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. 

One week, 50 miles and 4 canals

After spending a few more days iced in at Glascote I got underway again on Saturday and just had a short trip to get more coal, which turned out to be more sand than coal judging by the vast amount of orange ash it's generating.  As it was very chilly with patches of the canal still icy I moored up after just 4 miles outside the Tame Otter pub at Hopwas. It's part of a large chain and offers standard pub fare which I took advantage of.

I headed off on Sunday morning toward Fridley junction and was quite surprised how much ice was still on this section of canal as it had been clear when I left. The Coventry canal meets the Trent & Mersey at Fradley and I turned left and headed up through the two lock. The canal was solid ice above the locks so I called it a day and moored up once again.

The temperature stayed above freezing overnight and thank fully the ice had largely cleared with just a few patches left.  After several short trips I cruised 12 miles up to Great Hayward junction where the Stafford & Worcestershire canal heads off south west towards Wolverhampton and eventually joins the river Severn.

Cue arty photo of boat with snowdrops in the foreground.

In the morning I visited the local farm shop to stock up the larder but was disappointed to find it mainly stocked expensive jars of jam, honey and chutney.  Not what I was expecting.  So I headed down the Stafford & Worcestershire canal.  Shortly after the junction the canal opens into an unusually broad section called Tixall wide before reaching the beautiful Tixall lock.

After a good day covering 10 miles and 6 lock I moored up in Penkridge for a couple of days before moving off yesterday continuing down the canal to join the Shropshire Union canal at Autherley junction.  Shortly after Penkridge the canal passes though Gailey which has one of the most unusual lock keepers cottages in the form of a circular watchtower.

After making the turn at Autherley I joined the Shroppie which is a lovely canal meandering from Wolverhampton all the way to the Mersey at Ellesmere port. Much of the canal is in cuttings with a few sections too narrow for two boats to pass. Passing places are cut in at intervals.

I moored up at Brewood having read in the guide book that it was a delightful village with a shop, pub and visitors moorings. Unfortunately I realised that the visitors mooring were opposite a permanent mooring site where the locals felt it was OK to run engines well into the night,the guidance is not to run engines or generators between 8pm and 8am, and the shop had closed some years ago.  So much for the guide book.

Thus I set off this morning in light rain down to the smaller village of Wheaton Aston only 2 miles away which has quiet moorings and a handy shop.  Now safely moored up out of the rain.

The plan for the next week is to continue slowly up the Shroppie and then onto the Llangollen. However, as it is half term it's likely the hire boats will appear so I don't want to join the Llangollen until the lovely children are safely back in school.

Killing Time and Route Planning.

As I mentioned in my last entry I'm now just killing time for a week or so until the lock at Fradley junction is re-opened on 9 Feb.  A cold spell is forecast so I decided it would be wise to moor close to towns where supplies are close to hand.  I moored halfway down the 11 lock Atherstone flight on 27 Jan for a few days.  It is a handy spot close enough to walk into the town but far enough away to be quiet.

After a couple of days the promised cold front arrived freezing the canal solid for a couple of days before the weather warmed enough on 31 Jan to thaw the canal.  As a further cold spell was due I opted to move on a few miles to Polesworth, calling at the services on the way to fill the fresh water tank and empty rubbish etc.  Polesworth is a small town with good visitor moorings in a wooded embankment only a short walk from the town.

I timed my move well as the following morning the canal was once again frozen solid with a light covering of snow. This cold air was forecast to stay for the week ahead and indeed the temperature dropped to -4 overnight and hardly rose above freezing for 3 days.

Yesterday a boat came through at first light breaking the ice as they went. Somebody was keen to get somewhere but as I was down to my last bag of coal I decided to head off mid morning to Alvercote marina for more coal.  I set off around three hours after the boat came through and was surprised how quickly the channel he'd had made was refreezing.  I don't like cruising through ice, it damages the blacking (bitumen paint on the lower hull) and makes a hell of a noise as the bow breaks the ice and even more as lumps of ice get chewed up by the propeller.

After a crunchy 4 miles I reached Gascote near Tamworth with 5 sacks of coal onboard and settled myself in front of the stove to wait for the thaw.

A few people have asked where I'm heading next.  The plan for the next couple of months is to make my way around the north of Birmingham and down toward Wolverhampton to join the Shropshire Union canal.  Then head north to Northwich and then head west along the Llangollen canal to cross the famous Pontycysylite aqueduct as it's almost 3 years since I did that route.

Following this I'll make my way back along the Llangollen and up to Manchester and Liverpool before heading across the pennines on the Leeds & Liverpool canal to spend the summer on the Yorkshire canals and rivers.