Barlaston to The Taft

Friday 31 May

Once again we had a leisurely start as Gwyn was due to catch a train home from Stone at 1.34pm.

We set off from Barlaston at 8.45am which would give us plenty of time to get to Stone for her train.

However, when I checked the trainline app it announced that this train had been cancelled! As she had a "valid on this train only" ticket we were a bit concerned.

A quick phone call to the helpline elicited the information that, as the booked train had been cancelled, she could catch an alternative.

It just so happened that we arrived in Stone in time for her to catch the 11.34am train instead and she eventually arrived home before she would have caught the original train! Result!

Meanwhile, I continued by boat on an uneventful journey and stopped for the night at The Taft.

I did catch one picture of some beasts having a cool time!

Real cool cows

Locks 14   Miles 15.8                                        Total Locks 203   Total Miles 286.8

Westport Lake to Barlaston

Thursday 30 May

We have an easy day today so it was nearly 9.00 when we set off.  Before we left we saw a flotilla of Canada geese.

3 pairs of adults and 19 goslings 

We made our way through the Potteries to the five Stoke locks at Etruria passing a couple of the old bottle kilns. The few remaining ones are presumably protected, but they do not seem to be very well looked after as they all have plants growing in them which can’t be doing the brickwork any good. 

The Etruria Festival is this coming weekend, so we met boats making their way there. Just one more lock, Trentham Lock, before we moored in Barlaston at 12.30. We had lunch and then walked to the shops to stock up a little as Steve is going to be on his own for two or three days. The rain that had been threatening all morning never really arrived. We treated ourselves to a meal at the Plume of Feathers as we had so enjoyed our visit there a few weeks ago.

Locks 6   Miles 8.25                                        Total Locks 189   Total Miles 271.00

Rode Heath to Westport Lake

Wednesday 29 May

Rain is promised for later in the day so we set off promptly. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea so we were last in a line of five going up the first few locks. However because some of these are paired locks (see entry for 30 April), and there were plenty of crew helping each other, there was not too much hanging about. 

And it is always good to chat to other people about where they are going and where they’ve been!

The water level was very low in places, so we were glad that there were a few boats coming down the locks as well as our convoy going up. 

Although it was cloudy and grey, the rain held off and we reached Harecastle Tunnel in the dry. The waiting area looked very crowded as we approached the tunnel with narrowboats and cruisers all lined up. However, it turned out that the cruisers were waiting for another two of their group, so five narrowboats including us were allowed through almost straightaway. 

This journey through took us 50 minutes which was much longer than when we went through earlier in the month as we were following a very slow boat. When we emerged, it was raining. We moored at Westport Lake which is a lovely spot with an eco-friendly visitor centre.

Westport Lake

Visitor Centre with a green roof and straw walls.

 Apart from the expected geese and ducks here, there are dozens of swallows and swifts flying around the lake and the trees.

Tonight's companions.

The rain continued for most of the afternoon and evening, so apart from a short walk to the visitor centre and along part of the lakeside, we stayed on the boat. Steve lit the fire as it felt quite chilly.

Locks 12   Miles 6.25                                     Total Locks 183   Total Miles 262.75

Middlewich to Rode Heath

Tuesday 28 May

There was a lot of rain and wind overnight and the boat was covered in sycamore keys which made a change from the may blossom and willow fluff (technical term) we had blowing on us last week.  

It was still raining when we set off from our mooring, but we only went a little way before stopping at Andersen Boats Wharf for a pump out. The sun came out while we did the three Middlewich locks and King’s Lock. The sun also shone for the next four locks, but Steve got wet steering the stretches in between the locks!

We stopped for lunch on the visitor moorings at Wheelock having done eight locks.

Later in the day, the showers became fewer and less heavy and the sun was quite warm. We made good progress as many of the locks were set ready for us and although we had planned to stop at Hassell Green, we did four more locks and moored at Rode Heath. Twenty-two locks in total today. 

Pub meal at The Broughton followed by a walk through the woods down to the Lawton stream and back to the canal.

No photos today – too busy doing locks!

Locks 22   Miles 10.25                                    Total Locks 171   Total Miles 256.50

Northwich Quay to Middlewich

Monday 27 May

We went back home on Saturday for the weekend and returned today, arriving back at the boat just before 11.00. We were soon on our way and it took us less than an hour to arrive at the Anderton lift. Steve went to consult about when we would be able to go up the lift – answer was 12.50, so we had an early lunch while we waited.

Waiting for our turn.

We will be next.

 We went into the lift more or less on time, but it is quite a slow process as the boats coming down also have to be loaded, and none of the Victorian machinery works particularly quickly. So we emerged out of the lift to turn on to the Trent and Mersey Canal at just before 1.30.

Just a thought before we leave the Anderton lift – the hydraulic ram is a one-piece column, so there is a hole in the bed of the river as deep as the column is long!

