 06.45.
Saturday 11th June.
Popped into Nantwich on the bus yesterday, just for a bit of shopping you know, I couldn’t believe how much we came back with. I know we do tend to do a main shop only when we get to a good sized town, but this was ridiculous. We came back with a trolley load plus three bags full, and our fridge was nowhere near empty.
Coming from the direction of the Llangollen, as we did on Thursday, the main area of visitor moorings is obscured by a bridge and, if it isn’t possible to get in there, the next section is way off in the wild blue yonder. Fortunately, just before the bridge is a short stretch of 24 hour moorings and we were lucky enough to find a spot there. This was just as well really because, even at 09.45 the 48 hour stretch was still full.
Anyway, having pulled into our spot, we stayed overnight and, the following morning waited until a space became available on the 48 hour stretch and moved up a bit. Shopping over we simply chilled out for the rest of the day.
This morning has dawned bright and sunny although, according to those pesky weather people, we can’t expect it to last. If necessary we can stay another day but, if it stays fine we’ll probably move on.
Our first stop will be way out in the sticks, where we want to catch up with work on the boat. Wherever places can be found to moor up, or even going through locks and bridges, the sides of the boat tend to be scratched below the rubbing strake. This is a length of beading that runs along the side of all boats, and is supposed to protect it from such damage. So, I have quite a bit of rubbing down and re-painting to do. Having spent 18 months unable to carry out such tasks, I’m going to be kept pretty busy on fine weather days.
Our next main port of call will be Audlem, where there are several locks but very little by way of moorings. Even then the towpath side has a rather nasty ledge below the water line, which is quite common on the Shroppie, even at designated mooring places.
However, some distance before we get to Audlem, so Wifey tells me, there is a new marina – they seem to be sprouting up everywhere these days – and, since we really do need to spend some time on mains power, we’re hoping to stop there for a couple of days.
While we were wandering around Nantwich yesterday, I received a text message from my sister Carole, telling me she was going to be interviewed by Jeremy Vine on his midday slot on Radio 2. Unfortunately, with the next bus not due until 11.55, I had my doubts about getting back in time to hear it. But, as luck would have it, we arrived back at 12.10 and switched the radio on just as Jeremy was introducing her.
I have to say that, even though Jeremy threw her a few unexpected curves; as he is wont to do to almost everybody he has on the show; Carole acquitted herself very well and didn’t get at all flustered. Mind you, our sister has had a lot of experience with the media – Big Brother comes to mind – so she’s well able to handle the likes of a radio interviewer. They are small beer to her.
Well done sis, keep up your good works. I for one know just how much effort you put in to your charities. I wish I had half your energy and the inclination.
I suppose I should mention before closing for this morning, the fact that Internet access and indeed mobile phone access, can be pretty sparse along the Shropshire Union and so, if you have not heard from us as much as usual, you will know why when you read this blog.
The weather really is looking good this morning, so I reckon we’ll be up and away just as soon as Wifey goes and gets the paper.
Cheers for now.
Sunday 12th June.
We’re moving on today, even though we don’t cruise on Sundays. Sadly we have run out of our 48 hour moorings and must move along. The plan for today is to moor up way out in the sticks and miles from anywhere.
Yesterday we walked into Nantwich but, because I was having a wee bit of a problem with the pinkie on my left foot, we bussed back. After a read of the paper over a cup of coffee, we had intended to get some much needed work done on the boat. Sadly the weather intervened and sent us some rain. Hopefully today will stay dry and we will be able to get something done.
Other than that we have nothing special in mind.
Monday 13th June
We left Nantwich at 8 am and headed for moorings just above Hack Locks, about three miles away. The weather was fine but cool and we took it kinda slow, completing the trip in 1 ½ hours, by which time the rain was really teeming. Some hope of working on the boat this day.
The two locks at Hack Lane are very close together and, as we pulled out of the top lock, we spotted another boat coming towards us, obviously intending to go down. This saved Sheila the trouble of closing the gate.
In the distance I could see another boat approaching the bridge and, as I needed to get across to my left in order to moor up, I had to be pretty nifty so as to avoid meeting in the middle. This I managed to do in plenty of time and we then tied up to the rings provided.
After the two boats I mentioned we counted another 10, all coming down to use the locks. With lock operation being quite slow, these being only single locks along the Shroppie, plus the fact that between the lock an the bridge there is limited mooring space, many of these boats had to tie up and wait their turn beyond the bridge. In the almost five years we have been living on Shiralee we have never witnessed so many boats so close together and all heading in the same direction. Had we been just a couple of minutes later arriving here, we would have stood no chance of stopping for the rest of the day.
The rain continued for the rest of the day and, judging by the state of our windows, most of the night too. The sky is still heavy with clouds, although they do seem to be breaking up now. This morning we are heading for a new marina about a mile away, the name of which escapes me at the minute. Here we will stay for a couple of night to give our nice new batteries a good charge up on mains electrickery. With a bit of luck the weather will stay dry and we’ll be able to get some much needed work done.
Wednesday 15th June.
We arrived at Overwater Marina at about 10 am yesterday in a very high wind by, thankfully no rain. When we telephoned we were told to pull in by the diesel point and call into the office. Easier said than done. I don’t know who designs these places, but they don’t do so for the benefit of visiting boaters.
