Monthly Archives: January 2018

Farewell To The Llangollen. 30th January

Stoneley Green Bridge, Llangollen to Beeston Stone Lock, Shropshire Union

Mesmorised by the colours

Tilly was first up, pretending to admire the sunrise, but I think the dawn chorus was more appealing to her sat in her curtain hammock.

Swanley Lock 1

No dashing away, but no dillydallying either this morning, we had a proper days cruise ahead of us. Plenty of layers on to keep warm. Swanley Lock 1 was just ahead and we soon made it down the two locks and wound our way back towards Hurleston.

Not far really

At Bridge 4 Mick was a spoil sport and wouldn’t let us moor. The signs to Snugburys made me plead with him. A third visit would mean a much more considered choice of chilled medication, but he wasn’t having anything of it! On the moorings NB Higgler sat waiting for it’s crew of Old English Sheep Dog and Corgies, bet they’d been allowed medication! This was really the first boat through the bridge yesterday, before it was officially opened. They had passed us at Wrenbury on Saturday and must have been waiting for the dam to be removed and waved on.

Walking over the lock

Traffic cones stood on ether side of the top lock at Hurleston. Two chaps then walked across the lock wheeling wheelbarrows! It looks like the lock cottage will be having an extension this year and two chaps were busy with the ground works, everything having to be carried across the lock. They lifted their walkway to let us into the lock and put it back again as soon as Mick was out of the way. So far they’d had to move it only three times, but they certainly weren’t looking forward to the start of the boating season, I suspect it could add a month to the build schedule.

Looking downWe worked our way down and soon we were being followed by another boat.

New laddersWhere boats tend to get stuckNew ladders were evident at the second lock, not having had chance to get discoloured yet. The last lock, the narrow one, we took slowly, only lifting one paddle to empty the water, keeping an eye on Oleanna descending, not wanting to get stuck. There were signs of the investigation works that were carried out in November to see if a total rebuild is needed.

Last narrow lock for a whileBye bye LlangollenSpring!

Then with the bottom gates open, that was our time on the Llangollen over. We’d headed up the locks on the 17th November and have enjoyed our last two months immensely, but we are looking forward to being in a big city soon.

First boat meeting at a bridge hole this year

Mick turned Oleanna left at the junction and waited for me to cross over the bridge and join him. We were now back on the Shropshire Union Main Line, it suddenly got busy! We’ve got so used to only seeing one boat moving a day that all of a sudden it felt like we were on the M25! The first bridge hole and there was a boat coming towards us. Blimey where had all the traffic come from? Well three boats.

Hello again

Being back on the Shroppie I made sure my camera was handy for all those kingfishers. Not long to wait as one flashed it’s blue back at us just before Barbridge and then obliged by sitting in a tree as we passed.

A brief pause for lunch before the junction and then we topped up the water tank and dealt with rubbish at Calveley.

Bunbury Stables

Arriving at Bunbury we were a bit disappointed that we’d not be able to do the shuffle, no other moving boats in sight. This is our first wide lock since we came down from Wigan last year (that’s if you don’t count Big Lock in Middlewich). So much water, so much space, huge and heavy! Quite a shock to the system really. Bunbury is a staircase of two wide chambers, so you can fit two boats in at once. Should a single boat want to be going in the opposite direction they can enter the other chamber, the water is then moved from top to bottom, the central gates opened, then the Bunbury Shuffle can take place. One of the two boats moves into the gap in the other chamber, the single boat then moves into the new gap, the third boat into the next new gap. Gates closed and boats carry on up and down at the same time.

Oleanna lonely in the large lockShe shuffled herself overAnother lock was worth doing today and as we approached Tilstone Lock we could see a boat that we thought was waiting, we could share! But no they were moored up. However at the lock there was activity, a boat was coming up. Such a busy world! I recognised it as a Carefree Cruising share boat and chatted to the lady. It was only their second week out and they were loving it, apart from the tent that they’d picked up around their prop yesterday which meant they didn’t have long to explore Chester.

We pootled along the wide canal, it felt like a river after being on the Llangollen for so long. Above Beeston Stone Lock we took advantage of the 48hr moorings and pulled in for the day, letting Tilly have the last hour of daylight to stare at the little twitches coming from the ivy clad hedge next to us and to practice her pouncing.

Tilestone Lock

We’ve been this way twice before back in our share boat days, so somethings we’d forgotten about. The lovely little pepper pot buildings at the locks, the wideness of the cut, however we had remembered the total lack of  phone, internet or TV signal by Stone Lock. Oh well that’s more we’ll have to catch up with on the internet, hope EE reset our allowance early again!

9 locks, 8 miles (rounded up), 1 left, 1 straight on, 1 tasty looking robin, 1 stunning sunrise, 10 minutes that’s all, 0 chilled medication, 1 big meanie Mick, 1 kingfisher, 5 moving boats so busy, 0 boats to shuffle with, 1 mooring close to road and rail, 0 signal of any sort! 0 map.

