A few very pleasant and busy days since we left Great Haywood. Sheila and Stan on nb Friendship,
friends we met last year on our trip into Birmingham finally caught us up at Stone. We have been cruising and having some very sociable evenings with them until yesterday when they left to continue their cruise schedule to get to Liverpool by the 22 May. We are on a slower journey as we want to enjoy the Macclesfield Canal and in particular its lovely scenery.
I have been a bit lapse with the postings due in part to no signal but when I have been on line its been very slow. Hopefully it will get better.
Canal boating is usually non eventful but last Thursday our first cruising day with Sheila and Stan proved otherwise:-
1. We couldn't remove the anti vandal security handcuff from Trentham Lock. A CRT linesman arrived within minutes of this discovery and with the aid of a borrowed hammer managed to release it.
2.Sheila's knot released itself while we all watched the CRT man and nb Friendship drifted into the middle of the canal. One of the four boats following us went to her rescue.
3.Near bridge 43 we collected a large fleece around the prop.
4. Anne was steering the boat through Harecastle tunnel and was doing really well until she hit her head on the low part of the roof ( she is fine no damage) at this point the boat hit the side and removed some of the 300 year old brick and damaged the top of the cabin side. I did a similar thing last time we came through so its Tunnel 2 Us 0.
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| Arriving at Harecatle Tunnel south portal. The original Brindley one is on the left the newer Telford one is straight ahead. |
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| Satellite dish with a happy attitude |
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| Hardings Wood Junction, Macclesfield Canal turn left T&M to Middlewich straight on |
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| Sheila reclaiming her run away below Trentham Lock |
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| Dolphin Marine in Stoke on Trent- line dancing can be a bit tricky on a narrowboat |
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| Etruria Junction- the Caldon Canal is on the left and we have come up the T&M on the right |
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| Our exit at last from the tunnel from hell!- note the red coloured water which is caused by ironstone |