The entrance is fine, nice and wide and, under calm conditions, easy enough to enter without giving the boat and entrance a bashing. The diesel point however, is a different matter. Instead of being directly ahead and parallel to the entrance, it is set back and at an angle away to the left. With a high wind beating at us and with a great deal of grunting and groaning, I finally managed this monumental task.
I wasn’t finished yet though because, with the boat now pointing away from the rest of the marina, when it came to pushing off and turning away from the diesel point in a strong wind, the task of moving the boat into our allotted moorings became almost impossible. I ended up reversing away from the point, with the nose of the boat being gradually swung around towards the entrance I had just recently came into the marina by.
I finally found myself having to give it full throttle, with the tiller arm fully over to the right and scribing a 180 degree turn, eventually gaining entry to the allotted moorings. All this could have been avoided with a common sense approach to the prevailing wind and the positioning of the diesel point, which is the point all visitors have to stop at.
From the entrance and office position, and assuming you are on the towpath side of the canal, the walk into Audlem is about a mile. However, as with almost all marinas, this one is positioned on the opposite side of the canal, and the nearest bridge across is at the far end of the marina, probably half a mile away. Being visitors and wishing to take a walk into town, and being allotted moorings very close to the marina office, this meant a walk of at least 1 ½ miles each way.
Now, I remember well the walk from Llangollen to Horseshoe Falls, so I was unsure as to whether I should attempt this one. But, since I really did need to blow the stink off, I decided to go for it. Actually I quite enjoyed it and felt much better afterwards. That feeling of much betterness only lasted until the evening, which was when my knees and calf muscles really let me know how they felt. Getting up during the night was even worse. I suppose I am going to have to limit my walks in future.
Other than the above we’ve had a very pleasant stay here and the weather looks set fair for today’s cruising, which will probably be no further than the mile we went yesterday. The Shroppie Fly is a pub we haven’t tried yet, but then we haven’t tried The Bridge either, both of which offer good food at reasonable prices and, since I missed out on lat Sunday, we really should give either of them a try.
All for now. Will post if possible.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #9
Thursday 2nd June.
Popped into Ellesmere this morning to dispose of a few books to a charity shop and the newspaper.
Returned to the boat and simply chilled out until lunchtime. After lunch it occurred to me that we don’t use our bus passes anywhere near as much as we should. So, off went Wifey to check out the bus timetable for Oswestry and Shrewsbury and discovered the following.
The bus to Shrewsbury is ever hour and takes 45 minutes to get there. This would only leave us a couple of hours for a good look round, and we wouldn’t be leaving Rusty for too long. Alternatively the trip to Oswestry only takes 20 minutes, also giving us ample time for a good look round and a coffee.
We’re undecided yet as to which one to do, but I’m favouring Shrewsbury, simply because we have passed by the town on numerous occasions when visiting our Welsh cousins, but have never stopped to investigate. Having said that and after looking at the map for Shrewsbury, we’ll probably go to Oswestry, the walk from the Shrewsbury is quite a trek.
As a point of interest, did you know that Shrewsbury is surrounded on three sides by the River Severn? Assuming the map to be North to South, then the open end of the town is to the North East, and the A5 is to the West.
Saturday 4th June
Oh, the best laid plans, and all that. Yesterday we had planned on a visit to Oswestry or Shrewsbury, we did neither. Instead we decided to get on our way towards Grindley Brook, because the nice weather man had sent us some sunshine. After all, who wants to bee cooped up in a stuffy old bus in such fine weather?
We set off at 08.30 and enjoyed a leisurely cruise until 11.30, when we pulled in just past the Preese Arm. This arm goes down to a boatyard and Whixall Marina, taking the boater through a couple of lift bridges. According to the Nicholson’s Guide one of these bridges is particularly difficult and so, since we have no need of the facilities there, we decided to stop above the arm, which is where we are now sitting.
Later in the day we had the laptop out but, even though I did manage to download my emails, I had a really difficult job sending replies. I even had Sheila pass the dongle to me through the window, so that I could put it on the roof, which usually makes a difference. Not this time though.
Down near Rugby, on the Oxford Canal, is a new marina called Barby Moorings and we very much wanted to check it out. I actually got to the opening page but, when I tried following any of the links, I had an error message telling me there was no internet connection. When I looked though, there most certainly was a connection, at which point I gave up.
Our next stop is at the top of Grindley Brook locks where, I hope, we’ll be able to connect. We moored below the locks on our way through, but no luck there, so I don’t ho;d out much hope.
Once again the day has started out bright and sunny and the canal is giving up the heat stored yesterday, so we should enjoy another two to three hours of cruising and we’ll only be slowed down by a couple of lift bridges. Grindley Brook boasts a pub, a garage and a café cum gift shop, so we will spend today and tomorrow there.
Sat. cont.
It is now 06.30 and I have just spent the best part of an hour on the Internet. Although the signal was week – only 2 bars – I had very little problem, except a wee bit slow. I am puzzled, because yesterday, with 3 bars up, was a complete disaster!!
Sunday 5th June.
Yesterday started out just like Friday, warm and sunny, so the 6 mile trip here to Grindley Brook was very pleasant. Sadly our summer seems to have consisted of a day and a half because, by early afternoon the clouds gathered and merged and the heavens opened up.
Later in the evening a hotel boat came up the locks and pulled in just in front of us. Hotel boats usually come in pairs and this was no exception and they usually moor up side by side, which is what these did. We had occasion to curse these blighters a couple of years ago, although I misremember where exactly it was.
