Weatherwise, a much pleasanter day. Not quite as sunny as we had hoped from a very mixed forecast, but warm enough and a fresh breeze. Just right for cruising, not so good for photos!
Our overnight mooring shows the kind of conditions that persisted through to our next stop - when it became even a little sunnier.
The first lock, Cholmondeston, was only a few minutes away and an unexpected bonus - three volunteers, two helping boats and a third on painting duty. This and the next two locks are all very deep.
Below the lock we spotted that the chandlery has recently been taken over by Chamberlain, the same people that run the fuel boats (see yesterday)
Venetian Marina, where the chandlery is, is different from most marinas. Although all the moorings are off line (that is, not in part of the navigation) the side nearest to the canal is quite open and there is no narrow entrance to negotiate. There are three 'bays' of which the above photo shows the first.
At Minshull Lock there was no queue to go down although one boat had just entered. However, below there was a queue of five so we waited until the first came up. (They seemed to think that we were providing a fully serviced lock!)
Not long after came Aqueduct Marina, a more conventionally laid out facility where we have had a visitor mooring in the past. Very pleasant even if we did have an argument with the wind when trying to moor! The down side is that the location is well away from any public transport and a taxi to Crewe is about the only option for a car shuffle
Although the marina has adopted the name Aqueduct, the canal for the next half mile or so is really an embankment. At one point it crosses the infant River Weaver but little can be seen from the canal itself. At the southern end is a typical stop, constructed to enable the canal to be sealed off with planks should the embankment fail. At one time a farm bridge ran over the top, connecting two halves of a farm that was bisected by the building of the canal.
Then follows about a six mile level pound with plenty of narrow bridges to negotiate. Vegetation around some, especially those on a bend, could do with cutting back as we had close encounters at two, with an oncoming boat only being visible (in either direction) at the last minute.
At the main road bridge over the canal into Church Minshull there is a splendid building, originally built around 1830 as a warehouse alongside a wharf. It is said that Thomas Telford had a hand in its design. Today it might seem strange that such an ornate building was 'just' a warehouse but those were times when form was seen almost as important as function. Today it has been converted into a dwelling.
Another conversion is just ahead - a former stables for a fly boat service. Specially designed boats offered an express service, passengers and parcels, but the horses pulling the boats at speed had to be refreshed at shorter intervals. On the market for £795,000 - a snip! The house is a separate dwelling, presumably originally for the canal company's stable keeper.
The Visitor Mooring close to the River Weaver, used to have a splendid view of Top Flash, near Winsford. Our library picture from 9 years ago shows how it used to be. Sadly, the trees have since grown substantially and today we had only the thinnest of glimpses.
We stopped for lunch on the VM just above Stanthorne Lock - later we dropped down the lock (another very deep one). This lock is slow to empty as the bottom paddles can only be opened half way. We moored below the lock where rings were installed as part of the breach repair about six years ago. We were almost in to Middlewich where mooring has in the past been a bit competitive. Shopping there awaits us in the morning, but only a few items as we stocked up really well only a couple of days ago!
8.3 Miles - 3 Locks
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