Saturday 22^nd September. We woke up to a slightly chilly start to the day with the canal shrouded in mist.

Very soon, the sun appeared and burned off the mist and hardly a cloud in the sky.

We set off across the aqueduct and, for once, I’ve got a big smile on my face.

It’s still chilly but it’s not raining! Like the Middlewich branch, the Shropshire Union Canal is also a favourite of ours.

It turned out to be a gloriously sunny short-sleeved day and we had plenty of help with the locks. Don’t tell anyone but at Hack Green we passed close by to their Secret Nuclear Bunker!

And I don’t think it was anything to do with the bunker but close by were loads of ducks and swans all gathered in one small place.

Soon after that we passed another new marina which wasn’t even on the drawing board last time we passed this way.

As we worked our way up through the locks we came across a stall selling vegetables and meat

and, in the middle of the Audlem flight we stopped near to The Shroppie Fly, a well-known pub in this area.

No, we didn’t go in but we did walk round Audlem and visited the church instead.

We also visited the mill and Brigid spent more money in the craft shop. On the canal side Brigid met up with Ian who was ordained at the same time as her in 1999. They recognised each other because Brigid was wearing her Retreat House T-shirt. He is now vicar in Kidsgrove. Every now and again we have passed official moorings kitted out with benches and barbecue stand.

What a wonderful idea! Most folk on the canals like a barbecue and to have everything set out for you is a great idea. My favourite lock of the day had this small stall in the gateway.

As the lock was filling, Brigid rushed across asking if I’d got any money. Now, those of you who know me know that this is the sort of question I don’t like, especially after the craft shop episode. However, I soon changed my mind!

Yummee, cream tea – well worth all the hard work on the locks. In the evening we stopped at Betton Wood bridge near Adderley and, joy of joys, we had a barbecue!

Not at one of the sites provided but on the side of the canal. Pork chops and sausages – what a splendid end to a splendid day.

Oh, before I finish, just a last picture of one of the iron rails there to protect the bridge’s stonework.

The grooves in the iron have been caused by thousands of tow ropes dragging against the metal. I know how long it takes to cut through mild steel but that’s impressive!

Friday 21^st September. Sorry I didn’t update the blog yesterday but when we got to Barbridge the connection was so slow that I decided to wait until today to see if it was any better – which it is! But that’s because we have moved on to Nantwich, all of 3 miles further on our journey. We passed the start of the Llangollen Canal and one day we hope to explore further that way, but not this year. Today we have achieved a first for us. We have spent time walking around Nantwich. In the past we have always pootled past but today we stopped here for lunch and a bit of shopping. And am I glad we did! Here you can see a view of the aqueduct that carries the canal over one of the main roads into the town.

Nantwich has many old buildings and much of the town was rebuilt in the time of Elizabeth 1 after The Great Fire of Nantwich. This is what gives Nantwich its atmosphere of ‘an Elizabethan town’.

Down one of the back allies we came across this chimney which is all that remains of a forge used for making wheels for a carriage maker in an adjacent building.

In front of it stands the Millennium clock.

We had been looking out for a butcher and came across A. T. Welch, Pork Butcher.

And so, we wandered in.

For those of you who watch Dr. Who then you will understand what I mean when I say that this shop was a bit like the Tardis. It was so much larger on the inside that on the out. We went from a standard butchers shop through a speciality food section into a delicatessen, sideways into a coffee shop where they had preserved an original shop, complete with Robertson’s Gollies, Grape Nuts, boxes of broken biscuits, a tin of National Dried Babies Milk, blocks of Fairy soap, etc.

We had lunch there and were so glad that we didn’t just pick up fish and chips (which was my original suggestion). After that, back to the boat where I fitted a new horn that I picked up in Barbridge at the marina, cleaned a bit of brass and oiled the hinges on the back doors. One of those little jobs that is so satisfying once it is done – no more squeaking. Now we’re sitting on the boat listening to the rain, about to light the fire while the casserole cooks in the oven.

P.S. Looking back over the weeks I have wondered why I seem to be so obsessed with the weather. Perhaps it’s because I am standing out in it for about 7 hours a day whereas before I was sitting at a desk just looking out the window. Amazing how a change of lifestyle makes such a difference to your priorities!

Thursday 20^th September. Today, the weather forecast was correct. We awoke to low cloud and constant drizzle. Ah well, we thought, work the first lock, fill up with water, work the second lock and then snuggle down into the wet weather gear and off we go towards Barbridge Junction, Polgara’s former home mooring. But then, whilst having breakfast, skies cleared, sun came out and it stopped raining until lunch time. One or two dark clouds passed close by but missed us entirely.

And I’m glad of that because the canal we have now turned on to is one of my favourites and is part of the Shropshire Union Canal – Middlewich Branch. There are some lovely buildings alongside the canal, one of them being an old stable block, now converted into a private house.

The stables would have been where horses were changed over to ensure faster transport times. Another old farm house had a beautifully shaped gable end to the property.

At Church Minshull there is a little shop in one of the farm buildings which has been selling candles, flowers and gifts for as long as I can remember.

One day, I promise myself, we will stop and go and have a look. A little further on you look down on a farm and when there are cows in the field, it looks just like a toy farm.

And Church Minshull itself looks so pretty tucked away in the trees.

The canal winds its way through beautiful countryside,

over the River Weaver and past a new marina which, last time we came in 2008, was only just being dug out.

How permanent it now looks.

