A Day Out with our Friends

Miles 7.4 locks 0
Today we finally managed to take some friends for a trip on the canal. We have been trying for a while to set a date but as you all know us retired folk are so busy it is difficult to fit things in. Anyway we realised that the weekend would be best when we all take a rest from our busy weeks schedule.
Gralyn waits patiently in the sun on her moorings in the High Lane arm for our visitors to arrive.
We had decided to go to the Miners Arms by bridge 18 on the Macclesfield canal for lunch.
Afterwards we continued South along the canal and turned just before bridge 20 and return to High Lane. The highlight of the trip home being strawberries and cream washed down with champagne. Everyone enjoyed the trip and after yesterdays rain the canal was deep enough to moor up without problem.

NCCC/Poynton Wine Circle Wine Cruise

High Lane Arm, Macclesfield Canal to Disley Swing Bridge, Upper Peak Forest Canal
Miles 10 Locks 0 Lift Bridges 2 Swing Bridges 1
Yesterday the NCCC acted has hosts to take members of the Poynton Wine Circle on an afternoon cruise on the canal. This year 4 boats each with 4 guests took part.
Looking down the High Lane Arm towards the NCCC Club house

After the cruise we were entertained with a Call My Bluff style wine tasting and even later there was a BBQ on the "Triangle" with two Musicians playing their instruments and us having a sing song along with the music
There was plenty to eat and drink. We stayed overnight on the boat as I had had quite a few samples of home made wine and took part in the Call My Bluff wine tasting.

Post Script

Wednesday 24 June 2009.
I had to get a pull off of the mooring today (Thanks Keith) to allow me to dredge 7 more barrow loads of mud out of the mooring and even then the boat was still aground when I tried to moor up. I went in and out several times to push the mud aside until I can get round to more dredging.
Friday 26 June 2009
Cleanup day. We went to the boat and did a good clean out and got the vacuum cleaner going. The boat was still aground so I turned the boat around and tried flushing some of the mud out with the prop. The boat is moored on a more even keel now. I think I will still have to do some more dredging though.

This ends the daily updates so the blog will only be updated when we take the boat out. We expect to do another fortnight cruise sometime in July/August.

Barleston to High Lane

We are home, but at the moment my broadband connection is faulty so I will update the last episode of our summer cruise when it is fixed. The plan is to upload lots of the photos that I have not used onto the internet with a link so that you can all see them. The Openreach engineer has just arrived so I will have to go. Keep watching it will all be sorted in a couple of days. The links to more photographs taken on this cruise
Purton Hulks Full set of Photos taken at Purton
Severn Valley Railway
Slimbridge

Finally got the log sorted so here goes for the last two days of the cruise

Miles 36.8 Locks 19 Days 2
Sunday 21/06/2009 Barleston to Dane Aqueduct at the bottom of Bosley Locks.
We were up early today to get ahead of the single hander that held everyone up yesterday but not early enough to be the first boat at Trentham lock and subsequently the Stone Flight. we followed the same boat waiting at most locks for it to clear the lock and on occasions waiting for another boat to come down. The timing for Harecastle tunnel was just about perfect we got there just as the southbound boats were making their exit from the tunnel. A 45 minute passage through and we were on the Macc with two boats in front who moored up at Red Bull for lunch. We continued on and stopped at Heritage boats for a Pump-out and then on to Bosley Bottom.
Monday 22/06/2009 Bosley bottom lock to High Lane.
Another early start and this time we were first up the locks, not that it mattered much as most of them were against us. We didn't meet another boat coming down until two from the top. We took on water at the top of the locks and carried on only to find the canal covered on large clumps of reeds that had broken off from the bank. I call these green icebergs as most of their mass is below water level. We finally secummed to the weed on the prop about 200yards in and I had to go down the weed hatch to clear the prop - we couldn't even get into the side, M had to hang on to some moored boats we were passing. After Fools Nook swing bridge things cleared up but the we noticed haw low the water was in the canal (about 4" lower than its normal level). The final run into High lane was uneventful until we went into our mooring and the boat took on a list as we grounded on the mud. I was quite disappointed as I had taken 7 wheelbarrow loads of mud out of the mooring only 6 weeks earlier. Two buses later and I was back with the car and we unload essentials and the laundry and we went home.

Penkridge to Barleston

Miles 23.9 Locks 18 days 2
No post yesterday I was busy in the engine compartment replacing the throttle control cable that had snapped just as we were coming in to moor up in the middle of a downpour. The rain stopped after tea and I was able to change the cable in the dry which was a blessing as the engine cover and sides as well at the back deck all had to be lifted and put to one side. For interest we spent the night between bridges 77 and 78 on the Trent and Mersey canal. We had intended to stop at Tixal Wide and spend the evening there. We arrived just before 1 o'clock and went to the farm shop at Heywood Junction for some fresh strawberries and cream and after that I polished the Starboard side of the boat and we got bored and decided to continue - thats how we ended up on the Trent and Mersey canal earlier than expected. The first lock we came to was Weston and it was set for us with a boat hovering in the canal above the lock, B.W. had decided to leave one of their new tug and module work boats moored up on the lock landing. The space beyond is on a sharp bend and quite difficult to get a boat in. The person who left it there will be very popular as traffic builds up over the weekend.

We intended to stay overnight in Stone and we arrived at 11am, went shopping and had lunch and you have guesssed we got bored and decided to head up to Barleston. It was a slow trip up the Stone locks and then the Meaford flight with a Singlehanded boat in the lead taking his time which included fishing his dog out of the canal several times. One bright moment as we passed R+R in their boat Discovery No1 on their way to the River Thames.
We have not seen many boats about on this trip until we got back on the Four Counties Ring and we met some long queues of boats at some locks. Here is the queue for Tixal lock yesterday
We are moored between Barleston and Trentham on the moorings set up for the visitor centre at the Wedgewood factory, I think that the visitor centre is the only part of the factory that is open now.

Tomorrow we hope to get through the Harecastle Tunnel and if the weather does not improve we will make a dash for home.

The Bratch to Penkridge

Miles 17.2 Locks 11
Our planned stopping place for today was Coven but we had arrived there by 2.30 pm so we decided to continue on first to Gailey and then to Penkridge. This means that we have reached the summit of the Staffs and Worcester Canal and we have started down towards Great Heywood and the Trent and Mersey canal, then it will be uphill all the way home to High Lane.
We saw this fisherman near Autherly Junction See Ya tomorrow. My turn to work the locks. M. did them all today.

Wolverly to The Bratch

Miles 13.3 Locks 17
It as been raining since about 10am this morning, not enough to stop us moving but at times we almost stopped to keep dry.
This is the Cliff at Auscliffe it was much more of an overhang when we first came this way in the early 90s.

No Points for guessing why this is called Rocky lock.
Looking down on Gralyn at the bottom of the two rise at Botterham

It was here that we almost stopped because of the rain. We are moored for the night on the visitor moorings above the Bratch a unique set of three locks with only 6 feet separating the bottom gate of one lock and the top gate of the next. It all works with hidden side pounds that store the water.