Slow Boat To Chester

[cheshire~rose]

Yesterday evening we finally untied the ropes on Carrie~Lou and went on our way. This trip is going to be a little different to what we are used to as we are both convalescing and so this really will be a test to see just how much we can slow down.

Some of you might have read the thread I started last weekend: Here Where I was considering how possible it was to acheive.

 

The last 3 days at home have been an uphill struggle as we both tried to do all the stuff we needed to do in order to close the front door and walk away and there were a number of times when it all felt like it was just too much effort but I knew that it would be worth it once we got to the boat. By by mid afternoon yesterday we were in the car heading boatwards. By teatime we were installed, the shower cloud had past and we set off.

I just took a quick photo as we pulled away. It was only when I later looked at the photo and realised just how black the sky looked behind us it felt kind of symbolic; sailing away from a dark cloud into the sunshine:

 

 

We only planned to just move around the first few bends to a place we love that is "in the middle of nowhere" but there was a boat moored at that place, and another at our next chosen place and the sun was shining and having put so much effort into getting on board and now seeing the countryside just gliding past us without any effort at all was wonderful. We achieved a 4 mile cruise and stopped at The Fox and Anchor. Freinds were stopped there on Billy Whizz. They had only just set off from Calf Heath yesterday as well. They have been at Calf Heath since the banter at Easter. They were waiting for solar panels to be fitted which was held up by the weather. Then they had a problem with the washing machine and had to wait for a repair. Their friends were ridiculing them for only achieving 4 miles yesterday. We actually went about 3 miles more than we planned so I wonder if we really have "slowed down"?

 

Yesterday we saw lots of birds and we have moored opposite a tree with a wren nesting in it. The hedgerows are full of blueblells, pink campion and what my grandma used to call "shirt buttons" ( I must look them up in the book!) We took beer when we visited Billy Whizz last night and had a very pleasant sociable evening (but not a late one!) and a good nights sleep. Woken by a robin singing sweetly this morning we have a pressing agenda of getting to Oxley Marine for a pump out and then we have to tackle the arduous Autherley "flight" in it's entirity. After that? We need to be in Gnosall for Sunday. I think we can do it!

[bigcol]

Take it easy. Hoping you have a relaxing cruise

 

All the best and wishing you good heath for the future

 

Col

[lemontoes]

Relax and enjoy. x

 

Jan

 

Can't work out which way you are going ..... if you are going the way I think you are, the towpath is on the other side.

[LoneWolf]

If you keep us updated on your progress I may be around to do some lock-wheeling when you get to the locktastic bit at Audlem

[Paul C]

How far into Chester are you going? I may be able to help out on the 4x locks bit from Christleton to Hoole Lane, if you're going right into the city. Are you going down the staircase too?

[cheshire~rose]

Thank you for all the offers of assistance everyone, the plan is to keep this updated each day so watch this space. We are unsure exactly how far we plan to go at the moment, certainly we would like to go right into Chester so we can explore the city a little and if we find we have the energy/time we may carry on to Ellesmere port too but the whole idea of this trip is not to have any hard and fast plans. We will just go with the flow and do what we feel like doing when we feel like doing it.

 

Tonight we are moored up just above Wheaton Aston lock. We cruised down to Aldersley to wind, waved goodbye to Billy Whizz who carried straight one then back to pump out at Oxley Marine. We were through Autherley in a flash, the lock was in our favour with a queue the other direction! Just as I expected working the lock tired me out and we hit some squally showers so Dave had to go inside the boat (can't get his foot wet) while I carried on. I decided we would tie up on the moorings on the embankment just before Brewood. Of course, true to form the sun came out just before we got there! We spent most of the afternoon reading/ dozing then decided to go a little further. It has been beautifully sunny but the wind has a cold bite to it. We were busy watchig a heron in a cutting when my attention was caught by a dark bird thatflew onto a low branch. It was a kingfisher that sat perfectly still a few feet from us as we went past. Still smiling from our close encounter our attention was diverted again to a buzzard that swooped low throught the trees right over our heads. Wow!

This evening we have two donkeys and a goose for neighbours and have witnessed a stunning sunset. Tomorrow we will go through the lock, we have around 4 miles to achieve by Sunday so I don't expect it to wear me out too much!

 

Lemontoes - I am sorry of my photo confused you, we had to wind on the bend just after I took that photo!

 

Here is tonights mooring photo:

[cheshire~rose]

Yesterday was an excellent day for boating. Although the wind could be quite cold when on one of those Shroppie embankments it was lovely to be in the sunshine and the light filtering through the trees in the cuttings made for some very attractive scenery.

