Hi

Hopefully by this time next week we will be back in Rufford on our home mooring getting ready for the winter?????

It would appear by the lack of comments ( not one on this trip) that either the Blog has become very boring or no one is reading it.

so maybe I should close it and go on face book No I coildent join all those I have far to much to say??
No I will continue but maybe in the form of a log then when I come to write the long awaited book many pages will already be complete

Lymme Dam 

On our way through to Manchester we moored in Lymme. it was a gorgious autum afternoon So we took a gentle three mile stroll aroung the Dam , with the trees changing to a thousand shades of green Squirels scuffeling around collecting winter food and the late afternoon sun loosing its heat as it does in September 

we just enjoy the day

God Bless 

Buggerlugs

River Weaver

Hi Everyone
We have come along the Trent and Mersey canal as far as Anderton. We decided to take cover over the Bank Holiday weekend by escaping down onto the river Weaver the river is such a peaceful place ???
However today Maryanne Stev and Pippa arrived, being such a beuatiful day we opted for going down river for a bit of a cruise Pippa is a real water girl and loves to sit on the stern watching the river go by, though we did have a crisis when when the call went out for"" man overboard !!!"" we emediatley put our emergency drill into action and signaled the boat behind us to to take our starboard I reversed to the Port this putting the man overboard between the two boats I was then able to get my landing net and rescue the poor sole that being Pippa's favourite doll Rosie Jim was frantic with worry and much relieved to see Rosie back on boatd even if she was very wet.
We are here untill Tues morning then its fill with water, fuel, do a pump out  and set off for manchester that way we hope to arrive by early friday afternoon.
The river is very quiet I dont know if that is because of the restrictions that Peel Holdings have put on traveling on the Bridgwater and boaters will not pay the extra cost. I CONSIDER that 40 pounds for 28 days is not to bad they want to try the great Ouse that cost us an extra 180 pounds for 30 days anyway I for one will not be getting excited over it
God Bless everyone
Buggerlugs

Maryanne and Steve enjoying the sun

The strangest of buildings its the old cement works now under demolision I wonder who who lived in the penthouse 

Rosie rescued and driying out

Pippa taking her first Mariners leason ??

PICTURES FROM THE MACCLESFIELD CANAL

On guard duty protecting her brood

Heron in flight 

Lock are hard work but just look at what you are working with 

outside our bedroom window nice to wake up to though

MACCLESFIELD CANAL

We have now turned off the Trent and Mersey Canal at Kidsgrove and are now travelling north up the Macclesfield canal  here we crossed over the Trent and Mersey as that canal drops down a lock and goes under the Macclesfield its quite an inventive way of changing canals, just another quirk of the canal system. From Kidsgrove to Marple the canal gets quite Shallow and Narrow all the entrances to the bridges seem to be overgrown with fern and bramble, reducing a 8.5ft gap into a 7ft gap and having a 6ft 7inch wide boat negotiating them without damaging the boat becomes very difficult.  Now just having spent a fortune on a  re-spray the last thing I wanted was to get scratches down the side of my boat,  rubbing 18 ton of boat against a bramble bush can incur some quite horrific  scratches. Also most of this journey the canal gives the tow path on the port side (left) which means when passing oncoming boats I had to take the starboard wooded side which was full of overhanging trees and very shallow, being extremely careful and in most cases hanging back until the way was clear, made the journey slow and exhausting.

Through all these inconveniences of  being quite Overgrown and Shallow the Macc must be one of our most Beautiful canals in Britain, the canal takes you through the small towns of Congleton and Macclesfield then the mill towns of Bollington Poynton and High Lane, names I can remember from my childhood places I went fishing either by Bike or train we would go camping and fishing for the whole weekend doing what boys did in the 50s / 60s which was about everything you could (which now would get you a ASBO )?? such wonderful days care free and exciting

Anyway the trip up the Macc was quite unexciting, not that we go out looking for excitement???, the weather was awful, so far to date the worst we have had.

However the trauma of getting Buggerlugs unscathed through the slalom course of over growth and overhanging trees was compensated by the scenery, flora and fauna. It is some of the best in Britain you have the hill of Derbyshire on one side and the lush planes and meadows of Cheshire on the other along with great Victorian Mill standing majestic against the dark skyline and quaint cottages looking like they had come off a chocolate box cover.

