Shiralee Cruise 2012 # 27

Shady Oak Pub to Overwater


Saturday 22nd September

Yesterday morning at about 7.30 we had rain but, by the time Sheila had taken Rusty for her pre-cruise walkies, it had stopped. So, taking the bit between our teeth, we prepared to move on, with the intention of completing the six locks and four miles to Calverley.

At the same time as we started to untie the boat, two BW/CART workers turned up and boarded their small tender. (BW = British Waterways and CART = Canals and Rivers Trust. CART is how I will refer to them from now on) When I asked which way they were going I was told the same direction as we were. This was great news, because it meant Wifey would have help with the locks.

Of course, just as we were setting off, down came the rain and it continued raining for most of the trip. Along with the rain came a drop in temperature and it wasn’t a slow drop either, it seemed very sudden and, by the time we reached Calverley, I was feeling quite chilly.

This morning, as per the forecast, it is now frosty, the first frost of the autumn? It’s also foggy, although, why it should be is a mystery when you consider the rain and cloudy conditions throughout yesterday. I suppose it’s the clear sky and overnight drop in temperature. Still, with a clear sky we should have a pleasant time of our trip to Barbridge this morning. We were considering going on to Nantwich, but it’s quite a walk to The Star at Acton and we can still get the bus to Nantwich from Barbridge. Also, Barbridge is only a couple of miles away and we have no locks to worry about, so we should be able to catch a fairly early bus into Nantwich soon after we arrive.

Sunday 23rd September

Whoopee! Sunday is here and it’s boiled eggs and soldiers for brekky. Plus, there’s a relaxing hour or so in The Old Barbridge Inn at lunchtime.

Yesterday was a really fine day and, after taking on some coal at Calverley, from a coal and diesel boat, we spent a leisurely hour and a half making our way to Barbridge. Following on from that, we caught the 11.09 bus to Nantwich and wandered around the shops finally heading home with a trolley and bag full of goodies. Just for good measure we’ll go again tomorrow, this time from Nantwich moorings and pay a visit to Morrison’s for the rest of our shopping.

What we really love about these shopping trips, is the variety of shops selling meat, veg and fruit and bakery items, especially the bakery items. Fresh bread and custard tarts are always a must, as are the huge pieces of chicken found in local butcher’s shops. It really amazes us the effort that these shops put in for their customers, and the fresh produce available. It’s all very yummee!

We always call into the charity shops for books, although there are a couple that we avoid like the plague. They all do good works, but some of them seem to think they can charge what they like for used books. On average we would expect to pay about £1.25 or so, but the shops we avoid are the ones charging £2 or more. Yesterday we bought four paperbacks in one shop at buy one get one free and spent just £3. Although, I have to confess, I don’t understand why they make these offers. Surely they want as much money coming in as possible, don’t they? So, why give stuff away? Ah well, ours not to reason why!

Monday 24th September

Once again we are being treated to some pretty poor weather, with more heavy rain. Yesterday, I’m pleased to relate, it stayed dry until well into the afternoon, which allowed us to walk to and from the pub at lunchtime. Sadly it wasn’t quite warm enough to sit outside.

I’m getting along quite nicely with my caravan painting, although it will need some tidying up at the end stages as it’s looking a wee bit ragged at present. I’m now onto fiddly bits, such as windows and what can be seen through them, not to mention the appearance of a glass surface which, in itself, is pretty tricky. Still, it’s coming along.

There seemed to be more canal traffic than usual yesterday, mostly holiday boats but, to our surprise, not many of them stopped here. On previous visits, and they have been many, we have had difficulty finding a mooring spot, but this year the place is virtually empty. Perhaps it’s because we’re here quite late in the season!

The rain is thundering down now and I have my doubts about being able to move on to Nantwich. Not that it matters really, as we’ll be able to take the bus into town from here rather than there, if you get my drift. To be honest, apart from a few really warm days; and I do mean a few and warm, none of the sweltering, humid days of yore; this summer has been a complete and utter wash-out. Come back Gulf Stream, all is forgiven!!

Tuesday 25th September

Having awoken to heavy rain yesterday morning and had breakfast, we decided to wait and see if it was going to ease off, and then make a decision as to whether or not to push on to Nantwich. But by 10.15 it was still raining quite heavily, so we decided to stay here and take the 10.39 bus to town. Not that we really wanted to venture forth into that foul weather but, with an almost empty fridge, we really did need to go to Morrison’s. That huge umbrella that our son David bought us a few years back, has come to our rescue on several occasions, none more so than yesterday.

