NbCassie2

There is barely a trickle coming down the bywash at Swanley No2 lock and Swanley marina is lower than I've known it. A fellow moorer came back last weekend saying that he had difficulty getting passed the pipes and that Hurleston was to be closed for 6 weeks (!), so we visited to check that out. They are back pumping from the Shroppie to maintain sufficient flow of water into Hurleston reservoir, because apparently the stoppages at the various tunnels are severly reducing the flow. The claimed stoppage at Hurleston was a misunderstanding, though I'd be a little apprehensive about anyone getting into the top lock at Hurleston passed to outflow from the pipe (aso watch out for the stones that you can hear rattling up the pipe from the Shroppie!)

I think that Station Tug means Hoo Mill. There is a small marina just below the lock - it's just north of Great Haywood. I don't know the area too well (south Staffordshire was where the posh ,lived when I was a lad) but it can't be far from the A34 and you can't get lost finding your way to work then.

Once you get to Swanley call in at the picnic table on Springe Lane for a warm welcome and gossip.

I'm a regular reader but very irregular poster, but has anyone considered what this thread might do to the blood pressure of the editor of Narrow-whingers-world? There will surely be an item in the other place soon pointing out the inaccuracy of the figures and commenting on the self-congratulatory content posted here. PS Many thanks for all the past helpful information and the sheer entertainment of the forum. I'll keep an eye out for any members of the forum at Audlem's gathering this weekend.

Keep in touch with Swanley, as there may be vacancies coming up on the 60' pontoons - there are three boats on brokerage on the pontoons close to where we are. There are vacancies on the 70' and 50' pontoons as far as I can see. Dave

From what I remember, they landscaped an old quarry to create the basin for the wheel and it was cheaper to have the lock rather then excavate more of the quarry to create a level with the canal. Besides watching the lock being worked provides more entertainment for the visitors. Dave

I gave up nearly 7 years ago, as a condition of taking early retirement, but the following figures helped me as they appealed to my bloody minded side. I found on the interweb that the costs of smoking to the NHS were 2.1 billion, the chancellor's (that nice Gordon Blown) take from tobacco taxes were 8 billion. Apparently 1p added to income tax raised at that time 2 billion. Thus the government made about 3 billion on tobacco and if all smokers give up then the government would need to have raised taxes by the equivalent of 4p in the pound. Think how all the self-righteous non-smokers who complain about the smell would react to that! The figures also explain why governments are unwilling to go for an outright ban on tobacco, but tinker round the edges and ostracise smokers. Hope you succeed and hope you experience also the supposed non-financial benefits of stopping.

I'd not thought of tunnels - but Ellesmere and Chirk tunnels for me are both uphill when going west to Llangollen and downhill when returning. I agree about Harecastle, but I only have this sensation when going north and can see the light at the end

I should have been clearer that this is a purely visual perception and that I'm puzzled by what aspects of the surroundings cause these strange perceptions. That flow is not an issue is shown by the sense of traveling west up Chirk cutting, but down the feeder from Trevor to bridge 34W. This latter section is interesting because initially there is little view on either sides, basically trees with odd glimpses of hills on the right and the dee valley on the left, then you come round the bend with the straight leading very clearly down to bridge 34W. This sense of down comes over even on photographs (they are all on my computer in Edinburgh - sorry). What aspects of the surroundings affect these perceptions? I used to think that in cutings it was whether the canal curved to the right, a sense of downhill, or left, a sense of uphill, as in Chirk cutting. The same is true of Woodeaves cutting, but what about the section from Market Drayton to Tyrley locks. When heading south for me this is clearly uphill, wide open canal with trees on both sides across the embankment, the view opens up just before the bridge but still uphill, then it bends to the left in a deepening cutting and you're still going uphill, then a final long straight in a deep cutting and it's still uphill to the lock (and the reverse as you head back north). All very odd. Is there and "??ologist" somewhere whohas down research on any area of perception related to this? ((Maybe I shouldn't have started this topic: this used to a matter of "hm that's funny" but having put it into words it could become an obsession.)

Can anyone explain why certain sections of canals give you the impression that you are traveling downhill and uphill on the way back e.g the feeder up to Llangollen, while others give the opposite impression, e.g Chirk cutting? Of course it could just be me, but I can't remember anyone ever mentioning this before in the 17 years I've been be holidaying and owning a boat.

Swanley marina is solid with ice, frustrating since the canal itself is clear.

So I'll be the second person you know with loops in his centre ropes. It seemed a perfectly reasonable thing to do at the time and was also a means of ensuring that my slightly over long ropes were not so long that they could fall off the roof and lead to a visit down the weed hatch!

We love our pullman dinette. So useful as a dropping off point/storage. Jan is heavily into craftwork, knitting, sewing and making all our Christmas/birthday cards so all her materials are stored in the "seat" at her side. I keep the laptop ready for use on my side. A minor point is that it just feels easier to simply clear a space and set the table rather than (as in our hiring days) having to fight to set up the table. Jan tends to sit there rather than in the lounge area when we are cruising because she can see what is going on and do her craftwork in good natural light.

A couple of thoughts which have helped me, certainly to move away from being angry with myself because I could not steer well (still can't but more relaxed about it after 17 years of hiring then owning). First steer just one side of the boat. You see many hirers leaning from side to side approaching a bridge hole, each move slightly altering the direction of the boat. Second try the mental approach of "just missing your side of the bridge hole or lock" - if you just miss one side you have certainly missed the other. Third move the tiller slowly and deliberately and feel it bite and have effect - don't jusy do wild dramatic swings from side to side all the while getting into a panic because nothing is happening. Fourth, just relax and concentrate on feeling the pressures on the tiller: the water flowing past the rudder is pushing against it, and your task is to counteract those pressures to steer in a straight line or to create those pressures when you want to deviate from the straight line. Relax and enjoy, after a short while you'll find you have gone a couple of miles without being aware of consciously steering. Dave

After reading an earlier thread on this topic, I started keeping the mooring rope on the slide, but I always try to leave the hoop clearly visible hanging over the right-hand side of the slide. Then I can pick to rope up with my left hand, hoop with the right and I'm ready to fail to make contact with the dolly as I miss judge the distance.

Go to Chester and avoid the Llangollen. We've just got back to our base at Swanley after an 8 day trip the Llangollen. We were convinced that it would be quieter but we were wrong. All the boats were out from Wrenbury (and still are when we passed this morning) and all the other hire bases seemed empty. Plus all the private boaters in the region had decided to do the Llangollen because it must be quite now. The next time we do it in the winter, once the stoppages are over - at least you seem more with no leaves on the trees. Dave

One of the joys of getting our own boat, and therefore not having a TV provided on a hire boat, was that we discovered BBC radio 4, especially the 6.30 evening slot. It is so good just to listen to a programe, be entertained or informed via a medium in which the words and their content are important, as opposed to being some adjunct to moving pictures. Rain is an excuse to moor up early and switch on the original magic box. Dave

We are at Swanley (Springe Lane) and "do" the Llangollen about three times a year (just for the fun of the hire boats) and I can't remember any problems with our 3 dongle no matter where we have moored. We have had more difficulties in the marina, usually a bit variable of an evening but fine in the morning. It's best if you can let the dongle "look out of the window", it seems to keep it happier. Dave