Three Minutes Ahead Of C&RT. 29th January

Grindley Brook to Stonely Green Bridge 10
The water gauge was showing half a tank this morning so just in case we ended up sitting around a while longer waiting for the bridge ahead to open we decided to visit ABC boat hire at Wrenbury Mill to top up. The forecast was for rain this morning, but it would stop between 11 and 12 midday, so when the rain had stopped for a while we pushed off and headed to the lift bridge. As I turned the key of power in the panel it started to drizzle, then rain, then drizzle, good job we’d put on our waterproofs. Four cars and a dog walker held up, Mick swung Oleanna into the gap between boats moored up at the Mill.
Boating season starts again mid March here
The hire base was busy, a delivery of new mattresses was being moved on board the boats. For the use of their tap we’d been quoted £3 but when it came to ringing it into the till it said £2, £2 well spent for peace of mind.
The last lift bridge
We reversed out managing not to leave any marks on the newly blacked hire boat we’d breasted up to, then we turned towards the last lift bridge of the Llangollen Canal. Once through we waved goodbye to Wrenbury. Our aim for today was a 48hr mooring just before the closed bridge, from here we’d hopefully be first through once it opened.
In places the water table was higher in the fields alongside the canal than it was in it. Plenty of rain had fallen overnight, today in parts you would need water wings to walk the towpath!
Half a mile walk to the bridge
All three locks lay empty before us, but all the paddles are easy on this canal, so it didn’t take much effort to fill them for us to go down. As we waited for the final one to fill I could see a gang of high vis heading in our direction. Nine or ten chaps were walking the towpath heading towards the closed bridge. Could it be that they had had a lunch break and were heading back to carry on with repairs? If so then they certainly were throwing men at the job. Or could it be that this was the clear up team? The works were complete and they were here, mob handed to remove the pumps and damns. We pootled along behind them and pulled in to tie up.
Huge pipes and a pumpScaffold poles from the damIt looked like the navigation was open, certainly no dam across the bridge hole. Just as we’d stopped Oleanna, and Mick had stepped off to tie up we were give a wave on by one of the chaps. It took a bit of effort to get Oleanna away from the side as the wind was pushing her in. We thanked the chaps as we passed, one saying that we were the first boat through. Another fella stood tapping something into his tablet as we passed, wonder if that was the Notice Update saying that the canal was now open, it popped into our inbox three minutes after we’d gone under the bridge.
Going under bridge 12Boats and men galoreThe scaffolding supports of a dam sat on the extremely muddy towpath, the tarpaulin sat on the back deck of a work boat. A huge yellow pump and giant pipes filled another boat. As the Llangollen Canal feeds a reservoir that serves Crewe and Nantwich the flow cannot be turned off on the canal, it is really a bit of a river. So when a damn blocks the navigation the constant flowing water has to be taken around it. Quite glad we didn’t have a couple of days moored near the big pump going 24 hours a day.
Clearing the siteOnce through the bridge Oleanna proceeded to go aground, right next to the workboats! A good blast of reverse and one chap pulling on our centre line got us free and we slowly inched our way past them. As soon as we had cleared them boats were moved, blocking the bridge again so that they could get all the pipework back on board. We’d timed our arrival perfectly, even though we expected to have a two day wait.
The weather has returned to chilly, wet and windy
Pushing on a short distance further, we pulled in just before Stoneley Locks and retired inside for a very late lunch. There is a ten hour cruise ahead of us to reach Chester, so we should be able to meet up with our friend Sue and have a drink with Bridget and Storm too. Perfect. Thank you C&RT.
3 locks, 3.73 miles, 2 lift bridges, 4 held up, £2 water charge, 1 quagmire, 10 yellow and orange clad chaps, 0 damn, 4 work boats, +15 lengths of giant pipe, 3 minutes before it opened, 2 days ahead, 4 seriously muddy paws, 1 chimney sweep tail.

Wading Away The Time. 27th 28th January

Wrenbury Frith to a bit closer to Wrenbury

Saturday morning we had breakfast and then moved Oleanna closer to Wrenbury, not far but past the worst bit of muddy towpath. Whilst Tilly went off to explore her new estate Mick walked into the village for our Saturday newspaper where it was sat waiting for him behind the counter.

Sweet potato soup

Whilst Tilly surveyed her new surroundings I kept the stove top busy, first a pot of Sweet Potato Soup, followed in the afternoon by a pot of Tarragon Chicken which simmered away for five hours. Both were yummy but I think next time I do the soup I’ll try making it with just paprika, not smoked as this was a little over powering. In between chopping and stirring, I made a start to a rug for in front of our stove. Using the fabrics I’d covered the tops of our stools with I came up with a pattern and began to crochet.

Anti raked sheep measuring the rug

Our bilge pump has been a bit active of late. The cause isn’t because the engine bay is full of water (it is as dry as it should be) but it seems that the pump likes the sound of itself, every 2min 30 sec! Quite annoying really. When it started doing this a week a go Mick tried various things finding that when he disconnected it, then reconnected it, it stopped being vocal but still worked. But today this didn’t work. So with Tilly safe inside having a snooze Mick climbed down into the engine bay to see if the pump had got gunged up. I could so help with things down in the box under the boat. I’d be able to reach all those awkward places that Tom can’t and bat things that had been dropped around until he could reach them again. But he doesn’t seem too keen on the idea.

Pink world

Whilst contorted around the engine he noticed that the fuel gauge had become disconnected, so dealt with that, no wonder the gauge didn’t have a reading. Then he took the bilge pump out of it’s holder and gave it a clean hoping that this would do the job. Sadly the effort had not been worth it as the pump was still being vocal. This may have to be added to the Finesse list when they come with our batteries.

Sunday morning we woke to the sound of a wood pecker giving itself brain damage nearby. This used to be the first sign of Spring that we’d hear from our house in Scarborough. A beautiful morning just right to go for a walk, but first we decided to have a cooked breakfast with Turkey sausages to keep it remotely healthy.

