Five Go Mad in Cheshire - Day Four

Tuesday 1st June 2010

Slept like a log, woke at 9.30am, no further disturbances, we opened the curtains to be greeted by a very persistent light rain, the sort that given a chance would penetrate any clothing. We quickly decided that our provisional plans made the day before, and before ‘the disturbance’, would now be abandoned, so a day spent doing tourist stuff and another night’s stay in Chester would not be happening. I still think Chester is a very interesting place, and would certainly consider returning, but overnight mooring, particularly at that spot – no!

We had breakfast, the rain showed no sign of abating, so Matt decided to go and do some shopping and see about a haircut. Being a university student, haircuts don’t seem to be a high priority, so this was his opportunity. He returned a couple of hours later, very smart haircut and a few pounds lighter in the wallet department, we had lunch and the rain then stopped. We had discussed what to do instead of Chester, and had decided to continue to head north and go to the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port on Wednesday.

We set off around 2.00pm, and were soon at the Northgate Staircase lock. On our own, with nothing coming up, we solved the high-IQ puzzle that is navigating these locks, watched by an increasing number of gongoozlers now that the rain had stopped, and without any problems were through. By now we had started to understand how much water the boat needed and what the intervals between topups needed to be. So after the sharp turn at Tower Wharf, we arrived at the service point there just as another boat was leaving – perfect timing. Whilst waiting the thirty minutes or so for the tank to fill, we checked out this other recommended overnight mooring site. To us it didn’t really seem any safer or better, and in fact wouldn’t relish mooring there on our own.

Once watered, we set off again, gradually leaving the urban sprawl of Chester, on the lock free section, as gradually the countryside took over again. The occasional boat was seen, but the canal here was quieter than south of Chester, which itself was not exactly heaving!! I had earmarked using the marked public moorings at Stoak, according to the Pearsons guide, so that was our target. The plan was to then leave early the next morning to get to the museum soon after opening, leave mid-afternoon and travel back through and past Chester.

An incident free cruise in brightening weather, and the moorings at Stoak looked great. It seemed like the middle of nowhere, just the distant noise of a motorway, and with the village only about 15 minutes away. We moored up, it was now about 5.00pm, and whilst Denise started to prepare dinner, Matt and I walked Pip to see what the Bunbury Arms in the village was like. A country/farm track from the bridge just ahead of our mooring point went straight into the heart of the village. The pub looked nice, and we tentatively pencilled in a trip to it after dinner. There is nothing else much in the village, other than the church, which had a marked signpost for a footpath that seemed to lead to the canal bridge behind where we had moored. We started to take this path, through the churchyard and past centuries of gravestones, but the path then went straight through the middle of a field with horses in. Pip is not a great fan of horses, so we backtracked. As we passed the gravestones we noticed some military style stones, and the poor unfortunate souls had obviously died in Iraq or Afghanistan in 2007. Back to the boat, dinner, scrabble, cards and time for Pip’s walk before bed, we had decided against going to the pub. On opening the hatch and stepping out – a magical, mythical site met my eyes. There in the distance, where previously had been the industrial pipes, chimneys and flames of Stanlow Oil Refinery, now stood a veritable christmas tree like show of lights and ‘dry ice’. I called Matt and Denise to come and look at this man-made scene of beauty, it had to be seen to be believed. We also noticed that at least one other boat had now also chosen to moor here, leaving a nice, courteous gap.

And to sleep……..

4 miles, 3 locks, 3 ½ hours (including 30 minutes at services)

Five Go Mad in Cheshire - Day Three

Monday 31st May 2010

An excellent night’s sleep, again up at a decent time, walked Pip to Christleton and Greenfield lock to have a look at the challenge ahead, then back to Somnia for breakfast and showers. The day started bright, and we set off with Chester our goal. Five minutes before we left, another boat passed heading towards Chester – nb Calan Lai, so we knew that the locks would be against us…or so we thought. We did Christleton solo, but Calan Lai then waited for us, so that we could double up through Greenfield and the rest of the locks to Chester – which was brilliant. We chatted, and they recommended an overnight mooring spot they had used previously, and indeed offered to show us where it was. We expressed concerns about overnight mooring in the city centre, but they said they’d never had any trouble, but then again they had never moored at the weekend – we wondered what difference a Bank Holiday might make!! The rest of the locks were navigated trouble free – Pip enjoyed being ashore all the way, complete with her doggie life-jacket, that often received comments from gongoozlers.

