Flexible planning again

It rained hard overnight and was still quite grey and mizzly as we were eating breakfast. We’d planned to take a trip into Macclesfield by bus but between the weather and feeling lazy after yesterday’s exertions decided not to bother. Instead, we’d just walk up to the Co-op to restock with various perishables that were running short.

We’d only just got ourselves off the boat and were heading for the footpath when the phone rang. It was Sheila’s brother Peter suggesting that we meet up for lunch, a much better idea than trekking into Macc.

So we did our shopping and then loafed about on the boat for a bit before smartening ourselves up and going to the rendezvous in front of Homebase. We’ve had an excellent lunch at Sutton Hall, which must be one of the best pubs around here. They were very busy, surprisingly so for a mid-week lunchtime, but we kept ourselves going with the aid of an order of bread, olives and oil and balsamic vinegar until the main courses came.

It was two o’clock by the time we’d finished and driven back to the boat for coffee. We’ve caught up on the family gossip and had a generally relaxing and pleasant day. Tomorrow, we may stop at the new Macclesfield pontoon moorings, if there’s space, and pop down to Tesco. If not, we’ll carry on to Riley Green for a couple of days.

Location:Lyme Green

Up Bosley and on to Lyme Green

We actually slept in a little this morning and didn't get boating until nearly half seven. Nonetheless, we were still the first boat into the bottom of the flight. It was Sheila’s turn to steer, so I did the first six locks. 12 was empty, 11 full, 10 empty, nine full – it just depends on whether the bottom gates are leaking faster than the top ones in these circumstances. The person who does the first half actually gets the tougher job as they are all close enough together to justify double walking to set the next lock whilst the one below is filling.

This was particularly true today as, not long after we’d swapped over, we were joined by a volockie, it now being just before nine, who stayed with us all the way up the flight. As a result, we made good time and were on the water point at the top by ten. Whilst the tank was filling we dumped rubbish and recycling, started a wash load, made and drank a cup of coffee and did the breakfast washing up.

Once on our way again, I was look out for most of the way. There were now a few boats in the opposite direction including Derwent 6 with Del and Al. We only seem to see them passing in opposite directions these days, haven't had a chance of a proper natter for years.

I opened the Royal Oak swing bridge and then waited whilst a boat came through in the opposite direction after Sanity Again had passed. There was yet another boat behind that one but I now had a traffic queue building up so closed the bridge. Fortunately, a passing dog walker offered to reopen it as he had a BWB key and was clearly either a boater himself or made a habit of this. This was especially good as the boat in question was single handed.

We were surprised to see that there was only one other boat in the whole length of the Lyme Green towpath when we got here, so we had plenty of choice about where to moor. We’ve stopped by the footpath into the retail park and had a wander round there this afternoon. I got a pair of plastic clogs to replace my boat slippers which were wearing out and we found a Turtle mat clone to try in the front of the saloon. At £8, it’s a bit cheaper than the Turtles, too.

Tomorrow, we plan to stay put for the day and maybe do a bit more retail therapy.

Location:Lyme Green

Back we go

The plan is to head back to Mercia by the usual route, thereby completing the Four Counties ring we started in July. We made a lazy start today, not setting off until after eight. We stopped on the now replaced rings at Adelphi Mill and I popped down to the butcher to restock on meat. I took the opportunity to buy a couple of pasties from the bakery next door.

I was secretly pleased that it was Sheila's turn to steer today as the weather, though not impossible, was very blustery. Combined with the lowish level of water in the pound, it made for tricky navigating and we had one or two awkward encounters with boats coming the other way, usually in or near bridge holes. I set the washing machine going as we went, Sheila having loaded it the other day.

We got to Lyme Green just on twelve and had no bother finding a mooring. The pound is only a couple of inches down, so we've been able to get right up to the edge, but it is strange, given that the level was running weir the week before last. The Bank Holiday traffic must have run a lot down Bosley.

After scoffing the pasties for lunch and taking a well earned rest, we ambled up to the Co-op here for just a few bits and pieces. We're expecting a storm overnight – indeed, it's blowing up already – but much improved conditions for the weekend and next week.

We'll work down Bosley tomorrow, aiming for Congleton Aqueduct again.

