Home Again

Tuesday 20^th July 2020

After last night’s excitement, we made a late start, and soon stopped in Lymm to by lunch, sausage rolls again. We stopped again just before the bend at Grappenhall to take the dogs for a walk in an area of woodland there. We had more excitement, because Bridget disappeared into an area of dense woods by a stream, and would not come out. Eventually I had to fight my way in, to discover that she had got her harness stuck on a metal fence post on the bank of the stream, so she could not escape. Fortunately I was able to reach the clips on the harness and release them so she could escape, and I could disentangle the harness from the post. When we got back to the boat we had a long chat with a couple whose garden borders the towpath where we had moored.

After that it was the usual routine – back through Stockton Heath and Moore, and I dropped Loulie with the dogs at Keckwick Lane. I went on to the marina, and Loulie came with the car to unload Eileen and take me home. A nice quiet weekend away – just the sort of thing we can do impromptu, now we have the boat and I am retired.

TODAY: 6:20 HOURS. 11.5 MILES. 0 LOCKS.

Voyage: 18:50 HOURS. 29.8 MILES. 0 LOCKS.

 

 

Dogs AWOL

 Monday 20^th July 2020

After breakfast we went forward to Oldfield Brow, about a mile and a half, to the winding hole there. Oldfield Brow marks the edge of the conurbation of Manchester – it is the edge of Altrincham, and after that there is Sale and then the city. The transition between urbanisation and the countryside is very sharp – within a few hundred yards you go from being surrounded by housing estates to being out in the open fields.

On our way back through the Bolin Aqueduct (which is quite narrow) we had to reverse in order to allow a very large and smart looking widebeam to come through. I had noticed it Lymm on Saturday – it is white, with a wraparound glass window at the front, and stairs up on side to the roof, like a Spanish villa. It must have cost a fortune – apparently it spends most of its time in Manchester.

As is our habit if the water point is free, we stopped at the Old Number 3 to fill up. We then went on just a couple of miles and moored opposite a place called Spud Wood. Loulie had been there with a friend to walk the dogs a few weeks ago, and it certainly provides very nice walking, in woodland rising up from the canal – it is on the offside and there is a picnic area beside the canal. We took them for a walk, and after lunch I went to a Sainsburys which we found on the map – bigger than the one in the centre of Lymm.

We took the dogs back to Spud Wood later on, and did a longer walk. However during the night they disgraced themselves when Loulie took them out, about 6am. They ran down off the canal at an underbridge and disappeared – eventually she had to come and wake me so that we could search for them. There was no sign of them at road level, but eventually I located them by walking along the (elevated) canal and whistling, at which point they came running out of some farm buildings and back up to us, looking very pleased. It should be said that Mabel behaved perfectly, it was just the three Labradors who legged it.

TODAY: 3:00 HOURS. 5.5 MILES. 0 LOCKS.

Voyage: 12:30 HOURS. 18.3 MILES. 0 LOCKS.

 

 

Quiet Sunday

 

Sunday 19^th July 2020

Today we decided to do something we have never done on the boat before, and go ... nowhere.

When you are on a hire boat, of course, and paying by the day, not making progress seems a waste, but now that we have our own boat there is less pressure to keep on the move. We were in a comfortable spot, with good walking handy for the dogs, so we resolved to stay put. We ran the engine for a couple of hours, to heat water for showers, and to keep the batteries happy.

Before lunch I went for a run along the towpath, 4.5 miles all told. It was a bit uneven at first, though nothing like as bad as the run I did last year on the Middlewich branch, and after a mile or so I reached very well surfaced ground – the beginning of the towpath which runs all the way through Altrincham and Sale, and which is perfect for running on.

We had lunch, then took the dogs down into Dunham Massey for a good long walk. It was pretty busy, though with very large ground it was easy to keep our distance. We walked round the off-lead area to give the dogs a run, then put them on the leads to explore the other areas of the park. There were deer in several places – we didn’t go close with the dogs, but they were very tame. There was a strange statue on a pillar, we are still not sure if it is meant to be an odd looking lion or a dog.

Deer in Dunham Massey park

Lion or dog?

 

We came back past the Bollin Mill, and had a quiet afternoon before dinner of bacon and eggs. In the evening I went out with the Labradors to give them a short walk, but it turned into a much longer exploration of one of the paths we had seen during the afternoon. All in all a good restful day.

