Wednesday 29th June

A miserable morning leading to a late start at 11am. Had to go one mile further on to turn round as it didn't seem to be possible to turn in the entrance to Nantwich Marines arm. I had checked their fuel price, and at 45p/l it wasn't worth going down there to fill up and turn. Stopped for lunch at Calveley, unfortunately the highly praised pub near the canal had changed. As I had left the boat without the guides I walked into the village of Alpraham to check out the other pub, which I was hoping was the one in the GBG.

The first pub that I came to was the Tollemache Arms and obviously wasn't the one in the GBG. But at least it was doing food, which the GBG one definitely wouldn't be. They had 3 real ales and I went for the weakest one, Old Hooky at 4.8%!

The scenery after Calveley was very good which made a change after the dreary section from Barbridge. Carried on through Bunbury staircase where I was lucky enough to pair up with another boat until Beeston Iron lock which we were not allowed to share. I stopped at Chas Harderns for fuel. It only took 71l to fill, less than I was expecting as there was only an inch above the mark on the dipstick.

Stopped at the Shady Oak by Bates Mill Bridge. The mill sounded as if it still had a water wheel in use. The pub had no real ale, but they did have Kronenburg White at 3 pounds a pint, which was rather nice. Had a meal there and decided to move on to the next pub at Crows Nest bridge.

On the way it rained, but the sun shone all the way. On reaching the pub I found that it had changed to The Oak Room and was not open. Retired to the boat.

Tuesday 28th June

Walked to Wrenbury to buy milk. Took photos of some of exhibits on the scarecrow trail. Also went into the church. It has box pews and an organ on the gallery at the west end.

Set off to get through Baddiley locks before lunch. I thought the rush was over but by the time I was going into the first lock there were 4 boats waiting behind me.

Walked to the Farmers Arms, Ravensmoor for lunch. Forced to have a 2 course lunch as they were only one pound more than a sandwich!

Filled up with water at Hurleston, then went straight into the locks and the lock keeper helped me all the way down. Then turned right to Nantwich so that I could go to the Black Lion.

The Oddfellows Arms chef was on holiday, as I should have remembered from our previous visit and due to a long and expensive phone call to Malcolm I was too late to get food in any other pub. I scoured the town looking for a Wetherspoons but without success. It was also student night and a lot of pubs were uninviting.

Having failed to find food I went to the Black Lion. This was an excellent choice, three Weetwood beers plus White Star Titanic.

On the way back to the boat I stopped at the chippy.

Monday 27th June

Another glorious day.

Stayed at Willeymoor until after lunch as I thought they deserved another visit. Went in for an early lunch. One of the interesting beers had gone so there was only one left that I wanted to try.

Set off for Wrenbury but only went slowly, 2.5mph, as I didn't have to keep in front of anyone. I had to do do all three locks on my own but at least I was lucky when I got to Wrenbury, there was a boat coming the other way who let me through the lift bridge.

Moored in the shade near the next disused lift bridge. Walked to Aston to visit the Bhurtpore Inn which is in the GBG. They have a large choice of 10 real ales plus foreign beers and an interesting menu. I was therefore resigned to having a 3 course meal with beers to match. I did have to reject one beer, he said it was getting low so offered me something else instead.

Sunday 26th June

Got up at 8 and before long had a phone call from Andrew to say that he was on his way to join me at Ellesmere.

Set off shortly before 9am. Met Dave, Gary, Jill and Lloyd near the Ellesmere tunnel. Jill and Lloyd jumped on and Dave and Gary went off to leave Daves car near Willeymoor lock.

They returned near Welshampton where Gary jumped on. Dave moved on to bridge 50 where Gary, Jill and Lloyd left, and Dave got on.

Stopped for lunch at the Waggoners at Platt Lane. Had another excellent soup, Pea and Ham this time, plus a good main course and a reasonable sweet.

On to Whitchurch where we went up the partially restored arm. Boats over 40ft are advised not to try turning right out of the arm. We watched a hire boat try and give up so we followed them to the previous winding hole. After turning we ran aground on some sticky clay and could not get off. A passing boat offered help so I asked for a tow. This did the trick.