The hydraulic ram.

The morning weather was very mixed – a cold wind, sharp showers, but also some short bursts of warm sunshine. The rain set in more steadily during the afternoon, though the sun did still make the odd appearance.

About three hours later we arrived at today’s only lock – Middlewich Big Lock. We had help through the lock from the crew of an Andersen hire boat, being given tuition by a man from Andersen’s. We were very happy to let them practise on us!

We moored up soon afterwards.

Locks 1   Miles 10.75                                    Total Locks 149   Total Miles 246.25

Barnton Cut to Northwich Quay via Winsford

Friday 24 May

Our intention today was to boat the rest of the Weaver, so we left our mooring around 9.00, went back the way we had come yesterday, passing the Anderton lift and then continued on to the part of the river we hadn’t yet explored. The wonderful lock keepers at Hunts Lock and Vale Royal Lock worked us through with great cheerfulness. There were a few more narrowboats on the move including Celtic Kiwi which we passed twice today as we each made our way up and down the river.

Hunts Lock

Most of the bridges on this stretch are high, but there is one very low one. We removed our chimney and trusted that we'd be OK. 

A low bridge.

Steve ducks down.

There are some beautiful sections around Vale Royal, and then Meadowbank Rock Salt Mine appears. There is an awful lot of rock salt piled up!

A pretty bit of river.

Meadowbank Rocksalt Mine

A lot of rocksalt.

Winsford is the end of navigable water for narrowboats, though some do venture out onto Winsford Flash and risk running aground. We kept safe and moored in Winsford Marina – not really a marina, just an inlet where you can moor. 

View towards Winsford Flash

Winford Marina and Picnic Site

Having said that, the picnic area around the marina was the most attractive thing we saw in Winsford. We walked up High Street which was mainly closed fast food outlets. It would seem that improving the A54 made the High Street a dead end at both ends, with access to the A54 only in the middle. We decided not to bother exploring further (sorry, Winsford!)

We had lunch and then set off on our way back, through Vale Royal and Hunts locks again as far as Northwich where we moored in Northwich Quay Marina just after 3.00. We are going home for the weekend so we will leave the boat in this safe mooring while we are away.

Northwich Quay Marina

We did a little shopping at the very convenient Waitrose next to the marina and then went for a walk around Northwich which looks a much more prosperous town than Winsford with several independent shops.

We had a curry at the Bombay Quay – again very convenient to the marina.

The weather today was not as sunny as yesterday, but still dry and reasonably warm.

 Locks 4   Miles 12.75                                  Total Locks 148   Total Miles 235.50

Lion Salt Works to Barnton Cut

Thursday 23 May

A warm sunny day from start to finish.

We had a leisurely start as we wanted to visit the Lion Salt Works and it doesn’t open until 10.30. We thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent there – it is very well worth a visit, explaining the process of producing salt from the brine stream flowing under the ground in this area.

Lion Salt Works

A 'flash' or lake caused by subsidence after brine extraction.

After lunch we continued on our way to the Anderton lift. We moored alongside Celtic Kiwi which was the boat we had been moored behind at the salt works. We were booked on the 4.30 passage, but when Celtic Kiwi moved forward on to the lift mooring ready for their 3.45 passage, they discovered that there would be a space on the same passage for us, so Steve went and changed our booking. (2 narrowboats will fit into the caisson for each passage.)

The Anderton Lift

Going into the lift.

So by 4.00 we were on our way down to the River Weaver. (If you want full details of how the lift works, please consult their website.)

Going down.

The other caisson going up as we're going down, showing the hydraulic ram.

We turned right and went as far as this side of Saltersford lock, so now we’ve seen it from both sides even if we’ve not been through it!

We moored up at 5.00 at a lovely open site on the river and enjoyed a walk along a little more of the Weaver Way before settling down for the evening.

The peace of the River Weaver.

Locks 0   Miles 5.25                                        Total Locks 144   Total Miles 222.75

Weaver Aqueduct to Lion Salt Works

Wednesday 22 May

Our overnight mooring was equipped with picnic tables and a barbeque stand and the towpath grass had been recently mown – this section is beautifully looked after by the group which has adopted it.

Steve made an early start at 7.30 (in the rain!) leaving me to get up in a more leisurely fashion. We wanted to get to Middlewich to spend some time with friends who are moored there for a few days. I managed to be ready for the first lock, Stanthorne, followed by Wardle Lock as we arrived in Middlewich. By this time, the weather had considerably improved and it was warm and bright.

We turned left on to the Shropshire Union, and almost straightaway arrived at the three Middlewich Locks where we had a bit of help from a volunteer lockie. We moored in front of our friends’ boat and joined them for coffee. Then we ladies went shopping and left the men to chat.