TODAY: 0:00 HOURS. 0 MILES. 0 LOCKS.

Voyage: 9:30 HOURS. 12.8 MILES. 0 LOCKS.

 

 

Appointment with a Sausage Roll

 

Saturday 18^th July 2020

We woke to steady rain, and it was with us most of the day, though there were a few drier intervals. In no rush, especially no rush to get wet, we didn’t start until around noon. Loulie set off along the towpath with the dogs, and I followed a bit later, picking her up before we reached the M6.

We pressed on to Lymm, where we moored and I went shopping – a few items from the small Sainsbury’s and lunch from a baker in the centre of the village, their sausage rolls are a particular favourite.

After eating we headed out again, through the outskirts of Lymm, past the long lines of moored boats belonging to the Lymm Cruising Club. Years ago (2014) on our very first day on a narrowboat we came up here rather too fast, eager to get to a mooring near the Swan with Two Nicks in time to get a meal there. Somehow it seems much longer, a lot has changed, particularly the loss of Ruby, but also we have switched from invariably eating “out” from the boat to doing so very rarely. Partly that may be the fact that we have more dogs to accommodate in a pub, but I think the biggest reason is that we have our own boat now, with a familiar galley and everything we need for cooking.

We stopped at the Old Number 3 to take on water – it’s always worth doing if there is a space on the water point, because you can wait a long time if there are a couple of boats ahead of you, and there are not many places to get water on this part of the Bridgewater.

After that we went on to our favourite spot in the corner of the towpath just before the Bollin viaduct. There were a few boats moored along that stretch, including a large liveaboard widebeam which previously has always been moored in the same spot on the offside. He was there for the two days that we were around, and another widebeam joined him one night, so we’re not sure if it was some sort of arranged meeting, or if he has lost his offside mooring. The weather cleared up in the evening, after we had moored, and we’re hopeful of a better day tomorrow.

 

TODAY: 5:00 HOURS. 5.1 MILES. 0 LOCKS.

Voyage: 9:30 HOURS. 12.8 MILES. 0 LOCKS.

 

 

Slow Motion

 Friday 17^th July 2020

After getting Eileen home last week, we decided we wanted to have a break, a long weekend. We weren’t going to be able to go very far in that time, so we decided to take the contrary approach and go not very far, slowly.

Loulie dropped me at the marina in the morning, and I brought Eileen up to Keckwick for loading. After lunch we put the dogs on board and set off through Moore and Stockton Heath. Around Walton we were caught up by two plastic cruisers, moving much faster than us, as they do, and I let them past. One had a family on board and the second a man on his own, but they seemed to be travelling together.

Soon after we went round a bend and saw the second cruiser drifting oddly at an angle to the bank; the guy seemed to be holding a towel on his head. As we approached slowly we could see the other boat starting to come back, and we could also see that the towel was to mop up a lot of blood on his head. We offered to help but he said his friends were coming back and that he would be fine. Apparently he had hit his head hard on the top of the doorway down into the cabin. A good deal later they both came past us again, so he was clearly OK.

As I said we intended this to be a slow leisurely cruise, so we didn’t try to push on too far for the night. About 18:00 we moored up between Grappenhall and Thelwall, with fields all around us, very nice. There were a few dog walkers coming past, but not too many, and it was a very relaxing spot.

Such a great picture, I had to put it in again

TODAY: 4:30 HOURS. 7.7 MILES. 0 LOCKS.

Voyage: 4:30 HOURS. 7.7 MILES. 0 LOCKS.

 

A Long-Expected Return

 

Wednesday 8^th July 2020

We made a slightly earlier start today, and set off through Wincham and Anderton. Home waters, and a voyage only notable for being so much later than we had expected. As always this part of the trip is dominated by the timings through the tunnels, and we reached Saltersford in time to go through at noon. I dropped Loulie and the dogs off at the other side, so that she could give them a good walk, and we timed things nicely to go through Preston Brook at two.

