Narrowboat Firecrest – Coddiwompling with Narrowboat Firecrest

Turning Right

True we thought we’d be going south, but the lure of a week in Chester proved too much, so we turned right at Barbridge Junction. Onto the Shroppie and headed the 15 miles north for a bit of a holiday

We spent a night at Calverly getting to know the resident swans offspring,

before tackling the 11 heavy double locks. As this was before the recent heatwave we were playing chicken with the rain clouds and gale force winds. One minute it was beautiful blue sky, then those heavy laden cumulus clouds appeared over the horizon and in true Hollywood style we rushed towards each other and got soaked.

But we mustn’t complain, the canals and the farmers still need the water.

However we got lucky with the heavy locks and buddies up with some happy holiday makers who were more than willing to share the load, so we made good progress mainly in the dry. We broke our journey with a good view of Beeston Castle through the round window.

We did attempt the obligatory treasure hunt but the ground had become so soggy that it wasn’t much fun and we assumed that the missing royal gold, Richard II is said to have tossed into the castle’s 370′ deep well must have dissolved by now. At least his reign as monarch dissolved as he was defeated in battled and Henry IV siezed power in 1399

Beeston Castle might be a lovely place to moor for the views but alas we get lousy WiFi reception there which isnt much fun when its too wet and windy to cruise. At least we got a nice sunset on our second night there.

We gritted our teeth as we cruised at tickover through the Golden Nook Farm linear moorings. There are roughly 130 boats moored along this mile and a half stretch, and unlike the endless scruffy boats that hog approaches into London, this does look like a nice friendly place to live. With a lovely view of fields over the canal.

That’ll be the Welsh hills in the distance

They even have their own bus stop, although I’ve yet to see a red double decker cruising this way.

Is this the most photographed bus stop on the canal- probably

Again we got lucky sharing locks on our final approach into Chester, and even luckier finding a spot on our favourite mooring. Under the walls at King Charles garden-Charles I that is not the III.

New Directions

Despite some lovely cruising and fabulous scenery, we hadn’t really wanted to return to this part of Cheshire for a while. But when we realised our portholes were leaking last October, (almost the first heavy rain we’d had since Firecrest was repainted in the March) Nick drove out to see us and assess the problem. Between us we came to the conclusion it was to do with the lacquer Eric had used to polish the brass adhering to the sealant. The solution would be to remove the portholes and clean off the offending compounds, and reseal them. A job best done at the Paintshed, Uplands Marina. So this has been our first destination of the year.

Not a scratch on that beautiful paintwork

At this point we’d like to stress that we in no way blame poor workmanship for the problem. Nick and his team have been nothing but helpful and have our absolute confidence. Lessons were learnt by all of us, and the team patched us up beautifully in just a few hours.

Very important discussion in progress, probably about the solar panels

With our necessary maintenance seen to, it was decisions time. Plan A was to be on the Leeds and Liverpool by April, going via the Macc, through Manchester and back onto the Bridgewater before hitting the Wigan Flight. But it was now May and we’d already “enjoyed” a dryish April so what with our slow pace we were unlikely to get to Wigan before end of May. Plus I’ve got some commitments which will restrict our cruising in June. With those time constraints and the Leeds and Liverpool being a canal that invariably suffers with low water levels, our conclusion was that we’d missed the boat. We almost certainly would be able to get onto the L&L but would we be able to get off later in the year? A risk we weren’t willing to take this year.
We would turn right onto the Middlewich branch and aim for the Shroppie

Goodbye T&M, hello Wardle canal, aka the Middlewich branch

I love this stretch of canal it’s quite wide, and theres some pretty moorings with good views.

Those clouds look like they’ll test the new seals …. and they did and all was good.

the locks are easy, although in previous years, I recall us being in a 10 boat queue to get up through Minshull lock

And the locals are friendly. Mr Toad’s self defence is to freeze, which although I had no intention of eating him, or kissing him for that matter, makes him easy to photograph.

Everyone wanted to watch the world go by, the crow was happy to watch while I worked the lock

I always have to look up the difference between a crow and a rook. Crows are all black around their heads, Rooks have a band of grey feathers on their face

And the cows were triptrapping over the bridge.

