Last nights mooring was the middle of nowhere, opposite the derelict Sutton locks which is now a graveyard for old boats.
This morning we moved off about 1000 hrs as usual, looking back they must have been firing the Rocksavage power station up with all the steam billowing about, it was a dead certainty that the wind generators in the Mersey weren't doing anything.
A little further upstream there are some old farm building buildings, at first glance it looks as if someone is making them into houses but then you see the window and door openings all look original, so I wonder what its original use was.
We did meet a boat before we got to Dutton lock, it was a couple out rowing, they had gone past upstream just before we set off. The photo was taken at the moment they realised they were coming across the river at an angle directly towards us. 
Yesterday I posted a photo of one of the 200 yard marker posts before Pickerings Foot Bridge, The one on the upstream is still in very good order.
Normally as we pass under the railway viaduct I would ring the lock keeper so he had the lock prepared but today we intended to stop below the lock for water, so it would be some time before we needed the lock. As we passed under the viaduct a goods train was just crossing, most of these seem to have two engines hauling them these days. It would have been quite unusual in steam days but it did happen but then they would have needed 2 crews to man them.
We pulled over to the water tap just as the lock keeper dropped the lock, at first I thought he had done it as he had seen us coming, but it turned out there was a boat coming down. I had a chat with the keeper and hold him our plans taking water, it turned out the boat coming down the lock wanted water as well. This tap is trying very hard to take the record for being the slowest on the Weaver, so we cast off before the tank was full, giving the Keeper a hoot as we did so for him to open the gates. He said we would be too late for locking up at Saltisford as the lock keeper would be at lunch so we arranged that we would stop on the lock moorings below saltisford lock for our own lunch and the lock keeper would open up when he was ready. We had just started eating lunch when "Over the Rainbow" a charity trip boat came up the river and to our surprise the lock gates swung open. Dinner was put down, engine started, ropes untied and we followed them in, to breast on the outside of them while the lock filled. The steerer told me that he would have to leave the lock first because he had a lift booking, no problem I said. The lock filled, we untied from him and pushed away, the gates opened and he was still tied up, so I went, needless to say he never caught us up. The party on board were from a local WI group.
We passed the lift just as it started going up with two boats in the caisson, I could see the one coming down was empty which meant the CRT Anderton Lift trip boat was probably coming towards me from Northwich and I wasn't wrong, we had gone just a short way passed the lift and round the bend there she was. 
The birdy photograph of the day, mum and two youngsters swimming along the river.
Since we have been here I have just heard that the lift is broken again, well it did run for a few days without problems.
Today's Journey 
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