Long day to Lyme Green

By our standards, we did a lot of boating today, especially as Sheila's bruised ribs, though recovering, still limit her ability to work locks. We set out just after seven and boated the half hour or so to the water point at Buglawton. It didn't take long to top up the tank and we were soon on our way again.

Sheila was steering, so it fell to me to get the washload going as soon as most of the battery charging was done and the water was hot. This was all sorted well before we got to the foot of Bosley, where we found the first few locks against us but the next few empty. The mystery was explained when we met a volocky half way up. Apparently, someone had gone down the flight overnight (no problem with that) and had left some paddles up (idiot!).

As a result, three of the pounds were dry this morning and the volockies had had to run water down to refill them. No doubt they had also emptied some of the locks in the process. We started meeting boats coming down at lock 5. Things were that bit easier as a result, most of the boats being hirers and therefore keen to do things the right way.

The only exception was a shiny privateer with all the trimmings, trad engine in engine 'ole, the whole bit, who turned a lock in front of us even though there was a hire boat already waiting to go into the lock we were coming up. As a result, Mr Dimble Brain had to squeeze himself onto the towpath in a very short pound instead of waiting in comfort in the long pound above.

It's not as if it gained him any time, he still had to wait for the lock below to be worked and turned again.

No matter, it was too nice a day to stay irritated for long, it's just the bad manners and bad example set by a boater who really should know better.

Despite us not trying to set any records, we only took two hours for the whole flight and then had a pleasant chug, albeit through some shallow bridgeholes, to the Royal Oak swing bridge. Once through that, I managed to get the breakfast washing up done before we got to the manual swing bridge just before the Lyme Green moorings. That one, bridge 47, is still very heavy to work, I'm sorry to say, especially after working a dozen locks first...

There was a load of room here on arrival and it's not filled up very much since. We've done a bit of shopping and otherwise have been loafing about recovering from our exertions. Tomorrow, a couple of hours should see us to Riley Green beyond Bollington.

Off we go again

It hardly needs saying, but we had another excellent night in the Boar's Head last night with Ian and Sharon. Turning up at half six, we had no trouble getting a table, but the pies were beginning to run short. There was only one portion of steak and kidney, and no cheese and onion at all. Since they are baked fresh each day, it's the price you pay.

We ended the evening on Bunnies Warren. Thanks, Ian and Sharon, it was great.

The Webasto continues to behave itself, so at nine this morning we nipped into the yard, had a chat with Peter and said our goodbyes once more. Peter will arrange for a replacement timer to be posted to us; in the meantime, we'll go on using the basic one which came as standard with the installation kit. After swapping them over, when we get back to Mercia, I'll hang on to the basic one as a backup.

Boating in rather grim conditions, damp and chilly, we've come on to Lyme Green. Sheila ran a washload as we went and after lunch we walked up to the Coöp for a few bits and pieces.

Tomorrow, the plan is to go down Bosley and on to Congleton Aqueduct. We'll make a more leisurely trip of it going back; we expect to get back to Mercia a week on Saturday.

How to tire your dog

This is the result of a hard day's boating:

Go away, I'm tired!

Most of the day went entirely to plan. Sheila got us away at half six, after a bit of a struggle to unstick Sanity Again from the towpath. By the time we got to the foot of Bosley, we'd all had breakfast and were ready to get stuck in. After a brief pause to change the radio batteries, Elanor opened the bottom lock. It was just ten past eight.

Some locks were with us, some against us, in no particular pattern. We were clearly the first boat up the flight and, indeed, didn't see another boat on the move until we reached the top, where we dumped rubbish and recycling. It was then ten to ten, so an hour and forty minutes for 12 locks, our fastest time yet.

I had started a batch of bread dough before Bosley and now knocked it back and shaped it into rolls, putting them into a just warm oven to prove. It was just as well that we were self sufficient in regard to lunch supplies, as a couple of boats coming the other way warned us of a tree down further on. The first of these, a RW Davies Northwich Trader, had taken an hour to struggle past jammed up against the towpath. However, the steerer added that CRT were on site and working on removal.

Sure enough, in due course we came to a tree fallen from the offside and nearly reaching the towpath. Two guys were working away with chainsaws, but it was clearly going to be a while before there was a bigger space through which to pass. We tried to get SA through up against the towpath, but she quickly ran aground. Deploying a long line from the bow and with Sheila pulling on the sternline, we got a bit further forward, but there was zero chance of getting through.

