Turn and Turn Again

Audlem - great reflections of the cottage below the bottom lock

Hello. Carl here.

Have you ever tried writing a letter backwards? What I mean is, have you started with your name, then written Yours Faithfully, and continued in this unconventional fashion until you finish with Dear Sir/Madam? It’s really difficult, I can tell you, and to be frank I wouldn’t recommend it. The reason for this slightly odd question is that I’ve been through these jottings in reverse mode looking for rants and, surprisingly, have found none. (Linda here, on censor duty – this is a rant free zone)  

Wrenbury Church

 Last Sunday we were in Wrenbury sampling the gastronomical and alcoholic (in moderation of course) delights of The Cotton Arms pub. We enjoyed it so much on Saturday evening that we decided to do it all over again on Sunday. A table for six was booked for 1pm. This was because I like my food and wanted five dinners, Linda opting to have just the one. No, I’m joking, dear reader. We were joined by Claire and family and a nice time was had by all. The food and service was excellent and the company even better. (Linda again – why do pubs serve the adults first then bring out the child's meal in a smoking hot dish. Oops! I think that was a rant )

Bywater Hotel Boat steered by Rosie (yes really) 

We said goodbye to Wrenbury the next day and passed through the Church Lift Bridge without incident and soon came to the three Baddiley locks. A boat was coming up and I was preparing to enter the lock when the gates closed – that's not supposed to happen! Linda trotted back to let me know there was a hotel boat with a motor boat and butty coming up, not a common sight on this canal. Click this link if you fancy it. Bywater Hotel Boats   We were happy to wait for them to bring up the butty so they could hitch both boats together and continue on their way. We weren't in a hurry but the six boats queuing behind them were a little fed up!. We chugged on as the skies darkened and the wind got up and moored through bridge 5. Although we had tied up in a comparatively open spot the wind saw fit to direct lots of tree debris onto our roof overnight. By morning our boat looked like the Black Forest. All that was missing was a gateau!

Sunny for our last day on the Llangollen

The next day dawned sunny and warm, although the breeze was a tad chilly. We lost no time in casting off and proceeded in a north easterly direction until we came to the four locks at Hurlestone. Linda worked her magic and we were soon through the locks and turning right to rejoin the Shroppie canal. It was pleasant to chug through the summer sunshine for the next two miles until we were back at Nantwich. As Jess ( grandaughter) was joining us for a couple of days, we tied up just before the aqueduct. Whenever I hear the word aqueduct I can’t help thinking to myself “What have the Romans ever done for us?”. Loved that film... 

Clear water sparkling in the sunshine

I needed some boat stuff (oil filter, rope, paint, spare throttle cable etc) so we wandered up to the Nantwich Chandlery. They were so helpful. We’ll definitely be going there again. (Linda – not if I can help it! Even with a discount for cash, I needed smelling salts to pay the bill!)

Wrapped up for an evening cruise - Welcome aboard Jess.

The only thing missing from this week’s drivel is an automobile. And a plane. That’s two things, isn’t it? Never mind, I’ve substituted narrowboat for plane. Yes, you’ve guessed. We caught a train on Wednesday! We got tickets and everything. We travelled to Shrewsbury to meet Jess, had a bit of lunch and a wander about, then caught the train back. More relaxing, albeit a tad slower, was the evening cruise we had from Nantwich to the other side of Hack Green locks. Now, in order to get Jess back to Nantwich so she could catch her train we needed to turn the boat. Not easy if the said vessel is fifty seven feet long and the canal is maybe thirty or forty feet or so wide. Happily, there are turning places here and there, or winding holes as they are called. (Yes Carl – they know what a winding hole is by now!!) There was one of these at the bottom of Audlem locks and it was here that we set out for on Thursday. It was a drizzly morning so we moored before the locks and walked up to Audlem intending to visit the famous 'Shroppie Fly'. It is named after the “fly” boats that used to carry cargo 24 hours a day, not a local fly monster. The reviews seemed mostly good, as long as you didn’t sit on the wall, so we decided to go there for some dinner (breakfast, dinner, tea, that sort of dinner; I was dragged up, you see). And in we went. Again, we had a really good experience. The service was good, as was the food. The bar was a curious design, and resembled the bow of a narrowboat. 

Bar Bows at the Shroppie Fly

Time was marching on and we had to get back to Nantwich. We cast off and slowly headed to the winding hole located near the bottom of the first lock of the flight. There were three boats waiting for the lock and I had to pass these in order to turn back the way we’d come. Standing nearly twenty yards away on the stern I was blissfully unaware of what was going on at the front of the boat and couldn’t see the facial expression of the lady on the last boat in the queue. She began to go fifty shades of purple and started yelling about the queue and that I’d have to wait. By this time I was ready to begin turning and pointed the bows into the winding hole. I caught a glimpse of her as the stern slowly went by and I gave her a friendly wave. This wasn’t reciprocated; she just glared at me and turned away. How rude, I thought. It was only later that Linda and Jess told me what had been going on. Oh well. 

Happy Days with Jess

Having turned the boat through one hundred and eighty degrees we left the lady of the great wrath and cruised back to Nantwich, where we found a handy mooring for the night. We said our goodbyes to Jess at the station the next morning. The weather had changed and it rained most of the afternoon. It was that fine rain, the sort that wets you through. The main, heavy rain didn’t start until later that evening. Not having to be anywhere in particular we lit the fire and stayed at our mooring.  

Sunset at Hack Green

After having a big sleep we woke up to another Saturday. The weather had cleared and it was a nice day. We were pointed the wrong way again, so needed to travel to the next winding hole and tun again. This we did, meeting two grumpy fishermen before we turned and then meeting them again after we’d turned. Grumpy fishermen aside, we had a very enjoyable little cruise to the other side of Hack Green locks and the Secret Nuclear Bunker mooring. It was a beautiful summer day. Across the canal was a mass of brilliant green rushes. Behind them stood a grove of trees. Above was an English sky of purest blue, speckled with fleecy white clouds. And here we moored.

And there we’ll have to leave it until next time.

Love from

The Floating Chandlers

ps Painting has commenced! I expect it will rain every day now that I have decided to make good the dings and scratches inflicted by boaters playing dodgems with us on the Llangollen. Let me check the forecast...