 

I have to admit I did fall into my old ways when waiting at the lock at Wheaton Aston .... Having Henry Hollinshead ahead of us made it an honour to work the lock for him to the beat of his engine

 

Last night we went to The Navigation and ended up chatting to a lovely group of people. A couple with their first boat, they have had it for about a month and were enjoying the learning curve they found themselves on. Two more couples on a long weekend on a Viking boat. They adore boating and were pondering on whether owning their own boat might be a way forward. The beer was good and the landlord was very accomodating. I think we might make an effort to get back here

 

Today we will not be moving anywhere but family are assisting with a car shuffle so we can get back to Chesterfield for Dave's appointment.

[cloggy]

Yesterday was an excellent day for boating. Although the wind could be quite cold when on one of those Shroppie embankments it was lovely to be in the sunshine and the light filtering through the trees in the cuttings made for some very attractive scenery.

 

I have to admit I did fall into my old ways when waiting at the lock at Wheaton Aston .... Having Henry Hollinshead ahead of us made it an honour to work the lock for him to the beat of his engine

 

Last night we went to The Navigation and ended up chatting to a lovely group of people. A couple with their first boat, they have had it for about a month and were enjoying the learning curve they found themselves on. Two more couples on a long weekend on a Viking boat. They adore boating and were pondering on whether owning their own boat might be a way forward. The beer was good and the landlord was very accomodating. I think we might make an effort to get back here

 

Today we will not be moving anywhere but family are assisting with a car shuffle so we can get back to Chesterfield for Dave's appointment.

I'll tell Steve he's accomodating next time i see him.

[cheshire~rose]

I'll tell Steve he's accomodating next time i see him.

 

I think he may find he is accommodating us a little more often! We can get up there in a weekend during the summer ..........and after the stories we have heard about Christmas .....I feel a plan coming on

[cloggy]

I think he may find he is accommodating us a little more often! We can get up there in a weekend during the summer ..........and after the stories we have heard about Christmas .....I feel a plan coming on

It was a very good christmas, Its really easy to get stuck there

 

And as i said before the music night (Thursday) can be really good

Edited May 13, 2012 by cloggy

[cheshire~rose]

I was unable to update on progress yesterday as we found ourselves in the glorious black hole in the interweb known to boaters as The Anchor at High Offley

It had felt a long day, Dave got his outpatients appointment done and dusted really quickly and is very happy to have a proper shoe on his foot again but was warned not to go overdoing things too soon! We drove back to Gnosall where I left Dave and did the car shuffle thing back to Calf Heath. We set off again in warm sunshine and enjoyed a pleasant late afternoon cruise. We had an equally pleasant evening in The Anchor with good beer and good company including that of an amazing 90 year old lady who was there to ensure her son did not misbehave lots of boaty talk and biker chat and a good deal of knotting was done.

We woke to pouring rain this morning but it passed so we untied and headed off. The wind was biting cold especially on the embankments but the clouds built as we went through Woodseaves cutting and culminated in a heavy hail showe which then turned to more persistant rain as we reached Tyrely We worled our way through the locks following another boat. Onely one boat came up the locks so we had to reset most of them but we survived! I even found the energy to go and explore the metropolis of Market Drayton this afternoon although the walk back to the boat did seem a long one (much further than it had been to get there!) We now have a dilemma. Tomorrow is supposed to be a dry day whereas the following two are forecast for a couple of hours of rain.

Next we have Adderley, 5 locks will not be a problem. I know we can handle that after today. Then Audlem........ 15 of the blighters! It would be good to get through them while the weather is with us because we have a good stretch after that with only a few locks spread about here and there. 20 locks tomorrow might be a bit much for us. I guess it depends whether we find a few for us or not and how we feel when the time comes.

Tonight we have 4 tiny cygnets on the grass across the canal and the birds are singing. We have a curry bubbling on the stove and a wedge of Nantwhich Blue cheese with some local bread to munch later - life is good!