But the funniest bird of the day was this swan, who tailgated us for about 15 minutes. It became very obvious he was enjoying riding the wake, if Eric moved the tiller, swanny would move to the otherside where the water was more turbulent.

And when we cruised past Ventetian mariana, their famous big fish were basking in the warmth at the surface. They looked a bit like koi carp, probably 20 inches long and 20lbs and were enjoying being fed by someone from the cafe.
We’d taken 3 days to do this 10 mile canal, and reach the Shroppie, we’d planned to go south….

Yes there is room for us to squeeze through

A Salty Story

Cruising through this part of Cheshire throws up some interesting comparisons. Many many years ago, before canals were invented. (About 220 million years to be exact), this part of Britain lay under salt marshes caused by the sea flooding inland. Eventually the marshes dried up and left behind beds of rock salt, which in turn the Celts and then the Romans took advantage of. Building up settlements around the natural salty springs, they could process and produce a valuable commodity. The rest they say is history(or geography or economics) . The towns of Northwich, Middlewich and Nantwich all prospered on the salt beneath them. “Wich” being the commonly associated Anglo Saxon word used as a suffix for salt towns. (Although, more correctly the suffixes, wich, wick, and wyke refer to any settlement built up around a specialised industry). Even the canals bear the legacy of the salt mines, not only benefiting from a highly profitable route, but suffering from ground disturbance creating flashes. Most flashes are now stand alone lagoons but some have breached the canal bank causing tempting wide areas to explore…. but woe betide any foolish boater straying too far, for here be dragons lurking in the shallows. Best admired from the well dredged main channel.

As we get to the outskirts of Northwich, we come across the Tata chemical plant at Lostock. This imposing industrial site straddles the canal with a jungle of steaming hissing pipe work and forbidding structures.

Over the past few years, we have watched the progress of new building work, which is looking almost complete. Only to discover that this colossal building with a colour scheme copied from Firecrest’s roof, is nothing to do with salt but is actually the new Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant. Their website is an easy read with some interesting facts.

Basically, it’s a waste inceration facility, that utilities modern advances and technology to capture and reduce pollutants and generate enough electricity (About 69.9mw) for a town twice the size of Northwich, at the same time as reducing landfill by 600,000 tonnes every year.
We are fans of this sort of joined up thinking, but oh boy the fans they have on site look mighty powerful. I bet they’re noisy when they’re running.

Despite our love of the tranquil green countryside, there’s always something strangely compelling about cruising through an industrial site. The public don’t generally get to see it so closely from the main roads.

Part of me would love to take a guided tour around the complex to see what happens inside, but whilst it may not be top secret, I guess it’s not built for easy public access. Especially if the only way to reach the top is to scale the walls in a harness, as we spotted this person doing.

Opposite the Tata site, is the Lostock Brine purification plant.

And further down the canal, the bagged salt awaiting transport. All we need now is some vinegar, fish and chips.

Then we reach the Lion Salt works, where we were able to explore inside.

This fascinating museum follows the history of salt in the area, from the earliest geology, through celtic and roman artifacts, 17th century salt mining until this victorian site was built for brine extraction.
https://lionsaltworks.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk/
Whereas the modern processing site seemed to be dominated by pipework, the victorians relied upon hard physical labour, but little has changed. Salt is still produced by evaporating the water away to leave the salt behind.

At the Lion Salt works the brine was pumped out of the ground into huge pans, housed in sheds. The precise temperature the water was heated to and the time it was heated for affected the quality and size of the salt crystals. It must have been physically exhausting work. I wonder if those men looked at the steam engines and pumps with the same fascination we do today.

Of course all that underground disturbance lead to some catastrophic above ground disturbances as well. In 1907 there was a major collapse. CRT and Peel Holdings take note, it took a whole 2 weeks to repair and get boats moving again.

Let’s go to Lymm

“…Shall we hang around at Anderton or shall we nip up to Lymm for a few days?” Bit of a no brainer really. The canal is relatively quiet, probably due to the Bridgewater Breach blocking navigation so unless you’re happy to wind and retrace your steps, what’s the point of travelling this way…. because in spring it’s alive with new growth and full of potential.