The mooring recommended by Calan Lai was just before Bridge 123E, near the Frog and Nightingale pub. Very handy for Tesco’s, and only a 5-10 minute walk into the city centre. Now all we needed was a trouble free night and it would be ideal. We locked the boat up and wandered into the city, the girls did some shopping, whilst Matt and I killed some time, including watching an amazing and very entertaining street performer, A. J. James, a mix of juggling, magic, escapology all accompanied by some great banter and jokes with the large crowd. He could be a huge star this guy, and the collection he amassed afterwards was huge and well deserved. We then started looking for somewhere to lunch, that would be dog-friendly, and settled on a Revolution chain pub with outside seating. A decent enough lunch, was followed by a stroll down to The Groves by the River Dee. The weather was now fantastic, and it was heaving with families, and couples, and cyclists, and dog walkers all enjoying themselves in a great location. Matt and Laura hired a rowing boat for 45 minutes – Matt wanted to show of the rowing skills he has developed during his first year at Imperial, while Denise, Pip and I sat basking in the glorious afternoon sunshine.

All too soon it as time for Laura to leave us, so Matt, Pip and I walked her up to Chester station for her train back to London, whilst Denise started the shopping at Tescos. On the way back from the station Matt diverted to Tescos to help Denise, and I walked Pip up to look at the Northgate staircase locks for future reference. We unpacked the shopping, noticing that another boat had moored up behind us. With the thought of safety in numbers, I asked them if they intended mooring overnight. They were, and on seeing my Wey and Arun branded polo shirt, asked me where I was from. To cut a long story short, it transpired that they were from Guildford (one end of the Wey and Arun canal), and that spookily they had been on the trip boat the previous weekend when I had been crewing….small world. After a cup of tea we then returned down to the riverside to have dinner at a brand new, cracking restaurant called Hickorys American Smokehouse. A great meal in a glorious location. Back to the boat, cards and then to bed.

45 minutes later, we were woken by banging on the side of the boat, and lots of shouting. Then someone jumped on to the front of the boat, Denise opened the curtains to see a group of lads intent on drunken mischief. She shouted at them to go away….or similar words, and they ran off whooping and hollering. Matt and I opened up the hatch and got out, they had managed to almost untie our stern rope, and the boat behind’s bow rope had also been undone. We secured both boats, and concerned that they might return, I had a quick walk up the canal, but there was no sign. The strange thing is that noone else seemed to stir in any of the other boats. We found out the next day that the boat behind us had woken, and that the yobs had thrown something heavy against one of their windows, but it remained intact. With adrenalin pumping, we decided to stay up a while, had some tea, played cards, and eventually at 3.00am decided to try and sleep…..

2 ½ miles, 5 locks, 2 hours

Five Go Mad in Cheshire - Day Two

Sunday 30^th May 2010

An uneventful night’s sleep, up at a decent time for breakfast and showers, and to an overcast sky but dry, we proceeded south along the Shroppie. Our plan was to turn the boat round, as by Monday we needed to be in Chester as Laura had to return to London by train, and Chester looked interesting enough to maybe spend some time at….more on that later!! Well our first opportunity to turn was at Barbridge Junction, the Middlewich Arm of the Shroppie, which with the fairly strong wind still blowing, was always going to be interesting. Matt was quite keen to have a go at turning the boat, so as we approached he was in charge. The area around the junction was fairly busy with lots of moored boats and the odd boat moving, but the junction itself was clear as we approached. We could see a woman running backwards and forwards between an already moored boat and the bridge that went over the canal towards Middlewich, but she never once gave any signals. Matt slowed and started to turn into the junction, just as another boat appeared under the bridge. Reverse gear was engaged hastily, but fully under control, and the boat exited, turned left and proceeded southwards to eventually moor up. Whether they should have sent someone ahead to check their exit on to the main line of the canal, I don’t know, but if they had they could have signalled to us to wait. By this time we had drifted beyond the junction itself, and the wind was really compromising any attempt to turn.

A quick look at the Nicholsons guide showed a winding hole in just over a mile further south, so we decided to use that…and it gave us a chance to look at Hurleston Junction – the Llangollen Canal junction for future reference. Some nice looking pubs around Barbridge failed to distract us as we headed south, we passed Hurleston and it looked quite busy, soon arriving at the winding hole – which was huge!! Despite the wind, it was great fun turning the boat, even when a line of four boats from the south could have made things interesting. Turning the boat so well was a huge boost to my confidence, and we were soon heading north again. Once more past Hurleston, just as a boat was about to exit the Llangollen, no further incidents or moving boats around Barbridge and we were soon approaching Calveley again. We decide that we ought to topup with water at the BW services there, and Matt took the opportunity to have a shower, having run from just after Barbridge to Bunbury locks and back. By now the weather had brightened, and we were in high spirits. Once we had a full tank of water, and whilst Matt finished his shower, we moved the boat to almost the same mooring we’d used the night before for some lunch.

