Kanga And Wombats Adventures

Good morning!

Having made the decision to explore further down Anderton way, we had time on our side, so enjoyed a long breakfast and leisurely start getting on the move.

Our one and only lock for the day was our first double lock, meaning it was twice as wide as Ellie and could fit 2 boats in at the same time.

With no other boats in sight, we had the lock to ourselves. This means there is the chance the boat could move about a bit if the water is drained (or filled) too fast. So it was all hands on deck to secure the boat with ropes to the bollards on the side of the lock to prevent movement.

Grahame and Jen did all the driving this morning, allowing John and I not only to get our admin work done, but to sit back and watch the world go by.

Several wide ponds provided havens for bird life.

The canal was very pretty, but also challenging. Characterised by long, wide stretches overhung by huge oak trees, it was punctuated by extremely narrow and blind bends.

You had to be alert and have good lookouts at the front of the boat to warn the skipper of any oncoming craft.

It was probably the busiest we’ve seen the canals so far, caused in part to the Middlewich arm closure and the necessity to find an alternative route.

At one stage, we had a boat behind us and one in front. The one in front was going pretty slowly and allowed us to overtake. Just as we had nearly passed him, an oncoming barge appeared around the bend. Great driving by Grahame made the whole manoeuvre seem effortless.

It wasn’t all ‘pretty pretty’ though. The Lion Salt Works was doing a good job belching out a touch of pollution, but as we were to find out later in the day, the presence of salt in the ground was the lifeblood and source of prosperity in this area.

It was also heartening to see that life on the canal was being rejuvenated in parts, with this new Marina being built at Wyncham.

One of our aims at Anderton was to take Ellie down the ‘Anderton lift’, a massive engineering piece of genius that transports barges from the canal to the River Weaver below. Bookings were essential! Whilst we could secure passage down the lift late this afternoon, there were no return slots until Thursday!

Group consensus was to take the guided tour down the lift, combined with the river cruise. Much better idea! No stress, a total of 6 passengers on the cruise, and a very entertaining crew on board. Jenny answered all the questions correctly and with ease, so that by the end of the cruise, we were all best buddies!

It was a totally weird feeling being suspended in a ‘bathtub’ of water… then lowered slowly by the magic of hydraulics 16m down to the river level. The whole process took 30 minutes to execute.

Dinner was enjoyed at The Stanley Arms with a burger, homemade chicken, leek and bacon pies, and broccoli and Stilton soup hitting the spot.

BUT………just as we started our meals, a message pinged through on several of our phones that the Middlewich closure had been cleared!

Wales, the Llangollen Canal, and the Pontcysylite Aquaduct were suddenly back on the agenda!