Bartimaeus

We had arranged some time ago that Heather would join us this week.  Having picked the time, she didn't get much say in the place, we were going to meet her in Nantwich.  We'd arrived the day before and done some shopping.

I have been fretting about the cold weather and its impact on our calorifier (hot water tank) which now lives at the back of the engine bay.  I'd realised that the pipes that bring the hot water from the tank to the cabin were not lagged.  There is a small hardware shop in Nantwich which had a few lengths of pipe insulation - perfect.  I think I will still need to drain the water if there is any chance of freezing weather when we are not aboard.  I will have to work out how to do that soon.

By the time Heather was aboard there wasn't much left of the day.  We decided to use the last of the daylight for a walk along the towpath rather than set off along a canal notorious for the paucity of moorings.

In the morning we cast off, having decided on an out-and-back route towards Audlem.  Before long, we were on a very quiet and rural stretch of canal.  The hedge was alive with fieldfares, and perhaps redwings.  We got as far as the Hack Green locks without seeing any other boats moving, so we decided to sit on the end of the lock bollards to have our lunch before working through.

Before we'd gone inside, a boat coming the other way appeared at the lock.  By the time we'd eaten, another two boats were coming towards us.  Fortunately we didn't seem to be in anybody's way.  We hadn't gone far from the locks when we heard a strange noise, which eventually resolved into the cries of a large number of geese.  They swooped around, eventually flying directly over us.

We got excellent sightings of a kestrel hovering, and a red kite being mobbed by other birds.  We stopped a little earlier than I had originally intended when we found mooring rings with open views.  The hedge alongside was also popular with wrens, a meadow pipit and long-tailed tits.

We walked a little further along the canal and found huge numbers of geese grazing in the fields on both sides - perhaps the ones that had flown over earlier.  Before we got back to the boat the sun was setting.

This morning we set off again aiming for Audlem for lunch time. The moorings are after the first two locks, so we were ready for our lunch when we reached the cafe.  We picked up some supplies in the small supermarket on the way back (no other supermarkets are available) and filled the water tank before starting up the locks.

There are a total of fifteen locks, with nowhere to moor between the closely spaced ten in the middle.  With a short day, we knew we had to make good progress, but we all know what we are doing so it went very well.  As Clare and Heather walked ahead to one of the locks a kingfisher flew past me and them.  I shouted, but they didn't hear, or see the bird, and we didn't spot it again.

I drove until I got cold, and then swapped with Heather so that I could warm up. Before the last two locks, a large flock of starlings flew over us, not quite a murmuration, but impressive nevertheless.

We didn't meet any other boats on the flight and reached the top quarter of an hour before sunset.  At the top, we again found the canal-side stall selling various treats.  Neither ice cream nor pasties seemed as appealing as they had on other occasions.  While we were rising in the lock, the proprietor came out to tidy up for the evening.  Clare spoke to her and found that scones, tiffin and flapjacks were also available - two of each were purchased!

The mooring here is overshadowed with trees, but I knew the mooring a mile or so further on is much more open.  Despite the proximity to sunset, we decide to press on - deliberately going a lot faster than usual.  Because we would be navigating after sunset I deployed our clip-on navigation lights.  This time I managed to get them the right way round first time.

Surprisingly we met another boat on this section - inevitably reaching them just where a tree made it difficult to pass.  I joked with them that it was a funny time for people to be out on a boat.  They quipped that all the locks behind them were now ready for us if we were still keen - we said it was the same behind us.

It was darker than it appears in the pictures by the time we reached the moorings, but we could still see what we were doing.

Heather was still driving and had got a bit cold, but we soon got the cabin toasty enough for her to take off her hat and scarf.  Clare and Heather each made a delicious curry so we were soon all thoroughly warm.