After lunch we continued north, pairing up with another boat for those locks that were wide enough, so Bunbury, Tilstone, Beeston and Wharton were navigated without incident. Looking at the canal guides, we considered whether we could reach the Old Trooper at Christleton in time for dinner, and although it looked feasible, uncertainty about whether dogs were allowed, and not being able to get through on a mobile, meant we decided to self-cater. Passing Tattenhall, the wind-sock was blowing strong, despite the apparent lack of wind elsewhere on the canal by now. Then the final nail in the coffin for any attempt to reach Christleton for dinner anyway – the incredibly long line of moored boats between Bridge 114 and almost up to Bridge 116. It took ages to get past them on tickover!! Also, we passed a boat trying to moor opposite these moored boats, who was complaining about the shallowness of the towpath side for mooring, and that we probably wouldn’t find anywhere until after Bridge 118. Light was starting to fade, but we still had at least an hour, and we passed nb Skyy (Duggie’s boat) moored up but with no sign of life. Just after Waverton we tried to moor up – and easily grounded the stern, so carried on further north. Probably no more than 30 minutes of light left now – we tried again about half a mile before Christleton – again no luck. We passed the Cheshire Cat pub – no moorings free, and carried on, then passing the Old Trooper, again lots of moored boats…under Bridge 121, now getting dark, and yeeeeeeeeeees, just enough room to moor after another, unoccupied, boat. Yes it was very near to the concrete monstrosity of a road bridge, but it looked very safe, we were out of civilisation to some extent, dinner was cooking and this would have to be it.

Dinner was eaten, cards were played, scrabble was played, dog was walked and then to sleep.

14 miles, 6 locks, 9 hours (including 30 minutes at BW Services).

Five Go Mad in Cheshire - Day One

Saturday 29^th May 2010

An early departure from Worthing, with a car already full of stuff for the boat, and a small dog – Pippa the miniature schnauzer, two stops in London to pick up Matt and Laura from their universities, and off we set for Cheshire. With the weather getting worse the further north we travelled, we still arrived very much looking forward to a week on Somnia, our shared ownership boat.

It is moored at Tattenhall, a new marina which opened last year, along with another dozen or so Ownerships (or to be more correct ex-Ownerships) boats. From my limited experience, it is a very impressive marina, although being new and probably because of its location, it appeared to be a bit exposed to the elements. It was now raining, a fairly persistent heavy drizzle, as we met Andrew Cooley, the ex-Ownerships local manager, who oversees turnarounds, and who most boats based at Tattenhall have still engaged to perform this valuable task. He showed us around the boat, we loaded on all the gear, and……we waited around to see what the weather was going to do. After some lunch, the rain had stopped so we decided to brave the elements, mainly wind now, and set-off on our great adventure.

Time to fill you in on my experience with narrowboats! Abut ten years previously we had hired a boat for a week’s holiday – it had at least seven berths, and with the minimum of instruction, we spent a total of one week, going up the Oxford canal from Oxford to Napton, turned the boat around and headed back to Oxford. No marinas were used, the route was straight to Napton, wind the boat, and straight back to Oxford. There were a few incidents – hit a bridge in the first two hours, and we were forced aground by a speeding boat at one stage – but all in all I was very pleased with how things went. Wind forward some nine years – and I started crewing as a volunteer with the Wey and Arun Canal trip boats – lots of practice locking, roping and poling but no driving. Then last February after a day at the Ownerships show at Braunston, both Denise and I did a one day boat handling course on the Oxford canal at Fenny Compton. A great day, and a good introduction to proficient narrowboat handling.

Well, back at Tattenhall, exactly as anticipated, the wind was causing even the experienced owners some concern. Getting out of the jetty we were moored at involved the canal equivalent of a three point turn…or similar. Well forward I went, and sideways went the boat with the wind. A few hairy moments going backwards and forwards, and I was struggling. And, as seems to always be the way, there were a few onlookers watching this boat struggle to make any headway in the direction it needed to go. At times I felt helpless, but eventually after a lot of revving and poling we managed to point the boat in the direction of the marina’s exit onto the Shropshire Union Canal. Well, if I thought getting out of the jetty was tricky, as we approached the exit onto the canal it was worse, a narrow gap onto a fairly standard width canal, and the wind was still doing it’s best to make things difficult. Well after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, we managed to get the boat out and facing the southbound direction we had decided to explore first. I was a bit stressed at this stage, so didn’t enjoy the first hour or so, and certainly could not really appreciate the fantastic scenery – Beeston Castle perched high up on the hill to the right – Peckforton Castle (I think) further along the ridge, and lots of cows.