So we pulled back and waited, drinking a mug of coffee to pass the time. And baking the bread. And eating lunch.

By just before one, we'd finished eating and could get underway. In the meantime, a couple of shallow drafted boats had been able to get by. I was going to write an enconium in praise of CRT's prompt attendance but seemingly the tree had been down for three days...

Royal Oak swing bridge is easier to work now that they've changed the pedestal for a better one and rotated it so that you don't have to stand with your back to the traffic to work it. Danes Moss bridge, on the other hand, was stuck solid and only consented to move when I shoved it from the towpath side. The bit of the parapet the extension bar is mounted on is alarmingly wobbly, no doubt as a result of all the shoving and kicking it's been getting.

And I had trouble getting it to let me take my BWB key out when I'd finished...

Heigh ho, loads of room here at Lyme Green. Elanor and I staggered up to the Co-op for some shopping, but otherwise we're all comfortably ensconced in the cabin, one of us at least snoring gently.

She's having a very good holiday...

 

Embarrassing start, better finish

The plan today was an early start as we wanted to get to Lyme Green in time to meet Sheila's brother and sister-in-law for lunch in Sutton Hall. Just after seven, we started up and I reversed Sanity Again out under the towpath bridge. It meant winding her immediately, as you can't come out facing Macclesfield, but that's no more than I've done several times before.

Only this time, I messed it up completely, reversing too far into the rather dodgy hole (which is shallow and full of scuttled boats from the end of the carrying days) and ending up with the boat stranded across the width of it with both bow and stern well stemmed up. Sheila's efforts with the shaft at the bow were to no avail. By this time, John had emerged to see us off and with some difficulty I managed to get an extended stern line to him and Andy who had turned up for work.

It proved impossible to get the stern to come round, so we transferred the line to the bow. By now, most of the rest of the workers were about too and with their help the bow was hauled off the mud. An attempt to swing the bow round with the stern in the hole didn't work; there just wasn't the depth. In the end, forty minutes after we'd started, I reversed Sanity Again along the length of the Deeps and winded her in the official winding hole at the far end.

I've not made such a mess of a boating manoeuvre in many years and have duly nominated myself for the BOG Award next year.

We were now seriously tight for time, but dedicated boating in rather unpleasant, chilly and damp conditions got us there with 20 minutes to spare. We'd no sooner tied than Jan rang to say that they were running late and wouldn't arrive until half twelve...

No matter, it gave us a chance to get our breath back. We met up in the car park of the Retail Park and drove to Sutton Hall for another excellent meal, leisurely, well cooked and washed down with good beer. We're looking forward to a quiet evening and another serious day's boating tomorrow. We plan to get down Bosley and on to Congleton by the afternoon.

Keeping busy at Lyme Green

I should have mentioned a couple of other things yesterday but forgot, distracted by recounting our journey up Bosley. The first of these is a query raised by the lockwheeler of the boat waiting to come down, a sometime blog reader. This is, why are there no visitor moorings at the top of Bosley? All the other major lock flights I can think of have VMs top and bottom, for obvious reasons, but at Bosley, there are only long term moorings at the top, a great line of them. Surely, some of these could be converted to visitor moorings?

The other thing is the absence of recycling bins all the way from Fradley to where we are now. There used to be some at Stone, but they've gone, and we had to dump a great sack full of recyclable stuff at Bosley top, there being no more room for storage of it in the bow locker. CRT has announced that they will be putting more recycling in, but I fear that what I've seen so far is pretty useless. It's just a Biffa skip with "Dry Mixed Recycling" on its side instead of "General Waste". We know from bitter experinece at Mercia that such a skip will get used for ordinary waste, resulting in the recycling material being lost.

You have to segregate the recycling bins and make them very distinctive – even differently coloured lids on an otherwise normal skip is not enough.

Heigh ho, on to today. The weather has not been very exciting, but at least it's been dry and warmish. I fear that we've had the best of the summer now and autumn is advancing upon us. We walked to the Co-op this morning for some fruit and veg and called in at Pets at Home on the way back to buy a new water bowl, stainless steel with a non-slip base, even.