Got through Grindley Brook without any holdups. On arrival at Willeymor lock we had another pint at the pub, which is in the GBG.

Andrew and Dave left, I had tea back on board and later returned to the pub for another pint.

Saturday 25th June

Travelled back to Ellesmere the way I had come, ie. drove to Shireoaks and got trains to Sheffield, Birmingham and Shrewsbury. Had almost an hour in Shrewsbury to wait for the bus, so I went to the Wetherspoons for a pint.

On arrival at Ellesmere bought some provisions in the Co-op. Ran the engine for about an hour to top up the batteries in preparation for a night of cooling down the fridge. I did try to light the gas burner but failed.

Went for an Indian take away, and did not visit any pubs!

Friday 24th June

At home. Upgraded the phone software. It's supposed to give you more memory to play with, which it did. Little did @ realise some of the other effects.

Thursday 23rd June

Once boats were on the move I set off to turn round and go back to Ellesmere arm.

Caught the 12.30 bus to Gobowen station. I bought a saver return which turned out to be more expensive than when I checked 3 weeks ago. I was told that it was valid either through Manchester or Birmingham. As I had just missed a Chester train and there wasn't another for 2 hours, I decided to go via Birmingham.

Popped into the nearest pub for a quick pint whilst waiting for a train to Shrewsbury which was running half an hour late. Caught a train there to Birmingham New Street which was air conditioned. Had 5 minutes in Birmingham to get the 1530 Newcastle train. This was a Virgin Voyager so there was the usual confusion over seat reservations. The air conditioning on this was too cold so I didn't manage to get a nap. On leaving the train at Sheffield I noticed that the other end of the carriage was a lot warmer and the vestibule was very hot.

The 1644 Lincoln train was advertised as being late so I was hoping to catch that, however it never ran. Something to do with a broken down train at Kiveton. The 1718 did turn up and we got on it but were told to go to the front of the station. As there were no coaches there I checked on the status of the 1744, and that was advertised as running from platform 3. We got on this when it arrived only to have to get off again, and go to platform 5. Finally we were in luck.

Drove home from Shireoaks.

Wednesday 22nd June

Another scorcher.

Found the previous broken hinge from the exhaust and managed to make one good one from the two broken ones.

Had trouble locking the front door when I came to go out for lunch so I got out the file and chisel and sorted that out.

Another sandwich and pint of Hey-Ho for lunch in the Narrow Boat.
Newly repaired pipe ready and fitted.

Set off for Ellesmere. Unfortunately despite arriving early the arm was still full so carried on to Blake Mere.

Walked back into town along the mere and went to the Black Lion to eat. I had a fillet steak which had looked good when Ian had one last week. Walked back past the marina and along the towpath, with a diversion to the castle mound to get a decent phone signal.

Tuesday 21st June

Another hot day. Eventually left Hindford to get to Maestermyn for lunch. Went into the Narrow Boat for a sandwich with a pint of Archers Hey-Ho.

Asked at the boatyard about my broken pipe, and as they said that they could fix it, I went back to the boat to remove it and left it with them.

Watched Tim Henman win his first match in the afternoon.

Back to the pub for an evening meal with another pint of Hey-Ho and a pint of Bombardier.

Monday 20th June

Andy left on the 8.57 then I walked into Chirk again. Found another former pub which had been demolished. Bought some Woods bottled beer in the Co-Op and a large Castrol oil pourer in another shop. Walked back to the boat via the tunnel which was very dark, but at least it wasn't smokey yet.

Set off at 11.15 and got to the Jack Mytton Inn at Hinford in time for a sandwich and a pint of Summer Lightning.

Decided to try and work out why there was so much fuel in the oil collector pot. On removing the cylinder head cover it was immediately obvious that the fuel return pipe from one of the cylinders was broken. However it's probably been like that for about a year.

Sunday 19th June

Set off about 8.30. Got though the one way sections without any problems. Stopped at Trevor basin to try and empty the loo but the boatyard said that they didn't have that facility. Ventured to the end of the arm to turn round and stop for coffee.