We came face to face with just such a double unit and, just because they are classed as working boats, we were obliged to give them right of way. The problem with this is that, until you actually get really close to them, you can’t tell it’s a working unit. On this occasion the hotel pair stayed in the centre of the canal, almost forcing us into the bank. The air was blue by the time we passed them and I really didn’t care what the passengers thought.
Later today, assuming we’re not likely to take a soaking, we’ll walk down the locks to the local watering hole, The Horse and Jockey. Although we’ve passed through here a few times, we’ve not had the pleasure. Instead we’ve gone on, or stopped short at the Willeymoor Tavern, which sits beside another lock of the same name.
Tuesday 7th June, not a very nice start to the day, but then we have been told to expect rainy periods for the rest of the week.
Yesterday we negotiated 10 locks over six miles and, having left Grindley Brook at 8 o/clock, arrived at Wrenbury at 11. Instead of passing through the two lift bridges and heading for previous moorings, we stopped just before the first one and are now on 48 hour visitor moorings and just a short walk from two pubs, The Dusty Miller and The Cotton Arms.
Being in need of medication I called the local surgery and, after talking to a doctor there and explaining what I needed, I was told to pick the items up at their own pharmacy later the same day. Sadly I was not told that the pharmacy closed for lunch between 1 and 2, so we found ourselves waiting for 25 minutes for it to re-open. Even then they didn’t have the complete list, so we’ll have to walk back there today.
I spoke to Alan yesterday and was told that the car wouldn’t start. After suffering through one of the coldest winters at Mercia and, on several occasions, being left standing for several days at a time and starting first time every time, how can such a thing happen after having the car serviced just a few weeks ago? Hopefully it’s not a big problem costing fortunes to put right.
We rarely have problems with cars, although the previous Alfa gave us enough grief for the short while we had it, which was why we went for a newer model. The one silver lining here is that there is ample time to get it fixed before we need it again.
Somewhere near Rugby, on the Oxford Canal, is a new marina called Barby Moorings, which we plan on visiting later this year and will spend a couple of days there, just to give the batteries a boost. However, if the place looks and feels good, we may book ourselves in there for the winter of 2012. This marina is just a short hop to the M1 and, therefore, being so much further south than Mercia, much less of a drive to Harlow. This year though we are already booked into Mercia for a second term.
Today we have to stay until at least midday and we also have to pick up my medication, so we’ll stay another night and go on to Swanley tomorrow.
Wednesday 8th June.
Today we’re off to Swanley, but that assumes the weather will stay calm and dry. According to those nasty weather people we can expect plenty of showers today, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed.
Yesterday we had lunch in the Cotton Arms and, to my surprise the Guinness was still just £3.10p whereas, at the Queen’s Head on the Montgomery, it stood at £3.25. There really are some sharks around and so, despite the excellent food at that establishment, there’s a good chance we’ll give it a miss next time around.
The Cotton Arms provided us with a choice of full meals and half bites. Sheila opted for a spaghetti meal with side salad, which was far too much for her at that time of day, whilst I had a light bite of sausages and mash, which hit the spot quite nicely. We will, most definitely, dine there again.
Now, according to our boat information, the fuel tanks on Shiralee holds 169 litres, in old money that’s about 37 gallons. We can usually arrange it so that we fill up every four weeks or so when cruising, by which time we would expect to have used something under 100 litres. Allowing for 1 litre/hour for cruising and battery charging and ½ a litre/hour for heating and, having already run a total of 155 hours combined, during the six weeks or so we’ve been on this canal, I reckon we should have reduced the tank by about 125 litres.
Swanley is not that far away, which is where we’ll top up later today, but there’s something I can’t figure. We should be down to about ¼ of a tank and yet, when I checked with the dipstick yesterday, the tank appeared to be at least half full. So, either the tank is a funny shape, or it holds far more than we have been led to believe. I suppose I will now have to ask Liverpool Boats about this.
Thursday 9th June.
Yesterday we stopped off at Swanley for diesel and to collect our mail; they are such kind and accommodating people there and held our new TV for us a few weeks ago.
Not surprisingly we managed to cram in 130 litres of diesel, which is the largest amount by far that we have ever purchased in one hit. Mind you, we have been cruising the Llangollen and Montgomery for six weeks. We would normally top up every four weeks, which is when my pension pops up in our account. Next time though, it will only be two weeks to a top up and, therefore, a lot cheaper.
Today we’ll be off the Llangollen and back on the Shroppie, maybe at Nantwich, which is about three miles away, or it may be as soon as we leave this canal through Hurleston Locks.
So, since I have managed to get online today, and it’s not always been easy along this canal, I’ll see if I can post this latest offering.
Cheers for now.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Popped into Ellesmere this morning to dispose of a few books to a charity shop and the newspaper.
Returned to the boat and simply chilled out until lunchtime. After lunch it occurred to me that we don’t use our bus passes anywhere near as much as we should. So, off went Wifey to check out the bus timetable for Oswestry and Shrewsbury and discovered the following.
The bus to Shrewsbury is ever hour and takes 45 minutes to get there. This would only leave us a couple of hours for a good look round, and we wouldn’t be leaving Rusty for too long. Alternatively the trip to Oswestry only takes 20 minutes, also giving us ample time for a good look round and a coffee.
