Ellesmere to Nantwich

Mon 13th Aug   Ellesmere to Grindley Brook

Early morning at Ellesmere

Sun on the slurry fields

We set off this morning at 6.30am, hoping to avoid other boats, as we reversed back past the line of moored boats and the marina entrance, under the bridge and round the corner to the sanitary station.

Thankfully no-one else was about, and we dealt with water, cassettes and rubbish. A hire boat arrived as we left, going forwards this time.  Later we learned that Tim and Tracey had to wait for two hours mid-morning for the water tap, as all the festival boats were leaving at the same time.

Leaving the sanitary station to turn right at the junction

Telford’s office

Sola Gratia (not up yet)

Shropshire Fly Boat Saturn

So we left Ellesmere, going through the tunnel for the last time. We have now used this tunnel twelve times with three different boats.

Ellesmere Tunnel

We passed SQ2 moored at Blakemere, as well as St Christopher. It was too early to wake anyone.

We went past Bettisfield boats, where we had visited in 1996 with a view to buying one of their boats, which were built in a shed on the side of the canal. We didn’t buy one of theirs, going instead to Ledgard Bridge at Mirfield.

Bettisfield Boats

The Prees Branch

Loosestrife

There were several lift bridges on our route today, and we did them all ourselves as there were no other boats there at the same time.

Morris Lift Bridge

A highland cow

New Mills Lift Bridge

We stopped for the day on the visitor moorings before the Grindley Brook locks. There we found a professionally made sign with dreadful grammar. They evidently don’t believe in proof reading their signs.

Bad grammar on a new CRT sign

Andy and Sue went past later on Springwater.  Hugo brought in an expired mouse, which James evicted into the bushes.  Later we found half a mouse on the floor. We guess it was probably the same mouse.

0 locks, 13 miles, 5 lift bridges, 1 tunnel, 1 mouse

Tue 14th Aug  Grindley Brook to Thomason’s Bridge 22

James was woken up early by Hugo, who had caught another mouse. He then caught another in quick succession, and they were definitely different ones. While James was up he took some pictures of an amazing dawn sky. He then went back to bed.

Dawn at Grindley Brook

After the interrupted night we departed at the leisurely time of 1035, going to the top of the Grindley Brook Locks. We had to wait for a boat to come up before we could go down, and a boat was following us. At the bottom there were two more boats waiting to go up.

Down the staircase

Boats in a queue to go up

The remaining three locks were all in our favour, although there was a hire boat coming up in the final one who was only using one paddle.  James asked if there was a reason for this, and the man hadn’t realised that there were two paddles. James put the paddle up, and a lady in the bows said “What does that do?”

We nipped into the garage for some more milk as we passed.  After the locks we passed under the disused railway bridge and spotted BCF boat Rambling Rose, although we didn’t see anyone. We noticed some Japanese Knotweed on the off side just after the visitor moorings.

The railway bridge

Rambling Rose

Knotweed

We passed through a further four locks without incident, stopping a mile short of Wrenbury.

Willeymoor Lock

Marbury Lock

Moored near Thomason’s Bridge

10 locks, 5 miles, 2 mice

Wed 15th Aug  Thomason’s Bridge 22 to Nantwich

It was cloudy and windy today. We saw evidence of the demise of yet another mouse on the floor. As we made ready to depart, a fly posed for the camera. Looking it up later, it is apparently a Noon Fly.

Noon Fly

Wrenbury Frith Lift Bridge is usually in the lifted position, and open for boats. Today it was down a so needed to be lifted for us to pass through.

Wrenbury Frith Lift Bridge

There are six canal bridges listed with Wrenbury in the title. The most photographed and painted one is the electrically operated Wrenbury Lift Bridge, where we had impatient motorists on our journey up over six weeks ago.

Wrenbury Lift Bridge

We moored up briefly as James nipped to the shop from Wrenbury Church Lift Bridge, up a path in a field of cows.  Setting off once more, we negotiated the three Baddiley Locks and the two Swanley Locks, which were fairly busy. The boat behind us decided to stop before the Hurleston Locks, and the boat in front turned round at the Wrexham Bridge winding hole, so we were on our own as we came to the Hurleston flight of four locks.

Bridge 1, Llangollen Canal

We noticed that the facilities at the top were still out of order after six weeks. There were three CRT guys on duty on the flight, which was helpful. We met one boat coming up.

Hurleston Top Lock

Hurleston Junction

Our intended mooring was on the Shroppie by bridge 97, but this was full. We travelled on and moored opposite some permanent boat club moorings at Nantwich Marina.

As we went to bed at about 11pm, someone in a boat opposite started playing some music. We thought it would only last a short while, but it was still going at 2.30am, and we had not slept. We tried to contact them by shouting, flashing torches, and hooting the very loud boat horn, but there was no response. So we got out our tunnel light from under the bed, undid our mooring ropes, and set off in the dark under Nantwich Junction Bridge, mooring on rings just beyond, opposite the sanitary station.

Thankfully we couldn’t hear the music from there and we slept soundly for the rest of the night.

9 locks, 9 miles, 3 lift bridges, 1 mouse

Next: a visit to Hack Green nuclear bunker and Overwater Marina and back to Nantwich