[cheshire~rose]

The curry has been eaten and Dave has itchy feet so we are going to head off and enjoy the sunshine this evening

 

Here is a photo fom last night's mooring:

 

[cheshire~rose]

What a difference a day (and some sunshine) makes. We set off in crisp but glorious sunshine and followed a couple of boats through Adderley locks. The lady manning the farm shop kiosk at the top lock had been taken aback because she said she never usually sees a boat through there until 9.30am and it was 9am and we were the 4th (one boat had come up)

We decided that there would be no lock wheeling, we would just get to each lock and deal with it, one at a time in our own time and the 2 boats ahead of us soon got ahead. It did mean that by the time we reached Audlem we onlt did a couple of locks before we started to meet locks coming up and the majority of locks there was either a boat in the pound waiting for our lock or we would just wait a minute or two for a boat to emerge from the next lock. Wonderful = no need to close the bottom gates as you leave and steer into an open lock waiting for you - the stuff that dreams are made of. Consequently we were in Audlem for lunch which was something I could never have imagined possible and what is more we were not completely worn out! We sat and watched boat movements while we had lunch - one in either direction meaning the last 3 locks would be against us but so be it, just 3 more locks was manageable, Dave untied the boat while I went off to set the lock only to see a boat approaching. We helped them through and that meant the last 3 locks were all in our favour

This boating lark is very theraputic and I think after today I will no longer be able to class myself as ill! Warm sunshine, gentle exercise and lots of relaxation is just what was needed and I have recovered so much faster since coming on board the boat. I think it really should be available on prescription. Dave has also coped well but his foot does look a little more swollen this evening so I think I will insist he steers sitting down tomorrow!

We are hoping to get to Barbridge tomorrow where there is likely to be a bit of a banter. Forum member Cloggy is planning to try and get there as well. We all seem to remember reading something on here about a pub at Barbridge changing hands but no one can remember which one or whether it was a positive reaction to it or negative so can someone advise which is the best pub there please?

[Cloudbusting_dad]

The Olde Barbrige Inn is right on the canalside, between bridge 100 and the Middlewich Arm junction. It has recently been bought by Woodlands Brewery (a very local brewery with some great beers). They have another pub in Nantwich that does excellent food and beers. We're planning on trying the Barbridge Inn soon, to see if the Barbridge Inn is as good.

 

Looking at the pub's website, the menu has been greatly slimmed down from that available under the previous owners. Hopefully, the focus is on good quality food and drinks.

 

If you try it, let us know what you think.

[MalcolmH]

We've just returned from an out and back trip from Audlem to Ellsmere port.

 

On our return journey to Audlem we stopped near the old Barbridge Inn so we could have a meal.

 

Firstly, we arrived on a Saturday evening and there were only handful of tables that were not reserved. The place was buzzing with people both inside and out, canal folk and locals; it was great to see this.

 

The drink and food is a little more expensive than other places we visited. We had two large fish and chips plus a pint and a half of beer and one large and small glass of wine, with a small tip this came to £36.00.

 

The quality of the food was good. The portions were extremely generous (probably what you need after the Adderley and Audlem flights!!), our fish was hanging over the side of the plate. A lot of the locals were going for the Steak Pie. This looked incredible. It consisted of a proper fully encased square pie that looked delicious. There is the option for smaller portions which we would consider next time. The beer was from a small local brewery and was very good.

 

We'll certainly plan further stops at this hostelry. It was very enjoyable. If your plans mean that you'll be eating there on a Saturday evening I would recommend booking.

 

By the way the, the trip to Chester then on to Ellesmere Port was fantastic, do try and make it to Ellesmere if you can. Plan for at least an afternoon looking round the BW museum and Manchester Ship Canal, it was very interesting.

 

Have a great time

 

Malcolm and Caroline

[NB Alton]

We've been from Bunbury to Ellesmere Port today, now heading back towards Chester. Tomorrow we're headed for Nantwich so we'll try & spot you to wave :-)

[cheshire~rose]

We are now moored up just around the corner (towpath side) from The Olde Barbridge Inn with forum member "Cloggy". The pair of boats belonging to him and his wife are moored bow to stern wih ours and we all had a thoroughly enjoyable banter in the pub tonight.

 

It was not excessively busy but I can imagine it gets so at weekends. The prices are not bargain basement but nor is the quality of the food. It is an excellent menu and we all had superbly cooked meals that were very good portions.

The beer was also very good and we liked the atmosphere of the place. The waiting staff were were good too, We would certainly go back again.

Tomorrow we plan to head off again, hoping to stop briefly to meet another forum member (or two) at Calveley. Cloggy is planning to travel with us for a while as well, or at least he was when I spoke to him around half an hour ago, he could have changed his mind several times since then

We will look forward to spotting NB Alton at some point, my eyes are going to be glued to the front looking for that bow approaching I suspect that will guarrantee that we meet on a blind bend somewhere where we are hard pushed to move over enough to allow the centre channel and I am bound to have left the camera inside!

 

Tomorrow I need to try and find a bottle bank!