We moved on after lunch; just one more lock, Middlewich Big Lock – big in that it is a broad lock, though it is not very deep.

The next few miles were through the green flat Cheshire countryside until we reached the outskirts of Northwich and an enormous soda ash works. A little further in is the Lion Salt Works Museum and we found a space to moor alongside the works. 

We will visit there properly tomorrow, but for today we just had a brief look around their shop. We then went for a walk around some of the woodland and lakes of the Northwich Woodlands before having a meal at The Salt Barge.

We were pleased to see three more swan families today including one belonging to the pair we saw sitting near Wardle Lock (see entry for 30 April).

The Wardle Lock Swan Family

Another family.

Locks 6   Miles 14.50                                        Total Locks 144   Total Miles 217.50

Christleton to Weaver Aqueduct

Tuesday 21 May

We set off at 8,30 on a bright, sunny morning though the wind was chilly especially when the clouds obscured the sun. As the day went on, the clouds became fewer and we had a beautiful day’s weather.

We did six broad locks including Bunbury staircase before stopping for lunch. We had company for all but the first two of these – a Canaltime boat with folk from Durham who had hired boats on different canals for many years. The staircase had a volunteer lock keeper on duty – a very welcome helper.

After lunch we stopped at the cheese shop at Calveley Mill – not just for cheese but also one or two other goodies.

Having turned on to the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union at Barbridge Junction, we journeyed on through the flat, green Cheshire countryside.  It was on this stretch that we saw our first cygnets.

Daddy Swan is just out of shot.

Just two narrow locks and then we moored for the night near a (very) small aqueduct over the River Weaver.

A smaller River Weaver than in last week's pictures.

Locks 8   Miles 16.00                                     Total Locks 138   Total Miles 203.00

Marsh Lock to Christleton

Monday 20 May

We were through Marsh Lock promptly at 8.30 and out on to the Manchester Ship Canal. 

Entering Marsh Lock

We made good progress and turned in to Ellesmere Bottom Lock soon after 10.00. Cheshire West and Chester had organised the opening of the swing bridge over the lock and the man who opened it helped with the lock as well.

Going through Ellesmere Port Middle and Top Locks took longer than it should as I didn’t notice that someone had left a top paddle open so the lock did not empty as it should. Steve eventually noticed it and once I’d closed it, we were soon on our way towards Chester.

By now the early morning cloud had mainly cleared and we had long warm, sunny spells for the rest of the day. We had lunch on the move as we would like to do a good distance today.

We again had help at the Northgate Staircase Locks - well, more than help actually. The volunteer lock keeper did all the work for us!

As we continued through Chester, we found ourselves behind “L’eau T Cuisine”, a trip boat with dining facilities. We followed it to Hoole Lane Lock – as L’eau is a wide beam boat, it filled the lock and so we had to wait until it had gone through. I went up to help with gates and the crew explained that they were only going a little way further on and would be coming back, so we could leave the top gates open.

L'eau T Cuisine

We did four more locks (Chemistry, Tarvin, Greenfield and Christleton), all of which were set ready for us, but as we are now going uphill and they are all broad locks, Stephen had to work hard to hold our boat steady as the lock filled.

We moored outside The Cheshire Cat at Christleton at 4.20. Steve by this time was feeling a bit off-colour, but we decided to go into the Cheshire Cat and take advantage of their “early bird” meal offer. Once he had something to eat and, possibly more importantly, drunk several glasses of cold water, he began to feel better, and a short lie down on the bed when we got back to the boat, completed the recovery.

Locks 12   Miles 18.75                                  Total Locks 130   Total Miles 187.00

Weaverham to Marsh Lock

Friday 17 May

Return journey to Hartford where we did some shopping before Jerry picked us up to go back to the boat. Since I last wrote this blog, our plans have had to be revised. Saltersford Lock is now closed indefinitely because of the failure of the dam of metal girders, which had been put in place to hold back the water so that work could be carried out inside the lock. Fortunately this happened at 2 o’clock in the morning and not when men were working in the lock, but there will have to be all sorts of enquiries and investigations before work is restarted. So we are going back to Middlewich via Ellesmere Port.

But back to Friday; we had a quiet afternoon before walking to the Leigh Arms to meet my sister and brother-in-law. We had a very good meal there and then we all went to the boat for coffee.

Saturday 18 May

We decided to boat up to Saltersford Lock just to be able to say we had boated as much of the Weaver as possible, and also to have a look at the lock that is causing us so much trouble! 

Approaching Saltersford

Workboats and equipment at Saltersford

We then did a circular walk, along the Weaver Way, up to the Trent and Mersey Canal, along the towpath and back down to the river and the boat. We took the boat back to the mooring at Jerry and Sue’s as we were expecting friends to collect us to take us to a concert at Lymm Baptist Church. The soloists (and our lift givers) are friends from New English Orchestra days and it was great to see them again, and to enjoy an evening of superb music.

