Heading for the Bridgewater, gradually

3rd & 4th March

It feels like it's been a pleasant but not very eventful couple of days. Yesterday we did a load more shopping, this time in the centre of Nantwich, visiting Boots, Smiths and the like. We were successful, as we thought at the time, in finding more supplies of glucosamine for Sheila's stiff joints, as well as a newspaper, an excellent pie from Clewlow's and a loaf of bread.

I used the Garmin to measure the distance from the embankment mooring to the centre – about a mile each way. Back at the boat, we discovered that what we'd thought was a mega tub of 1500 mg glucosamine tablets (based on the shelf edge ticket) was in fact 500 mg of glucosamine plus chondroitin, which from experience we know doesn't do as much for Sheila.

Accordingly, after lunch I trekked back into town to change it. What we were completely unsuccessful in finding was a new pair of boots for me. Nantwich came up with one rather small outdoor shop, which had a limited stock of very expensive stuff. I know Brasher boots are excellent, but I'm reluctant to pay £120 for a pair of boots that are going to be severely bashed about on Festival sites and the like.

There are a couple of general shoe shops, but since I didn't want boots by Manolo Blahnik, they weren't a lot of use.

Also after lunch we did some telephoning – I rang Jenny Black at IWA and booked our camp at the National Festival, and Sheila rang Cheshire Falconry to sort out her day's hawking. We'll be there a week tomorrow, so that sets our schedule for the next week.

We'll go right through to Stockton Heath for Monday and give a meal onboard to Peter and Susan Mason who live nearby – no doubt plans for Sanity Again will get some discussion – then we'll come back to the Salt Barge at Marston to be picked up by sister-in-law Jan and taken to Blakemere for the day out with the falcons.

Today we set off in good time, and boated round to the services block by Nantwich Canal Centre, where, after waiting our turn, we pumped out. By the time we left, we had seen a couple more boats turn up, one of whom was able to start watering, and the other waited for us to move on.

It's been another cold but fine day, glorious for boating. We made it to the top of Cholmondeston Lock by lunch time, and we've spent the afternoon here, pottering around, taking a few photos, especially of the skyscape, cutting a bit of wood for fire lighting.

Just as I was getting stuck into this post, there came a knocking on the roof. We've tied not far from Mountbatten and Jellicoe, Ivor and Mel Bachelor's boats, and Ivor had come for a chat after getting back from work.

Altogether an excellent day's boating, relaxing, entertaining, lots of birdsong and good companionship. Tomorrow we'll press on through Middlewich to the far side of Croxton Aqueduct for the night, and then wend our way along one of the best bits of the T&M, through Preston Brook Tunnel, and so onto the Bridgewater for a few days.