Gale forced stoppage.

The gales and rain lashed down on FL overnight rocking her on her pin's. I was up at 05:30 checking the pin's were holding, everything was OK. I had double pinned and moved plank poles and brushes off the roof in readiness before we retired. We will stay in the basin for another night.

The basin we are moored in is fringed with smart looking apartments either in converted wharfs or have been made to look like old wharfs by the architect, a Holiday Inn is on one side of the basin.

In contrast outside of the port setting is a bit bleak in places, we walked to the local store for milk once the rain had stopped and the sun was out. The Horse & Jockey's grubby windows were all fitted with wire grills giving the place an abandoned feel, if it wasn't for the nearly new table and benches in the garden alley  it looked unused for decades. It's probably a great locals boozer but I think we will give it a miss. The milk was bought at the shop by passing cash through a gap in security perspex, post office style....wonder why.

We got soaked when the sky darkened and the heavens opened unexpectedly, back on the boat we got into dry clothes, Sue decided to do some cross stitching, while I spent another couple of hours in the museum.

The weed came back over night, the pile on the bank was removed by staff yesterday.

Gifford

The boat next to Gifford is a box narrow boat, it carried 10 to 12 box's of coal like the 2 onboard. 

An ex tunnel tug.

Ice breaker 'Marbury'

I do like the Skinner's boat.

Forlorn boats waiting for funding for restoration.

Mossdale  held together with girders and straps, the last surviving Mersey 'flat' boat.

National Waterways Museum

We are now moored in the National Waterways Museum after a three hour cruise from our overnight mooring. Another bright and chilly day the cruise was uneventful, apart from the large clumps of weed floating in narrow channels where we had to use the boat hook to clear a path so we didn't foul the prop. The waterways staff were all out clearing the weed from the front of the lock gates, apparently it had all blown down to the end of the channel over night. The ever so helpful staff locked us down to the basin where we found a spot on one of the grassy islands, pins as all the rings were being used.

I used to work with Derek, he bought a boat about the same time as we bought FL, he moored it in this basin but I couldn't remember the name of the boat, so I asked around the staff here, one chap (who reads this blog) knew of him, his boat is called Wagtail. We had passed each other yesterday, Derek had a hat pulled down on his head, I did too. Although I thought he looked familiar the boat he was cruising, 'Wagtail', wasn't the scabby painted boat that Derek had told me about but a pristine liveried beauty in BW blue and yellow so I didn't realise it was him.  Hopefully Wagtail will return before we leave.

We had a walk around the museum, it has some fabulous exhibits my favourite is Joe and Rose Skinner's boat 'Friendship'. The amount of boats the museum has acquired that need complete restoration is staggering. It's well worth doing the trip from Chester to Ellesmere Port to visit this fantastic museum.

Bolinder crude oil engine

These tractors were used to tow boats on the River Lea

Friendship boatman's cabin.

Overnight mooring.

Wagtail didn't show as it's having it's bum blacked, but Derek did.

Manchester Ship Canal.

Chester

Yesterday afternoon we had a pint of Thwaits Ale in the Shady Oak, we weren't overly impressed. The beer was ok but the loud music playing in the bar at four in the afternoon meant all the punters were in the garden and it was quite cool, we didn't hang around long.

It was pistoling down this morning so we stayed put until the sun came out at 11:30. Still needed hat's and coats as we headed towards Chester. Our first plan of mooring at Cristleton was scuppered when we didn't find a suitable mooring, so gone was tomorrows roast dinner in the Cheshire Cat. We didn't get a lock buddy for the heavy leaking locks into Chester city centre, the moorings were all taken there too, our own fault for not moving in the rain. So we continued through the staircase locks and moored on the 48hr mooring past bridge 131.

Tomorrow we plan to get to Ellesmere Port and visit the National Waterways Museum.

Bates Mill garden.

Looking for sustenance.

Looking back from Hoole Lane Lock.

Entering Chester

City walls

Staircase lock

Beeston Castle

After a bit of a lie in we pulled the pins at 11:00 first lock was the Banbury Staircase Lock with the large stable block adjacent. The stables were used in cargo carrying days when deliveries were made between Mersey docks and the Black Country factories, horse drawn boats ("fly boats")would do the journey of 80 miles non stop in 24 hours swapping horses at convenient stables en route. Below the Anglo Welsh hire fleet is tied up awaiting new crews.