Tree beachMud

When Tilly eventually returned we quickly got ready to go out ourselves. The aim of our walk was to see what lay ahead where the stoppages are and have been. Not using our common sense, or heeding from Carols experience on the Thames we decided not to put our walking boots on and ventured off wearing trainers! They were old ones. Just after reaching the swing bridge we saw our error as a sea of MUD stretched out in front of us. Back tracking a little we detoured along the road and through the church yard back to the towpath.  Here the going was still sticky but passable. The next stone bridge was where a large tree had given up it’s fight against the forces of gravity in a storm blocking the navigation recently. The trunk had been cut and cleared. Much of it must have been put through a chipper, the chips/chunks left on the towpath creating a tree beach.

On we walked, out of the breeze it was really quite warm and hats ended up being removed. Mud occasionally took over and one stretch of sticky sea made us divert to the nearby road again, through a hedge.

Between locks 2 and 3

The first of the locks came into view, empty. Below the second lock was the boat and butty that had been sold a week or two ago. We wondered if they’d been aware of the next lock being closed when they’d set off from Grindley Brook, but they’d got as far as they could as Lock 3 had only reopened on Friday. A boat was making it’s way down in the chamber, so we went to help close gates, they soon pulled in below as half a mile further on is where the bridge was still closed. We considered walking further, but as our walk had been delayed (nobody said which hour and a half I could be outside for!) we wanted to get back in day light so turned back, knowing that there would be plenty of space for us to moor for a couple of days.

A return along the road made sense, calling in at the Spar shop for a few bits of veg. Next call was at the Cotton Arms to see when they served food until.

Beers!

But as we stood at the bar the plates of Sunday roast twisted our arms, so we decided to stay and eat instead of coming back later. A quiet pub with quite a few eating or drinking. A good selection of beers too. Only thing was there was no sign of a menu. Mick asked if they were doing a roast today, a choice of four meats. Two beefs, luckily I’d spotted that most plates were swimming in gravy so asked for one with little gravy.

Beef. More veg on the waySponge and custard, nothing betterApart from the food being a little tepid it was very nice. The dessert menu called out to us, well we had walked and waded quite a distance. I had ginger pear and salted caramel sponge whilst Mick had sticky toffee. Both were very nice and warmer than the main course. It had been a good decision to stop. The sun was setting as we returned to Oleanna which didn’t impress Tilly as she wasn’t allowed out again

Sunset on a lovely day

0 locks, 0.39 miles, 1 bridge lufted, 1 newspaper, 4 bowls of smokey soup, 2 chicken thighs, 6 hours, 1.5 hours a joke! 5.8 mile wade, 1 telepathic pub, 2 roast beefs, 2 sponge puddings, 2 pints, 150 seconds, 2 rows short of a rug.

Is Spring Springing? 26th January

Quoisley Bridge to Wrenbury Frith

Sunbathing on Houdini's shelfWhat a lovely day, sunlight streaming in through the windows, Tilly found a very good spot on the Houdini shelf to have a good sunbath. As we had breakfast a number checker walked past, we wondered how far they have to walk each day. This chap was obviously absorbing the wonders of nature all around him as he walked the towpath with his music blasting out!

So sunny

The weather was so perfect for cruising, just a shame we couldn’t go far!

Marbury Lock

Not too many extra layers were needed as we cruised along in the sunshine. Approaching Marbury Lock it felt as though we should be about to go up the lock as all around us there were hills. But rounding the last bend the landscape dipped away in front of us and the lock followed suit. There are another three locks ahead of us before reaching the bridge that is still closed, but we have decided to loiter around Wrenbury for the weekend where we can get supplies.

Wrenbury Lift Bridge and Oleanna

So we pulled up on the last 48hr mooring before Wrenbury, just in case there was no space closer in.

After lunch and an explore around a turnip field for Tilly we walked up into the village checking for spaces as we went. Despite not being far away the towpath in places is so muddy it is really quite hard work, so we are likely to move up a bit tomorrow.

Snowdrops

More signs of the seasons moving on today as we passed the church yard. Masses of snowdrops hung their heads between the gravestones and the tall green stalks of daffodils are reaching for the sky everywhere. A few bits bought from the shop and a reserved copy of our Saturday paper and we were sorted.

Top of the range

The printer has been busy this afternoon as it’s that time of year when we have to declare ourselves homeless. To be able to vote in Scarborough we have to declare a local connection, but as our house is rented out we have to be homeless. We could be registered at my brothers, our contact address, but we’d rather our votes count in Scarborough than London.

Cluckers

DSCF7114sm1 Lock, 2.65 miles, 1 bridge closed then open, 1 sunny sunny day, 1 field of turnips, 1 paper on order, 80p of mushrooms, 2 homeless boaters, 1 new contract, 0 graveyard cat, 1 moonwalking cat, 2 fingers crossed that livewriter is working!

Water Under Our Bow. 25th January

Grindley Brook to Quoisley Bridge 25

Waiting for the staircase   ©2018 Leckenby
Time to push off, first of all backwards! Well the water tank needed topping up. Once the tanks were done we pushed back off and headed forwards.
A Lock Keeper   ©2018 Leckenby
Up at the staircase there were a couple of C&RT chaps busying themselves, one with a very noisy leaf blower the other was emptying the chambers trying to clear the build up of detritus in them. He signalled to fill the top lock the bottom gates slightly ajar. Usually the rising water pushes the gates closed, but this didn’t seem to be happening, a six inch gap still between them, so I dropped the paddle with the hope of freeing what ever was causing it. We tried opening and closing the gates, but it wouldn’t shift, the Lockie kept indicating to open the paddles, so we did. Gradually the gates made an effort to close, but it was painful to watch. Apparently the collar around one of the gates is ever so tight and the gate will only close with a lot of water pressure. This might explain why we’ve seen the Lockie on several occasions filling the top chamber and leaving a paddle up to keep the pressure on the gates.
Leaving the long pound   ©2018 Leckenby

At 11.30 Mick brought Oleanna into the top chamber and we started to work our way down the staircase leaving the Ellesmere pound that we’ve been in for almost three weeks. The Lockie helped work one side of the staircase and offered to close it up after us so that I could walk on to open up the next lock in the flight. The next three locks got us back into the swing of things, Mick closing the gate behind him and lifting a paddle whilst I went ahead to set the next lock.

