Kanga And Wombats Adventures

14.10.19

It felt a bit lonely with 2 of our crew gone, and the prospect of spending a good part of the day traversing double locks was a bit ‘ho hum’!

However Chester woke to a beautiful morning and the pub nearby that had been heaving with very happy people last night, now looked pretty and clean.

First job for the Admiral today was to turn the boat around. Considering I could not have possibly done it myself, he did a stirling job, giving the footpath a bonus wash along the way!

As the skyline of Chester receeded, the morning light,

Ellie looked majestic gliding through the water!

Travelling the same path in the opposite direction certainly gave a different perspective to the ruins of Beeston Castle, that looked quite imposing up on it’s rocky crag.

It was time to turn left at Barbridge Junction onto the Middlewich Branch,

and it seemed just as we did, the heavens opened! Thank goodness for that purchase of wet weather gear you made in Chester, Jen and Grahame!

With no luck getting fuel at any of the marinas, it was onward to Church Minshull for the night. A 15 minute walk took us to yet another cute village with St Bartholemew’s Church,

beautiful houses,

and The Badger Inn!

The food was terrific, and Jen and I even splashed out and had dessert. The best (and richest) creme caramel I’ve ever tasted!

The night would have ended well there, but it was Trivia Night, and Team Ellie McBoatface felt confident with perhaps a tad too much bravado!

We were gallant in defeat, placing last!

By now the rain was bucketing down, so it was a very long, soggy walk home. Can you see John with his umbrella in this washed out pic?

12.10.19 – 13.10.19

We had a special rendezvous to make this morning, so set sail from Nantwitch early.

Katie and Chris were travelling up from London to spend the weekend on board.
With all our route changes due to canal closures, it needed a logistical mastermind to work out where we would actually pick them up, but Katie assured us this was Chris’ forte!

A direct train from Euston to Stoke on Trent then a 30 min taxi ride and voila! We were reunited at Barbridge Junction at 9.46am!

Our new crew lost no time in settling in and were initiated quickly into barge routines- start the day with a cuppa!

Of course our dastardly plan was to have a relaxing weekend while the new crew did all the work. Some made it look easy, whilst others….

It was SO much fun having them on board!

In no time both Chris and Katie found their canal mojo.

Water off a ducks back! No fear for Millennials. What took Jen and I days to build up the confidence to do, they achieved in about 30 minutes!

We made our way down towards Chester, via this particularly tricky step lock, where the water from the top lock emptied into the second lock.

I loved having Katie so close after months apart.

But at one lock, it was also a reminder that HD No1 was missing!

Chester was beckoning! OMG Tudor overload!

Chester is a walled city and we walked the entire length of the wall which took a couple of hours. Lots to see along the way, like the River Dee.

We passed the remains of a Roman amphitheatre.

The racecourse called the Roodee, that in ancient times used to be the city port!

The beautiful cathedral!

And a Dovecote. So pretty!

The wall was punctuated by defensive turrets, with this one in particular having a unique story. It is said that King Charles I watched the final battle of the Cival War at Rowton Moor about 3 miles from the city, from this tower. With the Royalists well and truly defeated, Charles scampered, leaving 1400 soldiers dead, wounded or taken prisoner!

All this exploring had built up a thirst, so it was lucky Katie and Chris had been on a reconnoitre and found us a brewery!

Sadly it was soon bye-bye time for our weekend guests. With a last minute dash to the station, it was ‘hooray’ Katie and Chris! Thanks for your company and a beaut weekend!

11.10.19 (Jane’s 34th birthday and Cath’s 21st)

Ominous raindrops were falling on our roof as we woke up this morning. We all snuggled in and hoped they’d go away! Miraculously, after brekky, it stopped long enough for us to replenish the water supply and take the quintessential photo of Ellie moored at The Shroppie Fly.


Pretty gorgeous!
But then the heavens opened and we had to pull out the plastic pants for the first time! Pretty countryside, and not much traffic on the canal…who’d be out in this weather besides a mad band of Aussies??

Of course the last thing you’d expect to find in this beautiful rural setting,


where even the cows were oblivious,


is a nuclear bunker right??

