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.

Back to base

A nervous moment last night when I took the dogs out for their final tiddles. The Labradors stay on the leads now, after several late night incidents when they have taken themselves off for an explore in the dark. But Ruby doesn’t need this, she doesn’t move very fast, and she prefers to follow us at her own pace. It was very cold, and after we had walked out and back Bridget still hadn’t been, so we walked on past the boat in the other direction. After a while I looked back to check Ruby was still behind us, and saw to my horror that she had clearly decided that enough was enough and she had started to go aboard on her own – all I could see was the violet light on her collar as she started to totter up the slippery gangplank. I hurried back as fast as I could without losing the other three but Ruby reached the top of the gangplank and hopped off the end, happily onto the stern deck rather than into the canal. At that point I decided that Bridget could hold it in for the night, and we all went down below to bed.

Happily she was able to do so, and we had another undisturbed night, and got up at 8am. The night had been very cold, and there was a hard frost on the stern rails, as well as the grass on the towpath. The ropes were frozen hard when I came to unmoor, though that was more than two hours later, as we didn’t have very far to go. We cruised up about a mile and a half to Nantwich, and into the basin where the Navigation Narrowboat Company have their workshops. We tied up on a finger mooring, but then we realised we needed to be stern in to allow the dogs to get off. Matthew from the NNC showed us where to put her, so I had to reverse out, turn and reverse back in – happily it was a calm day and I was pleased with how it went.

Kate had come in Loulie’s car to collect us, so we loaded the dogs and as much luggage as we could and set off home. It was another lovely winter’s day with clear blue skies and bright sun, though obviously very cold, and we felt a real regret at leaving the canal for dry land. It will be three months or more before we can get back on the water again, and we can’t wait.

Today: 0.6 hours. 1.5 miles. 0 locks.Voyage: 14.6 hours. 26.5 miles. 9 locks.

Nearly There

The dogs did better last night, and didn’t disturb us until 7:45 so we had a reasonably good night’s sleep. We didn’t have far to go today, so we made a leisurely start, and didn’t get under way until about 11am. Our biggest concern is a pump-out, because we couldn’t get one at Anderton on Sunday, or yesterday in Middlewich, and our tank is nearly full. However after last time we have brought a back-up, in the shape of the portaloo which used to live in the small horsebox, and that means that we don’t have to panic.

Mooring near Church Minshull

Posie keeping watch on the poop

We’re in a very rural part of Cheshire, and after we set off we passed through open fields, before crossing the Weaver on a large aqueduct. This took us to the first lock of the day, at Minshull. We were lucky here, as a boat was just coming out of the lock as we arrived, so we were able to sail straight in. I had to scale the ladder in the brickwork of the lock to get up to the top and work the gates, but other than that it all went well, and another boat appeared as we came out so we left the top gate open for them. The second (and final) lock of the day was not far away, at Cholmondeston, and while the gates weren’t open the lock was empty, i.e. set in our favour, and I only needed to open the gates to let Loulie sail in.

The crew in Cholmondeston lock

After that Loulie got out with the dogs to give them a walk, while I went on ahead. This only works to a limited extent, because I am not much faster than the walkers, and the Labradors, Minnie especially, kept spotting me and running ahead to try to catch up. When the landing party rejoined the ship we decided to moor for lunch, instead of eating on the go, because we didn’t have very much further to travel.

After lunch we came to the junction with the main line of the Shropshire Union at Barbridge, and turned left (south). In season this is a very busy bit of canal because just a mile and a half from Barbridge you come to Hurleston Junction where the Langollen takes off to the west. With Chester and Ellesmere Port to the north, Audlem and the Shroppie to the south and Middlewich and the whole North West canal system back through Barbridge, this is a real crossroads for the network. Today, though, it was quiet, just a few boats moving. It was a lovely afternoon in fact, bright and clear, though it’s going to be a cold night in consequence, so it was a good winter’s day to be out on the boat.

Winter sunshine in the saloon

Mooring outside Nantwich 01-01-19

We moored a short way past the end of the Langollen, and since we are back on the Shroppie there’s a ledge keeping us about a foot off the bank (see August 3^rd for the possible consequences of this). It was only about 3pm but there was no point pressing on any further – we are nearing Nantwich so we don’t have far to go tomorrow, and if we moored any closer we would find ourselves close to the houses. As it is we are still out in open country, surrounded by fields with not a house or another boat in sight.