Byebye Grindley Brook   ©2018 Leckenby

Over the last few weeks we’ve often wondered if the flow on the canal had been slowed, today there was no suggestion of this as all the bywashes were brimming full. Despite these Mick managed to stop Oleanna in the mouth of each lock to push the off side gate closed with the boat hook, saving me a walk round the lock.

Good to be moving again    ©2018 Leckenby
Stinky!!!     ©2018 Leckenby
Below Grindley Brook it was good to be moving again with blue in the sky. However the smell of the countryside hit us, assisted by a farmer spreading muck in his fields.
Fuzzy Lambs   ©2018 Leckenby
A short distance on there were more signs of spring on it’s way. As we pootled along we could hear bleating. Behind the hedge we could just make out the shapes of lambs in the fields. None of them gave us a display of bedoyinginess but all seemed to answer to my bleating back at them.
Daisy ©2018 Leckenby
Moving boats two of them!    ©2018 Leckenby
In between the stones of Povey’s Lock a solitary daisy was searching for the sun which was obliging us with it’s presence. Sat by the lock was a pile of railings waiting to be erected for the forthcoming closure in February. Mick here had great difficulty in closing the bottom gate, in fact he couldn’t.
Just as I was setting off to walk round, up ahead the bow of a boat appeared followed by another, Bingo we could leave the gates open! It was two Viking Afloat hire boats that looked like they had been for a repaint and were returning to base piloted by their staff who were not hanging about!
Willey Moors Lock    ©2018 Leckenby
After Willey Moors Lock we decided that we’d stop for lunch, maybe even for the day after the next lock. The A49 runs close to the canal, so we’d carry on until it headed away from us. By the time we’d descended Quoisley Lock the wind was picking up and a very black cloud was gaining on us. A handy 48hr mooring appeared and we pulled in just as the heavens opened. Sadly by the time we’d fought with the wind and got the pram cover up  we had both got a touch wet.
This however didn’t stop Tilly once the door was opened up. There being more trees and friendly cover here she has been kept amused for most of the afternoon.
Our timings to reach the closed lock were looking good and we’d just decided to stay in Wrenbury tomorrow night (so we can get a Saturday paper) when a C&RT notice dropped into our inbox. The stoppage at Halls Lane Bridge 12 (which was due to open tomorrow too) has had to be extended by five days to complete the works! So we shall saunter towards Wrenbury and hope that should we need more water that the hire base there will look kindly on us. Hopefully we’ll be on our way again on Wednesday and do our best to reach Chester as quickly as we can as a friend of ours is there next week on tour with a show. Fingers crossed for no ice.
9 locks, 2.82 miles, 1 Lockie, 1 full water tank, 1 empty wee tank, 0 leaves on trees, 23 lambs, 1 daisy, 2 boats moving, 2 damp boaters, 1 happy cat, 5 days extension, 1 vintage episode of Coronation Street, 0 map possible! Grrrrr!!!

Waiting Around 22nd 23rd 24th January

New Mills Lift Bridge to Grindley Brook

All tucked up down the Whitchurch Arm    ©2018 Leckenby

On Monday  just as we finished our late breakfast NB Mountbatten came past towing Jellicoe. They have paid for a winter mooring in the Whitchurch Arm up to Easter but hadn’t known that the arm would be closed off when New Mills Bridge is being worked on. After a few days at Grindley Brook, whilst Richard did the last coal run by boat (before the stoppages really get going), they had decided to return to the arm otherwise it would be wasted money. Their water would now need to be collected by van. We said our goodbyes as we doubt we’ll be seeing them again this winter.

Heading off to wind     ©2018 Leckenby

Soon after we made our own move, lifting the bridge for Oleanna to go through I stayed put and hoped that no body would want to cross the bridge whilst Mick headed up to the winding hole to turn. A couple of walkers arrived but luckily for my arms Mick did too, once through I wound the bridge back down. On we pootled back to Grindley Brook where we pulled up at the nearest end of the visitor moorings. There was a boat reversing back from the services which looked like NB Myrtle. They have a cat on board, so we hung back so as to give Tilly and their cat a good range between their homes.

Latest project    ©2018 Leckenby

Tuesday came along with the next engine service. So after Tilly had a bit of an explore she was locked inside for a snooze whilst Mick climbed down into the engine bay (on his own) to change the oil and filter. I could have just sat around in front of the stove knitting all day, but now that my tax return was done there was another job I’d been meaning to do for a while. The shower.

On Lillian (our previous boat) the shower glass was frosted so didn’t show the gradual build up of lime scale and general soapyness. Oleanna’s however is clear and shows where every little drop of water has rested. I decided to give it a very good clean which included taking the doors off. Lillian needed two people to do this as the rollers and catches were tricksy. On Oleanna you just need to push the buttons on the bottom rollers so that they clear the lower track and then lift the top rollers out from theirs. With both doors laid carefully on the bed I gave the main cubicle a good clean, I also removed the ever growing hair monster from the plug trap.

