It's Over

Friday 18^th September 2020 

The mooring below Big Lock proved very successful. It was nice and quiet – just a few dog walkers early on, but less traffic than a normal towpath mooring. And of course there was nice open green space close by in both directions. The other benefit was that with the Middlewich locks all behind us there was no pressure to get moving early, so we took our time.

In the end we got moving about ten. As we were approaching Croxton Aqueduct I saw a boat coming the other way towards us. This aqueduct is very narrow, just a few inches either side of a narrowboat, so I swerved over to the left to let them past. As they came by I recognised them – the Tiller People, regular vloggers based at the Overwater Marina on the Shroppie.

Tired crew on the final leg

Trent and Mersey jungle north of Middlewich

Bridge 213 - last one on the T&M

After that we were following a well-trodden path back through the wilds north of Middlewich, then through Wincham and Marston, past Marbury and Anderton, then through the tunnels. Loulie took the dogs off for a walk after Barnton, and we got back to the marina at about five, and our adventure was over.

It has been a great trip, with a strange hiatus in the middle. We have reached two landmark points on the network – Shardlow and Birmingham - as well as a number of other memorable spots; the Trent crossroads, Fradley and Fazeley Junctions, Dudley Museum and the tunnels, and the Wolverhampton flight. Given the strange year and the constraints of lockdown it’s good that we have managed to get away for a significant length of time. We have not had as many nights on board as we had planned, but something is better than nothing.

TODAY: 7:00 HOURS. 19 MILES. 1 LOCK.

Voyage: 94:25 HOURS. 176.7 MILES. 138 LOCKS.

Getting back on the grid

 Thursday 17^th September 2020

We needed to find a mooring with good mobile signal for the evening, because I had a Parish Council meeting to attend. However we needed to make a reasonable mileage, so that we would be in position to get home tomorrow (Friday). The signal is fairly poor all the way along the Middlewich Branch, until you reach the eponymous town itself, but we were unsure how slow we would find things through the locks. We didn’t make an early start – I went down into town to get a plant pot from M&S, because Loulie wanted to give it to a lady at NNC who has been very helpful to us over the years. In the end it was about 10 when we set off. 

These are very familiar waters to us by now, and we headed up to Barbridge Junction, then along the Branch. After our worries about queues at the locks, in the event we went straight into the first three; at Cholmondeston a man from the marina was working the lock as people passed through, and at the other two we got lucky by arriving just as boats were coming out, going the other way. Loulie got off with the dogs for a good walk around the middle of the Branch – it is very rural and quiet, with very few busy roads or other hazards in the way of dog walking. 

As we left Stanthorne lock another boat pulled out from the bank ahead of us, and we followed them down through Middlewich, with things becoming much slower. There was another boat waiting at Wardle lock, and others coming up, then on the triple flight we again encountered slow boaters who generally held things up.

Once down those locks we moored near the centre of town, so I could get on the bike and go to Morrisons for food. We then debated whether to go on down Big Lock, and I went ahead for a recce. It looked as though there was space in a spot we have noticed before, on the offside just below Big Lock, so we carried on and moored there. Although it is on the off side it is a CRT public mooring, beside some open green space, and we were able to squeeze on the end. It was great for walking the dogs, and since we were still inside the town boundaries the signal was great for my meeting.

 

TODAY: 7:00 HOURS. 14 MILES. 8 LOCKS.

Voyage: 87:25 HOURS. 157.7 MILES. 137 LOCKS.