Moorings along the Macc are far and few between so those attempting going up plan your journey and be prepared for long days looking for a vacant mooring. We were quite lucky and secured a mooring in Marple where our Keith and Carol joined us for dinner in the Ring of Bells. Its always great to see them and have them aboard we always have a great laugh. The following day was the quick trip of three hours up the Peak forest canal one of the shortest in the country about 10 miles from Marple to Whaley Bridge, again this is a very pretty trip though getting shallower and Narrower the Peak forest takes you up to Bugsworth Basin this is a historic industrial site once a thriving port the biggest on the network  where Lime Stone was brought down from Dove Holes in Derbyshire 6 miles away on the Peak Forest Tramway were it was shipped onto narrow boats  for transport all over the country. There is still a great many of the workings still visible including some of the old Tramway.  I would have loved to have seen it in its hay day but not having to do the hard physical graft that had to be done everything having to me manually moved.

Bugsworth basin has moorings for about 25 boats so it’s a popular place for boaters to meet up, we were no exception for waiting for us were our old friends Chris and Gerry they have been our friends since we started boating, today it feels that they have been our friends for ever. it was great to catch up over a few beers dinner and night caps of G&T just as it should be. Chri and Gerry left on saturday  just before our Keith and Des turned up on the bikes for a brew We are now waiting for Phil and Steph who arrive tomorrow Sunday, they are doing us a great favour by bringing a car so we can go to a funeral on Monday they will stay a few days and have a cruise with us.  All this catching up is great. We find that though when boating and travelling it means you are to all intents and purposes “on your own” you are never that far from good friends.

We have had a dilemma when leaving here we have a choice of which was to go either down the Ashton canal through Marple , Romily, Hyde then Manchester. Or back down the Macc through Middlewich then up through

Lymme on the Bridgwater then into Manchester

Phil and Steph have just left having spent a few cracking days with us I  now pointing think they had a good time they were impressed with the beauty of Cheshire and Derbyshire and how close it was a hidden gem.

We have just this minute solved the dilemma as we towards Macclesfield we will go that way its longer but more picturesque??

Ok folks that’s your lot

God Bless

Buggerlugs

Hungry Heron

This is just a few shots of a Heron Noreen fell in love with it was the cheekiest bugger I have ever come across. it is amazing just how tame well maybe not tame but how accustomed they become to boats the bloody thing started demanding Breakfast ??????

Enjoying life on the Water

Hi Everyone

Again I have to apologise for not completing our blog honest we have been so busy and then there is the problem with the net as some of the places we have stopped do not know ww2 has ended such as Nottingham.

Though to be honest we did stay three days in Nottingham as the moorings and were good the shops were close and the town, well it was a town like any other. The castle isn’t really a castle and even though Robin hood has a statue outside the castle he was never really there. It was nice to get away from the high sided mooring and back to moorings where you don’t have to climb four feet to get off the boat.

Leaving Nottingham behind the canal goes back to the river then back to canal however it’s a very pleasant run we eventually moored at Sawley Marian and got a birth for three days this was only to have a secure destination for Maryanne to come over with Steve and Pippa they also brought Thomas who was staying with us for a week. It was a great day we all piled in the boat and had a cruise up and down the river it’s a fabulous place where the river Trent crosses cross’s various other waterways   busy but very beautiful.

Having said good by to Maryanne Pippa and Steve, it was time for us to continue along our journey Thomas proved to be a very useful lock cadet and he soon got the hang of working locks, He also proved to be a good hand on the tiller Buggerlugs being 60ft and sitting low in the water she can sometimes be a little difficult but again Thomas managed very well It wasn’t long before we were leaving the river Trent behind us and joining the Trent and Mersey Canal we were now down to narrow locks only one boat at a time and even narrower Canals our first aim was a village called Alrewas this is the nearest we can get to The National Memorial Arboretum. We secured a good mooring and decided that the next day we would spend the whole day in the Arboretum  and believe me you need it, we chose a good time  as there was loads on for the kids, which helps??

Thomas enjoyed the WW1 Trench experience and building a shelter I found him very interested it was the first time he actually realised that the Armed Forces are the Navy, Army and Air Force all separate but all combined he was also fascinated to see that the other services were represented such as Fire and Rescue, Ambulance, Police, Womens Land army, Bevin Boys. The Home guard. He now realises that that in a crisis everyone has to get involved and play there part. Well worth a visit for any young people.

