Summer 2022 Cruise

Day 1

Heading south on the Shroppie, we made an early start and made our way to Audlem locks. When you look back at this summer, can you believe that we actually set off in the rain!

The Historic Boats were on show with lots of volunteer lock keepers around to help us up the locks, so having left Nantwich at 8am, we were at the top of Audlem by 1:30.
If you haven't been through Audlem recently, there is a lovely little supply of cakes, pasties, ice-creams etc available for sale just beside the top lock. Having worked through 15 locks, we felt a pasty each for lunch was well deserved.
We pressed on through Adderley, and then tried to stop for lunch. The edging wasn't going to allow us in, so we continued on toward Market Drayton.
By the time we arrived, things had cleared up and we found a nice mooring on the town moorings. A nice dog walk up to Tyrley locks made for a lovely evening!

Day 1 totals:12 miles and 22 locks

Maybe it's time I restarted this blog, why; because I can.

So, since the last post we actually got to buy our first boat. Having had boats in the family for many year, but not the last 10, we bought our boat during the lockdowns in 2020.

Through much of 2021, we weren't able to make as much use of the boat as we wanted but did manage to complete the 4 Counties ring during our summer holiday.

Summer 2022 saw just the two of us head off on a month long journey which I will document here.
Enjoy! 

It's been a while

It's funny how things come round in circles.
Having not really looked at this blog for, erm, 8 years, here we are back on blogspot and thinking about our narrowboat holiday coming up soon.
In the last few years, we've continued to hire boats; we've moved house and started to think about actually getting a boat of our own - only been dreaming of that for how many years now?
A quick summary of our recent boat holidays:
Summer 2013 - having lost my grandparents in 2012, we hired 3 boats for the whole family to have a wander down the Staffs & Worcs from Great Haywood. Finding moorings for 3 65' boats was fun at times but other than that, a good time was had by all.
Summer 2014 - We decided to tackle the 4 Counties ring, taking a boat from Bunbury we did the clockwise route wanting to get the hard work of heart-break hill out of the way first, leaving a pleasant saunter up the Shroppie to finish the week. In true style, we managed to rocket round the ring as a result of a couple of early mornings. We love doing this ring, not because of the "challenge" of completing it in a week, but because of the varied coutnryside and views you get as you go around. I don't think I'll ever tire of this route. It was also interesting to travel within 3 miles of home! So we got to cruise an amount of canal that is now our regular dog-walking routes.
Summer 2015 - my father-in-laws 80th birthday warranted a trip out on a hire boat and the opportunity for that side of the family to holiday today. A week from Gailey heading to Stourport and then round to Stourbridge was in order.
Summer 2017 - after a year off, we decided to head out again. This time travelling a little further afield and down to Alvechurch. My in-laws in tow again and we decided to head for Stratford. The guide books said a nice easy week for the return journey - we did it easily and spent 2 nights in the basin at Stratford. A lovely canal and I think I would do it again. I'd like to explore this area some more I think.
This summer sees us head back to Gailey. Interestingly, hiring the same boat we had in 2015. Just the 4 of us this year, but given we can't blast round the 4 Counties ring this year due to the Middlewich breach, we are planning a gentle cruise up the Caldon - a canal we haven't done before.
Hopefully, I will get round to posting after the holiday with some photo's and information about the trip!

