Nantwich to Ellesmere

Normal service resumes as I now have 15g a month to play with  ;-)  It seems an age since  we left Nantwich on a very misty morning...

 which, by the time we'd winded ready to head back north had burnt off .....

to give us a beautiful autumn day.

Our turn for the 1st lock at Hurleston, note no fenders down, since coming off the wide canals we had been used to ie the Aire & Calder & losing one or two on the Macclesfield we now only use them for mooring.

 The Hurleston  locks are very narrow & there are signs advising boaters to remove fenders as with them down you are likely to, at best lose them or worse, get stuck. So, fenderless, we smugly made our way up through  the four locks. 

As mark came out of the top lock he lost steering so we pulled in just past the waterpoint for a trip down the weed hatch, he found what he thought was a knotty lump of rope that slipped from his grasp, when it surfaced it turned out to be a rope side fender! A few yards further along &  we spotted another in the water, words fail me...

We moored up at Wrenbury & spent the next day catching up on the chores, taking advantage of fine weather to get the washing dried outside. 


Wednesday we pottered on to Grindley Brook & spotting the cafe as we did the staircase I thought a toasted tea cake & coffee seemed a good idea but by the time we emerged from the top lock & had filled the water tank it was 11.45 so we had an early lunch instead. It was very pleasant sat outside in the sunshine watching the world go by & being entertained by the Americans on a hire boat on spotting the cafe wondering if they could moor up  'in the lock' luckily they figured it out & moored up at the top!

Just 1/ 2 an hour & we were in Whitchurch, after mooring up we had a pleasant walk into town to stretch our legs. I was looking for some more winter gloves  ( it's a bit chilly now in the mornings!) & spotted a likely looking shop Colour Supplies,  I soon found some gloves but before heading to the till I went for a wander around & my what a shop, it looks like a normal shop from the outside but it's like a rabbit warren, one department runs into another & I don't think there is much they don't sell, well worth a stop if you want anything DIY or household related.

Next morning, Thursday, it's cold & foggy as we set off at 9.30am, having  no real plan for our next mooring spot we just pottered along until spotting somewhere likely which turned out to be just past Bettesfield. We lit the fire to warm up & it just got going as the sun came out....

We stayed put for Friday, a cold, grey & windy day. Chores day, Mark sawed & chopped the wood & I cleaned & tidied.

Saturday morning, it was just a short 2 hour cruise to Ellesmere...   

Poppy just about to turn onto the Ellesmere arm, the imposing  Beech House in the background where Thomas Telford, engineer had his office whist the canal was built.

 We found a spot on the 72 hour moorings & headed straight for the very handy Tesco to get the Saturday paper & some fresh bread then back to the boat for a spot of lunch. 

The afternoon was spent wandering & exploring Ellesmere.

Yesterday after a lazy morning reading the papers we walked back up the towpath past Blake 

mere & round Colemere,  warm & sunny, it was another perfect autumn day. There are some 48 hour moorings with great views of Blake Mere, we may well stop there on our way back from Wales.

This morning I called into the medical centre to see if I could get a prescription for my 

regular medication & was pleased to find it was very straightforward & I can pick up a new prescription on Wednesday morning, efficient indeed! 

We will move up to the services tomorrow & then onto the 48 hour moorings on the mainline till I get my meds sorted then onwards towards Llangollen

Sid looking very grown up & as if butter wouldn't melt... don't be fooled!