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.