Especially in the sunshine

Even the storm clouds lend sense of anticipation

Although I wont deny I wasn’t relieved to see a clear sunrise

We ran the gauntlet of a fishing competition. Sorry guys

We waved and tooted our horn for the kiddies crossing the bridge

And we discovered narrowboats arent the only floating home, although im not sure a floating nest is the safest abode for your chicks

And when it comes to transporting your animals and your business, this mobile florist had set up her stall in Lymm, her pet pooch even had its own sunshade

Lymm ticks all the boxes for us to declare it a holiday destination

Centred around the 17th century stone cross, the village itself was a hive of activity. Originally agriculture was the predominant occupation, but a Slitting Mill also produced iron nails for the wider community. The arrival of the canal in the 1750’s again increased the prosperity of the growing town. And during the industrial revolution trade became focused on cloth, with the production of fustian, a fabric similar to corduroy. I’ve written about Lymm in several previous posts if you want to know more.

But like us the Victorians recognised its charms and escaped here to stroll through the leafy woodland around the dam

While we were walking around Lymm dam, we saw our first cygnets of the year.

And coots on the canal

And of course as we were in holiday mood, we got to dine out. Someone was celebrating her birthday and the waiter got to hear about it, so my dessert arrived in style. There are several nice restaurants in Lymm, this time we chose Elmas, who make the nicest Tiramisu I’ve had in a while

But alas, we had to get back to the Paintshed so we couldnt linger longer at Lymm, back through more lovely leafy bridges

Under magnificent trees,

And past curious cows

back for one last mooring on this particularly pretty stretch of the Trent and Mersey Canal, before we get our necessary jobs done.

This week’s cruising has been a real pleasure.

Wonderful Wild Flowers

Wonderful wild flowers

Could this possibly be the best time of the year to cruise? I think so, but ask me again in the summer or autumn. And why? Because wild flowers are at their best in late spring, and Bluebells are simply the best.

but just look up close at a dandelion, it’s surely a Chelsea gold medal

Even when they have gone to seed

And you can’t forget the forget me knots

Or the loveliest natural landscaping along the towpath when the flowers come together with a bit of sunshine.

Sometimes the fresh spring smell outbeats any commercial laundry “enhancement”, but sometimes its more suited to the kitchen when you cruise through swathes of wild garlic. Of course I picked some to make wild garlic pesto, which was delicious with some fresh pasta.

I even came across a cultivated garlic, which didn’t smell until you rubbed the leaves

Not all bluebells are blue,

Not sure how you snuck in there

Daisy daisy give me your answer, do.

Another cultivar that was growing alongside the towpath

And I believe this very pink flower is red campion

One thing I love about the late spring flowers, is the quantity that they grow in. As we cruised past Marbury woods, (just before you get to Anderton) you get a tantalising glimpse of a blue carpet.

So while Eric was filling up at the water point, I walked back and strolled through the woods. My photos just don’t do the bluebells justice.

But you dont always have to get off the boat to see fields of gold, even if this isn’t a wild flower meadow

I saw the buttercup meadows at the Anderton nature park

And the cowslips en masse

And what would be spring without the lovely lime green leaves on the oak trees

And the Hawthorn blossom that runs from white to pink

Of course I’ve barely scratched the surface with the just how many flowers we’ve seen. What some people call weeds, I count as blessings from heaven. And while its easy to marvel at the big magnificent things around us, there is so much beauty and wonder in the little all around us.

Mooching around Middlewich

We have a bit of time on our hands as we wait until Nick can fit us in to have the port holes fixed so we have been mooching around Middlewich for longer than usual. It’s not high on the tourist attraction list, usually a place we pass through without exploring. Although King’s Lock chippy is an essential port of call. It does one of the best plates of fish and chips on the cut.

Are we getting old? Even sharing a portion of chips seems too much these days.

The mooring at Booth Lane is nice and wide, has rings and has full sun all day, so you could say almost perfect, but the downside is the road noise. It’s relentless and pervasive, so we unchained the boat and set off through Kings Lock

Down King’s Lock going past the Middlewich branch

And moved to the other side of town, where it’s also wide, has rings and (when its not cloudy) is in full sun. And despite being closer to walk to the supermarket than Booth Lane, has a rural tranquility, definitely perfect.