Stopped for lunch at Froncystllte and went to Aqueduct Inn. Tried for a second pint in the other pub, but it had closed and was being converted
into a house.

On to Chirk where we moored at the north end of the tunnel, which is convenient for the station. Ian caught the late running 15.57 which was not the one on the timetable.

Walked into the village to check out the food possibilities for the evening, but decided to eat on board.

Later on we tried The Hand Hotel, but they only had Tetleys, so we went to the Statton Arms, which was a Hydes pub and we were there for a lock-in.

Saturday 18th June

Spent the whole day and another night in the new basin at Llangollen. Was
happy to pay the 5ukp for this but was rather disgusted to find that there
is no new facilities block to go with it.

Filled up with water for the first time since in seven days.

Weather started out looking a bit glloomy but when the sun broke through it
got very hot and humid.

Went down to the station to catch the 11am train to Carrog. There we walked
to the GBG Grouse Inn for lunch with Lees beers. Got off the train back at
Berwyn to look at Horseshoe Falls and walk back along the canal feeder.

Went out early to the Corn Mill to ensure that we got one of their one
third unbookable tables. As most people were outside there was plenty of
room inside.

After that we went to the Sun for a few pints. Saw some of the final
episode of Doctor Who there. Finished off on the way back with another
pint in the Corn Mill.

Friday 17th June

Left Queens Head shortly after 8am to arrive at the queue for Frankton
locks at 9.30. There are only bollards for two boats there, so we had fun
trying to moor with the wind blowing us off the shallow edge. There was
only one boat coming down today so we seemed to make it through quickly,
and were out before noon.

Stopped at the Jack Mytton Inn at Hindford for a quick, one pint, lunch so
that we stood a chance of making it to Llangollen for the evening.

The only slight delay we had was at Chirk tunnel where there were two boats
in front of waiting to go through. We did not have to pass any boats at the
one way sections near Llangollen and we arrived at about 7.30.

The Corn Mill said that they were fully booked, so as with the usual
problem in towns of deciding where to eat we went to the chippy. Drank in
the three GBG pubs, the Sun, the Wynstay Hotel and the Corn Mill.

Thursday 16th June

Left Ellesmere in time to make it to Frankton between 9.30 and 10.30. When
we got there were 3 boats in the queue already. Because of this we only
made it to Queens Head for lunch. While we were there we booked a table for
the evening.

Made it to the end at Gronwen Wharf for 4pm where moored for a photo
opportunity and a cup of tea. Then we went back up to Queens Head for the
evening.

Wednesday 15th June

Left Wrenbury at 7am, in the rain, to ensure that we get to Ellesmere
tonight, and on to the Montgomery tomorrow. Passed the hotel boat pair
Morpeth and Alnwick moored the other side of the lift bridge at Wrenbury.

Got through all the locks with no delays so were 2 hours ahead of schedule
at Whitchurch. So we carried on to Platt Lane where we went to the Waggoner
Inn. They had 4 out of 5 beers on. We all had the homemade Pea and
Corriander soup which was good.

After lunch we took a detour down the Prees branch where we filled up with
102l of diesel at 41p/l.

After winding in Ellesmere basin we managed to moor on the arm after asking
one boat to move up one ring to make room.

Went to the Black Lion to eat, which is in the Good Food Guide. The mains
were very good but the starters were dissapointing. They had Marstons
bitter, Pedigree and Summer Ale. After that we had a quick scout round the
town and ended up in the White Hart which also has Marstons Bitter and
Pedigree.
___

Tuesday 14th June

Moored north of the boatyard at Nantwich for an early lunch. Tried to go to
the Black Lion but this doesn't open for lunch during the week. Popped into
the beer shop opposite and purchased three different Traquair House beers.
Then back to the Oddfellows Arms, which is also in the GBG, for lunch.

After that we carried on up to Hurleston Junction where we turned on to
Llangollen Canal. Progress on the Llangollen was good, but we were slowed
down dramatically in the bridge holes by the current, and the approaches to
some of the locks were tricky due to the strong bypass weir flows.