Following our normal routine we moored up close to Keckwick Lane to walk the dogs home, and then bring the car up and unload. Later in the evening I went back up and took Eileen up to the winding hole, and back to the marina. Another boat turned in (from the Runcorn direction) just before me, Rock and Roll, and it turned out that they are moored right next to us, on the next pier, so I had a tricky little manoeuvre to reverse in past them and the boat on our pier ahead of us. I did it very nicely, to the point that the guy on Rock and Roll complimented me on how smooth it had been. I remember two years ago how I stressed about getting in, but plenty of practice and experience has given me more confidence. He also asked if we had been away on a long tour, but I explained how we had been trapped in Nantwich by the lockdown.

 

Mabel Seaman Secker resting

TODAY: 9:30 HOURS. 17.6 MILES. 1 LOCK.

Voyage: 18:20 HOURS. 35.3 MILES. 9 LOCKS.

Closing the loop

Sunday 4^th August

And so we come to the final leg of the circuit, on the fourteenth day of the trip. This was over familiar waters, through the remote countryside between Middlewich and Northwich, and then round the latter town, through Wincham, Marston, Anderton and Barnton. The main point of interest is the time we will hit the Saltersford tunnel, because there’s a window of only twenty minutes in each hour that you can set off north. I had some idea we might get there for the 13:00 sailing, but that started to look infeasible, which was a good thing really, as it meant we could take things easy.

Nearly Home

Thin House at Anderton

As we went through Wincham we passed a group of youngish people (by comparison with the average canal population) on the bank next to three plastic cruisers (GRP – Glass Reinforced Plastic) or margarine tubs as they are known to those of us sailing something more solid. Much later, after we had gone through the Saltersford Tunnel, they came up behind us very fast (gosh, perhaps ten knots or more). We pulled over to let them pass, which they did, though I think they could probably have slipped past regardless. When you are used to 57 foot and 17 tonnes of solid iron, these seem incredibly nimble – they are typically only about 20 foot or less, with an outboard motor – they can spin in their own length, accelerate instantly and manoeuvre with ease. They soon vanished up the canal ahead of us.

On Lookout

As usual we took two hours to go from Saltersford Tunnel to Preston Brook Tunnel, and when we arrived the Margarine Tub Club were waiting to go in – their extra speed hadn’t enabled them to get an hour ahead of us. The stop lock was tough to work, because the Trent and Mersey was higher than usual, so even with the water overflowing the bottom gates, there was still a bit of a height difference at the top gate, which made it hard to move. I managed it in the end, and when they saw me there the GRP boaters came back to help.

In Preston Brook Tunnel

We followed them through the tunnel, and then as usual we went up to Keckwick Lane to drop off the dogs. I then winded and came back to the marina, where I moored very nicely – I am getting more confident with experience. I greased the stern gland and we unloaded into Loulie’s car and went home – tired but also sad it was over.

Map at 4-8-19 - the Ring complete

TODAY: 8:05 HOURS. 20.1 MILES. 1 LOCKS.

VOYAGE: 88:45 HOURS. 115.9 MILES. 92 LOCKS. 8 BRIDGES

The pound is low (not a Boris Johnson story)

We wanted to get as far through Manchester as we could today, so we made a fairly early start. We pushed on into Altrincham and Sale, and Loulie got out to do a 5km run along the towpath. We got up to Waters Meeting, and turned onto the leg into Manchester, thereby moving into water new to us. We sailed past Salford Quays, with the Lowry and Media City in the distance, then under the shadow of Old Trafford. We reached the end of the Bridgewater at Castlefields Basin, where the Earl of Bridgewater used to unload the coal for Manchester.

The end of the Bridgewater meant that we moved onto the Rochdale Canal, and the difference was immediately obvious. We had to climb a series of locks, all very badly maintained and with minimal conveniences - only one bridge per lock, which means a lot of extra walking for the crew. We were going up through the very centre of the city, past Deansgate and Oxford Road - one lock was literally under a building near the Palace Theatre. Parts of the towpath have been closed, apparently to stop drunks falling in, and everywhere is scattered with the detritus of inner city night life.

On walking up to the sixth lock I discovered a boat ahead of us grounded in the exit - the pound was too low, and as we waited it emptied entirely. It wasn't clear why this was happening - in the end we assumed a combination of poorly fitting lock gates, and low water flow due to minimal traffic. They had called CRT but they never turned up, and in the end we went to the next lock and opened all the paddles to flush water through. This involved climbing over walls, as that lock is not normally accessible from the road. This allowed their boat to creep through, and then it was our turn. We were concerned we might ground half way out of the lock and tip backwards, so we edged forward very carefully until we were out and could close the gates behind us, to retain water in the pound.