Labrador Tiller Pin

For Christmas Loulie gave me this tiller pin in the shape of a Labrador. I had always wanted one, but we had never seen anything close, and in fact she had to get this made, starting with a bookend. The smith at Bartington Forge put in the pin for her, using our existing (boring) pin as a model. It's brilliant, and I call it Lucky.

Supper was made with a Kung Po sauce and the last of Tiberius the turkey, so we’ve had a good week’s eating out of him. We have of course eaten and drunk far too much on the voyage, but at least we are combining our boating gluttony with Christmas gluttony. Back to abstemiousness after Twelfth night. But before that we have to drop Eileen off at Nantwich tomorrow morning.

Today: 3.5 hours. 6.6 miles. 2 locks.

Voyage: 14 hours. 25.0 miles. 9 locks.

Into The Breach

We got to bed fairly early last night, but sadly the dogs have lost the habit of sleeping on the boat, so we were woken up at about 4am and had to take them out for a tiddle. I have to report that it is fairly cold at 4am on the canal bank, even in an unusually mild December. Once we had them settled back down we slept until 8am, when the day began to break. So in theory we had a reasonable amount of sleep overall, but somehow it didn’t seem that way.

We got up and moving at about 10am. Our main challenge for the day was the locks through Middlewich, six in all. We have decided that Loulie will navigate in the locks, while I do the heavy work, so that she doesn’t finish the day physically exhausted. Although for me some of the locks can be a bit tough, for Loulie some of them are borderline impossible, so she tires much more quickly than I do.

The first lock going up through Middlewich is Big Lock, which lives up to its name, being wide enough for two boats side by side. Nobody is quite sure why it has been built on such a scale, as there is no way a widebeam boat can get to the spot. We were fortunate as another boat was just coming out as we arrived, so I hopped out and Loulie was able to steam straight in. The huge gates were tough for me to move, and I am not sure how Loulie ever shifted them. It is also no fun being a single boat in a double sized lock, as there is more room to bounce around, and Loulie had a bit of work t do to keep her straight.

After that we had the three-lock flight in the centre of Middlewich. Sadly another boat was ahead of us going up, which meant that everything was set against us as we had to empty each lock before we could go in. At the middle lock I made a noob error by leaving one of the bottom paddles open before opening the top ones, which means it fills very slowly. Of course I only did this to make Loulie feel better, as she did the same on the Adderley flight in August.

Once up the flight we turned right at King Lock and went up the Shropshire Branch, going up the Wardle Lock immediately, and them mooring just short of the sit of the breach. We walked the dogs down to have a look, and then I trekked off to Morrisons to get some essential supplies. After that we got back under way, going past the breach and then up the Stanthorne lock, our last one for the day. We have two more tomorrow, and that’s the lot for the voyage.

The site of the breach, looking down to the River Dane

We pootled along for an hour or so more, very much out in the country again – though we did pass under the West Coast Main Line, which is about 15 minutes from our house as the train flies, even if it took us two days to get here. We moored near Church Minshull, far from any roads – we have been to the Badger in the village a couple of times before, and it’s very nice, but we don’t want to try it on New Year’s Eve.

So, that’s it for 2018, our first year on board the Eileen Dover, and we have just started to discuss what we will be doing next year. The Caldon Canal is one possibility, and the Cheshire Ring is another. The really long voyages, like London, will have to wait until I have retired.

Today: 5 hours. 9.9 miles. 6 locks.Voyage: 10.5 hours. 25.0 miles. 7 locks.

Winter Window

We want to take Eileen to the Narrowboat Navigation Company in Nantwich for her winter service, and to have some changes made. The problem is getting there. In the summer we did the Home Run, all the way down the Shropshire Union to Autherley, and then back up the Staffs and Worcs and the Trent and Mersey. However that wasn’t really an option this time – for one thing with the shorter days it would probably have required three weeks in total, and there are also some closures in the autumn on various parts of the network, which would have been a problem.

So we needed to wait until the breach at Wardle on the Shropshire Union link had been mended, which meant the 21^st December. The challenge is that many pieces of maintenance on the canals begin on 2^nd January, often for a couple of months, and these would block our route in several places. So we would have to move her in that small window between 21^st December and the New Year. Fortunately the completion of the Wardle repair was not delayed, which is pretty good going as it took about six months or more. So we decided that it would take us three days, given that we would only get 5-6 hours sailing, and that we would spend New Year’s Eve on the boat.

To give us a chance at a good start, I brought the boat out of the marina last night, and moored her close to Keckwick Lane, opposite the laboratory. We could just see her from the rear windows of our house. This morning we took the luggage up in the car, then parked back home and walked up with the dogs.

