Saturday, September 24 – Preston Brook

After passing through the final tunnel we traveled the last few kilometers down the canal & arrived at the dock at 9:00am. We were happy & a bit sad at the same time.

We had a wonderful adventure on our “little” narrowboat, the Walton Hall. This is something that Catherine & I have talked about doing for many years & we are so fortunate to have had the opportunity to make this trip.

I would also like to give a recommendation for the great folks at Claymoore Boat Holidays. They looked after us fantastically. The boat was in tip top shape, sparkling clean & everything worked perfectly. If you are ever considering taking a narrowboat holiday then I encourage you to contact Claymoore.

(Winter 2020 update – I had been editing this blog page and I have discovered that sadly, Claymoore Boat Holidays is no longer in business. 🙁 )  

Here’s a brief tour of our Narrowboat “Walton Hall”

Length – 48′

Width – 7′

Weight – Approximately 10 tons

Construction: Welded steel plate

Bottom: Flat, like a barge

Draft: Approximately 2′

The bow has double doors that open into the “living room” seating area. There is a small bench in the bow where passengers can sit outside. Propane tanks are stored in a locker in the bow.

 

The “living room” has two very comfy armchairs, a drop leaf table & a flat screen TV

 

The galley is well equipped with a 4-burner propane stove & oven, a microwave & a good sized fridge. There’s also lots of counter space & cupboards & drawers.

 

Next is a very roomy bathroom with a large shower stall.

 

The shower was even full size & we enjoyed it several times during our trip.

 

 

At the back of the cabin is a very comfortable double berth bed.

 

The tiller is located at the stern. There’s a simple 2 x 6 board for seating that spans the gap between the railings.

Some interesting trivia about navigation – all boats on the canals travel the same way we drive our cars on the roads in North America – i.e. when meeting other boats traveling towards me I am on the “right” side of the canal & the boat coming towards me is on my left, or on my port side. This is the opposite to how people in the UK drive their cars on the road.

 

The engine is located below the deck at the stern. The one is this boat is a 4-cylinder Izuzu diesel. Not sure of the hp, but I think it’s around 40 hp. The engine has a keel cooling system. Shea at Claymoore told me that this is the predominant type of cooling system for narrowboats because their is so much mud & organic material in the canals that raw water intakes can plug up very easily.

 

The boat is also set up with central hot water heating with a small diesel fired boiler & hot water radiators in the sleeping cabin, the galley & the living room.

Interior lighting is by 12 volt fixtures in the ceilings & the boat is also wired throughout with 220 volt outlets supplied through an inverter.

This was a great vessel to have an adventure in. I’d love to do it again someday.

Next stop is the car rental kiosk at Liverpool Airport. Scotland, here we come!

Cheers everyone!

Friday, September 23

We left Anderton Junction Lift Locks at 9:00am & looked forward to an easy day to travel to the lock located just before Preston Brook Tunnel. Our travel distance was only about 7 miles but it included passing through two other tunnels-each one was about 500 yards long.

After passing through the 2 tunnels we stopped at Dutton Breach, a location where the canal wall failed in 2012 & the valley below was flooded. Then we walked up the canal about a kilometer & went down a side road to the Bluebell Nursery & Tea Room – a local nursery with beautiful gardens & a tea room.

Catherine & I enjoyed a nice cup of tea & some cakes & then she went off to tour the gardens while I stayed behind to catch up on my blogging.

We were just getting ready to cast off when we spotted our friends Chris & Jennifer headed our way. Time for one last gam!

After saying our goodbyes & exchanging contact information we went our separate ways.

We traveled for about another hour & moored up for the night at the last lock we will pass through before entering the Preston Brook tunnel.

Directly across from where we are moored there is a dry dock for narrowboats. The boats are floated into the dry dock & then stoplogs are used to block off water from flowing into the chamber. Then the water is pumped out & the sides & bottom of the boat can be serviced.

This is a pretty neat setup. Wish I could have got the chance to see one of the boats getting serviced.

Cheers!

Thursday, September 22

We left Middlewich at 8:00am. Our first task was to pass through “The Big Lock”. Even though the elevation of the lock is only about 5 feet, the lock is several feet wider than all of the other locks we passed through.

