Grey Day

After punching out ZZZZs and examining the inside of my eyelids for the previous 8.5 hours I glanced out the bedroom porthole and thought there was a heavy mist.  After rubbing my eyes and taking a second look I realised it was the very grey sky.  I guess you can’t expect every day to be bright and sunny.  Jan had already been up for a couple of hours and was sitting in her captain’s chair wrapped in a dressing gown.  Obviously the diesel stove needed lighting.  Usually it can be ignited with a fingernail sized piece of firelighter.  This time it went out twice before finally deciding to do it’s job.  Perhaps it’s the three year old diesel or more likely a cleaning is overdue.
The boat moored behind us departed at 7.30am .  On the tiller arm a large pale blue flag with a white flower was flying.  I said to Jan “They a flying the flag of Devon!”  Jan said “No dear, that’s the flag of Yorkshire!”  Of course I knew that….. I was just testing her!  We went down the last lock before Audlem Village.  It has a fierce bywash below the lower lock gates.  It’s more of a problem going up than down and today I just applied 1500rpm to rocket through the stream. 
We moored outside the Shroppie Fly so I could top up the water tank and remove the leaves from the cabin roof.  Jan went off to the nearby Audlem Mill where she browsed and browsed before buying a canal scene tapestry.

Audlem Mill
The mill is rather new having been built in 1915.  It replaced the old Audlem Mill which closed in 1916.  The mill was designed and built to supply animal feed.  It was larger and more efficient than other local mills and also had the advantage of being close to the canal.  The mill was powered by an oil fired engine located a single storey building  behind the main mill.  This building is now used by CRT.  The mill ceased working in the 1960’s and after being sold the upper floor was converted into a dwelling and the lower two floors into a shop and art gallery.
Once the purse had been emptied and the tank filled we headed further north. 
 Looking back to Audlem with the crane outside the Shroppie Fly to the left of the canal
It didn’t take long to complete the final three locks in the Audlem flight and shortly thereafter we were passing Overwater Marina on the left. Slightly more surprising was the sight of that boat with the Yorkshire flag moored opposite. A very short cruise for them today!
The Shroppie is mostly long straights and it wasn’t long before we reached that place so secret it has a noticeboard.

The very secret bunker at Hack Green.  The sky might have been grey but something was smiling on us because we met a boat coming up at each of the two Hack Green Locks.  There is a new subdivision on the southern approach to Nantwich.  These building are opposite the winding hole before Marsh Lane Bridge.

Our luck held and we managed to get the first vacant spot on the 48 hour mooring immediately after the aqueduct.  We’d only just gone inside when we were bounced around by an Anglo-Woosh hire boat making smoke to mask its manoeuvres.
 cough cough
Car 2 is confirmed as a Daimler and I need to correct my information on Car 1.  I incorrectly reported it as an Austin whereas reader Bill had identified it as a 1949 Morris 8.