Red Bull Thursday 3 October 2019

Day : Thursday
Date : 3 October 2019
Start : 1030
Finish : 1615 Red Bull

IMPORTANT NOTICE All comments made to this blog are checked before being accepted. Comments made anonymously are accepted but if you leave even just your first name I could say thanks.

Even colder last night, down to 1°C so a good job the stove was going, that and the winter quilt on the bed.

This morning a boat left the mooring behind us at 9 am so we waited until 10.30 am. before departing. It was a chilly morning in single figures but the sun did come out about lunch time. There wasn't any rain until 5 minutes after we moored up.

One of the tasks today was to fill with water, the Marple tap was so slow we only took a small amount on the other day. The one on the offside by bridge 68 is much better. Its location can be seen here on Waterway Routes map marked with a blue W.

As you come into Congleton there are a collection of bridges, road and rail. They look more dramatic from the north but I was too slow with the camera, so here is the view from the south. The other way would show two more bridges.

When we cam up through Congleton last week I spotted a row of coat hooks on the back edge of the tow path, today I stopped to photograph them but still have no idea why they are there. on the others side of the hangers is a sluice to drain the canal, I have never stopped to look at one before, this one is dated 1919, long after the canal was built.
As I had hopped off the boat to take these photos I had to walk to the next bridge for Diana to pick me up, it was there I saw something else I have never seen before , interlocking, extruded piling, on the very edge there is a grove to take the next length and as you can see there are wooden posts driven down through the extrusions.

By now supplies were getting a bit low so a trip to Kidsgrove Tesco was called for. The easiest point of access for boaters is just below lock 41 on the T&M canal so we carried on down to Hardings wood junction and then dropped backwards through lock 41 to moor. From here its up by the bridge, down the road to the traffic lights, turn right, under the railway and there's Tesco on your left hand side. Once back at the boat with the shopping we went a bit further backwards to moor above lock 42 to give us a shorter walk to The Red Bull tonight for dinner.

Today's Journey10½ Miles 2 Locks in 4½ hours

Note:
All of the above is my personal opinion and does not represent those of any official body or notices.