We’re undecided yet as to which one to do, but I’m favouring Shrewsbury, simply because we have passed by the town on numerous occasions when visiting our Welsh cousins, but have never stopped to investigate. Having said that and after looking at the map for Shrewsbury, we’ll probably go to Oswestry, the walk from the Shrewsbury is quite a trek.
As a point of interest, did you know that Shrewsbury is surrounded on three sides by the River Severn? Assuming the map to be North to South, then the open end of the town is to the North East, and the A5 is to the West.
Saturday 4th June
Oh, the best laid plans, and all that. Yesterday we had planned on a visit to Oswestry or Shrewsbury, we did neither. Instead we decided to get on our way towards Grindley Brook, because the nice weather man had sent us some sunshine. After all, who wants to bee cooped up in a stuffy old bus in such fine weather?
We set off at 08.30 and enjoyed a leisurely cruise until 11.30, when we pulled in just past the Preese Arm. This arm goes down to a boatyard and Whixall Marina, taking the boater through a couple of lift bridges. According to the Nicholson’s Guide one of these bridges is particularly difficult and so, since we have no need of the facilities there, we decided to stop above the arm, which is where we are now sitting.
Later in the day we had the laptop out but, even though I did manage to download my emails, I had a really difficult job sending replies. I even had Sheila pass the dongle to me through the window, so that I could put it on the roof, which usually makes a difference. Not this time though.
Down near Rugby, on the Oxford Canal, is a new marina called Barby Moorings and we very much wanted to check it out. I actually got to the opening page but, when I tried following any of the links, I had an error message telling me there was no internet connection. When I looked though, there most certainly was a connection, at which point I gave up.
Our next stop is at the top of Grindley Brook locks where, I hope, we’ll be able to connect. We moored below the locks on our way through, but no luck there, so I don’t ho;d out much hope.
Once again the day has started out bright and sunny and the canal is giving up the heat stored yesterday, so we should enjoy another two to three hours of cruising and we’ll only be slowed down by a couple of lift bridges. Grindley Brook boasts a pub, a garage and a café cum gift shop, so we will spend today and tomorrow there.
Sat. cont.
It is now 06.30 and I have just spent the best part of an hour on the Internet. Although the signal was week – only 2 bars – I had very little problem, except a wee bit slow. I am puzzled, because yesterday, with 3 bars up, was a complete disaster!!
Sunday 5th June.
Yesterday started out just like Friday, warm and sunny, so the 6 mile trip here to Grindley Brook was very pleasant. Sadly our summer seems to have consisted of a day and a half because, by early afternoon the clouds gathered and merged and the heavens opened up.
Later in the evening a hotel boat came up the locks and pulled in just in front of us. Hotel boats usually come in pairs and this was no exception and they usually moor up side by side, which is what these did. We had occasion to curse these blighters a couple of years ago, although I misremember where exactly it was.
We came face to face with just such a double unit and, just because they are classed as working boats, we were obliged to give them right of way. The problem with this is that, until you actually get really close to them, you can’t tell it’s a working unit. On this occasion the hotel pair stayed in the centre of the canal, almost forcing us into the bank. The air was blue by the time we passed them and I really didn’t care what the passengers thought.
Later today, assuming we’re not likely to take a soaking, we’ll walk down the locks to the local watering hole, The Horse and Jockey. Although we’ve passed through here a few times, we’ve not had the pleasure. Instead we’ve gone on, or stopped short at the Willeymoor Tavern, which sits beside another lock of the same name.
Tuesday 7th June, not a very nice start to the day, but then we have been told to expect rainy periods for the rest of the week.
Yesterday we negotiated 10 locks over six miles and, having left Grindley Brook at 8 o/clock, arrived at Wrenbury at 11. Instead of passing through the two lift bridges and heading for previous moorings, we stopped just before the first one and are now on 48 hour visitor moorings and just a short walk from two pubs, The Dusty Miller and The Cotton Arms.
Being in need of medication I called the local surgery and, after talking to a doctor there and explaining what I needed, I was told to pick the items up at their own pharmacy later the same day. Sadly I was not told that the pharmacy closed for lunch between 1 and 2, so we found ourselves waiting for 25 minutes for it to re-open. Even then they didn’t have the complete list, so we’ll have to walk back there today.
I spoke to Alan yesterday and was told that the car wouldn’t start. After suffering through one of the coldest winters at Mercia and, on several occasions, being left standing for several days at a time and starting first time every time, how can such a thing happen after having the car serviced just a few weeks ago? Hopefully it’s not a big problem costing fortunes to put right.
We rarely have problems with cars, although the previous Alfa gave us enough grief for the short while we had it, which was why we went for a newer model. The one silver lining here is that there is ample time to get it fixed before we need it again.
Somewhere near Rugby, on the Oxford Canal, is a new marina called Barby Moorings, which we plan on visiting later this year and will spend a couple of days there, just to give the batteries a boost. However, if the place looks and feels good, we may book ourselves in there for the winter of 2012. This marina is just a short hop to the M1 and, therefore, being so much further south than Mercia, much less of a drive to Harlow. This year though we are already booked into Mercia for a second term.
Today we have to stay until at least midday and we also have to pick up my medication, so we’ll stay another night and go on to Swanley tomorrow.
Wednesday 8th June.
Today we’re off to Swanley, but that assumes the weather will stay calm and dry. According to those nasty weather people we can expect plenty of showers today, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed.