Push the button    © 2018Leckenby
Left side dirty, right side glistening ©2018 Leckenby

Pleased with my efforts I brought each door back in turn to clean. Blimey! Can you get repetitive strain from cleaning shower doors! The outside was easy, but the inside took several goes to get reasonable. Standing in bare feet with jeans rolled I started to smell like a highly vinegard fish and chips. The best thing I’ve found for removing the build up is diluted white vinegar, which we use in a spray bottle to keep the urine separator clean on our compost loo. The second door I made the mix stronger as my life and arms were starting to prefer the cloudy effect on the doors. I persevered, maybe I shouldn’t leave it quite so long next time.

Mick in the meantime had finished the engine service and moved us up to a water point to fill the now nearly empty tank. Once this was done we moved up a bit further to moor between the pump out and water points again as the night was due to be windy again. The roof was cleared of anything loose and a spring line was added to the stern to keep us into the side should the wind be bad.
Overnight we were aware of the odd gusts, but nothing compared to last weeks storm. A bit of a disappointment, it did mean that we slept quite well.
Our original plan was to leave Grindley Brook today, down the locks and start making our way towards Baddiley Lock 3 which is due to reopen at the end of Friday. Once through there we should have a clear run to Chester and be free of stoppages. No more waiting around. But this morning we still had strong winds and plenty of rain, not so nice. So instead of pushing off we put our coats on and headed to the Lockside cafe for a cooked breakfast.

Just for Ade     ©2018 Leckenby
Is Jim about to steal our bacon?     ©2018 Leckenby

A large Rosie and Jim looked down on our sausage, bacon and scrambled egg from high on the wall next to us. Rosie’s feet swayed alarmingly, caused (we hope!) by the rising heat from the radiator below. The breakfast was nice, but the sausages were nothing to write home about, more like a Holiday Inn banger.

Now you see it   ©2018 Leckenby
Now you don’t   ©2018 Leckenby

We’d let the fire go out overnight, not wanting the wind to make the fire run away with itself. Now fortified after breakfast Mick gave the chimney a sweep and good hoover out.

New black gloves standing up better than the old ones   ©2018 Leckenby

His Christmas present of new black gloves coming in use for the second time in two days, he’s impressed with their performance, Thank you Josh.

Keeping the hoover in view at all times    ©2018 Leckenby

Tilly was given the freedom of the towpath for the day, but I preferred to stay indoors and watch the hoover from a safe distance, followed by pummelling Toms hat and trying to get those balls out of the box of holes, they really shouldn’t be in there!

We’ll wait just one more day, but tomorrow no matter what the weather we need to push off.

You may notice that the layout is a bit different today. For some reason livewriter wouldn’t upload my post with photos in it (we’ve been trying most of the day!). So I’ve had to return to inserting them on blogger, which I find most annoying!!!


0 locks, 0.78 miles, 1 lift bridge, 1 wind, 1 wave goodbye, 1 good mooring, 1 not so good mooring, 182 stitches, 48 tv channels, 1 full water tank, 1 empty wee tank, 2 loads washing, 1050hr service, 1 spotless shower, 2 pickled feet, 1 spring line, 2 windy to move, 4 sausages, 1 dangling leg, 1 chimney swept, 2 windy for my bottom, 1 big sulk! 1 blogger getting quite p**d off, 1 tech support also getting p**d off, 1 more night before the off.


Sloshy Slushy Weekend. 20th, 21st January

New Mills Lift Bridge

IMAG0286smSaturday morning we headed out to top up the food supplies and get our Saturday newspaper. We walked the road into town as the pathways looked like they would be rather muddy and icy in patches. Cutting through Jubilee Park we came out near Colour Supplies, the Whitchurch version of Boyes. Somehow in the last week our dustpan has lost some of it’s rubber lip which means that it is neither use nor ornament, so we wanted a replacement. Next it was time to choose which charity shop could have some bits and bobs donated to them, this done we wandered up the High Street to find a butcher that would sell us a joint for Sunday.

By now it was snowing so we called into Sainsburys and then made our way back to Oleanna.

IMAG0285smIMAG0288smThe Whitchurch arm looked a little bit icy now with a layer of snow sitting on the surface. We wondered how ducks had walked in such a straight line across the surface at the winding hole, but as I noticed a drip from above the penny dropped. Not ducks feet, but telephone lines dripping!

IMAG0292smP1210913smThe boat that had been behind us had moved off whilst we were out, so Mick pulled us back hoping that this might improve our TV reception. It didn’t! But Tilly had a slightly different patch to explore for the rest of the day, returning with very muddy paws. We now have towels to cover the dinette and sofa on such days with the hope that they may stay reasonably clean. However a paw bath across the stern and some highly absorbent matting wouldn’t go amiss. Well it’s exciting out there and I need to run around reliving my exploration and telling them all about it. Sometimes the best place to do this is on someone’s knee or newspaper!

P1210936smP1210933smSunday came with sleet which then turned into quite large chunks of snow. The only one to actually step off the boat today was Tilly and she wasn’t too enamoured with it, returning quite quickly on numerous occasions. I had to keep checking on the outside as you never know things might have changed. The snow turned back into sleet and then rain, making the towpath even more sticky, sloshy and slushy. We got a touch bored of opening and closing the back doors for her!

P1210941smI bet Richard on NB Mountbatten was glad to be on the home straight from doing his latest coal run.

