Family meeting at Grappenhall

Yesterday we had a very pleasant evening with Mick and Alison of Three No Trumps, Braidbar 137, drinking and nattering in the well deck of Sanity Again. We may well see them a second time on their way back down the Bridgewater. We also crossed with Braidbar 47, Ceiriog, this morning.

Making a lazy start today got us to Grappenhall by half nine. Initially we tied at Stanney Lunt bridge, but a quick explore soon persuaded us that moving to a spot near Grappenhall Bridge was better.

From that bridge it’s a short walk to the church and both pubs. Meeting up with Peter and Jan there, we had lunch in the Rams Head. We were celebrating two things; it’s our 42nd wedding anniversary tomorrow and we heard from Elanor this morning that my MRI scan was normal.

I guess I can now say that they’ve looked inside my head but didn’t find anything.

/blur

The pub food was no more than OK; we had to send a couple of chicken and chorizo salads back because they hadn't got any chicken in them (but lots of goat’s cheese), some of the home cooked chips were lukewarm and others were initially served as French fries and had to be sent back as well.

Apart from that, the Doombar was in good nick and portions were generous.

We’ve had a very good session catching up on the family goss, followed by a quiet afternoon in the boat.

Oh, except that I found my way to a Tesco Express here that’s worth knowing about. From the towpath to the west of Grappenhall Bridge, go down a narrow footpath between two board fences that leaves the towpath by a nice new bench seat on a green mound. Turn left at the end of the path and walk round St Wilfrid’s Drive until it meets Lindi Avenue.

Turn right and walk down Lindi until it becomes Shadewood Crescent. Carry straight on and cross the main road when you come to it, entering East View on the other side. Go down East View to the end and there’s the Tesco Express.

It’s about ten minutes walk one way.

Tomorrow we’ll carry on through Lymm to Little Bollington probably, and maybe visit Dunham Massey Hall in the afternoon.

Recovery morning, busy afternoon

As anticipated, it was a very good evening last night, but it did mean that we didn't get to bed until gone midnight. Peter and Susan were on fine form, and it's clear that yard continues to thrive. There are still a couple of build slots available late next year, but Peter has just taken a booking for 2015…

We spent the morning in recovery mode, though we did make an expedition to the butcher and Sainsbury's. After lunch and a restorative doze, Gareth in the lemon Ocado van turned up in good time. He cheerfully trucked our crates to the boat.

Once all the stuff was on board, we pulled forward onto the service wharf for pump out, diesel and a fresh gas cylinder.

Deep breath, pay for it all, then set off to wind further up. We'd been told we might manage to get round in the moorings beyond London Bridge, but after a good look, I didn't fancy it; there was a GRP cruiser on the towpath, and the mooring pontoon looked pretty shaky.

The next winding hole, in Grappenhall, is 69' 6"wide, which we demonstrated by very nearly getting Sanity Again round. Heigh ho, on we went to the really good winding hole just short of the Thelwall Viaduct. Sheila checked off the delivery whilst I steered, then she took over the helm whilst I put it all away.

I'd nearly done when we reached Thelwall, so Sheila had the pleasure of the winding. I've done a bit more steering since, and Sheila's just taken over again to let me get this away. It looks like we'll not finish boating tonight until about half five or six. Tomorrow, we plan a long day most of the way back to Middlewich. The batteries are due for topping up, and I like to give them a really good charge before doing so.

It will also facilitate some meetings we're planning next week, but more about that next time.