17 October 2023

It wasn’t a bad view from the Cocktail Lounge this morning. But it was cold. (Thermals today!!! )

After a delicious hot breakfast of porridge and stewed apple, and the chores done, we set sail.

Our first task of the day was to tackle the lift bridge outside The Dusty Miller, and stop all the traffic when they least wanted it. School run time!!!

I tried really hard to pick the time to turn on the whole lift system, which would be the least disruptive. I looked up and down the country roads (3 of them), I listened super hard for oncoming traffic and picked the moment when I thought it was all clear.

Key inserted, buttons pressed, traffic gates released, bridge lifting and that’s when all the cars turned up. I avoided eye contact with the drivers and kept my finger on the button.

The bridge lifted , Ellie passed through, I lowered the bridge, the safety gates lifted, I withdrew the key and…. Ran!!

Not far down the road, I put the windlass to work and lifted this bridge. No traffic stoppage this time.

There have been forecasts of not such great weather approaching over the next few days and as a precursor, the wind had picked up. In the narrow sheltered stretches of canal this was not a problem, but in the more open spots, poor old Ellie acted as a wind sock and got shoved around a bit. John and Jude were on tiller duty and had the job of keeping her on the straight and narrow.

Grahame topped up our water supply at one of the CRT ( Canal River Trust) service stations. These are spread along the whole canal system at fairly regular intervals. There is usually a water supply, a garbage drop off point, a toilet block and sometimes even a shower.

We enjoyed some lovely rural countryside vistas before reaching Hurleston Flight of locks. Once again, the vollies were there to guide us down the series of 4 locks in quick succession.

John took Ellie around the sharp bend at Hurleston Junction and we had left the Llangollen behind us.

We were headed back towards the Barbridge Inn, our dinner venue a few nights ago, on the short section of the Shropshire Union Main Line.

Immediately after, with Grahame at the helm , we attempted to turn right onto the Middlewich Branch Line. Oopsies!! It became a little bit of a problem. A wide turn on a narrow approach, a bit of wind and some errant logs created the perfect storm. Poor old Ellie got a little bit stuck. Across the canal!!! A little bit of rope wrangling , log shoving and an occasional cuss word , we managed to get her unstuck and under the tunnel. Phwew.

We passed through a quiet stretch of canal interspersed with rich farmland, and rich farmland smells!!!

Despite the wind, it was a very peaceful passage.

Our aim for tonight was to moor in Middlewich, after passing through that troublesome broken lock from last week.

As the sun set, we negotiated our last lock of the day, joined by a family of swans looking for some shelter (or food!!).

Mooring complete, we headed out in search of a shop (to restock the bar) and find a nice pub for dinner. We were successful on both counts!

We had a great dinner in a nice warm pub. The staff were friendly and the chef generous. The White Bear has been a pub since 1625 and was once a venue for Bear baiting. Middlewich also had another pub called the Black Bear and it was rumoured that the 2 bears would meet in the Bull ring with wagers taken on which one would win. Bear fighting seems to have been a common thing in this area back in the day.

With full bellies and the pantry restocked we headed back home for our nightly Euchre game. The boys had an easy victory so the current score stands at John: 7 , Jenny:6 Grahame:5 and Judi:2

We had a few late night guests last night knocking on our back door.

I forgot to mention our roles: Galley Slave: Jen, Cabin boy. Jude, First Mate: John and General Dogsbody: Grahame. Still no Admiral!!! Obviously!!! We wouldn’t have been wedged in the Middlewich Canal if an Admiral was in charge!!