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).