We were on the move at about 10:45, which was what I had aimed for, as it took us to the Preston Brook tunnel spot on half eleven, and we were able to sail straight in. Loulie gave the dogs a walk while I worked the stop lock, and we pushed on so we were at the Saltersford Tunnel just after 13:30, so again there was no delay.

We decided we would try to do a pumpout at Anderton, where there is a CRT automatic facility, but it turned out that our card was empty. We were unclear whether it gave a certain number of pumpouts or a certain length of time, and it turns out the answer is one pumpout. It should not be a problem, we ought to get to Nantwich on the half tank we still have free, but if we can find a facility open tomorrow at a marina or somewhere we will use it.

Although it was only about half two at that point we started to think about finding a berth for the night. The first place we looked was fairly full and at the next one there was a single boat with a large aggressive dog, so we kept moving. We thought about stopping close to the Lostock chemical plant, but we decided that didn’t seem such a good idea. In the end, with darkness falling, we came to the spot at Billinge Green where we have moored a couple of times before, opposite a shallow flash. Assuming no problems with the locks we should get comfortably through Middlewich and on beyond tomorrow.

Today: 5.5 hours. 15.1 miles. 1 locks.Voyage: 5.5 hours. 15.1 miles. 1 locks.

Look before you leap

After our epic dash yesterday we had earned ourselves a leisurely start today, with not too far to go to reach home. Even the dogs seemed to realise this, and for the first time ever we were woken by the alarm at 7:45. It was another lovely day, and after breakfast we took the dogs for a walk down to the Bollin, where as usual Bridget chased at least 20 sticks (actually the same stick 20 times) into the fast flowing water. It doesn’t bother her at all, she seems to be excited by the moving water. The other Labradors got thoroughly wet too, and even Ruby toddled down the steep paths and back up again with no complaints.

Mooring at the Bollin Aqueduct again

We got under way at about 11:15, but within a mile we came to the Old Number 3 moorings, and the water point was free, so we decided to stop and fill the tank. There is a small group of about half a dozen boats there, and while we were filling up a supply boat arrived. This sails up and down the Bridgewater, providing coal, Calor gas and diesel – they have a little pump on the deck.

Workboat near the Old No 3

Soddum Hall

Water point at the Old No 3

When we had finished I took Loulie and the dogs across to the towpath side, and they got off for a walk. As I was slowly following them, the bow thruster suddenly started running, without me operating the controls. It kept running, with a loud howl, and it was forcing the bows to port across the canal. I reversed to bring the stern to the other bank, but we were now right across the canal with the bows up against a moored boat on the other side. I hurried along the side deck to the bows, opened the hatch to the thruster compartment, and turned the isolator switch. Fortunately I knew where this is – it is really for use when you are working on the motor, to isolate it and avoid any risk of shocks, but it came in handy to kill the motor in an emergency. Once I got the boat back in line and on the towpath side I had a look for any obvious faults but I could see nothing, and closing the isolator led to the motor starting up madly once more, so I left it off. The control panel on the poop rail shows that the motor is off, so I suspect now some fault at that end of the circuit.

Walking the dogs

Meeting a Jack Russell

Hesford Marine uses a beached boat as an office

At Oughtrington there is a bizarre collection of canal-side paraphernalia

I collected the girls and we went on into Lymm, where we moored for lunch, which I bought from a local bakery, hot sausage rolls and pies, very nice. After that we sailed on, under bright sunshine and with no wind, a great contrast to the gales and pouring rain we suffered going the other way last week.

At Thelwall we caught up with the supply boat again

Each time we pass Thelwall this cruiser has sunk a little further

We decided that Loulie would take the dogs back to the house up Keckwick Lane, so we could unload at the marina in peace. So I came in to the bank opposite the Daresbury labs, just under the bridge. However I was a little too impatient, and instead of reversing fully into the bank I jumped across the gap with the rope, to pull us in. However, rather like Loulie on the Home Run, my foot landed on a grass overhang, and slipped off. I might have got away with a wet foot if I had let go of the rope and used both hands, but I was determined to hold on and I slipped in entirely. Still holding the rope I swam a few strokes to catch up with the boat, which now stopped, bows to the bank, and then went to the bank and stood up in the water. The Bridgewater, unlike the Shropshire Union, has deep vertical banks, and I was about chest deep, and the towpath was at head height. I had a bit of a struggle to clamber out, because of the weight of water in my clothes and especially my shoes.