October half term

With the October half term, we always see my birthday. This year, being my 40th, we decided to hire a narrowboat for a short break as a special treat.
We headed over to Trevor at the Llangollen end of the Pontcysyllte aquaduct to pick up our boat. Knowing we'd be out in colder weather, we were pleased to have been able to book a boat with a proper solid fuel stove on it.
Once loaded, we were given the guided tour of the boat and sent on our way.
We decided to head "downstream" with the goal of reaching Ellesmere - so it was straight over the aquaduct. Needless to say, we had to wait to get across - only 30 mins! Anyway, we were on our way.As always, the experience of going over the Pontcysyllte was magical.
It was 4:30 before we were on the aquaduct but soon started to make good time. We got down and through Crick tunnel just as the light was starting to fade. Now the fun bit, finding somewhere to moor a 65ft boat on the narrow sections of the canal!
Eventually, we found somewhere and got the stove going - what a lovely treat on a hire boat!
Soon, the red wine was warmed and ready to drink - lovely
Tuesday saw me turn 40 - did I feel any different, not in the slightest - other than very relaxed and enjoying spending quality time with my family and mum.
Our friend Lesley-Ann had even made me a special cake for the occassion
We decided to head to Ellesmere and see how we were for time for there. The run down was pretty straight forward, although there were loads of leaves in the cut making progress slow at times. New Marton locks didn't provide too much of a delay - 2 boats in front so pretty quick for this stretch of canal.
Approaching Ellesmere we had our first mishap. Being treated to a chocolate eclair (and not the pastry version), I felt a nasty crack in my mouth - oops, managed to break half of one of my teeth off. Hmm, plans were about to change!
Fortunately, we got into Ellesmere and found a dentist before they closed and they were able to offer an appointment for the following morning to have it looked at. So plans for going out and eating were put on hold and instead we had the meat pie my mum had brought with her - yum!
While I was feeling sorry for myself, the boys had gone to find some sticks for the fire - only for Ben to find a wasp which stung him 4 times on the hand - not a very pleasent mishap number 2.
Wednesday morning saw the tooth bandaged up and we decided to head back upstream and see about getting up to Llangollen. With the restricted cruising times of autumn, we felt we should be able to make it.
As we passed the end of the Montgomery, we decided to pull in and take a walk down. It does look a lovely canal, especially in the light we had that day
We pushed on back and managed to get through Chirk tunnel with the light fading rapidly - eventually mooring in the dark looking for some SUCS moorings that we knew to be just through the tunnel. Unfortunately, this meant mooring next to the factory for the night which wasn't so pleasent, but tucked up inside the boat we soon didn't notice.
That night started mishap number 3; Daniel being sick. He woke in the night coughing and ended up being sick a few times through the night. Fortunately, it didn't last long but knocked him out for the day. We pushed on up to Llangollen where we stopped for supplies before heading back down to Trevor.
As we didn't want to moor at the boatyard for the night, we crossed the aquaduct again, turned and were able to moor just before the aquaduct.
Friday morning was spent sorting a few things before heading back in to base. On crossing the aquaduct we were met by staff from Anglowelsh to help us put the boat in. As they wanted it turning they were happy for me to try putting the boat in; this involved a 180° turn across the stream. I have to admit, I thought I did a good job of it without trashing the engine around. A minor nudge of the side as we pulled in alongside the edge was the only blemish!
On the way home, we decided to call in at the Anderton lift as well as we knew it wasn't too far away and the boys were interested to see it. An amazing feat of engineering and an even greater feat to get it restored to working condition.

Manchester

Having been in Manchester on business many times over the last 18 months, tonight was the first time that I actually managed to go and explore a bit. We stay at a hotel on Salford Quays, so the Ship Canal is easily visible. What is less visible is the Bridgewater Canal that is only a couple of hundred yards away.
Well, tonight was a lovely evening, I'd eaten early, so decided to go for a walk to find the canal. I knew roughly where it was and it didn't take long to find.
I decided to head towards the city centre and just walked! It took about 20 mins to get to Castlefield Basin and Deansgate which was a nice walk with lots of other people out jogging.
It was here that I saw the first boat! There were a few moored there in the basin and one hire boat was coming down off the Rochdale.
I followed the Rochdale on up towards the city centre. It is interesting the difference a few hundred yards makes. The canal goes from being quite open to suddenly being between buildings and quite hemmed in. I managed as far as Canal Street before I turned off and went exploring away from the canal.
Having reached St. Peters Square, I decided it was time to turn round and head back the way I'd come.
Overall, a pleasant walk ov just under 6 miles - which helped walk off all the Guiness from last night!