We arrived at the bus stop and found company in the form of another boating couple. They were from the boat that had moored in front of us the previous day and, whilst the husband was taking the train down to Weymouth to pick up their car, the wife was doing some shopping and coming back to the boat.

Shopping done and back on ‘Shiralee’, it was now a case of waiting for the rain to stop, which it refused to do for the rest of the day. At the moment there is a fine drizzle and very light breeze, so, who knows, we might make Nantwich today. We will take another bus ride into town, this time for those smaller purchases, such as meat and bread and, of course, another visit to the indoor market. I’m still looking for a strap wrench and a couple of good sized hooks on which to hang our stern ropes whilst we’re on the move. It’s so untidy, having them clutter up the floor space on the stern deck.

My pastel painting tutor has asked me to proofread her lessons, which I have been happy to do. Whilst ploughing through the latest lesson, after taking Rusty out, the rain has started again. Along with the rain, has come a bitter wind, but, I’m happy to say, only a light one. Perhaps we’ll still get to Nantwich this morning, even if we do have to resort to the brolly.

Later…..

Well, breakfast is over, it’s still gushing down with rain, so it looks like we’ll be stuck here at Barbridge for the 4th day in a row. It’s not looking good for any further non-essential cruising, so, with that in mind we have decided to make our way back to Mercia with as few stops as possible. This doesn’t mean missing out on our Sunday drinky-poohs, only that we will be there much sooner than we would have wishe, probably around the 16th of October.

Meanwhile, we’ll simply have to catch the bus into Nantwich from here again, rather than wait until we reach Nantwich. Infact, with Nantwich being only three miles away, we’ll probably go through to Audlem tomorrow.

Wednesday 26th September

I’m a wee bit late in bringing this up to date today, because we have had problems with the fire and have still not been able to get the heating to run first thing in the morning. So, not wishing to run the batteries down too much, I have only been using the laptop for an hour or so, which hasn’t given me much time to do much except download and read emails.

It’s now just after 1 pm and we spent 3½ hours cruising from Barbridge to our current moorings just before bridge 80 and Overwater marina. We stopped here because it’s not an official mooring site and we wanted to run the engine for much longer than normal. From now until we arrive at Mercia, I intend running the engine for eight hours per day, which will include any cruising time, plus charging during the evening. I’m hoping this will top the batteries up enough for the heater to work first thing in the morning.

Also, since our solid fuel fire hasn’t been giving of its best of late, we wanted to check the chimney out again because I felt sure it had become blocked again. Sure enough, when Wifey took the back panel out, stuck to the back was a huge chunk of solid matter, all black and grey and gungy. After taking that off, I made use of that long piece of steel rod that me found back at Gurnett Aqueduct on the Macclesfield. With a good point on the rod already, it didn’t take long to chip the rest of the gunk off the inside of the stack; much of which was wet and black; then for Wifey to drag it out from the hearth. We now have a chimney stack completely free of obstructions, and a fire that is burning quite nicely, thank you.

Now, after spending four days at Barbridge due to really filthy weather, we have decided to press on to Mercia marina and aim to be there on or about the 16th of October. This is two weeks earlier than originally planned, but we are so fed up with all the rain, that it seems pointless to prolong the agony. Hopefully next year will prove more amenable weather wise.

Thursday 27th September

Brrrr! This morning has clearly demonstrated that winter is on its way, with an almost clear sky, light frost and thick fog. Hopefully, once the sun comes up, the fog will clear quickly and we’ll be on our way, through four locks and about a mile, to the middle of Audlem.

We were considering a two day stopover at the nearby Overwater Marina but, now that we have cleared the chimney and have a generous amount of warmth in the boat, we don’t need to run the heater in the morning. All we have to do to ensure that the batteries are topped up, is run the engine for more than seven hours per day, which beats wasting two days in a marina, although is not as effective as being on a landline power supply.

As you all must be aware, we’ve had some pretty atrocious weather of late, so the use of our cameras has been seriously curtailed, which means no photos in this blog. I could include old ones from previous years, but you folks, for whom I write this blog, have seen them anyway. Also, with only a couple of weeks until we arrive back at Mercia, unless we are treated to some decent weather, taking pictures of places we’ve already covered seems unnecessary, unless we encounter an odd incident or two, in which case we’ll all be in for a treat.

So, without more ado, I’ll now post this blog.

All abreast everybody

Dave, Sheila and Rusty.