While my boat was broken down recently (see vlog 205), I had the great pleasure of Pixel, Maggie and Ryan aka Narrowboat Chef being my neighbours. They very kindly agreed to instruct me in the mystical ways of baking scones and this is the result.
After I had the narrowboat blacked at Stone I set off along the Trent and Mersey canal to head to my winter mooring. Unfortunately, disaster struck on the outskirts of the town when one lovely sunny Sunday morning, the engine made a peculiar noise which resulted in a horrible discovery…
As we head towards the end of the year, a quick message to say thanks for tuning in and all the comments and quips and good cheer throughout 2019 – and here’s hoping for an excellent 2020 as well. Cheers!
After crossing the Mersey estuary with Minimal List aboard NB Perseverance, we now had a 36-mile journey up the Manchester Ship Canal, to get to Salford. Also aboard, as before, London Boat Girl Lorna.
In mid-October I moored the narrowboat on the Macclesfield and hopped on a bus and a train to Liverpool where I met with Jo and Michael of “Minimal List”. They had a rather interesting trip planned, to take their narrowboat across the Mersey estuary and up the Manchester Ship Canal. Joined by Lorna (aka “London Boat Girl”), we got up at a ridiculous time of the morning and set off. This is Part 1 of that journey, covering the Mersey crossing.
After coming back down the Macclesfield canal (which I didn’t film, as it was exactly the same as going up as shown in prior vlogs, albeit in the other direction), I turned south and retraced my path along the Trent & Mersey until I got to Stone, Staffordshire. There I’d booked the boat into a dry dock for re-blacking. This video shows that process.
For the final leg of my 2019 autumn cruise, I continued along the Upper Peak Forest canal, south towards Whaley Bridge and Bugsworth basin. The six mile streth of canal includes two swing bridges and two lift bridges so I shamelessly took advantage of some passing hire boaters to help me through.
The northern end of the Macclesfield canal was in sight (well, about six miles away) and a beautiful day dawned so the engine was engaged and the boat chugged along up to Marple where, at a T-junction, you meet the Peak Forest canal. I turned right and headed south along the Upper Peak Forest, just a little way to find somewhere to stop.
My journey up the Macclesfield canal continued, leaving a lovely mooring at the top of Bosley locks and going through two swing bridges which weren’t as bad as I feared even though they are a nuisance when you’re travelling solo. Through Macclesfield itself where I stopped to nip to the shops, and then Bollington before stopping just on the north of the town.
Pressing on from the mooring at LMH – see last vlog – I unexpectedly stop early for a week when the Bosley lock flight is closed due to a leak in the canal at the top. Once it’s re-opened, I go up the flight in a pretty good time, all things considered, despite the peculiar “dual top gate” installation on these locks.