Hassall Green Monday 19 November 2018

It was a much calmer night last night so I spent 10 minutes outside before going to bed looking for shooting stars but due to being in a cutting with trees my view of the sky was very restricted.
This morning we rose to another lovely sunny morning, but it didn’t last, by the time we had done 2 locks and stopped at the services it started drizzling and it did that on an off all day. Also the temperature dropped quite a bit, but picked up again after lunch.

Most of the locks in the Cheshire Flight are twined pairs, side by side to carry the high traffic in its working days, just as well as two in Kidsgrove, 42 and 45 have been closed waiting repairs for some weeks now.

We stopped at the Red Bull services to fill with water and I noted this notice in the Elsan disposal building, it make you think what some people think can just be flushed away.

The moorings just beyond the services are 48hr. the means you can moor there free of charge for 48hrs. At most of these mooring you can stay for 2 weeks in the winter months when the canals are quiet, we haven't seen a boat on the move today. But some still remain 48hrs. Recently CRT have been changing a lot to 48hr all year for some reason. I can't really see the point of it.

Once the water tank was full we were on our way again, we had mixed fortunes with the locks, some for and some against, probably 50/50. As we passed Church Lawton All Saints church we could see the poppy cascade down the tower from remembrance day, we hadn't noticed it while travelling in the opposite direction.

The Pierpoints locks are looking quite splendid following all the TMCS volunteers have carried out on them over the past coupe of months.

A short way to the south of the locks at Roddymoor Mill House there is major construction going on with a large tower crane, we expected it to be some large industrial development but it's actually a new 21 hector country estate. It wasn't far past here at the visitor moorings above Hassall Green locks that we moored for the night.

Today's Journey 15 locks, 4½ miles in 3¾ hours.