Yesterday we had lunch in the Cotton Arms and, to my surprise the Guinness was still just £3.10p whereas, at the Queen’s Head on the Montgomery, it stood at £3.25. There really are some sharks around and so, despite the excellent food at that establishment, there’s a good chance we’ll give it a miss next time around.
The Cotton Arms provided us with a choice of full meals and half bites. Sheila opted for a spaghetti meal with side salad, which was far too much for her at that time of day, whilst I had a light bite of sausages and mash, which hit the spot quite nicely. We will, most definitely, dine there again.
Now, according to our boat information, the fuel tanks on Shiralee holds 169 litres, in old money that’s about 37 gallons. We can usually arrange it so that we fill up every four weeks or so when cruising, by which time we would expect to have used something under 100 litres. Allowing for 1 litre/hour for cruising and battery charging and ½ a litre/hour for heating and, having already run a total of 155 hours combined, during the six weeks or so we’ve been on this canal, I reckon we should have reduced the tank by about 125 litres.
Swanley is not that far away, which is where we’ll top up later today, but there’s something I can’t figure. We should be down to about ¼ of a tank and yet, when I checked with the dipstick yesterday, the tank appeared to be at least half full. So, either the tank is a funny shape, or it holds far more than we have been led to believe. I suppose I will now have to ask Liverpool Boats about this.
Thursday 9th June.
Yesterday we stopped off at Swanley for diesel and to collect our mail; they are such kind and accommodating people there and held our new TV for us a few weeks ago.
Not surprisingly we managed to cram in 130 litres of diesel, which is the largest amount by far that we have ever purchased in one hit. Mind you, we have been cruising the Llangollen and Montgomery for six weeks. We would normally top up every four weeks, which is when my pension pops up in our account. Next time though, it will only be two weeks to a top up and, therefore, a lot cheaper.
Today we’ll be off the Llangollen and back on the Shroppie, maybe at Nantwich, which is about three miles away, or it may be as soon as we leave this canal through Hurleston Locks.
So, since I have managed to get online today, and it’s not always been easy along this canal, I’ll see if I can post this latest offering.
Cheers for now.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #8
Saturday 28th May.
Yesterday we came down the Montgomery from the Weston Branch, turned around at the last winding hole and returned to the shop moorings. After settling and walking doggie we ventured to take a look at how restoration work is progressing on the Montgomery Canal. This entailed a walk of about a mile to where the canal is dammed up so that work can be carried out beyond.
Two years ago when we were last here, Sheila walked to that point and, as far as she can tell, not much has been done since. This is not meant as a criticism of the volunteer workforce. After all, able bodied workers have only so much free time and funding is always a problem. Reading one of the posters attached to the works, it seems the first weekend of each month is set aside for this work. With the best will in the world progress is going to be slow. I do hope I will still be around and enjoying my boating when a new section is opened up. This really is a beautiful canal.
Today we are staying here at this spot near the shop, which we visited yesterday. The shop doubles as a café and sells postcards etc. and we even managed to purchase bread and milk, along with frozen pies and fresh baked scones. Sadly they no longer sell newspapers because, apparently, it is not cost effective. There are times when running a small business, that you have to put yourself out to accommodate your customers!!
Tomorrow we’ll make our way back to The Queen’s Head moorings and enjoy a Sunday drinky poohs! This assumes we can find a space to stick the boat. Moorings there are fairly limited but, if we’re a wee bit crafty, we’ll arrive after people have left and before a new bunch of boaters arrive.
Sunday 29th May and we’ll be off to the Queen’s Head later today, but first I must tell you about yesterday and the arrival of Dave and Jackie, our neighbours from our days at Pillings Lock.
At the time I was reading “Theodore Boone” by John Grisham, whilst Wifey was doing her ‘queen-is-in-the-counting-house bit. Wifey is not one to ever react when surprised, a simple scream is enough to yank me out of my reverie, which she immediately did, causing me to drop the book and jump out of my seat. Having achieved the desired effect, she then pointed out of the window shouting, “It’s Dave and Jackie, Dave and Jackie”
After I’d gathered my wits and felt my pulse rate return to something approaching normal, we both went outside and, while Wifey stood there with an OMG look on her face, I assisted with the mooring of their boat.
Dave and Jackie left Pillings Lock several months before us, in fact they left before I’d had my knees done, so it was a wonderful surprise to see them again. The last we heard they were moving to another marina and Dave was doing a motorbike ride for charity, and we have heard nothing about them since.
Now, the canal grapevine is pretty much like any other and one of the pieces of news imparted to us by these two concerned our old friends Brian and Marian. We had heard rumours that they wee selling their boat and moving back to Swindon, but we were going to wait until returning to Mercia for the truth of it. But Dave and Jackie have confirmed the part about leaving Mercia but, whether or not they have sold the boat, they weren’t sure. They weren’t surprised we had fallen out with them either; Jackie in particular thought it was no great shame. “I didn’t really think they were your type”, she said and she was probably right.
The news they imparted about Pillings Lock didn’t come as a great surprise either. It seems the Pump-Out barge has broken down along with its ability to dispense diesel and the Elsan disposal unit has become blocked. No doubt Paul has remedied these problems, otherwise he would have a riot on his hands, followed by a mass exodus of boats. Although, the thought remains that, if that barge has broken down completely, how quickly can Paul replace it or, better still, install proper facilities?
