A Boating Day

As planned, we've put in a serious day's boating, getting up in the dark and setting off just after seven. Swing bridge 47 was indeed closed, so I was justified in having climbed out of bed. As it turned out, it was very reluctant to swing, travelling slowly and stickily round. Indeed, it was so tough to push back that Sheila hopped off the stern of Sanity Again to give a hand.

It's good that most of the swing bridges on the Macc and Upper Peak Forest have some provision for getting off on the offside, a great boon to the single hander.

The major swing bridge at Fool's Nook was no bother; despite the rush hour traffic, only two cars were held up by our passage.

I was able to loaf below for a while until we got to the top of Bosley, though I did get a washload started as we went along. Most of the locks were against us, so it wasn't a rapid passage, but we chugged steadily down. The pound between locks two and three was quite low, but by the time our lockfull of water had dropped into it there was enough to float Sanity Again into the lower lock.

We emerged from the flight before eleven, so had nice time for a cup of coffee in the pleasant rural stretch before Buglawton. It came on to rain for just a little, but compared to recent days it was a mere sprinkling. Needing to water, we were aiming for the offside water point before bridge 68, only to see the share boat Strait and Narrow go onto it as we approached.

No matter, it was just on noon, so we tied to the towpath and had lunch whilst they filled up. They'd long gone by the time we'd finished, so we took our time filling the tank to the top.

We've now tied on Congleton Aqueduct, probably the best of the various options for stopping overnight here. It's not particularly convenient for any shops, but much the quietest spot.

Meanwhile, the news from the north end of the Trent and Mersey is not good at all. The embankment by Croxton Flash is leaking badly, and it will probably be several weeks before it's secured, but much worse is the breach at Dutton Hollow, just two miles before the end of the canal.

It's reported that 70 metres of embankment has blown out; it will be fortunate if navigation is restored in time for next spring. This picture from the BBC News website shows the scale of the problem:

As always in these situations, the various boatyards and hire bases affected are supporting each other, and Chris of Claymoore at Preston Brook is offering free mooring to boats trapped to the north of the closed section.