Todays section of the Middlewich Branch had a couple of deep, deep locks compared to what we`ve become accustomed to over the past week or so. Instead of flights where individual locks are about 3 - 5 feet deep, these ones were 11`3" (Cholmondeston) and 11`0" (Minshull) respectively. It took a day`s work (10.30 `till 12) to cover the 3 miles to our current mooring, a couple of miles short of Middlewich. It`s a very picturesque bit of the canal, high up overlooking the river Weaver and surrounded by farmland - and other boats.
We were the only ones here when we arrived but the mooring has now filled up, many of the boats heading back to Overwater Marina (Audlem). Sue has been photographing Buzzards and catching bugs for her 60 foot blog - it`s a perfect day for both; bright and sunny.
Some careful planning is now afoot and the big question is: how far do we go in the next few days? There are two problems - the weather and Stoke. The weather can be uninviting and even grim, but it can change quite quickly; Stoke, like any other city, can`t. And Stoke is looming on our horizon, in fact it`s just a day or two`s cruising away. So, we either stay put for a few days and let a forecasted windy Wednesday and rainy Thursday pass, then move on to Wheelock (Trent & Mersey) to be within striking distance of Stoke, or we get going in the wind and rain. What`s the problem? Well, not Stoke in itself because it is an interesting place to go through on the canal, we just don`t want it to hit us at the weekend. Weekends are like all school holidays - they allow schools to be rebuilt and injured teachers to be evacuated while the country`s youth educate themselves by the canals, especially in cities. Leave here tomorrow and get out of Stoke by the weekend, or potter and go through on Monday? We`ll decide in the morning.
But that`s to come, today has been another great day of sun and boats and people - and some interesting canalside properties.
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| The Middlewich Branch is surrounded by farmland |
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| Canalside house |
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| Converted stables, now a fine canalside bungalow |
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| Working boat with covered deck and deck hatches |
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| A leaky Cholmondeston Lock |
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