According to rumour or, as they say in the legal profession, allegedly, the situation regarding dog mess around Pillings Lock marina, has become so acute that Paul has threatened to collect samples, have them DNA tested and then have all the dogs on site DNA tested to find those responsible. Just what he intends to de about all those visitors who are bringing their dogs there to pooh is anyone’s guess. I think I said all I needed to say about that man long before we left there.
Dave and Jackie have a new Cairn terrier; their old one, Sam, having finally departed this life. He was getting rather slow when we last saw him and he wasn’t very well either. Sadly this comes to all our pets eventually. The new one, whose name escapes me – really must concentrate – has been a show dog and won prizes, but he seems to be taking to the boating life quite well. Although he’s not happy with traffic noise, so they couldn’t moor up by the Queen’s Head yesterday because the moorings are too close to a busy main road.
Well, we’re off to the Queen’s Head today, whilst our two friends are staying here, despite the disgraceful prices at the Navigation Inn. Goodness knows how long it will be before we bump into them again, but we wish them well on their travels which, from Monday, will take them on to Llangollen, they have to be back at their home moorings sometime in July and will then spend three weeks in France.
Internet access is pretty poor here, for some reason, even though I have all five bars up on my signal strength meter, the darn thing will not connect every time. Yesterday morning, no problem, later that morning, no connection, yesterday afternoon, no problem, this morning, no connection. I suppose, even though the stupid thing is registering strong signal, it is unable to connect to 3, but I’m hanged if I can figure out why. However, not to worry, this is only one spot in just a handful where we have this problem and, just as long as I don’t receive big emails from Alan or Sandra, I’ll pick them up when we get back to Weston.
I am now keeping a feeding log for Rusty, to see if we can isolate what may be giving her trouble. Ordinarily we would give her a Baker’s or Pedigree pouch on alternate mornings, with a change to hard food the next day. She would then have a small amount of the hard food in the evening, followed by a treat before bed.
On Friday, when we took our walk to check on restoration progress, I found a mucky looking tennis ball and gave it to Rusty. Naturally, being Rusty, she proceeded to tear it apart and we’re wondering if that could be the cause of her latest upset.
Our Sandra has also given us some advice about feeding, which we will take up just as soon as we can find the products she recommends. Until then our pooch will have to be content with her normal food, and we’ll have to continue monitoring same. T These little problems continue to plague us throughout our lives, don’t they, but what would life be without the occasional challenge?
The entry locks to the Montgomery only operate between the hours of 12 noon and 2 pm, so we must ensure we arrive at the Queen’s Head before they do, but after other boaters have left for those same locks. Should be a doddle!! Actually this canal is not that busy, despite it being a Bank Holiday weekend, so I see no reason for there not to be spaces where we’re going. Meanwhile I’m going to try getting online again.
Monday 30th May
We came down from Maesbury to the Queen’s Head yesterday morning, with the express intention of paying a visit to said pub. For about £15 a Sunday lunch can be had at The Navigation Inn at Maesbury, whereas, here at the Queen’s Head, that same lunch will only set you back £8.95. And what a lunch it was, plenty on the plate, piping hot and very tasty. The half a chicken was indeed a full half and the bird itself was probably not small either. Including two pints of Guinness, a J2O and a coffee, our total bill came to £28.
It’s raining. Hopefully it won’t be doing so later this morning, because we really do need to get back to the Weston Branch, where we will stay overnight. It being a Bank Holiday Monday we have no intention of joining the happy throng of weekend boaters on the Llangollen.
Last night, just as I was about to take Rusty for her final walkies of the day, we heard voices. No, this is not unusual on a canal towpath but, with the pub car park empty and with no houses along the towpath side, there seemed no reason for people to be walking here. On closer inspection, and it was getting dark by now, it appeared that a couple of fellows were standing at the end of the moorings, chatting and drinking beer.
Oh dear! This we do not want. But, I then noticed what appeared to be the outline of a tent. Why anybody would want to camp out on a towpath is anyone’s guess, but that’s what they were doing. The tent is still here this morning and, apart from Wifey’s coughing, we’ve had a peaceful night. Probably just a couple of school kids camping out for the night, as they do. It is half-term after all.
Yes, poor Sheila has a nasty cough. She may well have picked up the bug from me, poor thing. However, she usually gets over these things pretty rapidly and, unlike yours truly, simply works through it without dosing herself up too much.
So, off to the Weston Branch later, even if it does rain.
Tuesday 31st May and, at last, a sunny start to the day.
We are undecided as to whether to go up to the locks early, or wait until everybody else has gone through and go through last. If we go early this morning we will be able to moor up properly but, if we leave it late and try to moor up, we’ll have no luck because there is only room to moor two boats. Any more than two and the rest have to stand there until it is time to move forward.
On the one hand, if we go very early then, just a soon as the lock keeper starts the ball rolling, we’ll be the first through. If we leave it late, depending on how many boats are going through, it could be as late as 3 pm before we are through and moored up somewhere on the Llangollen. Decisions, decisions!
Wednesday 1st June.
It’s almost 05.30 and I was about to say that summer had finally arrived but, as I glanced towards the canal, I couldn’t help but notice the rain. Having hauled myself out of bed at 05.15 to a bright and sunny morning, this has come as something of a surprise.
Anyway, yesterday we were the first boat through the locks at Welsh Frankton and moored ourselves up between bridges 64 and 63 by about 13.00. There would have been little point in continuing on to Ellesmere, simply because the Ellesmere Arm would, most probably, have been full. This morning we will probably leave for Ellesmere at about 09.30, arriving about 10.30, thus giving all those moored there ample time to have their breakfast and be on their way.