There still wasn't enough water and I was stuck, so Loulie went forward, climbed down from the road, and opened all the sluices and the lower lock gates. We were reminded how shallow a canal really is - the water would rise a few inches and I was able to push forward a few yards, then I would stick again. All this was taking place along Canal Street in the centre of Manchester, with hundreds of drinkers from the bars watching over the walls down into the canal. Eventually we scraped into the next lock, which filled slowly, and we were off again. The next few locks were through very dodgy country, with odd characters lurking down the tunnels and hiding from sight. At last we reached Piccadilly Basin and turned off the Rochdale Canal onto the Ashton.

To be honest, this was not a huge improvement on the Rochdale. The major differences were that the locks were single width, and had anti-vandal locks on all the paddles. We have a key but this just adds extra grit to the process - eight extra fiddly processes per lock. Having wasted about three hours scraping through the empty pound at Canal Street we were not going to get to our target tonight, so now we were just looking for anywhere it was possible to moor safely. We passed the Etihad stadium (Man City) and the National Velodrome before finding a bit of bank we could moor to above the eighth lock. There was a factory opposite and a fence behind the towpath, but there was enough grass to hammer in the mooring pins and, at half past eight, that was enough. We fed and watered the dogs, fed and watered ourselves, and went to bed.

TODAY: 11.45 HOURS. 13.5 MILES. 17 LOCKS.

VOYAGE: 16.95 HOURS. 26.8 MILES. 17 LOCKS

Off again

So we are off on another adventure, and if things go to plan this will be our longest journey in Eileen, two full weeks. We're going to do the Cheshire Ring, clockwise, and probably a couple of side trips too - the Peak Forest to Whalley Bridge is one we're definitely looking at.

Today though was very familiar waters, as we ready ourselves for the run through Manchester tomorrow. We didn't want to wind up having to spend the night in the centre, so we have positioned ourselves close to the urban area as a jump-off point. We didn't set off from Keckwick bridge until about half two, because we were only planning on about four hours cruising, up to our favourite spot at the Bollin Aqueduct. This took us through Stockton Heath, where we stopped at Thorne Marine and filled up with diesel - she took 180 litres, which is far more than we have ever got into her before.

We have an extra passenger on this trip, at least for the first week. Blossom the Labrador is with us, while her owner Shirley is at Pony Club Camp, where they can't take their dogs. Fortunately our pack already know Blossom, and she is Minnie's best friend - they are very alike. Blossom seems to have settled down pretty well to shipboard life - she was sleeping on the stern with the rest of them before we had gone too far.

After that we carried on through Grappenhall and Thelwall to Lymm, which was looking very picturesque in the sunshine. It is strange - when I approached it by road I never found Lymm very appealing, but arriving by canal seems to put an entirely different face on the village.

It was a beautiful evening, we opened the sun roof, which isn't very often possible. We carried on until just after seven, when we reached our target at the Bollin Aqueduct. To our delight there was nobody else on the stretch, apart from one boat at the far end, half a mile away. There were a fair number of walkers coming past though - one couple who have three dogs and a boat themselves photographed our stern because it is such a good design to keep the dogs aboard. Another couple had a Labrador with them, and we let ours off to play with it for quite a long time. We're off to bed now - we expect an early start, as the sun wakes the dogs, but in any case we want to set off early and get as far as we can through the city.

TODAY: 4.5 HOURS. 11.5 MILES. 0 LOCKS.

VOYAGE: 5.5 HOURS. 13.3 MILES. 0 LOCKS

(Not) running on empty

We are setting off to do the Cheshire Ring tomorrow, and as we will be starting off northwards, towards Manchester, it made sense to bring Eileen up to Keckwick Lane bridge, close to the house, so we could load up more easily in the morning, and at the same time have a half hour head start. So I set off with the dogs to walk to the marina, a bit more than two miles, thus exercising them and at the same time going to collect Eileen.