Locks 0   Miles 3.25                                        Total Locks 117   Total Miles 159.75

Sunday 19 May

We went to church with Jerry and Sue and in the afternoon we started our journey.

Farewell to our Weaverham mooring

We went through Dutton Lock where the lock keeper worked us through. We shared the lock with a cruiser – we have seen half a dozen boats moving on the river today which is several more than we saw earlier in the month. We continued as far as Marsh Lock where we moored for the night. The SS Daniel Adamson was in the lock ready to take its passengers back to Ellesmere Port. 

The Daniel Adamson is a trip boat and its bookings have been have been disrupted by the closure of Saltersford Lock.

Our mooring is actually on the Weston Canal which doesn't go anywhere except Weston Point Docks where you can turn round and come back again. 

Moored lower left hand side opposite Ineos chemical works.

We are booked to go through Marsh Lock at 8.30 a.m. tomorrow and then we will be back on the Manchester Ship Canal.

Locks 1   Miles 8.50                                        Total Locks 118   Total Miles 168.25

Weaverham to Exhall

Saturday 4 May

Jerry gave us a lift to Hartford Station to catch our train home. Train to Birmingham, change to one for Coventry and bus home.

Daily blog now suspended until plans are more definite. We’ll put a post on Facebook when we’re on the move again.

Ellesmere Port to Weaverham

Friday 3 May

One lock to do to get down onto the Manchester Ship Canal. But there is a big swing bridge across the lock and you have to arrange with Cheshire West and Chester Council for it to be unlocked and swung open.

Swing Bridge open.

We had booked it for 8.30 and true to their word, the bridge started to move as we approached it. I worked the lock, Steve drove the boat through and then we had an interesting few moments as there was nowhere to pick up crew easily. I had to kneel on the quayside while Steve guided a foot onto a ladder set into the wall. Down two or three rungs and I was back safely on board.

And now round the corner and out onto the wide, deep Manchester Ship Canal, lined by several chemical works. 

There were no big ships on the move, though there was one ready to be pulled out into the channel by tugs. Steve was on the phone at the time to ‘someone in authority’ who suggested that we should go back to Ellesmere Port again until the ship had gone on its way, but when Steve explained that we would be past the tugs in five minutes, we were given the go ahead to continue.

Ship ready to move out into channel.

On we went without incident, though the wind did get a little stronger and the water became choppy. It was lovely to see several shelducks on the water; there were also curlew and oystercatchers flying overhead, presumably feeding on the marshy areas edging the canal.

After about an hour and a quarter on the Manchester Ship Canal it was time to turn on to the River Weaver – strictly speaking, this first part is the Weaver Navigation, a canalised section leading onto the river itself. Having phoned ahead, Weston Marsh Lock was ready for us to go straight in. This lock and the next one, Dutton Lock, are manned and all the work is done for you.

Approaching Weston Marsh Lock

Dutton Lock

We stopped for lunch after Dutton Lock and then continued to our mooring for the night. Fellow BCF members, Jerry and Sue Marshal had kindly said we could moor on their riverside mooring at their home.

Our plan was to leave our boat there for about two weeks while we go home and then return to continue our trip.  Unfortunately Saltersford Lock, further up the river, is closed while work is carried out on it. There have been problems with the work and the planned opening on 17 May may be delayed. So our plans are uncertain at the moment.

We enjoyed a meal with Sue and Jerry be retiring to the boat for the night.

Locks 3   Miles 16                                        Total Locks 117   Total Miles 156.50

Christleton to Ellesmere Port

Thursday 2 May

We set off just before 8.00 this morning. The weather was grey and overcast and rain was promised.

Of the first five locks, we had to fill four of them which, as they are broad locks, took some time. One disadvantage of starting early is that there are no other boats about to share locks with.

The promised rain arrived as we approached Chemistry Lock and continued for Hoole Lane Lock, the fourth and fifth of the morning.

Boating through Chester is always interesting as the canal travels immediately below the Roman walls.

Chester's Roman Wall

Northgate Bridge and Bridge of Sighs

Northgate Staircase was next and we were able to share these locks with nb Jenny. There were some lovely volunteer lockkeepers who worked us through these locks, but the process still took nearly an hour.

Leaving Northgate Staircase Locks

We stopped for a pump out at the bottom of the staircase locks and then made our way towards Ellesmere Port arriving there just after 2.00.  By this time the rain had stopped though it was not very warm. We spent a couple of hours looking round the Waterways Museum from where we could see out onto the Manchester Ship Canal where we are going tomorrow. 

Manchester Ship Canal 

A little later we went down two locks into the Lower Basin to moor up for the night.

A larger companion than usual!

Locks 10   Miles 12.50                                    Total Locks 114   Total Miles 140.50