I baked some bread rolls in the course of the morning, so that we could have them warm for lunch. Onion and Mediterranean herb bread proved very acceptable to the tasting panel. We've realised, though, that all this home baking isn't doing our waistlines any good. The problem is that I'm doing a standard mix (with added bits and bobs), using 500g of flour per batch and making eight rolls from it. At two each per meal, we're eating the equivalent of a generously large loaf every two days, far more bread than we'd normally get through.

The answer will be to cut down on the size of each batch, rather than try to spin it out. The home baked bread doesn't keep well beyond two days and anyway, the present regime of baking every other day works in well with the rhythm of our boating.

After lunch, we went back into the retail park and visited Next and Matalan in search of shorts and tops, without success. We had a mooch round Poundstretcher without finding anything we wanted beyond a chocolate and cherry version of Options, the hot choc drink Sheila has with breakfast at the weekend. Finally, we called in to Homebase and bought a complete set of replacement floor mats as a present for Sanity Again. We won't put them down until we've done the preshow clean, though.

What that retail park needs to make it ideal for boaters is an Aldi or Lidl so that we could food shop without the hike up a busy main road to the Co-op. Tomorrow, on through Macc to Bollington, probably.

A late move and an early start

We've never had any problems at Buglawton, but neither is it popular as a mooring spot, so when we saw some teenage boys hanging about on the towpath in the late afternoon, we decided it would be more relaxing to move on a bit further. At five, we let go and did another half hour to a towpath mooring just before Bridge 61. We could have gone through and tied on the mooring we use if we want to walk up The Cloud, but couldn't be sure that there would be room there at that latish hour.

There were a number of other boats already tied where we stopped, including Emily Anne, the steam narrowboat belonging to Daniel Hutchinson, the owner of CWDF. Here it was blissfully peaceful and we had a very quiet night. We still wanted to get away early, so got up at six and drank tea whilst dressing and breakfasting. Sheila was finished first and set off whilst I got sorted out, after which I took over, it being my day to steer.

We arrived at the foot of Bosley just after seven. Although it was Sheila's turn to lock, the bottom lock was actually empty. 11 was full though, and I made a bit of a pig's ear of the turn from 12 into it, ending up with Sanity Again cross-winded in the lock tail. I blamed the swirl of water in the pool below after the lock had been emptied, but Sheila reckons I just left 12 too fast.

No matter, things were pretty straighforward after that, with most of the first six full and just one other with us in that half of the flight. We always do half each on a long flight so swapped places after 7. A CRT gang immediately appeared, stern hauling a work boat down the flight. This meant that the upper six were with us, of course...

Emscote, the ex-OwnerShips boat, was working down 2 and the lockwheeler had already prepped 3 so we crossed with them between 4 and 3. We'd already seen a volockie walking down to check his levels; both he and Emscote's crew warned us that the pound between 2 and the top was a bit low and that the summit pound was well down. In the event, Sheila had to take it very slowly along the first of these but got into the top lock OK. The summit is a bit low, but not as bad as last year, when we stuck in one of the bridgeholes above Bosley and had to shaft through it. We left the top lock at 9.20, so took two and a quarter hours for the flight.

Arriving at the Royal Oak swing bridge, we were able to take advantage of the fact that the boat in front had just swung it. We returned the favour by working the manual swing bridge just before Lyme Green for them. The weather kept fine all morning but has now turned wet and windy as forecast. We'll stay here tomorrow and get a bit of shopping in, including a new water bowl for Sally.

Then we'll amble on towards Poynton, aiming to arrive on Monday morning.

And off we go

We'd decided to come right on to Lyme Green today, a long day's boating by our standards, so got up in good time. The water tank was still three quarters full, no need to top up, and by half eight we were saying goodbye to folk after a brilliant weekend.

I reversed Sanity Again out of the yard and winded her without bumping into One Day which was on the water point. Sheila took over for the long chug. Water levels are a bit better than they were on the way up, thank goodness. There's a bit of traffic around but not enough to be a problem.

It was four hours steady plod to get here; soup was taken en route and a late lunch consumed.

We've had a walk up to the Co-op for some perishable bits and pieces this afternoon.

Tomorrow, on down Bosley to moor at Buglawton again.