We got aboard and prepared to set off. I was a little surprised when I started her, that the fuel gauge seemed to be on zero, as I was sure we had plenty of diesel. However as I pulled away from the pier the engine stuttered and died - clearly the gauge had been spot on. I was just too far gone to get back on the pier, so we drifted across the marina and up against a pier with liveaboard boats. By very good luck we happened to end up at a spot where there was a gap just big enough to take Eileen, so by a little manoeuvring with the pole I got her tied up, explaining to someone on the next boat why they suddenly had an unexpected neighbour.

There was nothing for it but to get some fuel, but first I had to get the dogs home - on foot. They were very confused when I got them off the boat, because the way to land was now forward, whereas we had approached from the stern when we arrived. It took a lot of tugging to get them going in the right direction, very tricky on a narrow wooden jetty with four confused and eager dogs.

After walking them home I drove to Thorne Marine in Stockton Heath, and bought two 10l containers, which were then filled with diesel. I also had a long discussion with the man about how to bleed the air out of a diesel system which has run dry, and get the fuel running again - involving undoing each link in the fuel feed and getting the liquid running through.

Back to the marina, and I decanted the fuel into the tank. While doing that I inspected the locking filler cap, because it was clear to me now that we have had the diesel stolen - the logbook shows that the last time we ran her we finished with half a tank. Sure enough the locking cap isn't locking - even with the key in the on position the cap still unscrews. I don't know whether it has simply deteriorated, or if the thief broke it, but either way we will need a new one.

Once the fuel was in I thought I would give the engine a spin to see if it might start, and to my surprise it caught instantly - as Loulie said when I rang to tell her - "What a great boat!" I squeezed back out of the hole I was in, with some difficulty, and then cruised down the canal to Keckwick, as planned but rather later. I moored up, and we have already put some supplies (mostly liquid) on board ready for the start of the trip tomorrow.

Eileen moored opposite Daresbury Labs

Mabel Seaman Secker comes aboard

We have a new addition to the crew. Mabel is a Jack Russell, a "sort of" rescue. She is four and a half, and was a breeding dog, but her third litter had to be delivered by Cesarean, so her owner decided he couldn't breed from her any more. She went to a new owner but after a month he had to give her back because his work circumstances changed. We heard about her through Posie's trainer, and she has just joined us.

She's a lovely little dog, but very nervous, so we wanted to introduce her to shipboard life gently, especially as she will have to sleep with all the others - at home for now she is sleeping away from them. So I collected Eileen from the marina and brought her up to moor opposite the laboratory near Keckwick Lane. We brought the dogs, minus Ruby, up to the boat and kept them there for a couple of hours, without the engine. Mabel seemed entirely happy, indeed more relaxed than at home, so we decided that we would have a voyage the next day.

We left Eileen moored overnight, then took all five dogs up and set off. Again Mabel seemed entirely happy, and there was very little aggro from Ruby. We went up through Stockton Heath and Grappenhall, to Thelwall, where I dropped Loulie and all five dogs for a walk. I took Eileen on to the winding hole beyond Thewall, turned and came back to pick the girls up. We came back down and moored in the same spot by Keckwick.

All in all we were delighted by Mabel's reaction to the boat and the others on board - she is very happy, more so than Ruby, with shipboard life, and seems to come out of her shell a bit. Maybe it's because she doesn't feel so much that she is intruding into the others' territory. She was hopping on and off the bank very happily, and once she even came down the stairs into the galley, though it was a bit of a tumble.


It was fairly late by this time, so we left Eileen overnight again, and went back up in the morning. We just took her back to the marina - it was a bit cold for pleasure cruising. We moored on the water point to fill up, then reversed into our mooring. We walked back from the marina to home, so the dogs had plenty of exercise again. All in all a very successful first cruise for our new Able Seaman Mabel.

Bringing Eileen Home

Eileen Dover has been at the Narrowboat Navigation Company in Nantwich since we dropped her off in January, having various bits of work done, and this week we finally got to go and pick her up. With the improved weather over the past few weeks we have been really missing the chance to get out on the water, so this was none too soon. It also struck us that this is exactly the same journey (same end points anyway) as the Home Run last summer, but with the Middlewich branch open now it was just two easy days cruising, rather than eight days hard labour.