But soon, the calming aspect of the canal took effect, and before the first lock – Wharton’s lock, I was really starting to enjoy myself already. With a rusty crew – most of them had not done anything really since the trip ten years ago, we all had to learn fast, but the lock was soon behind us. At this stage we were just behind another boat – who kindly offered to share the next few locks. Their boat had a classic, vintage engine that Matt (studying Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College) was fascinated by. They were experienced boaters, and offered all sorts of most welcome advice. Apart from Beeston Iron Lock which is too tight for 2 boats, we did all the locks together, and with no further eventful incidents, we decided to moor up at Calveley overnight – as did the other boat. We ate at the Davenport Arms – dogs welcome, and despite the attraction of a Eurovision-based pub quiz, returned to the boat after a very satisfying meal. With a ridiculously early start, we were all very tired and sleep soon ruled the day.

7 miles, 6 locks, 4 ½ hours.

An update....

Fantastic day, and I'm lucky enough to be crewing on Zaccariah Keppel trip boat from Loxwood today.

This time next week, we will be on our own shared ownership boat for the first time, and hopefully I will have a nice big blog to post after that.

Canal Fever Takes Its Grip

Well since my last post, so much Canal related has happened....

Crewing for Wey and Arun Canal Trust has continued to be a very enjoyable experience I even helped at the Santa Specials before Christmas. Although the weather was typically 'cristmassy', well at least from the christmas card image, i.e. lots of snow beforehand, and an icy canal - everyone seemed to really enjoy their trips - we were busy, adults enjoying mince pies and hot mulled wine, the children receiving presents from Father Christmas after he joined the boat at the lock.

We have also purchased a 1/24th share in a narrowboat through the Ownerships scheme, the boat is called Somnia. We have a 'special' share for which a premium is paid, which guarantees that we can book weeks during school holidays - this year we are on the boat during May/June halfterm, and are really looking forward to our first cruise out of Tattenhall marina on the Shropshire Union.

We visited the Ownerships show at Braunston a couple of weeks ago, and did a 1 day boat handling course out of Fenny Compton on the Oxford canal the next day.

With all this activity I am hoping to post more regular blogs, but that's all for now.

Colin

Broken Locks, Shiny Locks and Blown-up Locks!!

For those who have been waiting with bated breath for news on the problem with Baldwin's Knob lock - the problem has hopefully been fixed. Both gates have new pots under the heel posts!!! Now, only if I knew what that meant. It's too early in my days as a canal fanatic to know about this - I will Google it soon!!!

The first crewing since my training went well though - good numbers on the boat, it didn't sink, and I'm sure all passengers were accounted for at the end of the trip. Mind you, we also had a trainee crew member, felt great being a bit of a mentor to someone else, and also a trainee skipper. So we had plenty of help at Brewhurst Lock. Bearing in mind the dire weather forecast - it was a very nice day indeed, and those that came out on Zaccariah Keppel had almost perfect conditions. With the skipper's permission we let any kids that wanted to to get off and also help with the lock beams.

As I say to anyone that will listen to me, there is probably only one thing better than helping to crew the trip boat......and that would be to get well paid for crewing the trip boat.

With the imminent thought of volunteering to crew the new electric boat - Wiggonholt, for some upcoming charters in July, I attended the final crew and skipper training session last friday. Having had to get into work for an early morning call to our Melbourne office, I was able to leave early enough to avoid the crowds leaving Sandown Park race course, and also not hit too much traffic leaving London. So, even though I stopped off to get some BP garage food (yum! yum!), I arrived at the Trust's car park an hour before the training was due to start. I had never been north of Loxwood before along the canal, and was intrigued to see how it compared to the fully restored section south of Loxwood.

The new Loxwood lock, a new addition to the original canal infrastructure, required to bring the canal back up to it's original level following the lowering to get under Loxwood High Street, is all shiny and desperate to see more action. Work is still underway on the gates, with a temporary wooden dam in place. Not a lot of water north of the gates, despite it being pictured in water at the official opening ceremony a few weeks ago.

The next mile or so of the canal can be seen, but certainly lacks water - lots of weeds and open muddy canal bed in adundance. The next lock is Devils Hole lock - which apparently was used by Canadian troops as practice for an ill-fated mision to take Dieppe in France during theSecond World War. There are still signs of the damage their explosions caused. This is now pretty much restored, but I believe will be widened to conform to the Trust's specification that the canal will be able to take wide beam boats.