For the rest of the week we just plodded along moving everyday stopping when ever we found a secluded stop for fishing and target practice. As time went on we new we had to find a spot where Matthew could get to collect Thomas and decided on a village called Rugeley as we new the shops were close. I managed to get there around 10.30 and moved onto a mooring as one boat was just pulling out. These must be the busiest moorings in the country as within 4 mins walking you have Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi and the whole of the little Market town another 2mins away. Here unfortunately we had to say goodbye to Thomas it had been great having him along he is a great little boy full of questions and fun he is now a devotee of the game “pickup sticks” I am sure it will be played on wet days at school????

We are Now on the Trent and Mersey Canal just passed through Great Haywood, slowly  heading back home not yet quite decided which route to take though Noreen fancied going up the Macclesfield canal up to Bugsworth basin. We will see what the weather is going to do????

See you all soon

Buggerlugs

Working the Lock Solo

making a Basha

Looking over the top Sniper Style

He loves his food

Under instruction from Nunu (First Mate)

the Trent and Beyond

The river trent is not as bad as the stories you hear, stories of ranging foaming water tides that fast you could surf, nowhere to moor what a load of rubbish. I am not saying that could not or has not happened as we know rivers are very unpradictable as is all water.
We had a great trip doing the whole of the tidal section in one day that was from Keadby down to Cromwell lock by the time we reached Comwell lock that was 7 hours I had had enough even though it was a goreous day it was still tiring so we pulled in and moored for the night just beyond the lock.
We only had one scarey incident that was on a very sharp bend I was running with a very fast high tide cruising about 4/5 knots or 5mph
which for Buggerlugs is moving I thought I was being clever and decided on the racing line of this bend as I knew it was a high tide and no chance of running aground However I did not bank on what did happen as We entered the bend I was caught in a whirl pool that drang the bow towards a tree lined bank All I could think of was the the bloody paint work ""Dont scratch my Boat""anyway quick thinking and great sailing skills had Buggerlugs in full reverse the stern now caught in the fast flow pointing us back wence we had just come Full thrust in forwad tiller hard over soon had us doing a hand brake turn and facing in the right direction. This just goes to show that on any river with a full tide you have to be alert to everything, and do not take chances it certainly made Noreen and I more aware for the next three hours Phewww
The folowing day we set of for Newark the Trent now is non tidal but still pulling a good speed and going against the flow is heavy going and speeed is really reduced. Its a beautiful peice of river lined with medows to the east and tree lined along the west bank within two hours we were in Newark we even found a mooring very near the town bridge. 4 mins from Aldi 4mins to Morrisons and 5mins from Asda but dont go looking for a fishing tackle shop in Newark there are none
The town its self is a very old market town and has charm oozing out of every side street the buildings a old and well maintained but taking up a strange array of uses. plenty of open green spaces a very nice place to visit the local church for us was the Holy Trinity about a 25 min walk nice service great singing a very warm welcoming church. the only down side was Weatherspoons,m Were do you for breakfast after Mass? unfortuneatly this one did full fill the criteria. Having waited 6 mins at the bar for someone to recognise I was a customer and in need of swrvice I ordered "two full breakfast one without beans ans two black decaf' simple enough, But when I saw the girl filling two pint glasses with ice and putting them under the Coke tap I thought I had best interupt her train of thought " pardon me miss" I am always polite to bar staff, I ordered to Full breakfast one without beans and two black decaf her face was a picture she appologised sayin it had been a hard night I explained but its now almost noon this line of thought when over her head having repeated my order give me the coffee I returened to our table Noreen was getting ready with a search party but I explained it would not be needed but dont hold much hope on getting what I ordered as I had just seen the chef he looked marginally worse that the girl behind the bar eventually it did arrive and just what I had ordered However it wa cold how you can serve a freshly cooked breakfast I have no idea "well I do  but thats another story. the clientel were just as hung over as the staff the toilets were clean but in need of a makeover in my scoring it gets a 4 out of 10 my lowest to date had been a 7
Tomorrow we hit the water again and head for Gunthorpe about three hours if the mooring are full it leave us time to carry on and find some further down river.

Thats your lot people
God Bless
Buggerlugs

The Castle 

The open river ahead

that is the exit from the lock at Keadby

what else it had to happen??