1482869_10151899945091148_590674919_nAll cosy inside I set about finding a few more knitting patterns to keep my fingers busy. The pattern I decided on involves some cabling which I haven’t done for a long time. When we were downsizing our possessions I went through all the knitting needles I owned (a lot!) and put together a full set of sizes, donating the remainder to a charity shop. Sadly amongst my set there was no cable needle (a needle with a V in it to help pass stitches to the back or the front of others), but after a bit of thought and looking around on the internet I realised that I could do without, using either a stitch holder or a straight double ended needle. I also learnt a new way to cast on which gives a stretchy edge, useful for hats and socks.

P1210946smMeanwhile after Mick had finished reading the paper he decided to have a go at installing one of his Christmas presents. I’d bought him an Alde Discrete Room Temperature Sensor for our boiler. The thermostat is currently in the electrics cupboard which tends to be one of the warmest places on the boat (other than in front of the stove), so not a true representative of general temperature in the cabin. With a cable of around 1.5m his aim was to pass it from the control panel in the cupboard behind the larder drawers in the galley and out the other side.

First we had to sus out how the drawers came out, a little catch on the runners, one pushed up the other down and bingo space too work in. But would the cable get fouled by the drawer and it’s contents? Theatre Designer mind was engaged as boy looking wasn’t finding a solution.

P1210957smP1210962smA route through avoiding the boiler flue, not totally ideal, was found. From the control panel (A) the cable needs to pass through a gap with many others (B) to just under the inverter (C), here it can pass through two layers of 18mm into the top cupboard, then straight down into the space below where the drawers are (D but towards the rear of the cupboard). From here it can run along the underside of the cupboard and come out through a hole to a discrete position in the galley (E). There is enough cable for the run, but sadly we don’t have a suitable sized drill bit to be able to do it with! So the job was put on hold for the time being, at least one drawer got a good tidy and clean out.

P1210949smOur joint of roast Pork with all the accompaniments was just the right way to round of a truly miserable weekend, aided by a couple of glasses of wine.

DSCF7117sm0 locks, 100ft backwards, 2 wet sleety slushy days, 2 cold damp boaters, 4 cold muddy paws, 4 cat sized wellies required, 2 new patterns, 0 cable needles, 0 10mm drill bit, 3 things learnt, 1 tidy clean drawer, 0 tv signal, 1 chink of phone signal, 25th 26th April hmmmm!

A Slight Nudge South 19th January

Grindley Brook to New Mills Lift Bridge 31

P1210890smI enjoyed a bit of a lie in this morning whilst Mick obeyed the voice from Houdini’s phone and got up just before 7.30am. There were noises coming from NB Mountbatten soon after Mick showed his head out at the back of Oleanna. Lying in bed listening I really wish I’d recorded the noises.

Mountbatten’s engine took a while for it to get started, it was –1C. Then it gradually had it’s morning stretch and slowly got going, the chugging evening out to a constant rate. Richard brought her back alongside Oleanna, first a gas bottle (bumped and scraped into the locker at the bow), then what sounded only like one bag of coal (but Mick assures me it was four). She was then moved to the stern for diesel. He did his calculations handed over the bill and set off to replenish the stocks of a couple more boats in view and then carry on towards Ellesmere, Ruth hitching a ride to open up the lift bridges for him as he went before walking back to their butty Jellicoe.

Mick climbed back into bed with a cuppa at 8.15, job done and no missing cat this time!

P1210896smHaving been sat at Grindley Brook now for eight days we decided that a change of scenery would be good. First a couple of loads of washing were run through the machine and hung out around the cabin, followed by a shower and a top up of water.

We still have a week before a stoppage ahead of us is completed and we reckon it will take a couple of days to get there. Grindley Brook is the last water point before the stoppage so we didn’t want to move down stream just yet. Instead we winded above the staircase locks and pootled our way back towards Whitchurch.

P1210899smThe sun shone and as the bow of Oleanna passed Butty Jellicoe all the colours sang out. As I’ve had a few sedentary days doing accounts I decided to walk. The towpath was a bit slippy slidey so Mick and Oleanna managed to keep up with me and pulled into the off side moorings just before New Mills Lift Bridge before I’d had chance to cross it.

P1210911smHere we have a view down across fields through twisted oak trees. The wind could do with changing direction as at the moment it is bringing all the traffic noise from the A41 with it. The noise doesn’t bother me! This outside is much better. A steep bank, plenty of friendly cover, big trees with no ivy so really good climbing. Tomorrow I’m going to see if I can spy on what they are up to on the boat from up one of the trees. But before that we’ll have a walk into Whitchurch to pick up a Saturday paper and top up with fresh veg.

DSCF7117sm0 locks, 1.03 miles, 1 wind, 2 loads washing, 1 Chinese laundry, 1 gas bottle, 4 bags coal, 29 litres diesel, 1 wave goodbye to Jellicoe, 1 muddy mile, 2 hours, well maybe 4! 1 torch assisted cat retrieval, 1.5 socks completed, 2 more patterns found, 2 turkey schnitzels, yum.

Blimey!!! And Scaffolding 17th 18th January

Grindley Brook

P1210691smWith the impending storm with strong gusts of wind expected we decided to move up the moorings and position ourselves between the water points and the pump out. Here only one tree would be a possible casualty and we managed to pull up hoping that it would miss us should it come a cropper overnight.

P1210706smOver night we’d had a light dusting of snow and by the time we moved up and let Tilly out there were only patches of it left on the towpath. I did my best not to loose my paws in it, but decided that even though I wanted to be out it would be safer for my paws if I spent much of the day curled up on board in the warmness.

