Thursday 5th July
This morning, at the request of our local engineer, Eric, we attempted to reverse ‘Shiralee’ into the winding hole. Up to a point this operation was successful, in that we did indeed get said boat into the winding hole. However, once in there I was unable to move the darn thing to where I wanted it to go, namely to the side so that we could moor up. What is more, I had trouble getting it out again. (Have you ever had a day when you know things just ain’t going to go right?)
At a very sloooow rate of knots, I finally managed to move the boat back to the towpath and, after much blue air, removed the chuff that was fouling the prop.
Having done all that and wasted an hour or so, I sent a text to Eric explaining the situation and, about an hour after that, our esteemed engineer phoned to say that he was unable to order the size of belt that we asked for and had been obliged to get the next size up, which is 13mm longer. Hopefully, when he calls tomorrow to fit it and carry out the oil change, the belt will not be too long.
It seems that his supplier is unable to order the smaller belt; we’ve had this problem with a couple of chandleries about this, so he had to settle for the longer one, which is why we are having to wait until tomorrow. No matter, we have plenty of food to last, but we really must be on our way as soon as Eric finishes here.
Friday 6th July
At last, a good bit of sunshine yesterday, this meant that Sheila could finish painting the top of the bow. She also washed the starboard side down and painted over a small section of red below the hatch. We now have to wait until we get to Nantwich where, if we have some sunshine again, or at least if it’s dry, we can paint over the patches on the port side and restore the rest of the red.
We really would like to get to Nantwich this morning and take the bus into town, but this all depends upon what time Eric gets here and, of course, the weather. If yesterday evening and during the night is anything to go by, when we had torrential rain, thunder and lightning, I have my doubts. But, the last time we topped up with water was before we left Grindley brook on Saturday, so we’re getting a little low and Wifey has done two lots of washing since then. The next water point is at the top of Hurleston Locks, two miles away and, once we reach that water point we will have to go down the locks, regardless of the weather.
We can only await Eric’s arrival.
Saturday 7th July
Eric arrived at about half nine, by which time it was coming down in stair-rods and I had to hold our big brolly over him whilst he worked. Luckily we had the oil and filter, so that saved some cash, but he did replace the fuel filter which, if memory serves, would have cost about £40 back at Mercia. Eric charged us £14! I think we’ll be asking Andy to carry out any servicing in future.
For the rest of the day the weather was quite bad and so, instead of sitting here reading, we watched Federer beat Djokovic, followed by Murrey beating Tsonga. If you watched both games, what do you think was different about the end of each one? Well, I’ll tell you. Federer had the usual smile on his face and applauded the crowd for their support, whereas Murrey looked like he was about to burst into tears. Is he always like that when he wins a match?
I’ve just noticed something about MS Word. Federer, Djokocic and Murrey, all have a red line under them which, I presume, means that Word does not recognise those words. How come Tsonga has not been given the same treatment? Most odd!
Ten minutes ago we had blazing sunshine, well, not blazing really, it’s too early in the day for that, but now we are looking at heavy cloud again. I spoke to a fisherman when I took Rusty out and he reckons we should be on our way as early as possible, ‘cos we’re in for a soaking later. So, what’s new? We’ve got to go anyway because, if we don’t, then we’ll surely run out of water. We’ve left it longer than normal as it is.
Next stop, Barbridge on the Shroppie and then, on Monday, the Middlewich Branch.
Sunday 8th July
We left Burland at 7.47 yesterday morning, intending to beat everybody else to the locks. There’s nothing worse than finding yourself in a queue of holiday boats!
Anyway, disposed of rubbish and topped up with water and, lucky old us, went through the first lock ahead of our nearest rival. There are four locks at Hurleston, which take you from the Llangollen to the Shroppie, or vice versa and they are all separated by a short pound, so Wifey is able to walk between them and, whilst the one I am in is emptying, she can wander off to fill the next one.
So, I get to the third lock down and, whilst the water is flowing out, she trots off to fill the next one. When she comes back, she empties the lock and opens the gates and I move forward and head for the last lock.
Great, one lock to go and we’ll be in Barbridge nice and early, catch the bus into town and settle down for the weekend. Huh! No such luck.
Hurleston locks are a little narrower than most single locks and, as you approach them at the bottom, there’s a sign warning you to make sure all side fenders are raised, so as to avoid them getting stuck or broken off.
Now, this would be our 8th time of passing through these locks in Shiralee and this will be the first time we have become jammed fast in one of them, but that’s exactly what happened. Sheila tried letting more water into the lock, in hopes of raising the water level, but that was a no go. She then tried pulling on the centre rope, but no joy there either.
Eventually she took my mobile and wandered off to the top of the locks, to where she could get a signal, planning to phone BW. Meanwhile, the boater behind us came along and offered no help, although he did suggest to Sheila that she might call out the nearby engineer!!???
After giving the engine as much welly as I could, along with fishtailing the rudder, in hopes that I could persuade the wretched boat to move, along came another boater. He, at first, tried pulling on the centre rope, to no avail. I then suggested throwing the bow line to him, which I did and, with a good old British heave-ho, out she popped.
We eventually arrived at Barbridge a good ¾ of an hour later than expected, settled in for a cuppa and then took the bus to Nantwich, arriving back at the boat at about half past one with a trolley and two bags full.
The rest of Saturday remained dry and bright, but with the odd flutter of rain. Today has also started out fine, except that our heater refused to come on, which is a bit odd because there should have been plenty of power in the batteries, as we didn’t watch telly last night. So, will run engine after 8 am and see if it will start then If not we’ll have to call Eric out and, I have no doubt, spend even more money on this recalcitrant beast.
