Chris T

In case anyone misses it, this notice also includes a change to the current opening times for Bosley - Tues, Fri and Sun instead of the current Tue, Thur and Sun. Scuppers our plans for next week which were based on getting to Congleton for Thursday afternoon. Last entry time has also changed from 1pm to 12.

Same as the Macc canal society days then, thanks, I've never seen a CRT notification about them before. Hopefully it will help things run smoothly rather than cause delays though 🤭

I've received a CRT notice about a lock-wind event and wondered what it is? I thought it must be similar to the Macclesfield canal society 'Have a lock on us' days where society members operate the locks on the flight, but this notice says it may cause slight delays and to follow the signs, so I'm not sure. Thanks. https://mandrillapp.com/track/click/10513099/canalrivertrust.org.uk?p=eyJzIjoiZWJYRVBiQXpMT1R5dlAyd3pZTmtjeTBSZzRZIiwidiI6MiwicCI6IntcInVcIjoxMDUxMzA5OSxcInZcIjoyLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL2NhbmFscml2ZXJ0cnVzdC5vcmcudWtcXFwvbm90aWNlc1xcXC8wMTk3Y2I4NS1jMjBjLTc3OTAtYTI4NS1hNjFlNTgwNjRkOTFcIixcImlkXCI6XCIyODVhZWNiMTFiOTM0ZmIwOGZlN2E0YTllMDc0MzkxM1wiLFwidXJsX2lkc1wiOltcImUyOTcwNjg0YjU1ZmJmNGY0Y2JmMjMzYTgyMDE3YzkxN2Y0YTgwZTRcIl0sXCJtc2dfdHNcIjoxNzUxNDY5MzA0fSJ9

Just to add, this isn't a boatyard, it's a small place on the canal that does day boat hire, some chandlery (although since 'covid times' you can no longer go inside to browse), gas, diesel, coal, but always busy with people at the outside tables having drinks/cakes/ice creams. I saw on their Facebook page that someone had asked the reason for the change to dispensing fuel, but there was no reply.

Hubby also questioned if it was 1 April 🤔. They've sold diesel for years so this is a new thing. I can completely understand a minimum sale to make it worth their while, especially as they have to abandon their sales of coffees and cakes, no doubt a far bigger earner, but it seems a very high minimum, and I didn't understand the kg thing at all.

Just passed Bailey's Trading Post on the Macclesfield and saw a sign that they will now only provide diesel if it's over 101 litres, and some stuff about selling by the kilo rather than litre. Not sure what this is all about, hopefully it's not a common thing as we tend to fill up with as low as 50 litres because the cost feels less painful. Has anyone come across this or anything similar before?

Oh.... ☹️

Just watching the first episode, as he goes under bridge 144 (could have been 114) it looks like a kingfisher darts into view and back again.

Agree with previous comments. Moorings are extremely limited at Whaley Bridge and are right next to the road. Loads of moorings at Bugsworth and also plenty of space on the bank once you're moored up, and nice for a walk round, it's a really interesting place. Unfortunately, although you can't see the main road from the moorings, we find the traffic noise quite intrusive. It's a pleasant walk from there into Whaley Bridge, maybe 20 mins along the canal.

I used it on the outside of the cover.

After a few cleans with Renovo, our cover still had some small white spots, which I assumed to be mould / mildew based. I tried a bit of Mould Magic from Must Have Ideas (I've used it on black mould around the window frames at home) which has removed the white spots, but hasn't affected the colour of the cover. This was only a few weeks ago and only a small patch, so I don't know if it's a long term solution, but it cleaned it up sufficiently for me to finally feel it was ready to reapply the Fabsil.

That's what we have always done previously.

We've got at least one, but naturally couldn't find one when it was needed. And yes, Harecastle. We've been through loads of times but never had to book online before and wasn't prepared for this question. Sorry for not replying more quickly, I've been at the tiller.

We've just borrowed a tape measure from someone so we're sorted now.

Trying to book a tunnel passage, and the CRT website requires me to put the air draught in before I can book. I have no idea what this is, but we've been through the tunnel loads of times before. It's a Liverpool 50 foot cruiser. Any ideas what our air draught may be? Thanks in advance.

Thanks, that's useful to know.

Boats moored blocking both water points at Bosley this morning, never seen so many moored boats above the locks, but we managed to hack a space amongst the giant nettles last night. We're at Congleton now, having a drink in the lovely Wonky Pear 🍻. No boats moored below the Queen's Head but the aqueduct was completely full, as was the wharf. We're moored opposite the houses (also very busy) but the water is full of diesel/oil so we're pondering setting off again after a couple of light ales. The latest plan for the football is to head to the Broughton Arms tomorrow, and come back to Congleton on Sunday for the match. Also noted the Wharf Inn covered in flags today. Thanks for commenting all.

Thank you. My reservation about heading for the Broughton Arms is that there aren't a lot of moorings. We came through Macclesfield yesterday with no spaces either on the pontoons (even breasted up there) or the ones opposite the houses, and last week there were no spaces at Marple on 3 different days, some of the boats had been there over a week. Not a bad reason for me to pondering where to head for though 😊

I've heard that the Canal Tavern are showing the football, but the beer isn't very inspiring and thought we might be a bit more adventurous as we probably have a day to get a bit further (and back). Otherwise mooring at Red Bull aqueduct seems to be a good plan. It's difficult to imagine the Bluebell having the space for TVs but I haven't been in for a few years, and I hadn't thought of the Red Bull, so that's one worth asking. Thanks for the suggestions.

We're having a sneaky few days out, coming down the Macc., meeting friends at Congleton on Friday, then we planned to turn at Kidsgrove and slowly head back. We now rather unexpectedly, want to watch the football on Sunday, so are thinking of having a half a dayish detour from Kidsgrove, watch the match somewhere in the evening and back up to the Macc the following morning. I didn't bring the canal guides, so can anyone recommend any pubs that will be showing the football with nearby moorings and winding hole? I thought of the Broughton Arms at Rode Heath. Prefer to do this direction so that we're not tied to Harecastle timings. Alternatively, anywhere at Milton? Westport Lake? Hem Heath? Thanks for any suggestions.

Saw this chap catch a fish and eat it whole.

We don't deliberately collect them, we've just acquired several over the years that don't work very well. We had a good Robert's radio many years ago, but the newer ones don't seem to be very well regarded. It sounds like a second hand older one is a better bet, but may take some hunting down so I will attempt the aerial repair in the meantime. Comments all appreciated, thank you.

Thanks both. I'll definitely look at a replacement aerial, but would thought a new radio would be a nice pressie as our existing one is nearly as old as us, despite being a cheapie. Would prefer new to second hand for a gift too, but I am tempted by the one with a cassette player, he'd love that 🙄

Having tried / collected various portable radios over the years, we've found than an old fashioned battery one without any new fangled DAB or anything gets the best signal on the boat, but the pull out aerial has just snapped off, so I'm planning to buy hubby a new one for his birthday. It's pretty much exclusively used for the football, 5 Live, 909 on medium wave. Does anyone else still rely on such quaint devices that can recommend a new one?

Plenty of boats pootling about on the Macc summit this weekend, but....where are all the ducks?