IWA Festival

Couple of weeks ago, after our holiday in Wales (not on a boat), we journeyed home via Wolverhampton to visit the IWA National Festival.
Not knowing what to expect, we were pleased to get £2 each off the entrance fee thanks to our recent subscription to Canal Boat magazine; that with the kids getting in for free (as they were obviously accompanied) we had a day exploring the festival site for £11 - bargin!
When we arrived, we knew it was going to be a nice day, but there had been lots of rain in the week leading up to the event, as a result the ground was a little "soft" to say the least.
We were pleased to see that "Wild over Waterways" had arranged a number of activities for the kids to do as you explore the site. As we entered from the main site entrance, the kids immediately had the opportunity to try laying some bricks, and they both made darn site better job than I could!
The IWA tent had a number of activities for the kids as well which was good and got them well on their way to completing their "passports".
As we walked through the site, we came across a couple of young owls being carried on the hand by some bird of prey handlers who took the time to "sell" their site in Cambridgeshire to us. (Can't remember the details but it sounded a good venue).
The boys found the circus tricks tent and had a go with a few things before we moved on again. Next was making some rope - I got the impression from the boys that this was of more interest to Sally and I than the boys although they did get to keep the section of rope they made.
Next was the historic boats; first of all was President (and this is where I really kick myself for not using my camera which was hanging round my neck!). President is certainly a fine looking craft and I would have loved to get a closer look.
As we came down the towpath, we passed "Emily Anne" who I "know of" from the CanalWorld.Net disucssions forum; down to the stop-lock and up the Staffs & Worcester brought us to Saturn - the restored Shroppie fly boat. We were given a "tour" of the back cabin which was really interesting and the boys couldn't believe that the whole family would have lived in such a small place!
Back round to the showground and a look for some more activies; a quick look at some of the display boats and time to head off (as the boys were getting tired).

Overall, a worthwhile day out and certainly value for money; when we're looking for a boat it will be worth visiting again if it's in the right area.

Cruise Log

Okay, so this log isn't from a boat called Zipadee and it isn't even from this year; but it might be of interest to some!

Friday 3rd August 2007 - The long drive
After another day at work, 4pm came round and Sally and the boys arrived to pick me up and off we could go on the long road to Nantwich to start our holiday onboard Amadeus. The drive from Newcastle to Nantwich is pretty easy, just long.
Arriving late, it was a matter of just getting the essentials onboard and getting the boys to bed - quickly followed by us!





Saturday 4th August
One of the great things about being members of a club is the commaradary that you get with the other club members - this is great when there is a problem as there is always someone on hand to help. When you want to get going, isn't it funny how everyone wants to stop and chat!
Anyway, after a quick trip into town for supplies, we were off just before lunch; heading north to Hurleston.
We decided to hit Hurleston before the hire boats started to come around, so arriving at the bottom just after midday, we thought a quick bite to eat first, then tackle the locks.
Approaching the junction, we were pleased to see no boats waiting and the gates open so made the turn straight in. I knew there were fenders down on the port side, so grabed those up while standing on the gunwhales - shame nobody mentioned the one on the starboard side! Oops We were well and truely wedged in the bottom gates. Still, a quick blast from the top gates provided a wall of water to lift/push us back and clear of trouble.
From there, everything was pretty much plain sailing up to Wrenbury where we had planned to stop for the night at the Cotton Arms (I would recommend stopping if you have time!). The boys were helping at the locks and following instructions well. We got into a good routine with Sally crossing the locks to do the "off" side and the boys opening the gates on the towpath side. Sally isn't confident driving the boat into locks, especially with the cross weirs on the Llangollen.
Anyway, we made it up to Wrenbury comfortably and found a nice mooring just by the Cotton Arms.

Sunday 5th August
Having the boys with us means that mornings are typically a very leisurely affair - by the time we are all up and breakfasted, it is never before 9am!
The boys enjoyed operating the electric lift bridge at Wrenbury (yes they were supervised!) and we headed off up towards Grindley Brook. The boys were excited about the prospect of going through a staircase lock, so we stopped at the bottom for lunch before heading through the locks. We were really pleased that there were no hold ups here at all - it was a nice run through. The lock keepers we doing a great job of controlling the boats through the staircase.
After taking on water at the top, we trundled on to just past the Prees branch where we found a nice quiet mooring for the night. It was good to be out in the country away from other boats.

Monday 6th August
Headed up to Ellesmere for supplies and to try and find a new pair of trainers for Ben - somehow he manages to wreck trainers in no time what-so-ever. Ellesmere has plently of nice shops, however, boys trainers are not on the list. Yes, there is a great bakers/butchers/sweet shop and I would highly recommend them - it's not too far from the basin either which is good.
On the approach to Ellesmere Tunnel, we couldn't see any lights on in the tunnel so rounded the bend to line up for the tunnel. I couldn't remember how straight the tunnel was so as we approach the entrance I sound the horn to make sure anyone around knows we're "going in". Suddenly we're confronted with a boat coming the other way who by their own admission hadn't bothered with their headlight "because the tunnel is so short" - the fact that without their light we couldn't see them coming was obviously wasted on them!
After lunch we continued on, past the end of the Monty (must go down there one day!) and on towards Chirk.
We planned to moor somewhere around St. Martins Moor, but we had difficulty finding a suitable mooring - maybe we were being picky, but we didn't find anything until we got round to Chirk Bank.

