Below Hunts Lock

This morning while we were having breakfast it started raining with a really heavy drizzle sort of rain, thankfully it had stopped before we set off. They call this Winsford Marina, its basically just a

basin with mooring rings, there is one tap, I didn’t try it but was told its out of order. As we were leaving just after 10 am this chap was surrounded with geese and swans.

Doesn’t this look inviting to cruise at the top of this section of the Weaver, Its not, its a flash, very shallow in places. I have creped some of the way up the edge here, taking depth soundings as I went dead slow.

We had spoken to the lock keeper yesterday and agreed that we would wait above Vale Royal for when he brought a cruiser  up from Hunts starting at 11-30, so that should have been around 12-15. Our plan to arrive a little after 11am and wait on the lock landing. Passing under Newbridge the level was about 2.1M, last time we visited the river it was about 1.8M .
Last time we visited the river the company name was on the cladding of this salt mine winding gear, so it must have been reclad since then.

We got to the lock moorings and waited and waited and waited, had lunch and rang the phone number displayed on the notice board, it went to voice mail, so left a message. Left it a while and tried again. same thing. We had  by now resigned ourselves with going back to Winsford for the night and booking a passage for Monday, then the phone rang. The lock keepers were at Hunts lock and would be with us as soon as they had worked the two boat waiting there to come up.When we finally locked down we had waited about 4¼ hours. The chaps had been called away to an emergency fix on the T&M. They locked up down before locking the other two boats up, so we had another wait above Hunts until they arrived to lock us down.
Once we left the lock we went down through the town , winded and filled the water tank, then back up stream to moor for the night just below Hunts Lock.
Today’s Journey

6½ miles with 2 locks in 7¼ hours