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Need eyes on the ground in Birmingham and Stoke


MoominPapa

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Over the next week, we're going to be moving Melaleuca from Lapworth to Congleton. Moominmama is coming out of retirement to work at the new COVID-19 testing lab near Macclesfield so we need to be close to there. The closure of Bosely puts a bit of spanner in the works, but we're borrowing a car which makes commuting from the south end of the Macc do-able. 

 

The quickest route is to go via Camp Hill, Garrison, B&F to the Trent and Mersey and North from there. My guess is that some of those canals have seen no boats for the past six weeks, which worries me a little, so I'm hoping that someone will be around the area and can reassure me that the canal is still full of water and relatively empty of junk, or at least warn me in advance if it isn't so I can make an alternative plan. We've been North as far as Copt Heath for diesel, and Knowle and beyond was all fine, but reports from Garrison, Curdworth, and the likes of Measham and Stoke locks would be useful.

 

 

MP.

 

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14 hours ago, MoominPapa said:

Over the next week, we're going to be moving Melaleuca from Lapworth to Congleton. Moominmama is coming out of retirement to work at the new COVID-19 testing lab near Macclesfield so we need to be close to there. The closure of Bosely puts a bit of spanner in the works, but we're borrowing a car which makes commuting from the south end of the Macc do-able. 

 

The quickest route is to go via Camp Hill, Garrison, B&F to the Trent and Mersey and North from there. My guess is that some of those canals have seen no boats for the past six weeks, which worries me a little, so I'm hoping that someone will be around the area and can reassure me that the canal is still full of water and relatively empty of junk, or at least warn me in advance if it isn't so I can make an alternative plan. We've been North as far as Copt Heath for diesel, and Knowle and beyond was all fine, but reports from Garrison, Curdworth, and the likes of Measham and Stoke locks would be useful.

 

 

MP.

 

The canal between Catherine De Barnes and Camp Hill is in water and looks fine (I walk the dog along that length). I have not seen a boat for weeks.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just to report back on this. We are now on the Macc, moored just beyond the final winding hole before the Boseley stoppage, with access to water at Buglawton and somewhere to park the car which is necessary to commute the last stretch to Alderley Park. Toilet cassettes will have to be transported by car to Boseley sani station.

 

MoominMama is due to report in at nine am sharp tomorrow for a days training and then she'll be hard at work in the COVID mines.

 

The trip went pretty much to plan. The main problem was hopping the car. Many thanks to Mrs Tawny Owl for a lift back to Lapworth to collect it after the Birmingham transit. After that a combination of one driving and the other single-handed boating, and use of the ship's bike got us by. There was one dry pound on Camp Hill flight, and even more rubbish than usual down Garrison and Minworth. The Royal and Ancient Tawny Owl keb was put to good use. Single-handing a lone boat through Harecastle tunnel is not an experience I'd wish to repeat: it's very lonely when the doors close behind you and you're all alone. For the first time, I wore a lifejacket, just in case.

 

Total moving boats for the 75 miles and 60-odd locks is four, and to prove that the law of Sod still lives, one was coming round the blind 90 degree bend at the end of Rugeley aqueduct, one was going very sllooowwwlly back from Etruria services to Westport Lake in front of me, one nipped into Hall Green stoplock just as I was approaching, and the final one raced me for a bridgehole at Congleton. 

 

The towpaths, on the other hand were generally busier than I've ever seen them. Lots of gongoozlers who had clearly never been near a canal before lockdown and mentioned that they'd not seen a boat going through a lock until we turned up. Lots of bikeists, lots if bikeists going fast.

 

MP.

 

 

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1 hour ago, wandering snail said:

We did see you as you went past us at Burston but we were too slow to get outside to give you a wave. Glad you made it ok. 

You have a good spot there.

 

MP.

 

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