I had hoped to post this blog this morning but, alas, even though we’re only moored a couple of hundred yards from the spot last time through here, I was unable to get online yesterday. Still, after the huge amount of shopping we’ll have to do today, I should find time for that small task.
Thursday 2nd June and despite it being a little warmer, we have started the day with heavy cloud.
Several more boats attempted to moor up along this arm, not all of which were successful. However, when Sheila took Rusty for her final constitutional of the day, she found a couple of boatloads of holiday makers whooping it up at the bottom end. Thankfully we are moored at the top end.
We are staying here at Ellesmere for another day and then, on Friday, we’re heading for Grindley Brook, I think! At 5.30 in the morning my brain is not at it’s best and I am unsure as to what we decided for Friday. I do know that we intend being there for Sunday, because there’s a pub there that we haven’t tried yet.
Anyway, enough of this chatter, time to post.
Enjoy the rest of this week and the upcoming weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Yesterday we came down the Montgomery from the Weston Branch, turned around at the last winding hole and returned to the shop moorings. After settling and walking doggie we ventured to take a look at how restoration work is progressing on the Montgomery Canal. This entailed a walk of about a mile to where the canal is dammed up so that work can be carried out beyond.
Two years ago when we were last here, Sheila walked to that point and, as far as she can tell, not much has been done since. This is not meant as a criticism of the volunteer workforce. After all, able bodied workers have only so much free time and funding is always a problem. Reading one of the posters attached to the works, it seems the first weekend of each month is set aside for this work. With the best will in the world progress is going to be slow. I do hope I will still be around and enjoying my boating when a new section is opened up. This really is a beautiful canal.
Today we are staying here at this spot near the shop, which we visited yesterday. The shop doubles as a café and sells postcards etc. and we even managed to purchase bread and milk, along with frozen pies and fresh baked scones. Sadly they no longer sell newspapers because, apparently, it is not cost effective. There are times when running a small business, that you have to put yourself out to accommodate your customers!!
Tomorrow we’ll make our way back to The Queen’s Head moorings and enjoy a Sunday drinky poohs! This assumes we can find a space to stick the boat. Moorings there are fairly limited but, if we’re a wee bit crafty, we’ll arrive after people have left and before a new bunch of boaters arrive.
Sunday 29th May and we’ll be off to the Queen’s Head later today, but first I must tell you about yesterday and the arrival of Dave and Jackie, our neighbours from our days at Pillings Lock.
At the time I was reading “Theodore Boone” by John Grisham, whilst Wifey was doing her ‘queen-is-in-the-counting-house bit. Wifey is not one to ever react when surprised, a simple scream is enough to yank me out of my reverie, which she immediately did, causing me to drop the book and jump out of my seat. Having achieved the desired effect, she then pointed out of the window shouting, “It’s Dave and Jackie, Dave and Jackie”
After I’d gathered my wits and felt my pulse rate return to something approaching normal, we both went outside and, while Wifey stood there with an OMG look on her face, I assisted with the mooring of their boat.
Dave and Jackie left Pillings Lock several months before us, in fact they left before I’d had my knees done, so it was a wonderful surprise to see them again. The last we heard they were moving to another marina and Dave was doing a motorbike ride for charity, and we have heard nothing about them since.
Now, the canal grapevine is pretty much like any other and one of the pieces of news imparted to us by these two concerned our old friends Brian and Marian. We had heard rumours that they wee selling their boat and moving back to Swindon, but we were going to wait until returning to Mercia for the truth of it. But Dave and Jackie have confirmed the part about leaving Mercia but, whether or not they have sold the boat, they weren’t sure. They weren’t surprised we had fallen out with them either; Jackie in particular thought it was no great shame. “I didn’t really think they were your type”, she said and she was probably right.
The news they imparted about Pillings Lock didn’t come as a great surprise either. It seems the Pump-Out barge has broken down along with its ability to dispense diesel and the Elsan disposal unit has become blocked. No doubt Paul has remedied these problems, otherwise he would have a riot on his hands, followed by a mass exodus of boats. Although, the thought remains that, if that barge has broken down completely, how quickly can Paul replace it or, better still, install proper facilities?
According to rumour or, as they say in the legal profession, allegedly, the situation regarding dog mess around Pillings Lock marina, has become so acute that Paul has threatened to collect samples, have them DNA tested and then have all the dogs on site DNA tested to find those responsible. Just what he intends to de about all those visitors who are bringing their dogs there to pooh is anyone’s guess. I think I said all I needed to say about that man long before we left there.
Dave and Jackie have a new Cairn terrier; their old one, Sam, having finally departed this life. He was getting rather slow when we last saw him and he wasn’t very well either. Sadly this comes to all our pets eventually. The new one, whose name escapes me – really must concentrate – has been a show dog and won prizes, but he seems to be taking to the boating life quite well. Although he’s not happy with traffic noise, so they couldn’t moor up by the Queen’s Head yesterday because the moorings are too close to a busy main road.
Well, we’re off to the Queen’s Head today, whilst our two friends are staying here, despite the disgraceful prices at the Navigation Inn. Goodness knows how long it will be before we bump into them again, but we wish them well on their travels which, from Monday, will take them on to Llangollen, they have to be back at their home moorings sometime in July and will then spend three weeks in France.
