River Weaver |
I do like it when there is a run of words that more-or-less
sound the same but have no link to their meaning. Try saying these words with
a NZ dialect! It’s like the deadpan run of bare, beer and bear.
The suffix – wich refers
to the presence of salt and not the presence of witches! We have been in the
locale of salt towns in Cheshire. I never thought what ‘wich’ meant until this
cruise.
Road salt in case of ice! |
You do get some unusual names in this country and it is a sign of the
variances in language and spelling as well as the progression of life over the
centuries. Over recent days we have passed through Middlewich, Northwich and
Nantwich. (I’m starting to think that the English names of my country North Island
and South Island may have emanated from some creative person in this part of
England. On a google search, Wikipedia says that the English name for the
islands was never formalised and they were commonly referred to North Is. and
South Is.)
Anderton Boat Lift from the River |
So the aim of our trip to this neck of the woods was to get
to the River Weaver. We were close when we got to Ellesmere Port but due to the
breakdown of Weston Marsh Lock on the River Weaver we had to back track to get
to the Anderton Boat Lift on the Trent & Mersey Canal. This meant back to
Barbridge Junction to turn onto the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union
Canal. It took us two days to cruise to Big Lock on the Trent & Mersey
Canal, Middlewich. A pleasant enough cruise although it was under mixed weather
conditions.
We, I mean I, saw a couple of ‘tupperware’ boats moored below the
Lock and there were some available in-ground rings just in front of them.
Perfect, there was no sign indicating ‘no mooring’ or ‘lock mooring’ so we tied
up and went to the Pub with the intention of going back to home base for
dinner. And so we did, eventually. We got as far as the ‘Tupperwares’ on our
return to DB and got chatting with the ‘friendlies’ for more than a quick chat.
I even succumbed to the invitation to play a wee tune or three on my Uke!!
Mooring confusion |
Next morning a little later than sparrowfart, there was boat
traffic on the move. A Narrowboat was edging in towards us for a controlled steel kiss.
“You’re
moored at the Water Point” said matey.
“This is not a water point.” I helpfully retorted back.
“Yes it is and I’m going to come alongside and tie onto your
boat.” He said.
“Why isn’t it signed as a water point? I can’t see the water
tap.” I did a quick scout around and sure enough it was a water point but the
box which housed the tap looked camouflaged in 2 colour paint (black and ‘red
ned’{a.k.a anti-rust}).
I removed myself from any need for further comment and went and
chatted to a holiday-maker queuing for the Lock. I was invited onboard for tea
and homemade chocolate cake!
Breakfast spot canal side |
Soon we were free to move on without rocking the boat! The
cruise from Middlewich to the outskirts of Northwich is picturesque along a
wide canal with some hairpin bends.
Within 3 hours we were at the Anderton Boat
Lift. I went into the busy Visitor Centre and was directed to the ‘behind
closed doors’ check –in desk. Through the boaters network we had been informed
we could pre- book a passage for £5, reasonable fare, but there were financial repercussions
if we didn’t turn up at the appointed time. So as we were prepared to wait I
booked the passage, on the spot, and we only waited a couple of hours.
Della under contol |
Enough
time to walk Della, where I got chatting with a couple of gongoozlers and, in
friendship, offered them a ride with us on The Anderton Boat Lift. It was great
to meet you Christine and Alan, thanks for the lovely Shropshire honeycomb
icecream!
The Anderton Boat Lift is high tech.
Ground Control |
When I booked I wasn’t
sure if we were going up or down. I thought there would be a booking office for
craft coming off the river and I was coming off the canal. Well for craft
coming off the canal, the lift is going down. Thoughts of ‘Are You Being Served’,
the sitcom, came to mind....possibly, Swimwear Department. At 1440 we were
asked to move to the ‘holdings’ mooring and wait instructions.
Boats that pass! |
We and another
boat were moved into lane position to then ‘chug’ onto our metal tub.
It looked
like the metal hatch at the back end of the tub was dropped, not literally, into
position thus enclosing the boats and crew as we were gently lowered down to
river level.
At the halfway stage we met alongside the tub being raised which
had a tourist boat full of tourists in it. We shared smiles and waves given with
the good spirit of sharing a new and unusual experience. It’s not an everyday
occurrence.
Chemical Factory in view |
We loved being back on a river. The River Weaver is a
tea-coloured smooth flowing River that would give good reflection if the sun
decided to shine.
In ‘old’ days it was reported there was a lot of river
traffic and the Locks were designed with that in mind.
Home sweet home? |
All 5 Locks have
C&RT lock-keepers to operate the mainly manually operated Locks. Size
matters with the windlasses they use to wind the paddles to open the gates and
sluices.
Lock-it |
We were just small fry in the Lock. At one Lock, quick action from the
‘Locky’ saved us from what could have been a bad experience that could have
sunk DB, the case of the rim of the hull getting jammed into the Lock wall
and....... We were OK thanks to Cptn alerting Locky who reacted quickly. It is
so important these people are kept on the job!!
Highlights from the Weaver experience were:
-recognising my full name on a boat that was named after me?
-The mooring outside ‘The Red Lion’, a community Pub in
Winsford, was ideally located on the banks of the River Weaver. There is no tv
and no fruit machines. The people that work there are creative and musical and
give out friendly energy. We went to the Monday night game evening. It was fun
and welcoming.
-The rural mooring at Barnton Cut.
-We met NB Comfortably Numb....is there anybody out there.
They were seated, on shore, under a huge umbrella kept from the days when umbrellas
were built to last all the days of your life and more!
The Gemini in me could be a Brolly Dolly and a Trolly Dolly |
-The walk to the T&M Canal that was up an incline and
round the corner. I could see that we have to do the 3 tunnels, up there, one
day and on to the Bridgewater Canal.
-Waving out to our ‘Tupperware’ friends from Middlewich when
we cruised past their land base.
We did cruise down river to the Frodsham Cut and then turned
back to Barnton Cut so we could take an early morning cruise to the Anderton
Boat Lift to get back on the Trent & Mersey and meet up with our mate,
Phil, who was going to be with us on the cruise back to Nantwich. We thought it
would be easy for him to meet us at Marston, rather than meet at the Boat Lift.
All good in theory.
Flash walk on the wich |
I had time to walk my trolley, not fly my broomstick, across
the gravel lined paths which criss-crossed or is it zig-zagged along the ‘flashes’
of Northwich salt marshes to Aldi supermarket.
The nice store assistant freed a
shopping trolley for me because I had forgotten a coin. If you don’t ask you
don’t get! All good and I remembered how to get back to the boat. A couple of
hours well spent!
As for Phil travelling from Bournemouth, he was having difficulty getting from Crewe to
Northwich and the bus timetable was not working for him. He eventually found
us.
Next day we were underway through foul means or fair.....
Need I describe this? |
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