Tuesday 7th August
Definitely starting to get busier! As we're getting to the middle of the week, all those hire boats from slightly further afield are catching us up in the race to get to Llangollen and back.
Off we set, over the impressive Chirk aquaduct and the first "real" tunnel for the boys - very excited and lots of echos being made! - I know there is the tunnel at Ellesmere, but it isn't that long!
We decided to press on all the way up to Llangollen and see what happened. Crossing the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct was as impressive as ever although we seemed to have caught up with someone seeing how slowly they could proceed.
After a quick stop in Trevor for water, we took on the final leg to Llangollen - this must have been the slowest progress I think I have ever made. The boat we were following was obviously their first time out and I don't think they had been out very long. Every time a boat came the other way, they would pull into the side, hold the boat on ropes, then pull out again! Needless to say it took ages to get to Llangollen. We were also slowed by the flow. Amadeus hasn't got the most "grunt" and struggled in the flows through the narrows.
Everything was very busy in Llangollen - we got moored in the marina at the end which was very easy - after a quick trip into town, we decided to head back out of the bustling town and start the return journey. We decided to cross the aquaduct again and moor "just round the corner"
Ben is looking "different" now, in the last two days he's managed to lose both his front teeth! There aren't many girls around for him to have been kissing either!



Wednesday 8th August
We decided to have a walk back over the aquaduct before heading off - the boys enjoyed being so high up and were not worried by it at all.
Heading back, we got held up at Chirk tunnel with what felt like the world and his wife coming through the other way - we counted 15 boats come through before we had chance to get through. Sally ended up stopping the boats heading "upstream" to allow us through as they just seemed to keep on coming. By this point there were 12 of us heading "downstream" waiting to get through. Once going, needless to say we had a clear run down!
Everything was going well until we hit New Martin Locks! Even with all that "gap" in front of us there were loads of boats in front of us waiting for the locks. We joined the back of the queue above the water point. Once through, again progress was good and we headed to Ellesmere for the night.
We decided to frequent the fish & chip shop for our evening meal as the boys will eat it as well and I have to say, they were good (in case there is more than one F&C shop, it was the one near the sweet shop/newsagents)

Thursday 9th August
We decided to try and get going a little earlier today after the experience of the locks at New Marton yesterday and knowing what Grindly Brook can be like.
We arrived at Grindly to find a queue (as you expect in August) but only a couple of boats. Needless to say, we got through in a very uneventful fashion.
We decided to stop for the night at the Willeymore Lock pub and have our tea there. As it was a nice evening, we stayed in the garden where the boys were able to play on the climbing frame there - something they enjoyed being able to do while we sat and enjoyed a beer (or three!). Definitely another pub worth visiting!

Friday 10th August
We decided to push on today and make it back to the moorings at Nantwich for the night. As Sally was heading down to her mothers while I was heading home, we felt it made sense to be back at the club tonight so that we could get organised at our leisure in the morning.
The run back was very quiet really, all the hire boats heading back to base so there wasn't much around.
When we got to Hurleston, we chatted to the lock keeper and mentioned it seemed quiet - the reason not much had been heading upstream was that a boat had been stuck in the locks for 3 hours! The eventually got it moved, but needless to say there had been a few freyed tempers!

Saturday 11th August
No travelling today, just a case of packing bags and getting organised.
We packed the car and waved goodbye to Amadeus. Having been "in the family" for over 10 years, my step mum (whose boat it is) is changing the boat over the winter.



In summary, we'd had a lovely trip although I wouldn't necessarily recommend it in the main summer season if you don't have to. It was very busy at the top. The locks certainly were busy on the run back down, New Martin and Grindley Brook being the main bottlenecks.
I do have to say though that the canal is certainly very beautiful and definitely should be visited - just a shame about all the tourists!