On board Sanity, again

Long term readers will know that our original boat was called Sanity so we called our new one Sanity Again. Both names have proved popular with passers by, so appreciation of them doesn't depend on a knowledge of my former profession.

Sanity's new owner, Ian, has now moored her at Anderton and after we boated here first thing this morning, we called on him. Sanity is moored on the offside moorings outside Anderton Marina. We stopped on the water point to top up the tank (water points being in short supply on the Bridgewater) then pulled across and breasted up outside our old boat.

Ian and his girlfriend Kath were up and about, so we were able to pop on board for a good old natter.

Apart from that, it's been a pretty quiet sort of day. Worryingly, the canal between Middlewich and here is getting very overgrown with reedy rushes:

This is the mainline...

It always used to be a bit of a problem in the days when we were hiring from Anderton, or boating our shared boats from Acton Bridge, but it's worse than ever now.

On the other hand, since the change of ownership at Wincham Wharf, there are many fewer boats tied across the cut there. Presumably, they are being a bit more selective about what they take on brokerage these days. Wincham always used to be the place to go if you didn't have a lot of cash to spend on a boat and were prepared to take something that would need a lot of doing up.

As we set off again to find a mooring, it came on to rain, gently at first, but just after we'd got tied near the Stanley Arms it fairly tipped it down. There is a plenitude of visitor mooring around here, and it's not usually difficult to find a space; the main problem is that the rings aren't always well positioned, and the concrete capped edge stops you from supplementing the provision with chains or pins.

This afternoon we took advantage of a lull in the rain to walk up the hill to Barnton village. If you cross the canal by the footbridge beyond the road crossing beyond where we're moored, you walk up a steep path and come out by the health centre, pharmacy and Co-op.

Further downhill from there takes you to the main road where there is another pharmacy with a post office attached and a butchers. Tomorrow, I'll go and get an appointment as a TR and thus a prescription, hopefully.