Monday 9th
July
We spent a very pleasant hour in The Old Barbridge Inn yesterday lunchtime, followed by a few hours of torment watching Murray get beaten by that Swiss chappie. Some of that time was spent listening to the pouring rain – again, and the rest of it reading until bedtime.
Today is looking heavily overcast and, hopefully, by the time we get back from Nantwich, it will be OK to set sail, weigh anchor and head for Middlewich. We’re only moving a couple of miles and will pull in at a boatyard to see if they have the paint we will need for finishing off the boat. I’m assuming that the rest of the summer is not going to be as wet.
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| Chaos at Barbridge Junction |
Tuesday 10th July
Yesterday afternoon, having returned from Nantwich at midday, I turned the engine on to allow Sheila to use the washing machine, prior to departing for pastures new.
Even in her small machine the process takes about 1½ hours and so, since there are no other water points after the one at the junction with the Middlewich branch, we decided to let the washing finish before leaving.
After Wifey had sorted the washing out and we’d had a cuppa, still with the engine running, I climbed out front, rolled up the cratch sides and lowered the TV aerial, when I heard a shout from across the canal.
At the bottom of the garden opposite our moorings were a middle aged couple sitting at a table having lunch. The lady of the house, asked me, quite politely at first, if I wouldn’t mind turning the engine off. I was about to explain that we were about to move off, when she then started ranting about us being there for a week and running the engine all day.
Well, ‘red rag to a bull’ springs to mind. As you all know, we didn’t arrive there until Saturday afternoon due to the delay in extricating ourselves from the lock at Hurleston and, with domestic fuel costing almost £1 per litre, we’re hardly likely to run the engine all day.
The strange thing is, this lady has a very polite notice pinned to her garden fence, requesting that boaters respect their privacy and refrain from mooring across their garden, and she even started her request to us in a very polite manner, but then started spitting nails.
After waiting for several boats to pass us, we then moved off to the water point and we are now moored just before the lock and Venetian Marina. How long for is anybody’s guess, depending, as it does, upon the weather.
Wednesday 11th July
Well, I’m sorry to say, nothing to report for yesterday due to pretty poor weather, apart from a walk down to the Venetian Marina where the chandlery is no longer open. Another one bites the dust. Oh, and we enjoyed a lovely roast dinner, just for a change.
Today? Probably off to Church Minshull where, according to a boater we spoke to at Wrenbury, a pub called The Badger is, or should be open again.
Thursday 12th July
Just as we were about to leave our mooring this morning, along came two boats, heading for the lock. Whoopee, we thought, a nice, long wait before we can descend the first of the two locks to Church Minshull. On the first boat was an old acquaintance of ours from Pillings Lock, whom everybody knows as Ridsy. I’m not sure of his full surname, but Ridsy is a diminutive of it and even his Jack Russell has the same name.
Anyway, as soon as he and his friend passed, we untied Shiralee, with the intention of slipping in behind them at the lock and waiting for them to both go through. Fortunately for us; although not so fortunate for Ridsey’s travelling companion, who had a rope trapped around his prop; John waved us through and we were on our way much earlier than expected.
The trip to Church Minshull was wet, so wet in fact that Wifey had to dig out the big brolly. It didn’t stay that way for long though and we arrived at bridge 14 at about 10 am, with the clouds slowly clearing away to leave a bright and sunny day. We had thought to have a go at restoring the red on the port side but, as that was now wet, we’ve decided to attack it at our next moorings, which will be at bridge 22, which is just short of Wimboldesly Wood and has a terrific view down to the River Weaver and Top Flash Lake.
Church Minshull is accessed via a narrow lane from bridge 14 and contains a pub, called The Badger and not much of anything else, except a bus stop. The Badger has now re-opened and looks to be quite an impressive building. We took our lives in our hands in walking up there, because the traffic is quite heavy for such a narrow lane. Sadly we were too early for a snifter but as we’re returning this way later, we might just give it a try.
Our plans for this year have been somewhat revised, mainly due to the damaged prop that I mentioned in an earlier blog. Even at the maximum speed of 4 mph allowed on canals, I am finding it necessary to hold the tiller arm slightly towards the left in order to maintain a straight line. I wouldn’t call it a struggle exactly, but I have some misgivings about the current flow on the River Weaver, especially when running against it where the strain may prove a little tedious, to say the least.
So, when we arrive at Anderton, instead of taking our boat down on the lift, we’ll see if we can take the Trip Boat down. After that we’ll head for the Macclesfield Canal and, at Marple Junction, take the Peak Forest Canal down to Bugbrook Basin where, if memory serves, there’s a rather nice country pub. Of course, since that’s a dead end, as is the Whalley Bridge branch, we’ll have to return the same way in order to get back to Marple Junction.
Also, instead of doing Liverpool and the Ribble Link to the Lancaster Canal, we’re going to plan it all for next year and book it all well in advance. We could probably still book for Liverpool, but definitely not The Ribble Link, and so for the rest of this year we’ll just poodle around as the fancy takes us.
Sadly, once again we have no Internet service here, which is a pity because I now have nine pages to post. Ah well, maybe at bridge 22, Middlewich or Anderton.
Friday 13th July
We made it to the spot overlooking the River Weaver by 10 am yesterday, with bright sunshine and shirt sleeves all the way. This was too good an opportunity to miss, and so out came the restorer and we set to. We still have the rust preventative patches to paint over, but that can wait until we’re past Middlewich, which is where we’ll be heading today, assuming this rain gives up. Yep, after that lovely day yesterday, we have more rain.
Now that we have a strong signal here, I think I’d better post this blog.
And, some gallows humour to end with
Have a good weekend
Dave, Sheila and Rusty
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