16 October 2019

Fickle fickle weather!!!!

When we woke it was r#*ning! When we had breakfast it was r#*ning, when we weighed anchor it was r#*ning.

Grahame and I were driving this morning, so we donned our wet weather gear and took the tiller. Lucky we bought it!!

Our first stop was just down the road and is a little delicate to discuss. We had what is called a “pump out”. I’ll leave that to your imagination.

The r#*n eased almost immediately and soon the sun was almost shining.

We headed back down the canal we had come in on yesterday afternoon.

Except for the industrial bit, it was really quite pretty.

The weather took a dramatic turn for the best which shocked the British we met along the way, more than us. We went from six layers down to three. Positively balmy! In fact by the end of the day we might have even been a little bit sunburnt.

Grahame was on tiller duty and the rest of us took it pretty easy. Only a couple of locks just as we were coming back into Middlewich . There was the “Big Lock” (aptly named), followed by three on a sharp bend, in quick succession.

The poor lock volunteer (they have them on some tricky locks) was running back and forth between all three making sure everyone got where they were going without mishap. We had another passing manoeuvre but this time it was in the pond between locks. The wind played a bit of havoc on the turn and it took a fair bit of skill to bring Ellie around. Well done Grahame.

I even took the opportunity to do a bit of bush bashing to find a Geocache. Only problem is that all bush here seems to have spikes attached. Ouch!

Fisherman here take their pastime very seriously. So much so they even compete for cash prizes. They set up along side the canal and curse quietly under their breaths as we boatie folk pass by. They have to pull in their lines or lower their rods losing vital seconds of fish catching opportunities. We always go out of our to say hello, engage them in conversation as we drift past. Must drive them crazy!!

By midday we were back at the turnoff and heading south east into new territory.

Grahame and I have been trying to photograph ducks taking off or landing on the canal for a few days now. I thought I had jagged it with this series of slightly blurred pics.

Then Grahame gets this one.

We moored at Wheelock and immediately set off for a 2 km walk to the next village of Sandbach where we had read good things. And the good things were indeed good.

The cobbled town square, surrounded by Tudor style shops and houses, was the home to two sandstone “crosses” dating back to the early 9th century.

We explored the churchyard and it’s cemetery which was just down the road.

And then there was the “piece de resistance”: The Old Hall.

From outside to inside, it was a stunner!!

We loved so much we stayed for dinner and walked home in the dark a few hours later.

By the time we returned to Ellie-McBoat-Face and played our night Sequence game, the temperature had dropped to a cool 7 degrees. Brrrrr.

Fickle fickle fickle!!

Sequence score: Girls v Boys : Girls Win

• Judi 6
• John 5
• Grahame 5
• Jenny 4 ☹️