Wednesday 19^th September. What a day this has been … complete the well-known song in your own words! It rained all morning and so we have travelled only 6 miles today but it only took around 3 hours (remember yesterday, 7½ miles in 7 hours). As you can see, we’re really moving along BUT in the rain! Also, we only had to work 6 locks today. Working the locks does slow you down considerably, especially if they are all against you and you have to fill them with water first before you can go in just to empty all the water out again. As we cast off this morning, a passing boater advised us to use the right-hand lock at the next pair of locks since the bottom gates of the left-hand lock wouldn’t open. He shouted across to us that he didn’t want us to fill the lock, empty it, find that the gates wouldn’t work and then have to fill the lock again, reverse out and repeat the whole procedure with the right-hand lock. If that had happened I would not have been a happy bunny! Anyway, after our 3 hours travelling we arrived at Middlewich and to console ourselves had lunch in The Kings Lock pub. One of their specials was 2 sirloin steaks for £12.95. Well, being fed up with the rain – did I mention the rain? – we went for the steaks and they were delicious. Whilst sitting inside for lunch, the sun decided to appear outside and has stayed out all afternoon.

This has meant that we could do some shopping, rub down bits of the boat ready for painting, have a general clean round and have a break for an hour or two.

Made the mistake of looking at e‑mails but no one need know, eh? I can reply in a day or two … or three … or …

Tuesday 18^th September. Those April showers that come your way – don’t help much when it’s September and you’re trying to negotiate 25 locks. Today we have travelled all of 7½ miles in 7 hours which works out at approx. 1 mile per hour. Talk about life in the slow lane. Mind you, we met some interesting people and were able to chat about … the weather … the rain … the weather!

Part way through our journey we came to a couple of locks that were fairly close together only to find that the top lock was against us with a crew member from a boat coming through the bottom lock stating that they had a 62 foot boat and they needed to operate both locks at the same time as you couldn’t pass in the middle. So we waited while they manoeuvred their way into the top lock. They then proceeded to fill the lock in the slowest manner possible and asked Brigid to get me to move our boat back as they wouldn’t be able to get past as their boat didn’t bend in the middle. I confess that my thoughts by that time were filled with expletives deleted – and did I move back? No, I didn’t! I waved them through, smiled and got into the lock as fast as I could. We went through with no problem at all and between the two locks was ample room for boats to pass. To make matters worse, they had got a hire boat to wait at the bottom until we had come down. Luckily, the hire boat people were quite happy to take a break for a few minutes. Met and fed some friendly ducks.

Another set of hire boaters asked if we knew of somewhere good to stop for the night so, with my wonderful knowledge of favourite pubs, I was able to recommend The Broughton Arms at Rode Heath. Poor dears, they had only got the boat yesterday, moored up at about 8:30 pm in the dark miles from nowhere and had just worked through the set of locks known as heartbreak hill. Hope their evening tonight is better than last night! Further on we came across three Dutchmen who commented on ‘Mad dogs and Englishmen’ but changed the reference to rain and not sun. But all in all, it’s been a good day. Many of the locks have been double locks (side by side, not double length).

Our waterproofs ARE waterproof and there have been burst of sunshine as well as bursts of rain.

A lovely rainbow put in an appearance just after we had passed under the M6 – wouldn’t want to moor anywhere near there, the noise of traffic can be heard for miles.

The boat is dry and cosy inside and we’re glad we’re doing what we are. A last picture for the day of a bridge over the lock entrance.

If you look carefully you can see that the bridge and handrail have a gap in the middle. This allows a horse pulled canal boat to be towed right into the lock without disconnecting the tow rope.

Monday 17^th September.

What a surprise, a clear blue sky, hardly a cloud to be seen and not a breeze to ruffle the surface of the water.

I’m giving up on waiting to see the forecast. Yesterday we were assured that a cold front was moving across, bringing with it a band of rain with temperatures barely getting up to 13C. The day started out just fine and the view from the galley window was spectacular.

We set off quite early for us and managed Bosley Locks in sunshine the whole way.

After the first chill of the morning Brigid rapidly started stripping off outer garments so that she could soak up all the vitamin D that was on offer.

The locks were quite busy today and one or two times I had to ‘dance’ Polgara around a hire boat so that they could have the easy path into the lock. I reasoned that if I got stuck I had time to sort it out without spoiling the holiday.

At the last lock we were asked to ‘hove to’ whilst another boat winded (turned round) in the lower pound. Because the width of a canal channel is less than the length of a canal boat it is not usually possible to turn a boat in the canal.

A boat has to be winded at a place where there is a large enough indentation in the bank, a winding hole, or in a lock pound which has been enlarged for that purpose. One unverified suggestion for the derivation of the name winding hole comes from the fact that the winding hole is on the off-side of the canal. When horses were used to pull the boats, it was not possible for them to assist with the turning of the boat, due to being on the wrong side of the canal. As a result it was considered favourable to use the wind to assist in turning the boat, to reduce the amount of human power needed. Class dismissed for the day! Further along the canal we passed a charming farm house nicely set back in its own grounds.

At lunch time we stopped at The Queen’s Head in Congleton. I’m sure that we had been there some time in the past but neither of us remembered it. Once again, fabulous food and good beer. I’m trying to work my way along all the real ales that I come across. This pub was a CAMRA pub and had several beers that should have been tried. Sadly, we had to go shopping for supplies and then continue the journey. When we crossed the road bridge leading into town it was fascinating to look over the side and see the canal being crossed by the railway which in turn was crossed by the road.

In the old days there would have been a level crossing but that has long gone. Tonight we have moored up at Hall Green again but will not be making a return visit to The Bleeding Wolf. One pub lunch a day is our ration. Still, looks like spaghetti Bolognese tonight. Yippee.