Coole Pilate Leisure Area to Nantwich - Shropshire Union Canal

 

Friday 25^th to Sunday 27^th September

Friday and Saturday we stayed put and Friday afternoon we went for a walk down to the marina.  It’s a nice walk and we had a coffee and scone in the cafe.  Harry was pleased to see his Aunty Lauren was working in the cafe, she always makes a fuss of him, it was nice to see her.  Saturday we did a few jobs then went for walk as it was a glorious sunny afternoon, quite chilly but lovely. Late afternoon, I looked out the window and a sparrow hawk was on a pigeon and another pigeon luckily for him got away.  He stood on it for a bit then dragged the pigeon into the hedge as it was too big for him to lift and when we looked later, the pigeon had been eaten.  It was great to see a Sparrow Hawk so close but not so good for the pigeon!

Today (Sunday) we are moving on to Nantwich which is about 4 miles away and two locks at Hack Green. 

It was another glorious sunny morning as we set off along the canal.  It was quite busy today and there was two boats in front of us.  There are lots of geese on this stretch in the water and the fields.

    We went under a couple of bridges and then were approaching Hack Green locks.  We had to wait for the two boats in front of us to go down and a few boats were coming up.  I went to help out but as always when it came to our turn, although there were three boats behind us we started to do the lock on our own, then a lady came and helped.

We were soon through the first lock and on to the next one.  There was a Canal and River Trust chap at the lock as the bottom gate was leaking badly and therefore made the top gate hard to open.

I had to fill the lock as no-one was coming up and we managed to open the gate without too much trouble. A boat came along as we were going down so we left the gates open for them.

  

We chugged on along the canal under a few bridges and then came to Nantwich.  We went over the Aqueduct and moored up in the visitor moorings before the next bridge.

  

As it was a lovely sunny day and quite a few people around, we set up shop.  Kev took Harry out and I stayed behind to be sales assistant and I did sell a few things.

The Pizza Boat is moored behind us so guess what we are having for tea!

 

We are staying here for a few days now.  Harry is going back home tomorrow and Jane and Malcolm are coming to fetch him and then we are all going to Calveley Mill Shop and Café so looking forward to that and I am sure Harry is looking forward to seeing them as are we.  Then we will turn around and make our way back the way we have come.

Bridge 80 to Coole Pilate Leisure Area - Shropshire Union Canal

 

Thursday 24^th September

We are moving up to Coole Pilate Leisure area this morning, it’s less than a mile but a really nice spot to moor.

We were glad to see the sun was shining as we set off along the canal although it felt quite autumnal today.

We chugged on along the canal and went through the narrow gap that used to be bridge 81.

  

Bridges 82 and 83 are quite close together and quite narrow in between them.  A boat was coming through so we waited for him and then we went on.

We then came to Coole Pilate Leisure moorings and got a nice spot in the sunshine where the towpath is wide and there are picnic tables.

Sheila and Tony, our friends in Audlem told us about a farm up on Coole Lane which sells rare breeds pork so we went to see if we could find it.

We walked back to Bridge 83 and up the track and onto the road.  First of all we went right and couldn’t find anything so I asked a lady in one of the barns at a farm and she said we needed to go the other way.  We walked down the road and a short walk later, we found it.  The lady was really friendly and told us about the rare breed pigs they rear.  We bought sausages, bacon and burgers.

On the way back to the boat there was another farm selling free range eggs so we bought some of them as well.

This afternoon Kev did some cutting out of his products, I did some work for the firm I work for and Harry went to sleep in the chair!

We are staying here today and tomorrow then on Saturday we are moving on to Nantwich for the weekend.

 

Audlem to Bridge 80 - Shropshire Union Canal

 

Friday 18^th to Wednesday 23^rd September

We stayed at Audlem for a few days and it was a lovely sunny weekend so we set up shop and we did really well selling several different lines, we both enjoyed it and Kev got a couple of orders so it was all good.  We also met our friends Jane, Malcolm, Dave and Anthea in the pub in the village, The Lord Combermere on Friday night and had a lovely meal and evening.

We are having Harry to stay for a few days so yesterday (Tuesday) Jane and Malcolm brought him down to us in the evening.  We love having Harry to stay so it will be a fun few days.

Today (Wednesday) we are on the move just two locks and about a mile to Bridge 80 by Overwater Marina as we are meeting Sheila and Tony there for brunch.