Eric settled down to work whilst I settled down to do a bit of exploring. Middlewich is a town that is built upon salt, being the middle of the three wich towns, the other two being Northwich and Nantwich. With wich being the suffix meaning salt town. Of course the Roaming Romans took advantage of this gold mine and the confluence of several rivers to build themselves a settlement here. Being an explorer myself, I saw the reference to the Roman fort on my OS map so I followed the foot path over the canal bridge, and through a pretty wooded area

into Harbutts field to see for myself.

Just in case I’d missed something I walked around the other side to check out the view from the west

And to be sure from the south

OK I confess I may have got the north south east west orientations out of order but you get the impression. At least there were info boards to help me see what I was looking at.

And this is board 7 so there must be more…

As we cruised through the town I’d seen a standing stone just off the canal near the Andersen hire boat yard, so I thought I’d investigate Middlewich’s prehistoric culture.

Alas there was no info board, or dedication plaque, so I’m non the wiser as to how and why this Monolith appeared. With a Scandinavian name like Andersen, I wonder if the vikings also came to take advantage of the salt pans, and the carving on the rock face really is a longboat not a modern narrowboat.
However undeterred I wandered back to the boat via the High Street and discovered a good butchers, which we will return to on our next visit. Middlewich really isn’t a tourist attraction, but its home to around 15000 people, and although somewhat run down in areas, is a very useful stopping place for boaters like us, just not for a whole week.

Moving down to Middlewich

After our traumatic wake up sliding ungracefully out of bed on Monday morning, we were relishing a few days of a rural idyll. It’s funny how coming through the Harecastle Tunnel is a bit like teleporting us into a completely different world. The rundown redbrick industrial revolution makes way for green growth and rural beauty. It’s the contrasts that keep this living adventure alive and so exciting for us. Even the same stretch of canal can look very different as the seasons change. Today we woke up in Cheshire not Staffordshire- where Firecrest had been since the 3rd May 2025. The actual county border is where the Macclesfield canal aqueduct crosses over the Trent and Mersey Canal at Hardings Wood Junction although we weren’t in the right frame of mind to celebrate at the time. Today we were setting off down the hill, aiming to get back to the Paintshed where Nick was going to reseal our leaking portholes. But we weren’t rushing. It might only be 13 miles to Middlewich but there are a lot of locks to work through. At least they are pretty.

church lawton locks

We broke our journey at Rode Heath, where there’s a good length of visitor mooring, and it wasnt busy

The sunshine is making everything look so pretty

Even the obligatory photo of us passing under the M6

We moored up quite close to the motorway, its just a gentle hum in the background rather than being invasively noisy.

Eric decided it was time to screw the new pole support onto the roof – only a year after our repaint.

Always an anxious time drilling holes in your roof

Some early morning wake ups are worth waking up for

We stayed here a few days before completing the last of the Wheelock locks.

And another quiet mooring at Wheelock.

Where is everybody?

Eric’s cousin lives quite close by so we arranged to meet up for a meal at the canalside Italian restaurant Barchetta, and I must admit it was a very enjoyable meal. Not only was the company good, portions were generous and service was friendly and attentive. And they do an early bird menu till 6:30 for £15. We’ll definitely go there again.
Final days cruise in this little trip found us a mooring in Middlewich above Kings Lock.

Booth Lane moorings, nice and close to King’s Lock fish and chips shop.

Through the Tunnel and a bit of a scare.

The tomato soup (iron oxide ground seepage) was looking good as we pulled up at the tunnel entrance to await an unbooked passage. There was a boat coming south, so the gate keeper agreed we had plenty of time to fill up with water.