 

It had rained quite a bit the night before but the day looked promising & the weather forecast was favorable.

 

En route to Anderton we had to pass through an aqueduct. We had already been through it on the way to Nantwich a few days before. We were not sure what to expect the first time & had imagined crossing over a high valley on a structure that looked like a Roman bridge. Well, this aqueduct is much more modest than that 😀

This particular aqueduct is not much longer, or wider than our boat but it is still an important part of the canal’s infrastructure.

We reached the Anderton area around 1:00 pm & headed to the Stanley Arms Pub for lunch & a pint. Catherine had a curry dish & I had bangers & mash and it all was really, really good. If you are ever in the Anderton area then be sure that this pub is on your “go to” list.

After lunch we went to explore the lift locks.
This is an amazing setup that lifts & lowers narrowboats over 50 feet in one shot. It was built to overcome the height difference between the canal & the River Weaver, which is 50 feet below the canal’s water level.

The lift locks were built in 1875 & restored several years ago. Today it is a popular tourist attraction with a great visitor’s center for boaters & landlubbers. You can learn more about the locks by following this link:
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/museums-and-attractions/anderton-boat-lift

After having a good look around I was headed back to our boat when I spotted Chris & Jennifer coming down the canal on board their narrowboat – which is even longer than ours!

I called to them as they were passing under the pedestrian bridge I was standing on & we set up a date for another gam after they got moored up.

Cheers everyone!

Early Wednesday morning we set off from Nantwich to head back to Middlewich.

We spent a good part of the day “counting down” the 30 bridge numbers from Nantwich to Middlewich.

There are a series of 4 locks in Middlewich. Three are very close together, like stair steps & then the 4th lock, “The Big Lock” is about a kilometer further down the canal.

There were several boats preparing to go up through the locks & we were headed down. The canal etiquette is for boaters to take turns passing through. A boat will go down and then a boat will go up and that “taking turns” routine continues until all boats have passed through the locks.

As the last boat was coming up I started a conversation with a gentleman & his daughter & they helped us out when it was our turn to pass down through the 3 locks. When we were done I offered to help them go “up” but they said that they were already moored further down the canal near the Big Lock Pub & were headed in the same direction as us.

We commented to each other about our canal trips & I mentioned that this trip was part of our 25th wedding anniversary celebration.

Our new friends Chris & Jennifer joined us later that evening for drinks on board Walton Hall. To our great surprise & delight they showed up with a wedding anniversary card & a bottle of Champagne for us.

How special is that!? I’ve said it many times before, it’s amazing how many great people you meet on the water.

We all enjoyed a glass of Champagne & got to know each other a bit better. I explained to Chris & Jennifer that our get together on the boat was a “gamming” session, i.e. boaters getting together having a great conversation & telling each other stories over a few drinks.

As we were all headed in the same direction over the next few days we agreed to watch for each other & have another gam or two.

Cheers & thanks again Chris & Jennifer for your thoughtfulness!

Cheers!

Late Monday Afternoon, September 19 & Tuesday, September 20

We arrived in Nantwich about 5pm on Monday afternoon & had a snack in our boat’s galley before walking into the town. The town center is very close to where we were moored for the night.

The main commercial area is predominantly classic architecture & is so compact that it’s perfect for walking & sightseeing. Tuesday morning we were up early & headed to the town center for some more sightseeing & shopping for some light groceries.

One of the shops was a combination tea room & bookstore. We had a delicious snack there & bought some roadmaps of England & Scotland for the next phase of our adventure after we rerun the boat to Preston Brook.

A predominant part of the town center is St Mary’s Anglican Church. It dates back to the 1700’s & is really well preserved.

 

The church is a focal point in the town center & its spire can be seen for several miles around.

We finished off the afternoon by picking up some groceries for snacking on each day & a few more bottles of wine. Then we returned to the boat to settle in for the night. But before we could settle in we had to take the boat a little further down the canal to a spot that was wide enough for us to turn the boat around so we could start our journey back to Preston Brook early the next morning.

 

The photo below shows the aqueduct that we crossed as we headed to the turnaround point – or “winding hole” as many of the seasoned narrowboaters call them. As you can see in the photo many sections of the canal are above the local landscape.

Cheers!