Day : Monday
Date : 23 September
Start : 1515
Finish : 1715 Middlewich
We actually came to the boat on Saturday by a somewhat unusual rout having lunch at The Cape of Good Hope and then The Samuel Barlow This was to pay for our new mooring and find out where we would be and where we could leave the car until we arrived with the boat, it didn't quite work out as the man we needed to see was at Huddlesford weekend so we still don't know where we will be moored but we did get the access code to take the car. When we did arrive at the boat we just went down to the flashes for the night.
Sunday morning we were woken by the rain and thunder, at 9 am we headed back to the marina as we were off to The Cuttlebridge Inn at Curdworth to have lunch with my grand daughters before the older one goes to Australia for 3 months. After lunch it was back to the boat and we stayed in the marina for the night.
This morning I got the deposit back on the key for the marina entrance and said goodbye to Dave, the man on the spot. It was then off to Northwich by car, pick up a small van from Enterprise (vans are cheaper than cars) and follow Diana down to Alvecote, park the car and bring the van back to Northwich. The do a free door to door service and a young lady drove us back to the boat. We set off for the last time at about 3-15pm out of the marina and turned left towards Middlewich. The floating Pennywort is increasing in size just before the flash and I expect boats will be cutting a path before the winter arrived.
We were to meet 5 hire boats this afternoon plus one moored on the Big Lock lock moorings. It wasn't long before it started raining and a Croxton Flash I spotted the back end of a butty ahead, it was a pair of hotel boats, so no chance we were going to get Big Lock empty and ready for us. We followed him slowly along, it didn't help a hire boat approaching on the aqueduct just as he came round the bend to line up for it, thankfully a second one held back for him. I hovered below the lock while they worked up, there was a hire boat moored on the lock moorings, well it was raining. It looks as if the bottom gates are leaking more and more making it slow to fill but fast to empty. Just as I was about to enter the lock a boat came up behind us, they were moored ahead of us in the marina, so I went in and shuffled over to make room for them. We moored just above the top lock and went to the Big Lock pub for dinner.
Today's Journey4¾ Miles 1 Lock in 2 hours
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