It's all my fault

Situation normal then. That will teach me to make obvious jokes as the tailpiece to a blog post. It all started so well, Sheila making a quick getaway at seven and us taking it in turns to breakfast.

It was just after eight that we started up the flight with all locks against us.

And just after eleven before we emerged wearily at the top.

The first few locks were OK, but I found a boat floating unattended in lock eight, engine off, classic imitation of the Marie Celeste. Walking on up the flight I found Wild Thyme III above the next; Paul was standing gloomily by it and told me that the pound between six and five was dry. He wasn't going anywhere anyway as his gear cable had snapped.

Walking on, I found the steerer of the Marie Celeste Summer Breeze letting water down through all the locks above. I set to and gave a hand to-ing and fro-ing drawing and lowering paddles as needed. There was a boat on the way down – by the time they reached five there was just about enough water down to get through.

By now, three boats were queuing below Sanity Again. Gradually we all got going again. Sheila volunteered to swap jobs with me once we were up lock seven, that being the usual deal on a long flight like Bosley. This did mean that I had the low pound to navigate. It was still about two foot down, so it was a case of easing her along the middle of the channel.

I thought we weren't going to make it as we neared the far end; sinister rubbing and grinding sounds began to manifest under the base plate where the bywash had left a bar of silt across the cut, but we just managed to keep going and slither into the lock.

Despite running so much water down, there was still enough to get up the rest of the flight. The summit pound is also very low, perhaps eighteen inches below its norm. The paddle into the side weir was half up above the top lock; presumably CRT are running water down the Macc to keep the Trent and Mersey going.

Only a dribble of water was entering the canal from Sutton Reservoir. We've had trouble at a couple of bridgeholes already; indeed at Bridge 50 we stopped altogether and Sheila had to use the cabin shaft against the abutment to get through.

We've tied at Lyme Green, just behind Martin on Ice Breaker. We plan to stay here two nights then poddle on through the rain and thunder to Adlington on Sunday.

Heading for home and feeling cold

Last evening, another excellent meal and great company made a fitting end to the weekend for us. We managed a seven o’clock start today, on a very cool and clammy morning. A stalwart band will still be there at Braidbar, hopefully managing to take the last of the marquee down.

(There you are Gill, two mentions in two days /wahaha)

It was Sheila’s turn to steer and I spent much of the time lurking below. I wasn’t entirely idle; I did the washing up and pottered about tidying and sorting. I’d have lit the Squirrel, but couldn’t get at the coal box in the bow locker as the well deck was still covered in plant troughs.

We’d taken them off the roof for the exit from the yard, and being tied on the outside of Cala hadn’t been able to do anything with them. In the end, I dug out my grey Guernsey from the drawer and put that on to try and keep warm. It doesn’t help that we both seem to have started colds, with tender throats and a feeling of generalised yuckiness.

The boating was slower than ever, with the bridge holes even more silted up and the vegetation still lurking on both sides. We almost came to a complete stop in Bridge 20, the shallowest on the canal.

As a result it was four hours later that we arrived at Lyme Green (not View – did anyone spot the deliberate mistake?) In contrast to when we were here a few weeks ago, it’s quite busy with moored boats and the towpath is well besmeared with dog poo. Thank you, dog walkers of Lyme Green.

After a cup of soup apiece to warm up, we dumped most of the plants; the surfinias have done really well this year, but are now very bedraggled and won’t last much longer as the nights grow cold.

We’ve managed to plonk them down the right way up in the long grass by the hedge, so they’ll carry on bringing pleasure to passers by for a bit. We’ve also dumped the mint this year; a fresh batch will be planted next Spring. This means we’ve just one trough of pansies on the roof to see us through the winter.

With access clear to the bow locker, I’ve got out the chimney and the coal box and lit the stove, which has made a big difference to the feel of the boat.

A post prandial doze was followed by a walk up to the Co-op for some perishable supplies. On our return we found a nice card of appreciation from Martin and Anna on One Day; they must have passed through whilst we were out. We’re also seeing a steady stream of thanks in the form of emails on the Owners’ Group list, which is very gratifying indeed. You are all very welcome, folks.

 We’ll make another early start tomorrow and plan to be at Buglawton by lunchtime.

Last day at Lyme Green

The weather has finally started to moderate, and we've taken advantage of that fact to get some serious retail therapy in. This morning we went to the retail park and got pretty well everything we were looking for, a distinct result.