Totally random! For £10 each, we got to tour the bunker. Room after room of nuclear bunker paraphernalia! Radio rooms, logistics rooms, displays of protective clothing and masks, even a BBC studio set up ready to alert  the masses that a nuclear attack was imminent/ had happened/ was over. When it was fully operational over 130 personnel manned the bunker 24/7. Beds were used just as our present day hot seating of desks in offices are.
The whole place was devoid of any natural light and felt suffocating. Definitely not a place to work if you suffered from claustrophobia! It was, however, a military history buffs dream!
Great models too!Amongst all this cheery information about impending doom, was a ray of sunshine. Goulash the secret bunker cat, working as a secretive operative  to find soviet mice, was totally king of the building. He had total freedom to wander where he wanted. Brought us back to reality in this totally unreal place! Goulash even had his own blog! goulashthebunketcat @tumbl.com
It was time to move on to Nantwich, a pretty pretty town with it’s fair share of Elizabethan buildings and the church of St Mary that was the centrepiece of town.

Dinner at The Black Lion was a hoot. A cosy timber-framed pub with great character, low ceilings and sloping floors (wish I’d had my golf ball Cath), Joe, our waiter, was 6’9″ tall!

He certainly had the gift of the gab and kept us entertained all night.

10.10.19

Before we can set sail each day, the propeller has to be checked for weed. The prop is accessed via a hatch near the rudder and involves plunging your hand down into the freezing canal water and ‘having a feel’.

It is obvious that John takes this job very seriously!

The countryside at first was open and very rural.

After several days spent gawking at beautiful scenery with very few locks, we were energised and ready for the Audley flight of 5 locks which in turn was preparation for the Shroppie flight of 17 locks.

My turn to be Admiral! The view certainly looks different from down inside the lock!

The locks are situated in the most beautiful setting.

And after all that hard work you are rewarded at the bottom with what, in my opinion, is the prettiest pub on the Four Counties Ring. The Shroppie Fly!

A very well stocked canal Shoppe provided lots of opportunity to window shop.

But yes, a Tea-towel was purchased!

We had arrived early enough for a tour of the village. It boasts a very nice Constabulary fit for the most senior Mr Plod, and the most ornate Cemetery I’ve ever seen!

Union Jack’s were flying from every house and building…when we asked why, the answer was they were a ‘flag flying kinda town’. When it’s Christmas, the flags change to a festive theme etc etc. We seemed to have hit the village in peak hour, with every farmer hightailing it back home.

Jen and I investigated the church, definitely worth a visit!

Audlem has 3 pubs and we had to try them all before settling on one for dinner.

No guesses as to which one won!

Pretty unique bar!

We must have had a great night at the Shroppie Fly, as John decided to sample the free treats, finding out later that they were actually there for doggies, not humans.

The chocolates came out, always a sign that too much wine had been drunk.

And Jen lost her beanie and was very sad. Champion Grahame made the ultimate sacrifice and retraced our steps, eventually retrieving said beanie from The Bridge Inn. Lucky for Grahame, The Bridge Inn just happened to be next to the Pringle shop.

Everyone’s a winner!

9.10.19

The barge was passed as being ship-shape and ready to sail thanks to Jenny’s superb rope coiling skills.

It was a day of blue skies and bright colours.

And a day of stunning scenery and tall bridges.

Jen is off her L’s and well and truly onto her P’s, and confidently navigated us through the forests and across the embankment.

We see lots of dogs being walked along the canal towpath, but lots of barge owners have dogs too. This gorgeous pooch was waiting for us to come through a lock.

There was the usual assortment of whacky things to see.

Our destination today was Market Drayton, about a 15 minute walk from the canal.

Like bloodhounds in the hunt, our noses took us to Joules Brewery, once run by monks.

In 1813 James Joule took over the brewery from his father and dedicated his life to making Joule Pale Ale an iconic English brew. He did a pretty good job!

8.10.19

People who live permanently on the canal, and their boats, are so diverse.We passed some beauties today. A whole veggie garden on the roof.
Boats lovingly cared for and those a tad neglected. Thanks for the pic Jen.