P1210712smA good tidy and clean followed as we were expecting guests in the afternoon. Marion and John drove up from Eastbourne for a visit and to start on their museum tour for 2018. Their drive up had been an easy one and they very nicely arrived with a Clementine and Almond cake (Rick Stein gluten free!) for us to enjoy with a cuppa. This was very nice and we’re glad that it didn’t all go, so should last us a few days.

P1210715smCatching up on news of their latest travels, Christmas and New Year took up much of the afternoon before we headed out to walk along the busy A41 to The Horse and Jockey. We’d visited here twice on our trip on NB Winding Down and had enjoyed the food and beer. Since then it has changed hands, but still served up a good meal for us all. The Tapas menu a great thing for veggies and gluten intolerant folk, being able to mix and match dishes. Mick had a pie and the rest of us Sea Bass washed down with a nice pint or two of beer.

Whilst in the pub it had started to rain, the precursor for the storm! We all settled down listening to the patter of the rain on the roof aiding drifting off to sleep. Before 2am however the gusts of wind started. Everything on Oleannas roof had either been tied down or stowed in the pram cover out of harms way. The poles on the racks vibrated as the wind swept across our roof. Mick had tightened the ropes earlier which meant we weren’t going to biff about too much, but we still rocked as each gust hit us. According to John the gusts reached 59 mph.

These were followed by a not so fierce gust, it was just constant, getting on for two hours of 39mph! Blimey!! This was really quite hard to sleep through. Mick checked that all was okay in the main cabin with our guests and then we both read as the boat slowly reverberated with the wind. From 4.30am onwards there were still gusts, but we managed to sleep through much of it. Not the best nights sleep!

P1210720smWe woke to pretty clouds and a calm world, almost as though nothing had happened. A check round outside and all was where it had been left and no signs of any trees down behind us.

NB Mountbatten was due to bring their butty down to fill with water, so we’d arranged to top up on supplies whilst they were here, our gas bottle from Llangollen having run out just after seeing Richard a week ago! But there was an offer of a day out with Marion and John, a trip to Ironbridge to tick off a couple of museums. Whilst Mick was composing a text to say we’d see Richard next week down stream Ruth called to say that they wouldn’t be moving today due to not feeling so good, so could they catch us next week down stream instead.

We all climbed into the car along with our empty gas bottle (not Calor, so none returnable) and called in at Whitchurch Tip to add it to the caged bottles. then onwards to Ironbridge.

The Ironbridge Gorge is a World Heritage Site, has ten museums helping celebrate the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.

Iron Bridge Aug 1975smP1210724smThe main attraction is the cast iron bridge which gives the town it’s name. Built in 1779 and opened in 1781 it was the first bridge to be built of cast iron after Abraham Derby perfected the method of smelting iron with coke, allowing cheaper production and larger sections could be cast than previously. Down the banks of the River Severn coal and iron mines, brick and tile works, ship building filled the gorge with activity. Today the atmosphere is very different, quieter and cleaner, English Heritage are currently undertaking a huge restoration project on the Ironbridge. The whole structure is swathed in scaffolding and the sound of grit blasting below your feet can be heard as you walk over it. So sadly the elegant structure can’t be seen for the next year as the works take place to keep the bridge for future generations.

P1210752smP1210756smOwned privately there was a toll to pay to cross. This was set at a standard price, everyone would pay the same even if they were royalty and the prices remained the same from 1781 to 1950. A guinea would buy you an annual pass and the only persons exempt from paying were the ferrymen who lost their livelihood when the bridge opened.

P1210768smAfter the toll house our first museum was The Museum of the Gorge. Here the star of the museum is a 20meter long model of the gorge laid out as it would have been when William V, Prince of Orange visited on the 12th August 1796. A team of people must have worked on the model, at first I thought it would have taken a month, but that is likely to have been how long it took to just assemble the pieces.

P1210764smP1210776smThe scale trees and figures were almost certainly bought, but the number of trees must have filled at least a shopping trolley and a half. P1210782smEach building has been made individually to match what would have been there at the time. Boats were bow hauled upstream, carts waited for goods to be loaded, inclined planes moved coal down from the canal to the smelting works. Apparently the model was damaged in the floods of 2000 and had to be reworked.

P1210792smThe rest of the museum is interesting giving a brief  history of the gorge. Views down the river to the iron bridge would be great if it hadn’t been for the scaffolding.

We then climbed back into the car to head for Blists Hill Victorian Town.

P1210804smThe museum recreates a town around 1900. Originally the area was filled with industry, consisting of a brick and tile works, blast furnaces and coal, iron and fire clay mines. It opened in 1973 and has been growing ever since as original buildings have been relocated to the site. It is similar, yet smaller to the Black Country Museum. The whole of the town is inhabited by Victorians and should you want you can exchange you £’s and p’s for £sd at the branch of Lloyds Bank so that you can purchase goods around the town. Most of the inhabitants play along with the theme quite well.

P1210802smP1210816smThe conversation in the grocers seemed to be more 21st C and it wasn’t until a long while later that the penny dropped about the conversation going on in the Post Office between two women about how things would soon improve (Suffragettes!). At the bakers fresh bread can be bought (the last loaf and a roll to us), plaster motifs and cast iron figures are made and sold by craftsmen who are happy to talk about how life would have been.

P1210828smP1210845smOne chap was powering down the steam engine that worked the lift down into the mines when we arrived. He demonstrated the mechanism and talked through all the different layers that the mine would reach, a small block of wood attached to a string showed which level the lift had reached, string technology from the Victorian era.