Matalan, Homebase, and Poundstretcher all came up tops. We went into Curry's as well, as we wanted to suss out pocket point-and-shoot type cameras for Sheila, and I wanted to pick up a spare USB-A to USB-micro lead, as I'm down to my last one.

They had a good range of cameras, and we had a play with the Panasonic Lumix FS30 which seems to be the kind of thing she's after. What they didn't have was the USB lead, which I then found in Poundstretcher for two quid.

After lunch, we took the bus into town (it's all of six minutes) and raided the baker's, a butcher in the market, banked some cheques and went to Tesco. Oh, and I bought a paper from Smith's, though they didn't have the puzzle book Sheila wanted. The good folk of Macclesfield aren't into the kind of Super Hanji mind bending she goes in for, presumably.

Back at the boat a couple of hours later, we put it all away and had a cup of tea.

Tomorrow, we'll make an early start; no lie-in for me, there's a swing bridge to work. Mind you, if I get up it will be swung open, and if I lie in bed it'll be closed, Sod's Law being what it is.

Heigh ho, it's a hard life…

/sweat

NOT

/wahaha

Wet again

A bit of an understatement, that title; the weather has been so severe that they've closed the Trent and Mersey between Middlewich and Preston Brook. The embankment at a couple of sites is threatening to collapse, what with the saturated ground and the continuing downpour, so they've closed the flood gates at Marbury and put stop planks in around the danger sites.

That section of canal does have a bit of a history of breaches, so I can't blame C&RT for being careful. Hopefully they'll be able to check things out tomorrow and reopen, but it's bad luck on anyone bustling round the Cheshire Ring this week.

Meanwhile, the term for the Sutton Hall pub is excellent. Our only complaint was a bit of a delay before our food arrived, but we had skipped starters and gone straight to main courses, and everything is cooked to order. We were just at the stage of saying to one another "Where's our food, then?" when it arrived. It was all delicious, and although not the cheapest available, it wasn't extortionate at about £20 a head without drinks.

I summed up my entry in the Braidbar Owners' Pub guide as follows:

This is a remarkable pub, a conversion of a longstanding medieval manor house, with loads of separate rooms. It would have to be very busy indeed before you needed to book, unless they had an event on.

The staff were very friendly and helpful and the food is excellent, Michelin star worthy stuff without being too trendy.

The website is full of interesting bits about the previous owners, who were the Earls of Lucan (the third Earl was the guy who slightly mismanaged his light cavalry at Balaclava, and if anyone has seen the sixth Earl recently the police would really, really like to know about it).

Definitely a pub to go to for a special occasion

 Today, we've made a brisk excursion to the Co-op for immediately necessary provisions like bread, but otherwise have sat tight again. Not only is it raining and blowing a hooly*, the rain is quite icy when it lands on your face. I feel sorry for anyone who has to be out in it.

I did take a bit of time to cut up some blocks of firewood, and I think a substantial goulash is indicated tonight.

Tomorrow, we'll go into Macc, and probably do a bit of shopping in the retail park here at Lyme Green as well. Then on Thursday we'll do some serious boating – we want to be at Heritage for a pump out on Friday, so by our standards we'll have to get our skates on.

*hooly: a very strong wind. This word is included to make Anne Blaydon and her fellow Scots feel at home.

/wahaha

Change of plan

We had intended to go into Macclesfield today, to bank some cheques and do a bit of shopping, and then move on tomorrow. But the weather is even worse than we had anticipated, wild, windy and pouring with rain. The thought of travelling into town dressed in full waterproofs, and trying to shop whilst saturated, was quite repugnant. Furthermore, it looks as if it will be Wednesday before things are more civilised, so we've decided to stay put, lurking in the boat until the storm abates.

You can tell it's bad, I've not even been out for a paper.

/floor

Instead, I experimented a little with my problem camera – I thought to check that the USB lead, which has been trouble free for years, was not the cause of the strange behaviours and failure to upload. Lo and behold, an alternate lead gave no trouble at all, and trying again with the suspect lead brought the problem back.