And it gave me a chance to wander around and see the second tunnel

The second tunnel was actually the first. Built by James Brindley as part of the initial canal structure in 1770. At 1.6 miles long, it was the longest tunnel on the network but its 7 year construction was fraught with engineering difficulties as the ground structure changed from soft earth to hard millstone grit. The tunnel was narrow and it took 2 men 3 hours to leg through. The boat kids walked the ponies over the top of the hill along Boathorse Lane. It was decided that the ecconomic value of the canal to the potteries warranted a second tunnel, this time built in 3 years by Thomas Telford. It was wide enough to accommodate a towing path, although the ponies still didnt like being underground for such a long time. Average transit time was now 90 minutes. Despite its limited capacity and frequent structural problems, Brindley’s tunnel remained in use until 1914 when it became uneconomical to repair. Telford’s tunnel also had its fair share of subsidence with the towpath sinking below water level. In 1914 electric tugs were used to haul the boats until the mid 50’s, when most boats had a diesel engine. Major repairs were needed in the 70’s so the authorities removed the towpath completely.
Nowadays it takes between 30 and 40 minutes to complete the passage. CRT operate a booking system, to manage the traffic, although there is still turn up and wait option from 10 until 2 each day (please check their website as these times change)
And we made it out the otherside.

There’s a very convenient Lidl on the canalside just after the tunnel, so we moored up and I went off to restock the fridge. We had full sunshine and it fell safe and secure so we stayed put for the night. Besides I was busy trying to take photos of the ducklings.

If only they’d keep still for a good photo

Safe and secure we thought…. until the following morning when we fell out of bed, literally, and I do mean literally. The boat was listing at a horrible angle. It was barely light, but we realised that there had been a significant drop in the water level and we were hanging on with our ropes. What with last year’s Bridgewater Breach and this year’s Whitchurch Breach we were relieved not to see any water rushing past us, but even so, with a drop of two foot, that was significant. And yes we were quite worried.

We could barely stand up inside, and things had slid onto the floor. Luckily no breakages. It was difficult to get off the boat with the combination of the level difference and angle.

And I dont like the look of that Armco either

But our first thought was that some *%&£@ had left the paddles up on the lock below us. We walked to both the locks above and below us and all the gates and paddles were closed, and the adjacent water levels seemed to be correct. It was only our pound between locks 45 and 46 that had lost water.

The angle the boat was at was a lot more scarey than it looks

The obvious solution was that we should simply run some water down from the pound above us, but what if this level drop were a structural incident or an imminent failure. At 6.30, having spoken to the other boater in the same plight as us, we decided to play the better safe than sorry card and call the CRT emergency line only to get a recorded, “all our operators are busy right now” message. Not even an option to leave a message. What would have happened if this had been a serious breach or real emergency, ok I’d have dialled 999 but even so what good is an unmanned emergency line. When I did get through at 7.30 . Stating we were moored between 45 and 46 on the Trent and Mersey, the operator, then asked “exactly where are you” …between locks 45 and 46 on the T&M… “and where’s that?”… Kidsgrove, near the harecastle tunnel…”I can’t find that on the map” ….Eventually, they located us, and said they’d contact the local team who would call us back. Come on CRT, forget installing fancy signage and food waste bins, how about a better map system for your operators. By now we were thoroughly cheesed off, worried and annoyed and other boaters were also chomping at the bit. By 9.30 some volunteers had turned up. And they did what we should possibly have done 3 hours earlier. They just opened up the lock and ran water through. We never got our call back. We have no idea if any investigation was done as to the cause of the water loss. They just patted us on the back and said someone must have left a paddle up. Of course I should really have filed a “near miss” complaint. The what ifs dont bear thinking about. And I’m not even going to think about the state of that Almco below water level. Out of sight out of mind.

That’s better, I can stand up straight now.

Once we were refloated we just escaped and worked our way down the next 5 locks and left them too it. We were going to enjoy a late brunch and some peace. Our emotions had been put through the wringer and we’d had enough for one day.

Grumpy Bastards and Mean Machines

As you know I like to snap photos of things that make me smile, and as Eric set off on Firecrest towards the Harecastle Tunnel, I took one last stroll along the crumbling victorian buildings. The day before I’d seen this boarded up building, with a sign pointing down to Grumpys.

But today, it had come alive, the shutters pulled up and the Grumpy Bastards were out partying. All was revealed.

If you were into Harleys and America classic cars

This was the place to be
Grumpy Bastards is a club and music venue for people with a passion for the classics, motorcycles and americana.. And if you time it right, the reverent Tarquin Bounder will have opened up to polish the paint

And rub the rust

And generally enjoy sharing the love (aka showing off)

Behind the shuttered door is a bar that caters for bikers of all shapes and sizes,

And is full of memorabilia including this bugatti grand prix winner

But the bike takes centre stage

Of course not everyone wanted to stick around, but escaping isn’t easy as this poor guy found out as he tried to drive away, I didn’t dare look for fear that he was going to nudge one of those beauties.