Internet access is pretty poor here, for some reason, even though I have all five bars up on my signal strength meter, the darn thing will not connect every time. Yesterday morning, no problem, later that morning, no connection, yesterday afternoon, no problem, this morning, no connection. I suppose, even though the stupid thing is registering strong signal, it is unable to connect to 3, but I’m hanged if I can figure out why. However, not to worry, this is only one spot in just a handful where we have this problem and, just as long as I don’t receive big emails from Alan or Sandra, I’ll pick them up when we get back to Weston.
I am now keeping a feeding log for Rusty, to see if we can isolate what may be giving her trouble. Ordinarily we would give her a Baker’s or Pedigree pouch on alternate mornings, with a change to hard food the next day. She would then have a small amount of the hard food in the evening, followed by a treat before bed.
On Friday, when we took our walk to check on restoration progress, I found a mucky looking tennis ball and gave it to Rusty. Naturally, being Rusty, she proceeded to tear it apart and we’re wondering if that could be the cause of her latest upset.
Our Sandra has also given us some advice about feeding, which we will take up just as soon as we can find the products she recommends. Until then our pooch will have to be content with her normal food, and we’ll have to continue monitoring same. T These little problems continue to plague us throughout our lives, don’t they, but what would life be without the occasional challenge?
The entry locks to the Montgomery only operate between the hours of 12 noon and 2 pm, so we must ensure we arrive at the Queen’s Head before they do, but after other boaters have left for those same locks. Should be a doddle!! Actually this canal is not that busy, despite it being a Bank Holiday weekend, so I see no reason for there not to be spaces where we’re going. Meanwhile I’m going to try getting online again.
Monday 30th May
We came down from Maesbury to the Queen’s Head yesterday morning, with the express intention of paying a visit to said pub. For about £15 a Sunday lunch can be had at The Navigation Inn at Maesbury, whereas, here at the Queen’s Head, that same lunch will only set you back £8.95. And what a lunch it was, plenty on the plate, piping hot and very tasty. The half a chicken was indeed a full half and the bird itself was probably not small either. Including two pints of Guinness, a J2O and a coffee, our total bill came to £28.
It’s raining. Hopefully it won’t be doing so later this morning, because we really do need to get back to the Weston Branch, where we will stay overnight. It being a Bank Holiday Monday we have no intention of joining the happy throng of weekend boaters on the Llangollen.
Last night, just as I was about to take Rusty for her final walkies of the day, we heard voices. No, this is not unusual on a canal towpath but, with the pub car park empty and with no houses along the towpath side, there seemed no reason for people to be walking here. On closer inspection, and it was getting dark by now, it appeared that a couple of fellows were standing at the end of the moorings, chatting and drinking beer.
Oh dear! This we do not want. But, I then noticed what appeared to be the outline of a tent. Why anybody would want to camp out on a towpath is anyone’s guess, but that’s what they were doing. The tent is still here this morning and, apart from Wifey’s coughing, we’ve had a peaceful night. Probably just a couple of school kids camping out for the night, as they do. It is half-term after all.
Yes, poor Sheila has a nasty cough. She may well have picked up the bug from me, poor thing. However, she usually gets over these things pretty rapidly and, unlike yours truly, simply works through it without dosing herself up too much.
So, off to the Weston Branch later, even if it does rain.
Tuesday 31st May and, at last, a sunny start to the day.
We are undecided as to whether to go up to the locks early, or wait until everybody else has gone through and go through last. If we go early this morning we will be able to moor up properly but, if we leave it late and try to moor up, we’ll have no luck because there is only room to moor two boats. Any more than two and the rest have to stand there until it is time to move forward.
On the one hand, if we go very early then, just a soon as the lock keeper starts the ball rolling, we’ll be the first through. If we leave it late, depending on how many boats are going through, it could be as late as 3 pm before we are through and moored up somewhere on the Llangollen. Decisions, decisions!
Wednesday 1st June.
It’s almost 05.30 and I was about to say that summer had finally arrived but, as I glanced towards the canal, I couldn’t help but notice the rain. Having hauled myself out of bed at 05.15 to a bright and sunny morning, this has come as something of a surprise.
Anyway, yesterday we were the first boat through the locks at Welsh Frankton and moored ourselves up between bridges 64 and 63 by about 13.00. There would have been little point in continuing on to Ellesmere, simply because the Ellesmere Arm would, most probably, have been full. This morning we will probably leave for Ellesmere at about 09.30, arriving about 10.30, thus giving all those moored there ample time to have their breakfast and be on their way.
I had hoped to post this blog this morning but, alas, even though we’re only moored a couple of hundred yards from the spot last time through here, I was unable to get online yesterday. Still, after the huge amount of shopping we’ll have to do today, I should find time for that small task.
Thursday 2nd June and despite it being a little warmer, we have started the day with heavy cloud.
Several more boats attempted to moor up along this arm, not all of which were successful. However, when Sheila took Rusty for her final constitutional of the day, she found a couple of boatloads of holiday makers whooping it up at the bottom end. Thankfully we are moored at the top end.
We are staying here at Ellesmere for another day and then, on Friday, we’re heading for Grindley Brook, I think! At 5.30 in the morning my brain is not at it’s best and I am unsure as to what we decided for Friday. I do know that we intend being there for Sunday, because there’s a pub there that we haven’t tried yet.
Anyway, enough of this chatter, time to post.
Enjoy the rest of this week and the upcoming weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
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