Slight change of plan

After I'd posted the blog yesterday, we realised that we'd need a couple of trips to the Middlewich Tesco to restock with heavy stuff like wine, milk and fruit juice. If we went on down Stanthorne Lock and then stopped by one of the access points for the supermarket, such as Bridge 28, we could do a trip this afternoon and another first thing tomorrow.

So we set off at at ten past seven, and made steady progress to Barbridge and so onto the Middlewich Arm. Sheila did an excellent job of the turn, and we were soon at Cholmondeston Lock. Traffic was surprisingly light, considering it's still peak season. Another excellent example of the contribution SUCS make to the boating experience is the vast improvement that's been made to the Sykes Hollow site.

This is the remains of a clay pit or something on the Middlewich Arm which used to be rather scruffy, with burnt areas where people had lit bonfires. Now it's as good as Coole Pilate, with picnic tables, barbecue stands and so on, and a decent length of 48 hour mooring. If the establishment of the New Waterways Charity means this sort of thing spreading round the system, I'm all for it.

We had to queue briefly at Stanthorne Lock whilst a Claymoore boat went down ahead of us, then we were in the final stretch, looking for a mooring. There is a footpath just after the last aqueduct, called Hannah's Walk, but we couldn't get close to the side near it. So we've come on to the first visitor moorings beyond Bridge 28.

Two trips to Tesco have been undertaken already, so we can make an early start tomorrow, heading for Wheelock. Meantime, we've been slightly pestered by some bored primary school age kids wanting to earn money by dancing for us or selling us wildflowers (10p a bloom, would you believe), but I don't think they are likely to be a menace overnight, not least because it's going to rain, and anyway, they had to be home by five for their tea, they told me.

I've amended the page about non-emergency calls to the police with some good news about the nationwide roll out of the Single Non Emergency Number, 101. Take a look, and my thanks once again to Graham Keens for drawing it to my attention.