We had been across a few times as the work progressed, but this was the first time we had seen her with everything done, and we are very pleased. The most obvious change is to the internal lights - we have had them all replaced with LED bulbs, which are much brighter and whiter, and which also use about a tenth of the current. In the saloon we have also had a lot more installed, six down each side of the glass roof, and we also had new lights installed under the galley cabinets, to illuminate the work surfaces. Those have made a major difference to the light at that end of the boat. We've had a new TV installed, slightly smaller than the old one but this one works through the internet rather than requiring an aerial on the roof, so that has gone.

The saloon with the new TV and lights

Although those are the most visible changes, the most important one is a full set of new leisure batteries, a bank of four, not only new but a much improved and modern type. These take and hold a much better charge, and the difference is immediately apparent. We no longer have to run the engine for hours after mooring, we just switch off when we stop. There is no weakening at all in the lights as the evening goes by - in the old days we'd sometimes have to turn the engine on because of the deepening gloom. The other major effect is the heating - this now comes on immediately when switched on - it needs a good battery charge to do this, and again last year we'd have to start the engine and rev it up in the morning in order to get the heat to come on.

There were lots of other things done too - the engine has been serviced, they have put sound insulation in the engine compartment, and they have fixed the problem with the bow thruster. I also have a little cup holder behind the stern rail to hold my teacup rather than having to leave it standing on the top of the rail.

We packed all our luggage and the dogs into my car and drove over to Nantwich on Tuesday afternoon - we were leaving my car there to be collected on Friday. After loading up we spent an hour filling up the water, and then set off. We didn't go too far, up the canal to Barbridge and then along the Middlewich branch for a bit, through one lock at Cholmondeston, and then we moored for the night, well out in the countryside.

A frosty morning near Cholmondeston

The dogs got me up at 6:30, but it was a beautiful if frosty morning, and I went back to bed for a couple of hours. We weren't in a pressing hurry, and we set off about half ten. Quite soon Loulie got off with the dogs to do her half hour run - she had to double back to avoid getting too far ahead, as she is doing at least twice the speed of the boat. We went through the remaining three locks on the branch and dropped into the Trent and Mersey at Kings Lock, where we filled up with diesel. Our local hire boat company, Claymoore, has closed down, so we need to be a bit more strategic about keeping fuelled up.

Helmswoman and assistant on the poop

We paused in Middlewich so I could do some work and have a Skype call with my boss, then we dropped down through the four locks and out of the town. We only went a couple of miles further - we were hoping to moor at Bramble Cuttings, but as usual there were other boats there before us, so we went just past to a spot which we have used before, where the Dane flows down a slope behind the towpath, and there is nobody around for miles, perfect for the dogs who could run up and down freely.

Resting

Secluded moorings near Bramble Cuttings

I was up again briefly at 6:30, another beautiful if cold morning, with a woodpecker drilling away in the trees across the canal. We set off again about half ten, but the journey today was not quite so leisurely. The tunnels at Saltersford and Preston Brook with their strict timetables impose a constraint - if you just miss a sailing you can waste nearly an hour waiting, and we wanted to get home with plenty of time to moor in daylight. We had to wait at the Barnton tunnel for a boat coming the other way, but we just made it to Saltersford at 14:15, so five minutes to spare. But that squeezed our time to get to Preston Brook, normally two hours, and again we just got there with five minutes to spare, after doing the stop lock at high speed.

We could relax now, and we went up towards Moore, winded and then dropped Loulie and the dogs at Keckwick Lane to walk home, our usual routine. When I got Eileen back to the marina we discovered that there had been a bit of shuffling on the piers, and our space on pier Q was too short to take us. We moored on the other side of the pier,and I have since spoken to them - we may stay in that spot but we also have the choice of a pier-end spot on M, which might be better. We're going to have a look at that soon.

A pile of Labradors

So all in all a nice little introduction to the cruising year, and we are very pleased with the changes we have made to Eileen. We have a couple of big holidays booked in the summer - our plans at present are to use one to get down to Chester and Ellesmere Port, and to do the Cheshire Ring in the other. We also intend to get as many weekends and short breaks as we can. The great benefit of owning our own boat is that we can do that at short notice, and depending on the weather. We can't wait.

Voyage: 18.1 hours. 36.3 miles. 9 locks.