Harnser's Travels: Friday 20 March 2015 Hurleston

Friday, 20 March 2015

Friday 20 March 2015 Hurleston

Woke to a lovely sunny for the eclipse, only 1 small cloud in the sky and that passed the sun about 9-30 so we got a chance to see what it looked like as we didn’t have viewer. Once the excitement was over we walked into Audlem to visit the butchers Oxtail & Trotters to buy a pork joint and sausages.

back to the boat we noticed that in Audlem they are so proud of their dog poo's they have some go round and paint them orange.

Audlem Lock 12 is another lock where a wooden pole has been fitted to help guide boats into the lock. If you look at the angle of the brickwork on the left you can see why its needed.

We stopped outside the Shroppie Fly to fill with water where Judith & John introduced them selves to me as blog readers. While the water tank filled we also filled the next lock and made it ready for our departure, as we locked down we saw a boat locking up in the next lock which they left open for us, however they moored before reaching our lock.

There is a good lock free run to Coole Pilate and then the Hack Green locks adjacent to the not so Secret Bunker

I do wonder how much longer the visitor moorings will be open on the Nantwich embankment now there are new houses nearby, some time ago the adjacent moorings were closed because they overlook the houses. At the end of the embankment is the famous Nantwich Aqueduct which is due for a make over later this year.

Spring is really on the way and this poor duck was suffering the attention of 3 drakes, earlier it had been 5, I was surprised that the poor thing hadn’t been drowned.

In Nantwich we were greeted by another couple who read this blog, Christine & Gerald on their new boat.

We pushed on to Hurleston Junction where we turned sharp left to the Hurleston lock flight and the Llangollen Canal.

We had a wait at the bottom of the flight while a boat came down the last lock, this had the advantage of putting all four in our favour. This flight is quite renowned for being narrow and there are signs at the bottom telling you to lift your fenders before entering the lock. No sooner where we in the flight and it started to drizzle, this was very heavy drizzle that soaks things thoroughly. Even though the locks were in our favour with the short pounds between them Diana still had to draw paddles to get the bottom gates open.

Looking back from the top of the flight you could see how the weather had deteriorated from this mornings bright sunshine.

The Llangollen canal brings water down from the River Dee at Horseshoe Falls in Llangollen down to Hurleston reservoir which takes its feed just above the locks, leaving very little to flow down the lock by washers, this results in the pounds between the locks running a bit low and I bounced across one. We carried on for about another half mile to moor on the first SUCS moorings that we came to.