Cruising from Audlem to Mooring Overlooking the Flashes of the River Weaver on the Middlewich Arm of Shropshire Union Canal

 We spent a while in Audlem then headed off towards Nantwich stopping at Bridge 80 and Coole Pilate on the way.

We then spent a few days in Nantwich shopping and doing some trading.  There was a pub we wanted to try called The Bench who do small plates which they call English Tapas and they serve it on mini picnic benches.  We went for lunch there and was not disappointed, it was delicious and served so uniquely, the service was very good as well. They do afternoon tea served that way as well so when we are back in Nantwich, we will be trying that as well.

                                                            

We moved on from Nantwich, passing Hurleston Junction which is the entrance to the Llangollen canal and moored at Barbridge as we intended to get the bus from here to Chester but we found out when we were walking up the road to get the bus that as the road up ahead was closed, the bus was not running at the moment which was a pity so we decided to move on.

                                                                                              

We left Barbridge and turned up the Middlewich arm of the Shropshire Union Canal.  There are lots of moored boats at the start of this arm so its slow going.  After a couple of miles we moored above Cholmondeston lock and Venetian Marina as there was a nice cafe at the marina and we had planned to have lunch but just our luck, the cafe had gone, it was all cleared out, so we had to go back to the boat and make our own lunch!!

                                                       

                                                                                               

We had a couple of days here then headed off.  There were volunteers on the lock, this was their last day until next year so we were lucky to get help from them.  

Just as we were coming out of the lock, an alarm went off indicating our engine was overheating so we pulled into the marina.  They were so helpful and helped us to a pontoon where we could tie up and see what was going on.  There was no water in it so we filled it up.  Kev noticed that the cap was very loose.

                                                                        

            A couple of weeks ago we had trouble turning our engine off one night and Kev was clambering about on the hot engine and we think he may have knocked the cap and since then when we have been running the engine, the water has been leaking out, hopefully that is what has happened.  Once we had filled it back up, we let it run for a while and no alarms went off so we went on our way.

                                                                                               

We went a couple more miles and came to Church Minshull lock, these locks are quite deep on this section, this one is about 11ft.  We had to fill it it up then Kev brought the boat in and we opened the paddles and down we went.

                                             

  We went on past the entrance to Aqueduct Marina and moored by the picnic tables in a nice open spot not far past there.  The next morning we walked into the marina where there is a nice cafe and hurray it was open.  We had breakfast sandwiches and very nice they were too and plenty of filling.  

                                                                        

We then headed off up the canal going under a few bridges.  We passed some chaps cutting all the sides of the canal making it tidy for the Winter.  We are now moored in a nice spot overlooking the flashes of the River Weaver.  We are staying here for a couple of days then heading onto Middlewich which is where this arm meets the Trent & Mersey canal.  

We shall have a few days there then turn around and head back down the arm again.

Market Drayton to Audlem - Shropshire Union Canal

 

Friday 1^st October

We have had a great time in Market Drayton doing the floating market and catching up with friends but now it is time to move on, we are always sad to leave Market Drayton as we love it there and have made lots of friends and most of the dog walkers know us but we will be back in December.

                                                

                                                                        

We had rain early but by the time we had filled up with water and was ready to leave, it had cleared away and the sun came out, it was quite blustery though.

We set off along the canal, past the moorings where the market was and leaving Market Drayton behind us.

                                                     

                                                                                         

We went under some bridges, through a gap where a bridge used to be and past lots of moored boats.

There is a wooded cutting on this stretch with lots of trees overhanging the canal.

                                            

                                                                          

We went on for a couple of miles going under Betton Coppice bridge which is a turnover bridge that takes the towpath from one side of the canal to the other and then we were approaching Adderley locks.

There are five locks in this flight but close together and not very deep so quite easy to do.

There was a boat coming up the lock so once they came out, it was our turn.  We were soon through that lock and on to the next.

                                     

This lock was empty so we checked to see if anyone was coming up before we filled the lock.  When the lock was full, I opened the gate and Kev came in. 

I then saw a boat coming the other way coming straight for the lock instead of going into the side like most boaters do and then he realised we were coming into the lock and he had to reverse and he went all over the place and into the hedge. A lady then came up to the lock and was really funny and said it was their lock and I should have checked, I said I did. She then went on about him going into the hedge and they were blown all over the place, I said well perhaps he should have just gone into the side and they would have been okay.  She said they were told by a boat coming down, the lock was empty and so they assumed it was their lock and didn’t bother to check if anyone else was coming down.

                                                                                  

I said well perhaps you shouldn’t assume or rely on other people’s information.  She was not happy and moaned the whole time we did the lock, I just smiled and said oh well never mind!  They were not in sight when we filled the lock so we did nothing wrong, but you can’t please everyone!

We went to the next lock where a boat was just going out and one was waiting to come in.  I walked down to the offside bottom gate to shut it when the next boat was in.  The lady off that boat came up to the lock.  A chap on the boat that had just gone out was there as well and I wondered why he didn’t go on to the next lock.

                                                                                        

He then said right we have just gone out, and to the lady you can now come in and he said to me then you can come down, I was a bit sarcastic and said oh thank you for telling me that, I have only been boating 13 years and I didn’t know that, he said well we have been boating a long time too and went off down the towpath, I thought to myself all the know-alls are out today!

We helped the boat through and then it was our turn.  We were soon onto the fourth lock and it was all quiet then, no other boats around so we did this lock and the last one on our own.

                                                  

                                                                                               

We went on along the canal and it was nice and sunny but quite windy.

We were then approaching Audlem top lock, there are 15 locks in this flight but we are only doing two today.

                                        

                                                                              

There is a stall at the top lock selling home made cakes and bread but it was empty today which was a shame as she does a cream tea in a bag and we were looking forward to one of those but it wasn’t to be.

We were soon down the lock and on to the next one.

We had to fill the lock first then down we went.  Kev was just coming out of the lock and we saw a boat was coming, so we left the gates open for them.

                                      

                                                                                     

Between this lock and the next one there are some nice moorings so we tied up there.

Our friends John and Sharon joined us later, they came up the flight and moored up behind us.  It was nice to see them and catch up as we haven’t met for a while and we met their new dog Arlo, he is only a year old and full of beans.

                                                  

                                                                                 

We are staying here tonight and tomorrow as the forecast is for rain all day tomorrow then on Sunday we will move down the flight.

I am off back to Weston-Super-Mare next week for a few days to catch up with friends and family and to attend my best friend (Davina) dad’s funeral so the visit will be happy and sad.

                                             

                                                                       

We will be travelling less now over the Winter months so this will be the last regular blog although when we move to different area I will do a blog to let people know where we are and what we are up to.  It’s been a strange year again with lock downs and restrictions and we haven’t managed to travel as far we would have liked but it’s been a good Summer and we did a few floating markets and Kev has got busier making his products which hopefully will carry on that way and next year hopefully there will be more festivals and markets we can attend.

We managed 160 miles and 105 locks and travelled through three counties, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire, hopefully next year if things are back to normal, we will travel further afield and clock up a few more miles.

Thank you to everyone who reads our blog and hope you still enjoy them as much as I enjoy doing them.  Take care and let’s hope there is no more lockdowns and things will return to normal.