I still had the rope in my hand, so I pulled the boat in to the bank, as a large pool of water grew around my feet. Loulie was still on the stern deck with the dogs – she was trying not to laugh, they were wondering why Daddy was allowed to go for a swim while they had to stay dry. We now reverted to Plan A, she took the dogs home while I had a shower in the boat and a complete change of clothes. I then sailed down to the marina, where ironically I made a perfect entrance and moored on the dock with precision. I have been getting more confident with the navigation and manoeuvring during this holiday, and losing the bow thruster is not a problem, certainly when it’s calm. But I need to make the boat do more of the work, and not make up for a sloppy approach by jumping off and using physical force to pull her in.

So our journey to the deep North is over, and it’s been fun, and also an education. I doubt we will go down the Rufford branch until we are ready to cross the Ribble, but we certainly want to do the Liverpool Docks journey – we met several people who had done it and told us it was brilliant. The mooring near Gathurst was excellent, a lovely spot with an Indian takeaway in walking distance. We still need to find somewhere amenable to moor on the Leigh branch, otherwise we have to make the long dash through Manchester and Wigan on a single day. And we have also learned that there’s no diesel in Wigan, and that we should fill up whenever we get the chance.

Today: 5.5 hours. 13.3 miles. 0 locks. 0 bridges.

Voyage: 53.7 hours. 121.7 miles. 30 locks. 26 bridges.

Running the Gauntlet

Having the dogs with us constrains the places we like to moor – specifically towns and cities where we can’t let them out of the boat without their leads. This means both Wigan and Manchester are big no-go areas. In addition we don’t really enjoy mooring anywhere on the Leigh branch, either of the Bridgewater or of the L&L. The banks are very high and steep, and in general it doesn’t feel friendly. So we were reluctant to make a short trip through Wigan and then stop very early. On the other hand we couldn’t just do a normal run, as that would mean mooring somewhere in Stretford or Sale. So we decided to try for the double jump, and see if we could blitz through both conurbations and get out into the country beyond Sale. That would also give us an easy trip home tomorrow.

It was a beautiful clear day, and in late October that meant a frost, with ice on the woodwork of the stern, and mist rising from the canal as we set off, a beautiful sight. We made a good start, getting up the first two locks with no problems, and as we approached the third, after Wigan Pier, a C&RT workman, who was doing some maintenance on the lock, waved us in and worked the whole thing so Loulie didn’t even have to get off.

We did the final lock upwards in Wigan, and then came to the junction and turned down the Leigh branch. Now we were going downhill, and after dropping through the first lock with no trouble, we came to the final one and found a widebeam just going in ahead of us. Although it is a double width lock it can’t take anything else alongside a widebeam, so we had to wait. Loulie took all four dogs and walked on ahead, while I waited for them to finish, and then worked Eileen down on my own. It’s the first dock I have done solo, and it is fine as long as you take care and think things through, but there’s no doubt it takes longer.

I then set off in hot pursuit, and picked up the landing party after a couple of miles. We were going as fast as we dared, and we caught up with the widebeam at Planks Lane lift bridge, where they were about to go through. As the wife was working the bridge and he would have to pick her up after closing it we asked if they minded if we passed by and headed on, as we were in a hurry.

Now there were no more locks or bridges ahead of us, and virtually no traffic, so it was just a question of keeping our speed as high as we could. The canal on this branch has high, concrete or metal sides, so the usual concern about creating a wash and damaging earth banks does not apply. The main cause of delay was moored boats, where we had to slow down, of course. At first, looking at our Pearson’s Canal Guide it seemed we had far too much to do, based on his time estimates for each page of the route. However it turned out that he had been far too generous with his estimates and we were taking much less time than forecast, so we could still just make it if we hurried.

We came through Leigh, then through the open countryside until we reached Worsley, Barton and Trafford Park. We arrived at Watersmeet a little before five, and now we were confident that we would at least reach the countryside, if not our preferred spot by the Bollin Aqueduct. Sale is long straight and boring, and the Sale Cruising Club occupies a large percentage of the bank, obliging us to slow down often. Eventually we got through and out into the open as the sun slipped below the horizon.

We still had about twenty minutes to go, but we resolved to reach the Bollin, and the twilight was OK for navigation, especially as there were no other boats. Still, we had the headlight on by the time we reached our mooring point, and tied up. It was about 6:40, and we had covered 28.9 miles, easily our best for a single day. Scrambled eggs and bacon, both from Yates Greer, rounded off a tough but fun day.

Today: 9.7 hours. 28.9 miles. 6 locks. 1 bridge.

Voyage: 48.2 hours. 108.4 miles. 30 locks. 26 bridges.