P1210836smOn the wall was a hand drawn map of the canal network leading to Blasts Hill. Mick had correctly guessed that they would connect to the Shropshire Union at Norbury Junction, quite a large network of canals did.

P1210807smP1210814smP1210861smTwo ladies were sat by the range in a house where the back rooms were rented out to the doctor who visited one day a week. Across the top of the stove sat a bacon carrot and lentil stew slowly simmering away. The ladies are wanting to try to get one of the ovens working on the range, but this will take quite a bit of experimentation as there are allsorts of variables to move hot air around the ovens. After we chatted for a while the ladies may start cooking jacket potatoes on the fire. We weren’t sure if foil was around in 1900, research suggests that tin foil was used, not sure if potatoes were cooked in it and it did leave a metallic taste to the food, hence we now use aluminium foil.

P1210877smA squatters house further down the hill gave a hole different slant on life, few of the same home comforts of gas lighting and an indoor tap. Here a family had built the four walls and roof of their house in 24hrs to claim it as a squatters house. A small fire and thick walls did thier best to keep the cold out, along with a Delongi heater in the pantry!

Sadly the museum was closing it’s doors at 4pm so we had to rush back up the hill after a brief look round the Toll house from Watling Street. Another couple of hours and we’d have had time to see everything.

P1210882smP1210850smIf you came to the gorge for a weeks holiday you could easily make use of the year pass at £25, cheaper if bought on line, which gives you access to all ten museums. A fortnight would make for a more relaxed history filled holiday.

Marion and John kindly returned us to Grindley Brook before they started their return journey south. As we walked up to Oleanna in the now fading light we could see that we had some new neighbours. Richard and Ruth had brought NB Mountbatten and the butty to fill with water in the afternoon. They planned on staying put overnight, so we arranged an early top up tomorrow before NB Mountbatten sets off on it’s last coal run upstream before bridges close on Monday.

0 locks, 0.09 miles, 4 paws still, 1 clean pooh bucket, 1 empty wee tank, 2 guests, 0 trees, 3 bass, 1 pie, 59 mph winds, 1 sleepless night, 1 change of plan, 3 museums, £15 for celebratory beer, 378 tons of iron, £2430 labour, £2 sundries, 24ft wide, 100ft 6inch inside span of arch, 55ft high, 20m long model, 1795 high flood, 1 loaf, 1 roll, 3 moody cast cats, 2 revolting women, 60ft of mine, 1 canal, 1 very good unexpected day out, 1 boring unexpected day in!

Returned, Paid and Climbed. 16th January

Grindley Brook

The last two days I’ve not stepped off the boat, the weather hasn’t been that inviting with strong winds and rain showers. Tilly however has enjoyed this as it’s meant that she can come and go at will and the staff have been on hand to open and close doors and hatches when required!

P1210633smWith Mick heading back to Shrewsbury to return the car yesterday morning I decided it was time to get my accounts up to date (well, for last year!) and do my tax return. Having very little income helps make this job a lot easier than it used to be. Long gone are the days of employing an accountant to do the job, one was only taken on so that we could get a mortgage as I needed an accountants reference, so tax returns don’t scare me. Much of the day was spent downloading bank statements and reconciling them, might as well do it properly. In the old days I’d have kept on top of my receipts but it would still take me a whole day to put those left into the computer, today a whole years worth took five minutes. By the end of the day everything was ready to fill out the form on line. This would have been done sooner if I hadn’t been on door duty all day!

After dropping the hire car off Mick was given a lift into Shrewsbury so that he could visit Maplins. Reception on our TV has been a bit hit and miss of late and he’d been wondering if it was the aerial amplifier. We still have the one from Lillian, but we didn’t have the right connectors for it. With new cables bought he caught the train back to Whitchurch and then walked back along the towpath. At least someone is getting some exercise round here. As I sorted numbers Mick tried sorting signal, but nothing seemed to be working for him. Maybe we are just in one of those places.

Today I spent a few hours on the Government Gateway inputting my small figures and getting nowhere near my personal allowance. No tax due for this year, just a matter of paying Class 2 National Insurance voluntarily to ensure getting benefits and pension in years to come. All up to date and paid. I may get the current year up to date if we have more bad weather, I quite enjoy doing accounts!

Micks task today has been to finish sorting out our emails. The poor chap has felt a bit like he’s been back at work, but doing the bits he didn’t enjoy. My domain that we used to get my email from is no longer available, so Mick has moved it elsewhere, which caused allsorts of problems. We could send emails from the laptop but not from any other devices. Then any email he sent looked as if it had come from me, not ideal. Once I had finished my accounts the boat had to be quiet again for Mick to concentrate this time. But by the end of the afternoon all seems to be sorted.

I’m glad they’ve both finished, maybe they’ll move the outside again. It was quite good here yesterday, but today I’ve started to use it all up! The wind has been blowing my bottom which gives me a Mohican and bushy tail, I don’t like that. Running around made more use of the outside, but I had to climb to the very top of the trees and dig holes to find new places to explore. I kept coming inside to give them the opportunity to move the outside, but that didn’t work, maybe tomorrow.

P1210670sm0 locks, 0 miles, 3 times last year, 2017 tax return completed and returned, 0 tax, Class 2 NI paid, 1 TV being temperamental, 1 cat being loony lala, 21 door openings, 35 hatch openings, 20+ feet of tree top climbing, 4 hours of cat indecision, 2 fingers crossed that emails work, 1 button down hat completed.