The scenery is of green hills, woods, cows, black sheep and railway lines.

At Beeston Stone lock a mature all male hire crew shut the lock on us. (These are all double locks i.e. two boats can fit in a lock alongside each other). Sue politely mentioned that it's a waste of water to lock down individually and if they waited at the next lock we could lock down together.

We didn't realise that the next lock was the iron lock with notices telling crews to lock down separately as the iron walls have distorted... the hire crew didn't wait anyway.

The remains of Beeston Castle high on a rocky outcrop dominate the scene for miles around. 14:00 we moor above Whartons lock opposite The Shady Oak pub.

Stable block

FL waiting for the lock to fill.

Anglo Welsh hire fleet .

Leaky gates

A lengthman's shed.

Iron lock.

Iron lock (like floating in a skip)

Beeston Castle.

The Dice Man

Autumnal feel to the early morning, bright and cold, the air is still and a mist is rising from the water as we prepare FL for the off.

At Swanley lock  number two someone has given the cill buffer a heavy whack and split the top plank. There is a notice pinned to the lock gate letting us know C&RT are aware and are planing to fix it next week. We were quickly through the Hurleston Locks thanking the Hurleston reservoir to our left as we leave the Llangollen Canal. If it wasn't for the fact that the reservoir gets it's water from the river Dee via the canal the Llangollen would have been derelict by the 1940's. Hurleston reservoir supplies the kitchen and bathroom taps of Crewe.

The day has changed back to summer with real strength to the sun, so its of with the fleece, gloves and hat and soak up a few rays.

We didn't have a dice to throw but I did have an app on my phone so we shook that instead and got an odd number which meant we would turn left on the Shroppie and head for Chester....Dice Man style.

Past Barbridge pub and junction we are on new water, we moor up in a rural setting with the distant sound of the busy A51 Nantwich road in the distance just above bridge 104

Early morning mist

Bright and cold.

Damaged buffer

Wouldn't look out of place on the Thames

Bit early for Halloween

Turning for Middlewich

The Dice Man upgraded.

Guest has left.

Monday- Moved off the mooring at 09:00, retracing your steps is never as intriguing as going over new ground. Although the sun never quite came out fully the day has been warm. The trees are getting into their autumn clothes and the squirrels are gathering acorns for winter storage, the Llangollen canal banks are teaming with squirrels of the grey variety, we haven't seen a single red one. Plenty of

kingfishers jays and the odd bird of prey, owls are often heard during the night, screeching ones and the 'twit are you' ones. The water is crystal clear, we can see shoals of fish, a water logged wellie a dropped mug and a rusting bike as we pass over them.

The Manx flag I left at Grindley Brook has been hoisted with all the others. 

We filled the diesel tank at Viking afloat, at 104p a litre is 5p dearer than we paid on the Thames! The engine had done 70 hours since the last top up and we took on 71 litres, this engine is very frugal burning a tad over a litre an hour.

Tuesday - We made our way to Wrenbury where we hired a car and returned the MIL to Somerset, I'm sure she enjoyed her stay if not all the walking she was encouraged to do. Left at 12:00 and were back in Wrenbury having a meal in the Dusty Miller by 19:20, I didn't want to leave FL alone on the side of the canal overnight even though it is very safe and quiet there.

Today - A lovely sunny start to the day, we took the car back to Enterprise in Crewe via a Tesco express. We passed the train station, I had always thought Crewe would have a massive station, a lot of destinations seem to have a change at or pass through Crewe but this looked a smallish modern building. 

We decided to head off at noon, the sun was replaced by a cool grey sky as we worked the Baddiley locks. We moored up just before Greenfield Bridge after a two hour cruise. We cant make our minds up which way to turn when we leave the Llangollen, we will probably decide as we come out of the last lock or we could let the dice decide. The Diceman was a late 90's TV travel show, the presenter picked 6 destinations and where he went was decided by the throw of the dice often thrown by a member of the public. Even the type of transport, what he'd eat and accommodation  were decided by the dice...... Now back to which way we turn odd numbers for left even numbers for right!

Cranking open another bridge

Shepherds shelter

Sue looking for signs of life.