[NB Alton]

We are now moored up just around the corner (towpath side) from The Olde Barbridge Inn with forum member "Cloggy". The pair of boats belonging to him and his wife are moored bow to stern wih ours and we all had a thoroughly enjoyable banter in the pub tonight.

 

It was not excessively busy but I can imagine it gets so at weekends. The prices are not bargain basement but nor is the quality of the food. It is an excellent menu and we all had superbly cooked meals that were very good portions.

The beer was also very good and we liked the atmosphere of the place. The waiting staff were were good too, We would certainly go back again.

Tomorrow we plan to head off again, hoping to stop briefly to meet another forum member (or two) at Calveley. Cloggy is planning to travel with us for a while as well, or at least he was when I spoke to him around half an hour ago, he could have changed his mind several times since then

We will look forward to spotting NB Alton at some point, my eyes are going to be glued to the front looking for that bow approaching I suspect that will guarrantee that we meet on a blind bend somewhere where we are hard pushed to move over enough to allow the centre channel and I am bound to have left the camera inside!

 

Tomorrow I need to try and find a bottle bank!

 

Yes, I'm sure well meet on a blind bend or bridgehole tomorrow. To give you a chance we're leaving Chester at 8ish

:-). We might even give the Old Barbridge Inn a try.

[windy miller]

If you head straight on at Barbridge instead of turning right into the Middlewich branch, you'll wonder where all the other boats went!

 

We did the Ellesmere Port trip last August and it was wonderfully quiet. Don't worry about mooring right in the centre of Chester - we had 4 peaceful nights there right next to Tesco and a stone's throw from Marks & Spencer (the Senior Partner was in heaven). It was mid-week, though. Might be a bit noisier when the pub's in full flood.

 

A tip for the staircase locks in Chester - read the instructions! Not like me, who flooded the towpath on the bottom lock and upset some Japanese tourists. (Don't forget to smile for the cameras). Also, when coming back up, make sure the rather leaky bottom gates are properly mitred together, otherwise the lock will never fill. We took an hour's messing about to find this out and wasted alot of water.

 

There's a nice remote mooring north of the zoo, but the last few miles to the museum are a bit grim - lots of rubbish and weed, flyovers and derelict industry. I had the weedhatch up three times. There was a bloke fishing for scrap by one bridge, with a great pile of bicycles, shopping trolleys, computers and car axles. A lucrative business! I might be a little biased here, as it rained all day and blew a gale, so we gave the museum a miss and turned around.

[Paul C]

There's a nice remote mooring north of the zoo, but the last few miles to the museum are a bit grim - lots of rubbish and weed, flyovers and derelict industry. I had the weedhatch up three times. There was a bloke fishing for scrap by one bridge, with a great pile of bicycles, shopping trolleys, computers and car axles. A lucrative business! I might be a little biased here, as it rained all day and blew a gale, so we gave the museum a miss and turned around.

 

 

You're not biased, we did the trip in calm/good weather and it really is a bit grim - but its worth seeing as a contrast to the rest of the SU. If you've not been to the boat museum before, its worth a trip. We stayed 1 night, and found a little mooring spot in the museum itself without needing to go down the locks. You can stay longer, if you pay £4.50 (I think???) per extra night, and if so then it would be worth going down to the lower basin. Try to get into the museum to moor, then your towpath access is behind a locked gate rather than 'in the public domain'.

[windy miller]

Yes, the museum looks fascinating and well worth the entrance fee. We live within driving distance and vowed to return. (memo to self - drop the SP at Cheshire Oakes Retail Park and spend a happy hour there).

[cheshire~rose]

It has been a very good but tiring day.

Yesterday when Cloggy (Adrian) joined us with Auntie Fab (Mrs Cloggy) and their two boats they had arrived from The Middlewich Branch and were pointing south on The Shroppie. They decided they were going to join us for a cruise up to Chester and so were facing the wrong way. Adrian and Dave took "Jarret" a short hop along to the junction of The Llangollen Branch to turn her round (and give Dave a chance to play with the Gardner!) Then we went to the pub!

 

Once the rain had eased this morning there were the 4 of us with 3 boats but one was still facing the wrong way. Adrian decided to breast their two boats up and take "They're Knot Whippets" to the Middlewich Junction in reverse to turn it there.

 

 

This is what is called not knowing if you are coming or going!

