
Thursday, 18 December 2014
Keeping the cold out...

Wednesday, 12 November 2014
The Original...

Sunday, 9 November 2014
Flying visit...

Sunday, 31 August 2014
Nantwich...
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Our mooring for the night |
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The Old Savings Bank |
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Looking like work has just started on renervating |
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Small courtyard of shops |
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Would love this as a house |
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Leads to coffee shop |
Audlem in the rain...
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Us outside the shroppie |
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Our prefered feeding and watering hole when in town. |
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Half way up the locks |
Saturday, 30 August 2014
Wolverhampton...
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Approach to lock 21 |
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Charlie playing around |
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Flight ahead of us |
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Cottages at lock 1 |
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Broad Street Basin |
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Passing through old Wolverhampton |

Don't stop now only one more to go. |
Birmingham...
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Our mooring for two nights |
Monday, 25 August 2014
Market Drayton...
Sunday, 24 August 2014
Gnosall. S.U.C...
Trouble at the Junction...
Sunday, 17 August 2014
Audlem to Market Drayton...
Twenty locks completed today, thats the fifteen at Audlem and five Adderley.
The house adjacent to lock 1 sells scones and cakes so we treated ourselves, turns out that the farm at Adderley locks were selling the same but half the price. Just my luck!
We've put Market Drayton in the title but have actually stopped for the night just before.
The wind has started to blow pretty hard, hope the surrounding trees can take it.
Wifi and Blogger...
I have never posted a blog on previous trips because of the problems I've had with image sizing, laptop, notepad, nothing worked. I've found out on this trip that posting using my phone works apart from, I can only post two images max, something to do with data levels being exceeded, but I suppose two images are better than none.
Beeston to Audlem...
Saturday, 16 August 2014
Late start to Beeston...
Sunday, 3 August 2014
Christleton...
Having breakfast and taking Charlie out first, he wouldn't fit in the car with everyone else so was being left at home with Andy our son. Poor Charlie we don't like leaving him and he can certainly put on that sad look to make us feel even more guilty
We made the phone call to say we'd pick everyone up at 10.00, and had a quick coffee before setting off.
Arriving at the marina at 11.30 we soon got underway heading towards Chester our plan was to stop at the Cheshire Cat in Christleton for a meal before returning back. As we approached the pub it looked very busy so we winded at bridge 121 and moored up for a short walk further along the towpath to the Trooper. We tried their meal deals, Main course, as much salad as you wanted, as many drink refills (soft drinks or tea and coffee) plus ice cream, it was very nice and definately worth £9.99.
Back at the marina we'd had a lovely day, only one very short shower on the way there.
This trip: Miles 10.
Saturday, 2 August 2014
New Tiller Handle...
Wednesday, 30 July 2014
Audlem festival 2014...
Setting off last Wednesday evening after work we untied after seven and had moored up an hour later near Beeston for the night.
Thursday morning setting off in brilliant sunshine was very nice but we know what lay ahead of us, the dreaded five broad locks that take so long to do on your own, is time we were fortunate and a work boat heading for Tilstone emergency lock repairs on Friday was heading our way, at least for one of the locks. Three and a half hours later we had completed all the locks, Barbridge junction next and onto Hurleston junction that was deserted when we past by. We continued ahead and past a long line of boats, we had hoped to moor in the heart of Nantwich tonight but instead we had to settle for a mooring just past the aqueduct.
Again Friday was very hot as we set off. The damn horse flies were bugging us something terrible and I'm still blaming one of theses flies for making me hit some bushes, Corinne was down getting a drink when we hit and she came rushing out thinking id either fallen off the boat or had a heart attack. After a quick check over Dee O Ghee and a thumbs up from the bow, no serious damage done just another war wound on the paintwork. A bit further along as we approached Hack Green lock Nr2. You know the one with that Secret bunker location that nobody knows about.
Guess who was coming out of the lock in front of us, it looked very much like someone we know, the sailing boats on the bow gave it away. As they pulled over to the towpath and we entered the lock Steve and Chris from Nb Amyjo walked back up the lock to meet us, it was great to see them at long last after following the blog for so long and knowing we were going to be neighbours in the same marina when they finally brought Amyjo home, it was a shame we met where we did and couldn't stop for a longer chat.
We soon reached Audlem and checked for a space as we passed along all the boats, turning around at the winding hole just before bridge 79, and finding a mooring closer than we had expected to the festival, the day was still very hot and we know Charlie would struggle in the heat if we went walking too far, in the end we took a nice slow stroll up to Audlem Mill and picked up a souvenir of our trip, a big red pot teddybear.
On the way back to the boat we sat outside The Shroppie Fly for a drink and a cool down under an umbrella bench.
Later that evening once the suns heat had dropped we headed back for another look around the boats before the crowds arrive tomorrow.
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Cheese Boat |
Saturday and the official first day of the festival it was a scorcher, we went out earlier to miss the heat and called in at the Mill again and bought a foxy door stop we'd seen yesterday,
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Foxy door stop |
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Charlie flaked out with the heat |
had another quick look around the boats and headed back to take shelter from the weather, as the day came to a end we repainted the towpath side of the blacking to hide some of the knocks we had acquired since last November.
Sunday. Today was Corinne's and Charlies birthdays,
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Birthday girl |
We slipped away slightly early to get lunch before the rush started, Thinking we'd give the Shroppie fly another chance after last years disgracefully attempt at food, only to find they are no longer a dog frendly pub, their loss not ours. We took a walk up to the Bridge Inn just a 100 yards up the towpath and found dogs are more than welcome, the drinks are better too.
Wanting to get back the the boat before the Dakota fly past we headed back after lunch. Its been a great day and the fly past topped it off.
Monday was our day to be heading off home, we set off around 9:30. the narrow locks we came to were a dream compaired the doubles we had ahead of us.
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Aqueduct at Nantwich |
It was then we made the decision to go on and get the five broad locks out of the way today, leaving lock free cruising tomorrow. It was a good choice too because as we waited at Bunbury Staircase a boat came up behind, and joined us for all five locks, we both moored for the night at The Shady Oak Beeston.
Tuesday and a slow get away, no need to rush as all the work was done yesterday, it was a nice trip back to the marina, the weather had gone a lot colder but it was fine.
This trip: Miles 34. Broad locks 12. Narrow locks 4. Aqueducts 2.