'For Sale'

Overlooking Beeston Iron Lock- Isn't it lovely?

Beeston Castle

2 Locks, 8½ Miles. Now moored at Christleton

As it was another beautiful day we went for a walk into the village to see if there was a track up onto the mound were we spotted the deer yesterday. Unfortunately this proved to be a lost cause even though we did get closer to the deer. Apparently they are not truly wild as they are owned by somebody. In NZ farmed deer are used for many things and one of them is the deer velvet from the stag's. The antlers or velvet is removed before the antlers calcify and is sold to the Chinese for herbal remedies.

The unusual sides to Beeston Iron lock. Designed by Telford due to the unstable ground conditions.

After our morning constitutional walk we set off with the intention of stopping at Wharton's lock so that we could walk a track up to Beeston castle. Well we moored up at the lock and set off across the fields. The track was a bit wet and boggy in places but the closer we got to the castle the higher the hill, on which the castle was built, seemed to be getting. After about 1/2 an hours walk we decided that the track was too wet and muddy so we aborted the attempt. Shame really because the view from the top must be awesome on a sunny day like today.

Other than the trains on the Crewe to Chester line there was only a rural outlook for most of our journey. One interesting train was an overnight sleeper carriage hauled between 2 Wrexham and Shropshire loco's.

Moored behind us is another part owned Kiwi narrowboat called Kiwi Dragon. Maggie is the kiwi and her husband Kenny the Welshman.

1485 locks, 3133½ miles, 51 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 39 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Hawks and Stags

4 Locks, 10 Miles. Now moored above Beeston Iron lock.

Yesterday was a good day to chill out as it was very windy with the occasional shower. We headed off into town to top up the larder before heading off to Chester.

This morning was a complete opposite with a clear blue sky and the sun blazing down making it a brilliant cruising day. We actually travelled further than planned but in weather conditions like today it was a pleasure. We called into the BW facilities at Calveley but were only able to take on water as the pump out hose was to short to reach over the roof of the boat. Instead we carried on up to Anglo Welsh at Bunbury and got a pump out there once they had finished their lunch.

It was at the Bunbury staircase locks that we came up against an Anglo Welsh boat that had slipped its moorings and was blocking the canal. As AW staff were at lunch I had to secure the boat myself, no problem. The next problem was that there were only 2 boats to go down the flight and 3 waiting to come up which meant not much room at the bottom of the flight with AW boats breasted up all the way to the next bridge. With a bit of manoeuvring we got one boat out of the lock and bought the first boat in so that the other boats could start to move forward. We then moved forward to let the next boat into the lock . I sat under the bridge waiting for the third boat to move forward onto the lock mooring clearing the way for me to move up to the pump out facility. How ever the skipper of this boat was reluctant to move even though he was aware of our intentions so I just moved forward and breasted up against the AW boats that were already breasted up.

This put us 3 abreast forcing him to go through the overhanging trees which knocked off his chimney and the cooly hat got hung up on a branch. Madam first mate was not very impressed over loosing the chimney but the skipper managed to save the chimney and we recovered his cooly hat later which they came back for after clearing the locks.

Former Lengthsmen storage shed beside Beeston Stone Lock

After clearing Beeston Stone lock we found a suitable mooring with a flock of sheep as neighbours in the field opposite. We hadn't been here long when a Land Rover pulled into the field opposite and 3 young men proceeded to unload a pair of Goshawks and 2 white ferrets. They were clearing the farmers property of rabbits by putting the ferrets down the burrows and then any unfortunate rabbit to emerge above ground was then run down by a hawk.

Unfortunately there were not many rabbits to be had due to most of the burrows being flooded out with recent rain, but they did manage to get 1 rabbit and a pheasant so the birds will dine well for the next few days.

While watching the Falconers I kept hearing a deer stag roaring but I couldn't see where they were. I suspected they might be in some trees between Beeston village and the mound of Beeston Castle. A short while later while looking up at the horizon to the North of the Castle which is fenced 2 red deer stags and 2 hind's appeared. One stag had a good 7 or 8 point set of antlers but was too far away to photograph. We might have to go for a walk tomorrow and investigate this further because the fencing around the field is not the usual type of fencing used by deer farmers in NZ. So are they wild or domesticated?

1483 locks, 3125 miles, 51 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 39 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Elvis and the Beatles in Nantwich

A Glorious Day

0 Locks, 5 Miles. Now moored at Nantwich aqueduct moorings.

Well last night's sunset was most certainly an indicator of good weather to follow. There had been an overnight frost and mist rising off the water as we ventured forth this morning. It was cold but gloriously sunny as we headed back to Nantwich.

At Hurleston junction we came across our first what can only be described as canal hogs. As we approached the junction he had just untied and was reversing back towards the junction, I slowed but kept moving. He then reversed right back into the bridge hole blocking my way and at the same time put his hand up in a stop sign fashion. At this point I had no option but to stop. He then spent the next 10 minutes trying to turn his boat so that he could get onto the Llangollen canal. If the nincompoop had waited until I had passed before attempting his manoeuvring he could have spent all day trying to turn without affecting anybody else.

The second canal hog was at the Nantwich junction where the Basin arm veers off at a 45 deg angle to the canal. To get out of the basin it is best to head north and if you wish to travel south merely go a mile to the nearest winding hole, turn and return. Well this gentleman decided he could turn his 65/70 footer and head south straight out of the arm. He appeared to be completely unaware that there were other boats on the move and managed to wedge himself bank to bank across the canal. It took some pole work by one of his crew to extricate himself and eventually get round. It wasn't until he had nearly completed his manoeuvring that he used his bow thruster which if he had used sooner may not have got himself wedged in the first place. Another nincompoop and he never even acknowledged our presence or the fact that he had inconvenienced anybody.

Ah well,  it's a beautiful day and the sun is shining and we are safely moored for the next 48 hours.

1479 locks, 3115 miles, 51 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 39 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Sunset on the Shroppie

Does this mean a great day tomorrow?

Was it something I said?

2 Locks, 5 Miles. Now moored at Cholmondeston on the SU Canal Middlewich Branch.

It would appear that the railways and public transport are still and I think will always be a hot topic of conversation and controversy. Thank you to everybody that sent us emails on the subject.

Now the weather forecast for today was dreadful but we had to move so that if tomorrows weather forecast eventuates we can sit it out until Monday. Except for the wind the rain didn't come to much until after we had moored up. However they are predicting over 60mm of rain overnight so we are quite pleased not to be on a river.

Despite the weather and the time of the year the hire boat companies seemed to be doing a brisk trade today as we passed quite a few of their boats mostly at the locks,where else! We called into Venetian Marina to top up the diesel tank because with the drop in overnight temperatures the Mikuni central unit has been working quite hard over the last few days.

1479 locks, 3110 miles, 51 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 39 lift bridges since Nov 2006