   

We were disappointed after the glorious weather of the last week to see it was raining.  It did ease off a bit and almost stopped about 9am so we decided to go.

The first lock was just down the towpath so I walked to the lock and Kev and Harry came with the boat.  We were soon through this lock and onto the last lock in the Audlem flight.

There was a boat coming up so we waited for them to come out the lock and then we went in.  Kev shut the gate and then we opened the paddles to empty the lock and the rain got harder and harder and we got soaked. 

    

When the lock was empty, I opened the gates and Kev went out and waited under the bridge for me.

I got on the boat and Harry and I went inside as it was still raining heavily.  We chugged past Moss Hall which is a lovely spot to moor and there were quite a few boats there.

We went on along the canal, past the marina, under Bridge 80 and moored up just past the bridge.  By this time the rain had eased off, typical pouring down when we were doing the locks and chugging along and stops when we moor up!

We dried out and got changed then walked up to the marina to meet Sheila and Tony.  As usual they were early and already there.

  

We had a lovely couple of hours eating breakfast, drinking coffee and chatting.  When we left the cafe, the rain had stopped and it had brightened up.  They had their dog Brock in the car, so Sheila and Brock walked up to the gate with us and Tony came in the car and picked up Sheila and Brock.  We said our goodbyes and they drove off and we walked back along the lane back to the boat but we will be back in Audlem next weekend so will meet up with them again then.

We are staying here tonight then in the morning we will move about another mile to Coole Pilate Leisure Area which is a nice place to moor with grassy areas and picnic tables and will stay there a couple of days before heading to Nantwich for the weekend.

Moored at Bridge 80

 

Audlem (between Locks 2 and 3) to Audlem (below Shroppie Fly Pub) - Shropshire Union Canal

 Tuesday 15^th to Thursday 17^th September

We stayed between locks 2and 3 of the Audlem flight, Tuesday was extremely hot so we didn’t do much.  Kev walked up to the top lock to the stall at the house there and got us ice creams and a freshly baked loaf of bread.  Our friend Jane started to walk up the flight with little Harry to see us but the heat was too much for Harry so Kev walked down and met them and carried Harry back to his house then Kev walked back up to the boat.  Kev needed to sit in the shade after all that walking! Once Harry had a rest he was back to his lively self thank goodness.

  
                                                          

Wednesday we did a few jobs and went for a walk in the afternoon, it was cooler than Tuesday, much more pleasant.  We went and got another ice cream, another loaf of bread as it was so nice and some freshly picked tomatoes.

Today (Thursday) we are on the move down 11 locks and hopefully will be able to moor near the Shroppie Fly pub and Audlem village.

  

We set off just after 8am, it was a bright morning and not too warm or cold, just right.

Lock No. 3 was not far from us so I went and set the lock as a boat had gone in front of us so I had to fill up the lock.

These locks empty quite quickly so soon we were on to the next one.

  
A few boats started to come up the locks so that always helps.

We worked our way down the locks ticking them off as we went going through locks 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.

Lock 12 is a little further away and there are moorings between locks 11 and 12 so I walked along the towpath and in the moorings was our friend Martyn, he was doing some maintenance on his engine so I called out Good Morning and we had a chat, it was nice to see him again. The lock was in our favour so I opened the gate and Kev brought the boat in.

      

The boat went down and I opened the gates.  Nothing was coming the other way so once Kev was out I closed the gates.

There are some more moorings after this lock but we decided to go through one more lock and more up below there as the moorings above the lock are under trees and the ones below are in the sunshine.

This lock is right by the Shroppie Fly pub.  The lock was in our favour so I just had to top it up as it was leaking a bit so I could open the gates. A boat came behind us so the chap helped me with the gate

    

We moored up just after the lock in the visitor moorings.

We are staying here for the weekend now and will set our shop up tomorrow and over the weekend and hopefully make a few sales. We are off to see our friends Sheila and Tony this afternoon and tomorrow evening we are out for a meal at the pub in the village, The Lord Combermere with Jane, Malcolm, Dave and Anthea so looking forward to that.

Then next Tuesday Harry is coming to stay with us for a few days so that will be great as we love having him to stay, he is such a little character, full of beans but very loving too. We will chug off then for a few days but it will be nice to spend this weekend in Audlem as it is a lovely village and area.

 

Moored below the Shroppie Fly