To Chester and a lovely surprise

I've spent the last week gently cruising up the Shroppie and arrived in the city of Chester this morning after an early start but more on that later.  I stopped over again in Gnosall - last time I passed this way I saw the Olympic flame being carried through the town.  

The canal has a short ivy covered tunnel but is better know for it's extremely tall bridges where it passes through some deep cuttings. 

And the shortest telegraph pole.

Although the cuttings tend to limit the view there are many stretches which have stunning views across the surrounding countryside.

After spending a couple of damp days in Market Drayton, mainly because I knew there were two lock flights totalling 20 locks in the next couple of days which I didn't want to tackle in the rain if possible.  Thankfully the rain cleared and I made my way up to Audlem, home of a famous canal side pup - The Shroppie Fly.  It is the only pub I've seen with a bar designed as a narrow boat. It also served a very enjoyable jacket potato.

A bit of history - The name refers to a boats operated in the horse-drawn era called fly boats.  They were use to carry perishable goods and travelled 24 hrs a day carrying two crews each doing a 12 hour shift and changing horses along the route. 

On Thursday I set off with the intention of reaching Chester but the weather once again changed to heavy showers and with around 3 miles and 8 locks to go I called it a day and moored up at the Cheshire Cat pub where, after a long hot shower, I repaired for dinner. 

You may recall I mentioned an early start for Chester this morning. Well my youngest son, Simon, is married to a teacher and I text him to see how the break was going.  You could have knocked me down with a feather when he replied that they were spending a few days in Chester but were leaving the next day.  Hence I set off at first light, about 7:45, with ice on the ropes and managed to reach Chester around 10 giving me time to catch up with them for a couple of hours before they set off home. A lovely and unexpected surprise which really brightened my day.  

I wasn't too happy with my mooring as I'd stopped as soon as I found a suitable spot in the city centre,  a Mecca bingo hall isn't my idea of a good view. After walking around the city for a couple of hours I moved the boat a mile or so passing the city walls and descending the final staircase of 3 lock to reach the canal basin which is much more open. 

I now plan to spend a few days here, including a trip to the northern end of the canal where it joins the Manchester ship canal at Ellesmere Port.  After that I'll retrace my route to Hurleston junction where the Llangollen canal awaits.