 

Then a very clever manouvre followed where the forward rope between the two boats was released allowing the stern of the green boat to drift out and into the junction. The white boat kept going drawig the bow of the green boat round so it was facing the right way to pull out of the junction in forward gear, Adrian then released the other rope and both boats went on their way. This manouvre had an incredible potential for all sorts of things to not go quite as planned and yet it not only worked perfectly but I also captured it all on video I will share it when I get to a decent connection.

 

Onwards to Calveley where NB Mr B was today changing ownership between two forum members. We stopped for a while to have a long lingering look at that beautiful Kelvin engine. Dave & I had a lovely chat with both David who has been the long term owner of this lovely boat and Jerry who had a grin like a cheshire cat and was showing all the hallmarks of being a biy with a new toy. Dave and I both hope neither of them noticed us dribbling slightly as we ogled Kelvin

As we left them to get on with the handover David was due give Jerry a lesson in what to do with the grease gun.

A memorable moment in time for both of them and we both wish them all the very best with the change in directions their lives are taking. Jerry will be movng the boat south to a new mooring at the end of the month so if you see him along the way smile and wave and be kind to him as he has a ver steep learning curve

The symbollic handover of the grease gun:

 

The three boats carried on and through some locks. After Beeston Stone lock we decided to tie up and get some lunch. That was when I spotted a lady striding with a purpose towards us along the towpath. I thought to myself that she looked like a lady on a mission, not your average leisure boater, if I did not know different I would think she was on a working boat........ and that that point a distinctive bow came round the bend and there was NB Alton. "Coal" I shouted, because I knew Cloggy was after getting some coal. It appears we also were going to get some (especially as that were selling the Excel which we like and had been unable to get at the boatyard last week. Brian (NB Alton) asked if this was classed as a "microbanter" but as we had 5 forum members and 4 boats I think it was a bona-fide banter! the only slight question mark was what the minimum time forum members need to stay together to constitute a banter and as by this time the hire boat was already sitting in the open waiting lock waiting to Alton to join them this was one banter that would not last so we waved good bye. I did manage to get a banter photo though

 

We are tied up this evening at The Shady Oak. We will carry on into Chester tomorrow. Tina & I have just worked out that the men appear to have timed our arrival in Chester for around the time the shops close We know a lot of shops will be open on Sunday but probably not the charity shops where we want to shop!!! Oh well we can always stop there on the way back!

[lemontoes]

Sorry I am not going to be able to help with the locks.......though I think that's not a problem anymore! I made a mad dash to Chester yesterday evening, and am back again tomorrow. Therefore managing to miss the relevant day of travel. If you are still in Chester tomorrow afternoon/evening, I will come and say hello.

 

Jan

[NB Alton]

Really nice to meet you all for the Beeston micro (or should that be nano) banter. You all look very chilled & good to see you're travelling at a relaxed pace. Did you try a pint in the Shady?, we haven't had a chance to try it under the new landlords.

[cheshire~rose]

We are currently moored in Chester.

 

We arrived mid afternoon yesterday after managing to find another boat to share the locks with. Adrian & Tina breasted up their boats and worked through the locks together and we went ahead with a lovely couple from Gnosall on their boat Quince.

Tina and I were on a mission to try and check out as many of the 19 charity shops that Google suggested there were in Chester centre as possible before they closed. I think we managed around 7 of them and will head off into the town to see how many of the rest are open on a Sunday.

We had a cracking Chinese "all you can eat" buffet at The Slow Boat last night and the general plan was to get a breakfast in the town somewhere this morning and explore the place a little.

 

I do think the "Nano" title for the banter at Beeston is probably the best title as it was very brief but perfectly formed! I think we have to thank the purchase of a bag of coal from NB Alton for the fact that I am now sitting here in a tee shirt with windows and doors open and wishing we had not kept the stove in last night! Perhaps Summer is finally arriving looking at the forecast for this coming week.

We did get a drink in The Shady Oak. It seems like the sort of place that might be quite a nice relaxed pub for boaters. Certainly the staff were very friendly and the beer was good. We decided not to eat there but the menu looked very good value. I think we thought that if the timing was right to stop on there on the way back it could be nice. I had not realised they were new landlords!

Just to be on the safe side I think we need an insurance policy in place so can all boaters please buy at least one bag of coal from Alton as they pass regardles of whether they need it or not because that is certain to mean we get unbroken sunshine and warm temperatures!

I think Dave and Adrian are planning a stop somewhere to tackle some of the boadywork on the boats which seems like it could be an idea if the weather is going to be a bit warmer.

Lemontoes - I will ring you xx would me fantastic to meet up later if we get the chance

Edited May 20, 2012 by cheshire~rose