Bartimaeus

We investigated Middlewich on Bryn's last full day with us.  Our main mission was to get a little more milk in the fridge in case it was harder for us to find in the coming days.  I also wanted to see if the nearby supermarket had suitable coffee.  It didn't, but another supermarket was available - it didn't either.

We walked back by a different route, taking us along a section of canal we won't be travelling this time - we turned at the junction.  I noticed a boat that we had hired for a holiday in 2019, we'd met it here before.

We'd hired the boat from a different location, and from a different hire company. It has been repainted in the colours of its new fleet since we last saw it.  Seeing our interest, a man who had been working on another boat in the fleet engaged us in conversation.  We told him that we'd hired the boat previously but now had our own.  It turned out the boat had just been sold, its new owner was due to take it away imminently.

Back aboard we had some lunch before setting off.  There was only one lock to do today and only just over 2 miles.  We stopped at a convenient spot to walk to the railway station at Winsford.  It was a pretty spot with open views.  Before it got dark I suggested a walk along the towpath.  I went to lock the bow doors but glanced outside as I did. A kingfisher was resting on our mooring rope.

Clare and Bryn rushed through in response to my call.  Clare saw it perched, but it decided to fly before Bryn got a view.  It sat for a while on a bush on the other side of the canal so he did at least get to see it.

This morning we all walked to the station to see Bryn on to his train, and then Clare and I came back to the boat and set off.  Today's priority was getting more fuel.  Before we got back on board this year, Ortomarine filled it with HVO (hydro-treated vegetable oil), a greener alternative to diesel.

We relied on solar and didn't use any fuel at all until September, when we started needing a little to top up the battery. During October we have been using the heat pump to keep us warm and so using more fuel to generate the required electricity. The fuel tank was starting to run low.

There is only one place on the canal network that we know of where HVO can be purchased.  With the tank nearly empty, it was too good an opportunity to miss, so we called in at Aqueduct Marina to fill up.  This year we will do all our boating without buying any diesel.

Until early September, we had regularly got the batteries charged to 100% by the sun, but they haven't been properly charged since then.  Lead acid batteries don't like being left under-charged, but they are also slow to take the final charge they need.  It can waste a lot of fuel running trying to get them fully topped up.

We occasionally stay overnight at a marina or elsewhere with electric hook-up so that we can get the batteries fully charged.  The marina had said they had no space when we had phoned in advance, but when Clare asked again in person they directed us to a berth.

So tonight we are charging the batteries and heating the cabin without using any of the fuel from our newly filled tank.