Harnser's Travels: T&M Flash Thursday 22 September 2016

Thursday, 22 September 2016

T&M Flash Thursday 22 September 2016

Plan B.

We set off in good time at 9 30 but I could see two boats ahead of us, we would stay like this all the way to Middlewich. This of course meant we would have to turn both locks. There use to be an old stable block on the side of the canal that was falling into disrepair, it has now been tastefully (in my opinion) converted into a dwelling. It would never have been needed or used as a stable again.

I don’t know how much of the front of the adjoining cottage is as it would have been but it looked quite inviting in the sun shine. Are the shutters twee or would they have been on there 100 years ago? The farmers are well on and the winter wheat is doing well in this warm autumn weather, its sometimes hard to realise we are three quarters of the way through September. For those of you that are thinking of buying a plastic owl to keep the pigeons off your boat, don’t bother, they don’t work. This tree stump has been carved so one bough has been carved into an owl and the taller one a large bird of prey, sitting on the top of it all is a Wood Pigeon without a care in the world.

This is the first time I have been this way since Maureen’s interpretation board was erected at Wardle Lock. I liked Maureen and she did us, complete strangers some kindnesses over the years. I hope that some day they will rename the lock to what many of us knew it as “Maureen’s lock” they have done it at other locks.

Down at the junction we turned left, north along the Trent and Mersey canal, just as I was locking down a boat went passed the junction, so that is another one we are behind, Not only where we behind it at the three Middlewich lock but when we got to Big Lock the only one to take two boats around here, there was a boat ahead of him, so we had to wait yet again, still the sun was shining. In Middlewich I spotted The pride of Middlewich, I am not sure if its a seat or a kiddies play thing? but I think it is actually a very low seat. There was no one moored at Bramble Cuttings, we have always wanted to stop there but its always been full, today there is no one there but we are on a mission, plan B, remember.

It looks as if CRT have erected some new signs on the flashes, maybe boats have been getting stuck on the submerged bank a few inches below the water surface.

We pushed on northwards, seeing more and more what I believe is Floating Pennywort a highly invasive floating plant, The further north on the T&M we got the more there was.

Finally we were at Wincham Wharf where we paid for 12 months mooring for Harnser starting tomorrow, plan B, we also contacted Enterprise Car Hire to deliver a car to us in the morning so that we can go to King’s Bromley marina and collect our car, I hope it starts after sitting there for 8 weeks. Money spent we went a little further north and winded, here the winding hole had a very good growth of Pennywort in it.

We passed our new marina and sitting on the parapet of the bridge was this Harnser, I hope its a good omen for the future. We went just a little further south and winded in the first flash we came to and moored opposite that for the night, tomorrow it ¼ hour back north again to the marina to find out berth, hopefully the hire car will arrive at 10 am and by tea time we will have our car back here as well as the boat.