Which he almost did, luckily someone had the sense to fetch the bikes owners, who moved their pride and joys out of the way. I’d retreated to watch from a safer distance. I wasnt sure what fireworks might fly as the tension rose.

Down the alley is a garage/workshop

There was food and drink to be had, so bought some street food rushed back to the boat to share it and some happy memories with Eric. When I was about 10 my family lived in South Africa, where big Chevrolet’s were the car of choice. I have fond memories of “aunty Nora’s” chevvy being this colour, although hers wasnt a pick up.

My dad drove a Bakkie , the South African word for a pick up just like this one

And the family went exploring in a proper VW kombi

I dont generally think of myself as a petrol head, but sometimes you’ve just got to live the moment. Everyone has to start somewhere.

And everyone can dream

But for now, I went happily back to my slow pace of life with a silent electric motor as we approached the tunnel for the next stage of our journey.

Messing about at Middleport

We have a vague memory from back in 2017 when we moved aboard, of us saying we’d always try to moor in a different place. Middleport pottery quickly fell through that net. Its not the perfect mooring, but its a mooring we enjoy and we seem to keep coming back to it. Probably because its within easy reach of the Harecastle Tunnel, and we dont have to put up with honking geese and goose poo if we were to moor at Westport Lakes. And of course, we love the architectural heritage of being able to moor right opposite a pottery built in 1888. I can’t get enough of bottle kilns.

Being Easter Weekend we assumed we’d get some bad weather, but Saturday proved to be dry and sunny- until storm Dave put in an appearance and blew the cobwebs away. The pottery was hosting a Steam Punk extravaganza on the Saturday, alas victorian sci-fi fashion isnt the most practical boat wear so we donned our jeans and waterproofs and went to admire what others were wearing.

I love the idea of creating a unique outfit, where rules are meant to be broken, but not all steam punk is quite so relaxed. We came across the highly competitive sport of tea dueling.

These two starving urchins had been dragged off the street for our entertainment with the temptation of being allowed to eat a whole malted milk biscuit. However, they were first to endure a tortuous duel. Having dunked their biscuit into a freshly poured cup of tea for precisely 3 second, (as counted down by the audience) they competed to hold their biscuit upright, without it breaking, for the longest time without devouring it in one greedy mouthful. One urchin lasted 41 seconds the other 42. And the audience was well entertained.
We resumed our self guided tour of the pottery, which although it has developed as a heritage site, preserving its old buildings, it is still a working pottery and a teaching site for budding potters. I’d have loved to have joined a class but they were all full up this weekend. Instead we had a look at the bath house. Right up until the 1950s it was unusual for the workers terrace houses to have an indoor bathroom, or even a zinc tub of their own, so the Mills would often have bath houses available for their employees to use. During world war II this bath house was the designated bomb shelter to accommodate 38 people. The factory employed over 200.

Whilst we were enjoying Middleport, I saw directions to Oatbakers. Which according to various online reviews serves the best Staffordshire oatcakes available. As you would expect Eric opted for the challenger, a giant Oatcake. I always thought an Oatcake was a crisp biscuit that you’d eat with cheese. These however are more like a pancake, served with a sweet or savoury filling. We chose cheese and bacon. If you moor at Middleport or at Westport, the bakery is within easy walking distance, and worth a visit.

Despite the area being quite run down, theres a great community spirit. Even though Port Vale lost against Chelsea in the football FA cup quarter final. Someone has a sense of humour creating the secret garden

I was curious to know what was behind the doors. And I just happened to meet a local who had lived in Middleport all his life. This building used to be a state of the art bakery. But it is now crumbling away and the secret garden is just a teaser, someone covering up a boarded up entrance.

We stayed 4 nights at the Middleport Pottery, this time. I am sure we will be back. But for now we were preparing to say goodbye to Staffordshire as we cruised towards Cheshire, so I couldnt not share this Staffie who came to say hello to us.