Lots of people seem to have permanent moorings that boast outdoor settings, clothesline, BBQs, satellite dishes…all mod cons! All seem to have put their own personal touches on exterior and interior decorating!
So, even if the scenery isn’t particularly pretty, it’s interesting!Just before Autherley Junction, is a very narrow rock cutting, passable by two boats only in certain places. It’s very pretty, green and lush. Slow going and conscious of oncoming craft, we navigated through, oohing and ahhing and it’s prettiness and how close we were to the rock wall beside us.


A sharp turn onto the Shropshire Union Canal at Autherley Junction was a squeeze, but well negotiated by the Admiral.
Whereas the Staff and Worcester Canal tended to follow the contour of the land and is therefore curvy and twisting, the Shropshire is dominated by steep cuttings and high embankments, making it much straighter. An engineering marvel by Thomas Telford, but a nightmare for the construction company as the embankment collapsed repeatedly.


It seemed to get prettier at every turn. The steep cuttings meant the style of bridges we passed under completely changed.

The Cowley Tunnel at 81 yards necessitated our headlight be turned on for the first time! How exciting!


We even passed over an ornate aquaduct across an ancient Roman road, now the A5!


Norbury Junction was our home for the night, and with the moon nearly full, shining on the water and illuminating the boatyards, shops and a pub, it was very picturesque.


A hearty beef stew and Hobgoblin was enjoyed at The Junction Inn,

before strolling home under the beautiful moon.

7.10.19

We ate on board last night, just for a change, oh, and because we were in the middle of nowhere! Our evening game of ‘Sequence’ continued, accompanied by lashings of pork scratchings. Delish!

plus a few decent looking pubs.


We soon discovered that lots of pubs in smaller towns don’t open their kitchens on Mondays, so we quenched our thirst at this little beauty


before heading back to Ellie for Plan B, lunch aboard. The pretty Staffordshire countryside slipped away, interspersed with single locks every mile or so.


Around each corner there was something different to see. At Gailey Lock, an old Tollkeepers watch-tower now serves as a canal shop and residence.


It was manned by a lovely senior who looked pretty relaxed. A mandatory tea towel was purchased and lovely senior seemed pleased with the sale.
Pretty locks were punctuated with not so pretty boat yards,


although this one had a boat that was close to all the Partybanks’ hearts!


It was time for the boys to do what they do best (steer),


and the girls to do what they do best, crack the bubbles!


The next most important thing to do was to find our dinner destination.
The Anchor appeared around the bend just in time.


Dinner (apparently) hit the spot!

6.10.19

Getting used to beds that are 40cm wide, hot water that is dependable only when the engine is going and corridors passable by only one person, took a bit of adjustment on our first night.

But we woke up eager to get on the way for our first full day of canalling.

It was a beautiful sunny morning!

This picturesque pub called ‘The Star’, is one of the oldest on the whole canal system. It boasts a mention in the Guiness Book of Records for not having any 2 rooms on the one level!

We continued motoring on down the Trent and Mersey, through peaceful, picturesque rural countryside, the occasional lock and a swan keeping us company.

When not steering, working the locks, taking pics or making the morning cuppa, our main job was to find the next pub stop. Today’s took us off the canal and cross country.

Thanks for the pic Jen! We look like happy wanderers!

Our pub of choice for lunch was ‘The Woolpack’ in the little village of Weston, and being the Sabbath, the Sunday roast was the Plat du Jour. Absolutely delicious!

We left reluctantly, but not before enjoying two sticky date puddings with four spoons. Yum!

It was no time before we reached our first junction, leaving the Trent and Mersey Canal to join the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Great Haywood.

In 2004 we travelled the same canal route with friends Dan, Sue, Anne and Brian. On that trip we were disappointed not to have visited Shugborough Hall, a grand country residence right at the junction. So we were busy scanning the countryside this time, determined to find it!

That’s it!

No it wasn’t! Unfortunately we were looking on the wrong side of the canal!

This is it! Thanks google.

And we missed it again!

5.10.19

The day had arrived for our grand canal barge adventure to begin!
We left our Angel bolthole about 7am and lugged the bags up to Kings Cross and before we could blink we were on the fast train to Stoke on Trent.

