Wheelock Wednesday 15 March 2017

A change of plan today, the thought our friends were visiting today but when we rang them last night it seems they are coming Thursday. So options for today changed.
The first job was to put a coat of light and dark blue on the rust repairs I carried out the other day, its not very pretty but its not going rusty now. Really the whole white coach line and a bit of blue on each side of it needs taking back to bear steel and painting properly, but that's a weeks work to do a half decent job flatting back between coats, at least its the right colour now.
As we had winded last night to get the right hand side of the boat against the towpath we decided we would go back through Middlewich and up to Wheelock for the night. so quarter past ten and we were off. Under bridge 172 which is home to several pigeons in the alcoves on the off side.

Middlewich bottom lock had the bottom gates wide open and the next two just had a few feet of water in them. Passed the Wardle Arm, at Middlewich Junction, you can see how short this canal is, as it ends at Wardle lock. Then up Kings Lock and away.

The speed the houses are going up along this section of canal is amazing and they are a bit out of town at Booth Lane Lock. It was here that we met our first boat of the day, so the other 3 locks were all with us. We later met two more boat, so that's more than yesterday
Its nice to see the May out in bloom, the old saying "Don't cast a clout until May is Out"

Studs Lane bridge is having a lot of work done on it and is well scaffolded up on one side, not a very good photograph as it was into the sun.

When we arrived at Wheelock we dumped the rubbish and then filled with water, once that was done we had to go up through the next lock to wind, luckily for us the last boat down the flight had left the gates open behind him, so up through Wheelock Bottom Lock, wind and come down again to moor just on the end of the 48 hour moorings.
Today's Journey

7 miles 10 locks in 4 hours