In experimental design parlance, this is an ABA trial which is reasonably conclusive as to causation. I've cut the plugs off the offending lead and chucked it out. So, no new camera for me this year, which is a bit of a relief, frankly. My Fuji Finepix S6500 does quite well enough for me, and has two great merits. Firstly, it has a proper viewfinder as well as a rear screen, and secondly, it's powered by standard AA rechargeable batteries.

This means that I can have several sets of the things, and recharge them at my convenience, or more often in the galley, that being the nearest handy power outlet, all the ones in the study being in pretty permanent use.

/wahaha

Apart from that, we've been reading, we watched two Campion episodes, and I'm running the engine to recharge the batteries. There's pretty well nothing coming from the solar panel in these conditions, and power usage is quite a bit higher than on a sunny day, what with the central heating first thing, DVD watching and even LED lights get through a bit of juice when you need them on all day.

Oh, and I improved the shining hour (ha!) by giving both pairs of boots a good coat of that traditional waterproofing, dubbin.

We're still going out tonight, though; Peter and Susan are picking us up from the Bowling Alley car park to save us slogging along the towpath in the rain; I'll report on the Sutton Hall tomorrow.

Busy busy

For some reason it was really hard to get up and get going this morning, but I managed to surface at half six to make first thing tea and listen to On Your Farm, which was about oyster farming in Essex this time. It's fascinating what you can pick up on Radio 4 at odd hours.

We were away by eight on one of those nothing nor something mornings weather-wise. It wasn't raining, and there wasn't much wind, but high cloud kept it quite parky. I was glad that I'd wrapped up well for my stint on the tiller; sweatshirt, gilet, fleece and waterproof to keep the wind out.

We had a pretty uneventful trip to Macclesfield, with not many boats moving at first, though it got quite busy later. We were pleased to find a space on Gurnett Aqueduct, handy because we're meeting Peter and Susan for a drink at the Sutton Hall pub tomorrow night. The only thing was, we couldn't get a pin in to tie the bow, and none of the stupid rings were in the right place.

This is the usual scenario at Gurnett; the answer is to try driving the pin in well across towards the path, away from the concrete capping, but today none of our dodges worked, and in the end we gave up and came on to our preferred spot at Lyme Green, just by the winding hole. No probs here; tomorrow we'll be able to take a bus into Macc to do what we have to do in the morning. In the evening we'll either walk back to Sutton, or we may be able to persuade Peter to pick us up from the retail park by here.

We've had to light the fire straight away, and Sheila has started cutting wood again. Meanwhile, I did a basic engine service and topped up the batteries. We're both pleasantly weary (Sheila had already had some exercise, nipping off to shop as we came through Macc) and are braced for the equinoctial gale that's working its way north as I type this.

Shopping as recuperation

After persuading us that Autumn was here already, the weather has reverted to Summer, which made for a very pleasant recovery day. First thing, we walked up to the Co-op for bread, paper and some chicken fillets to turn into Thai green curry tonight.

On the way back, we diverted into the retail park just below the moorings, and called in at Homebase, where we found some nice water glasses last time we were here. This time we were looking for wine glasses; we've only three left of the six we started with, so, when we have guests, they get the glass ones and we stick with our acrylic beasts. The only thing is, the acrylics are quarter bottle size rather than a sixth, so it looks as if you're serving the guests in deliberately smaller glasses.

We found some nice ones with a swirly effect up the bowl in the end of line reduced section, so a result there. They also had some bedding, and we've been thinking that it's time we replaced the duvet and pillows before the winter…

Adding some mini paint rollers for redoing the black sheen on the gunwales completed the raid, and we ended up staggering out of the store laden with parcels.

Back at the boat, we put it all away and started the engine preparatory to doing a washload. Normally we'd not run the engine on a non-moving, sunny day, but Sheila needs to catch up a bit, and of course changing the bedding will mean changing the bed, so there's another couple of loads straightaway.

The first load was all done by the time we'd had lunch, and the steady breeze combined with warm sun should mean that the stuff will be dry on the whirligig and ready to put away by the time I've finished doing this post.

The afternoon has passed by doing other little jobs in connection with the forthcoming Open Day and Owners' Weekend, like printing more Owners' Group window cards and producing various lists. It looks like we'll have 40 folk at the Saturday night barbecue; the first time we did this four years ago, we had maybe 20 owners at the Open Day, with a dozen left for the final meal together on the Sunday. This year, there'll be 24 still there on Sunday.