It was fabulous to rendezvous with Jen and Grahame, who had arrived the day before after 5 weeks in Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium….
Amazing that you can meet up at an appointed time when you’ve come from either ends of the earth!
Unfortunately, the Black Prince Marina guru Stevie, told us that there were blockages on the canal at both Manchester and on the Macclesfield Canal, rendering our plans totally useless!
The best laid plans, however, always need a Plan B, and we didn’t have one!
It was a temporary hiccup, and after a hearty breakfast ‘all you can eat’ buffet, the Four Counties Ring got the thumbs up!
Time to meet our best friend for the next two weeks, Ellie the barge.



What a sweetie! Only 6 months old and still smelling new!

On the Inaugural Partybanks Barge Trip of ’16, our barge was named Morgan and we nicknamed him ‘Mad Dog’. Ellie, on the other hand, seemed way too gentle to have such uncouth treatment. After some discussion we all agreed she should be called ‘Ellie McBoatface’. God we’re original!



Ellie was driven out of the marina and after our mandatory briefing on the engineering and safety features of our home for the next two weeks, we were on our way. South not north!


After a few forgetful moments at our first couple of locks, like leaving the paddles up and pushing the lock  gates the wrong way, we were soon ticking along nicely through the outskirts of this historic pottery town and finding our canal mojo.


The industrial area of Stoke soon gave way to the beauty of the West Midlands countryside, and some typical canal sights- swans, duckies and eccentric barge owners!


Our stop for tonight was the village of Stone, less than 10 miles from Stoke on Trent. We had taken 4 hours to get there!

4.10.19

We were amazed at what we saw yesterday, but our first stop today was gobsmacking. The London Silver Vaults are housed in a subterranean hideaway in the back streets of Chancery Lane in Holborn. I’m sure most people would be amazed such a place exists!


After a cursory glance in our backpacks, the Concierge/ Security Guard directed us downstairs to the vaults.

We felt like we were in an episode of ‘Get Smart’.


Room after room of silver, from cutlery to serviette rings to jewellery to…..anything! Even sailing ships and lobsters!


Photography was strictly forbidden but when we asked to take pics everyone was more than happy for us to snap away! This piece was the most expensive in this particular shop.


£85k for this piece of silver that was a working mini fountain. When I commented to the seller that I didn’t have a spare £85k, he replied “Madam, not many people do!”
London Silver Vaults- tick!

We threaded our way through alleyways and stairwells of Farringdon to find our next destination, St Bartholemew the Great church, ‘possibly’ the oldest church in London as it had survived the Plague, the Great Fire, WWll bombings and seemingly, so far, Boris Johnson! It was hard to find, but we eventually found the tiny entrance way through this gateway (view from both sides).


Pick an English movie, any movie, and part of it was probably filmed in this church or churchyard! The sign at the front door told us so. Four Weddings and a Funeral, Shakespeare in Love, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, The Other Bolyen Girl, etc etc, even a Muppets movie! It was not hard to see why.


The interior was beautiful, it even smelled beautiful. That mix of old wood, incence, candles burning. Magic.
There were lots of people getting the church ready for a ‘society wedding’ the following day and we got talking to the florist who was working very hard. At £150 per arrangement, we estimated the society ‘dahhlings’ were probably forking out over £2000 for the gorgeous flowers.


Some might say Mr Florist was a bit of a right wing pratt, but he was chatty and friendly. He reckoned he did the flowers on Princess Di’s coffin (but we googled it and the name wasn’t the same), but as he recommended a great pub for lunch, The Rising Sun, right opposite the church, who cares?


Rather than walk home, we did the only decent thing to do….took a red London bus, sitting upstairs at the front of course, back to Angel.


After freshening up, it was back into Leicester Square to Mr Foggs pub. This must have been John Soames and Henry Wellcome’s local as it certainly  could be a contender for the whackiest pub in London, with rabbits, pheasants and other assorted creatures hanging from the windows and ceilings.


The highlight of the day was going to the theatre to see Sir Ian Mckellen’s one man show, which was a Father’s Day gift for John from Katie and Chris.


A National Treasure indeed!
What a great day!