Wide Locks

The weather forecast for today and tomorrow is better than the rest of the week which resulted in the obvious decision to cruise on Monday and Tuesday.  We’re heading north and back onto a wide canal, which also means wide locks!

Our first stop was at Calveley to make use of the CRT facilities.  Whilst in Llangollen there had been an instance of miscommunication between us.  On the same day we had each separately purchased two CRT cards.  Four cards is too much money to have lying around and we decided to use one of them to fund the emptying of the black water tank using the CRT self-service equipment. 

There must be something different about our diet as the perfume aroma on the breeze had heads popping out from surrounding moored boats.  The water pressure here was poor and the washing machine had completed a full cycle before the tank had filled. Last time we came this way there was a queue waiting to access the water point.  Today we had it to ourselves.  One of the advantages of cruising in winter.

We have yet to meet Adam & Adrian of nb Briar Rose.  However today we saw the real Briar Rose.

Just beyond the CRT wharf are some 48 hour moorings that have been designated winter moorings.  As you can see in this next photo; apart from one boat, they are empty!

And the sole boat on the winter moorings is

One of the CRT boats.

We cruised on to Bunbury Staircase Locks where an expert lock keeper worked Waiouru down.  At this point we had only seen one other moving boat.

The Anglo-Welsh base is at the bottom and we noticed one rather new looking hire boat on the end of the row.

It’s nb Merlin, safely delivered by Ian & Irene yesterday. 

Three locks on Jan happened to notice this collection of tudor style buildings beyone the railway line to the south of the canal. 

We didn’t see them last time we cruised this part of the canal, probably because they were obscurred by the vegetation.  You see so much more of the countryside in the winter!

Beeston Castle is sufficiently high to never be obscurred.

Last time we moored above Wharton’s Lock  I walked to the castle.  It’s no longer on the bucket list so we kept going.  By now it was starting to look like a late lunch and we decided to stop just beyond The Shady Oak pub.   It was here we saw a moored nb Amy-Jo.

We sounded the horn but there was no sign of Steve & Chris.  Either they were in the pub or otherwise occuppied in the bedroom.

Weather permitting we’ll reach The Cheshire Cat tomorrow.