How we're going to get everyone together in the tent and gazebos for the Saturday quiz I don't quite know; a penalty of a successful idea, I guess.

Tomorrow, we'll carry on to Adlington, then do the final easy bit to Poynton on Monday morning. I've booked an Ocado delivery for Monday afternoon, to start stocking up in readiness for the weekend.

Steadily up Bosley

This morning was much better weatherwise, so we made an eight o'clock start on getting up Bosley Locks. Sheila and Graeme lockwheeled, some of the time assisted by Daniel and Alex. It was the boys' first chance to help with the work, rather than being passengers in the boat, and they did very well, considering their ages of five and three.

We had them both in lifejackets, naturally, but still kept a very close eye on them; they can't be expected to be completely sensible yet. We had another boat going fairly slowly up in front of us, which was just fine – we weren't looking to break any records today. It took just on two hours, in fact, and we paused at the top to transfer luggage to Graeme's car in the layby.

Then we boated on to Oakgrove, home of the Queen's Head swing bridge and the Fool's Nook pub. Once through the bridge, we stopped for lunch, after which Graeme and the boys left us to walk the mile and a half back to the car.

We ambled on another mile or so to the towpath moorings at Lyme Green, where we'll stay tomorrow, recuperating. It's been great having our visitors to stay, and particularly encouraging that the boys are getting much better at coping with boat life; there was very little problem with settling them down in bed last night, for example.

It'll be a couple of years before we're happy to have them stay with us on their own, as two adults really can't work the boat and watch over two lively youngsters in safety until the kids are reasonably reliable. It's noticeable that five year old Daniel gives less worry in that regard, but three year old Alex still needs a lot of supervision.

Sheila put in a lot of time clearing up whilst I boated the last bit, so since arriving here we've been able to relax, drinking tea and finishing the flapjack.

Quiet day at Lyme Green

We had a bit of a lie-in this morning (better than a bit of a lion, anyway, thank you, spill chucker!) then gently ambled about before walking down the road to the Co-op to get various supplies. Back at the boat, I realised we didn't have enough bread to get us through the weekend, but had a cup of coffee and then cleaned the bathroom to recover from the shock.

Lunch done, we explored the retail park just by the mooring. Sheila found a pair of smart trousers (she's been looking for a while for a decentish pair to wear to the pub) in Matalan, of all places. We had a look round the Poundstretcher Extra nearby; didn't buy anything, but it's got the usual range of basic supplies, a bit like a Wilkinson's.

Then we tried the Homebase, finding a set of small tumblers and some sandpaper, but they had a very poor selection of carpet tiles. We plan to fit some tiles behind the side berth; it's impossible to ventilate properly, and tends to get a bit of condensation forming there as a result. Sticking carpet tiles to the wall behind the cushion should sort that.

Sheila then headed back to the boat, whilst I made another trip to the Co-op and got the needed bread, as well as some more veg.

Since then, we've been loafing on the boat, running the engine and a washload, reading the paper and browsing Canal World Forums.

Tonight for a special treat; fish fingers. Haven't had them for ages, though I'm not sure I'm tempted by the delight of one of our fellow Braidbar owners in fish finger sandwiches.

/hmm

Chugging down the Macc

It was back into cruising mode today, with Sheila making a brisk start before breakfast. I'd got myself sorted out before we got to Bollington, and she had soon fed herself and taken the helm back. The weather was very unspecial, grey and cold, but neither windy nor wet, so we weren't complaining.

By eleven we'd reached the outskirts of Macclesfield, and were being pursued by Pondasher, Braidbar number 72, the former Beech No 3. I hopped off at the bridge before the centre and nipped up to the Co-op to get a paper. When I rejoined at the Puss in Boots bridge, I took the helm for the remainder of the run to Lyme Green.

It was just coming on to rain as we finished, and it's been spits and spots all afternoon. We'd not long finished lunch when Ian and Sharon turned up on Bunnies Warren, taking it back to Crick as their Easter holiday. They stopped long enough to have a cup of tea and a natter with us, which was really nice. They were planning to get down Bosley today, so couldn't stop too long.

We're going to stay here tomorrow, doing a bit more stocking up at the handy Co-op and pottering about before going down Bosley ourselves on Sunday.