Relatively wet

Wednesday 31^st July

 We had very poor internet connectivity last night, which made it hard to get the blog done. We decided today that as we didn’t have any time pressure we would start looking for a mooring early, and make 4G a condition of where we would stop. The best laid plans ….

Shaw Brook valley near Congleton

We were a couple of miles short of Congleton, and we needed to get supplies, so we decided to moor there and walk into town. Congleton Wharf is about a mile or so from the town centre, mostly downhill, so we left the dogs (who had been given a good walk in the morning) asleep on board and set off. We found a Morrisons and loaded up with plenty of food and drink, especially drink. Now here’s the curious thing – the distance back up to the boat was at least twice as far as it had been walking down. Must be something to do with relativity, and the effects of gravity on the shopping bags.

We recycled our old bread through some local wildfowl, and then set off again, and pretty soon began to look for places to stop. The mooring on the Macc is mixed – half the towpath banks are heavily weed-grown with rushes and brambles, and no chance whatever of stopping. The other half are clean, with Armco shuttering which makes for good mooring, though some of these areas have a shelf. We tried a couple of places, but couldn’t get tight to the bank, then we found a nice straight stretch with deep water and good phone connectivity, so we dropped our metaphorical anchor.

Mooring at Oak Farm Bridge

So all was well, or so we thought. Then I realised that my laptop was not charging, although it was plugged in and the boat’s AC inverter was on. After a few tests we worked out that the charging cable was faulty, and none of the others on board would do. A bit of Googling showed to our surprise that there was a business in Kidsgrove, about five miles ahead, which might have something to do the job. It was less than half an hour from closing, but I jumped on my bicycle and headed off up the towpath.

This towpath, sadly, was not the smooth strip of tarmac that might have allowed me to make swift progress. On the contrary, it display every variety of challenge to make my progress slower and more difficult – mud, puddles, uneven surfaces, potholes, overhanging vegetation, tree roots, slopes tipping you towards the canal and ferocious wolves (all right, I made the last one up). Despite pedalling hard and finding the place OK, I was too late and they were shut and gone.

So I had to turn for home (boat), and again that strange relativistic force took effect, making the return journey much longer. At this point it was comedically necessary that the skies should open, and I rode the last few miles in the pouring rain, arriving back at our mooring soaked through. I was comforted, though, by Loulie’s sympathetic gales of laughter, and her comparison of me with Bridget’s obsessive pursuit of a stick.

Map at 31-7-19

TODAY: 4:25 HOURS. 5.3 MILES. 0 LOCKS. 0 BRIDGE.

VOYAGE: 62:10 HOURS. 76.6 MILES. 55 LOCKS. 8 BRIDGES