Got to Wrenbury for the evening. Tried the Dusty Miller first but they were
fully booked so we ate in the Cotton Arms which had two beers from the
local Paradise brewery and the food was good. Then a walk into the village
and back to the Dusty Miller to sample the Robinsons.

___

Monday 13th June

Moored for lunch at Market Drayton and walked into town. Had lunch in the
Crown but no Clive pie. Then had a wander round the rest of town and
another pint in the Railway.

Managed to get a bottle of gas at Ted's boatyard.

Moored for the night above lock 12 at Audlem. Ate in the Shroppie Fly then
went for a walk around the village. Had a pint in the Lord Combermere and
another in the Bridge, before finishing up in the Shroppie Fly which by
then had folk music.
___

Sunday 12th June

Set off about 8.30 aiming for an early lunch at Brewood. Called at
Countrywide Cruisers, Brewood for gas and fuel but they were shut. Walked
back to Brewood where we had a good lunch at the Bridge Inn and then went
for another pint at the Swan Hotel.

On the way to the Anchor at High Offley we picked up Ians sister, nephew
and neice at Norwood Junction. They came with us to the Anchor and walked
back from there.

We went to the Anchor at 7pm for a pint and to check that they were not
doing food. Then back to the boat for something to eat followed by a return
to the Anchor for some more Wadworth 6X direct from the cellar.

Saturday 11th June

Another lie in till 8am then a short trip into Penkridge for an early lunch
and a complete crew changeover. Stopped briefly on the way at Midland
Swindlers but managed to avoid buying anything. Also filled up with water
before mooring.

Went to the Railway for lunch as it is in the Good Beer Guide. Met Ian and
Andy there and saw off David and Peter in time for a train at 14.54.

Purchased some basic provisions in Penkridge.

Made it to the Fox and Anchor at Coven which is a spoon pub. It was very
busy so there was a long wait for our food. We were forced to try both
their Bass and Tetley beers, neither of which were good.

After that we walked into the village to find the PH symbol that we had
seen on the OS map. It turned out to be the Rainbow, an Ansells pub which
was selling Bank's Bitter and Original. Would not recommend this pub either.

Friday 10th June

On up to Great Haywood where we emptied the loo and then on to the Staffs
and Worcs canal. Stopped for lunch on Tixall Wide. We managed to get a
prime position in the middle, but were dissapointed not to see any
Kingfishers.

For the evening we stopped at Acton Trussell. We were looking forward to
some real ale and good food at the Moat House, however they did not have
any handpumps but the the draught Pedigree seemed OK. They had a wedding
reception on, so there were no specials, but the food was quite good.

We explored the village thouroughly in search of another pub but there were
none, so we had to return to the Moat House for another drink.

Thursday 9th June

Set off at 8.30 and arrived earier than expected at Arlewas at 11.45. The
weather may be on the turn as it's clouding over.

Ate and drank in the William IV in Arlewas which was not as described in
the canal guide. Also purchased some more provisions.

Stopped for the evening just past Armitage outside the Plum Pudding, which
is opposite Tom Cobleighs Spode Cottage. Checked out the menu in the Plum
Pudding and booked a table there for 7.45, which was half an hour after we
arrived.

Had a really good meal there, followed by a short walk along the canal
towards Hawkesyard Priory. Then back to check the beer in the Spode
Cottage. There wasn't any so we went back into the Plum Pudding.

Wednesday 8th June

Left Sawley on another beutiful day. Stopped at the chandlery in Shardlow.

Passed by Shardlow canal centre where Pete Hawkins has his new boat moored.
It is now sporting the name Jacob and is painted the same colours, but in a
different order, ie. Maroon panels with a black border.

Moored for lunch above the lock at Swarkestone and took the footpath across
the freight line to the Crew and Harpur, where we had our main meal.

On to Burton for the evening where we moored by the Marstons brewery. We
were the only boat there, most were there other side of the bridge, or at
Horninglow. Ate on board then out for a pint at the Coopers Tavern, which
is the old Bass brewery tap and is now in the Tynemill chain.

Tuesday 7th June

Today was very calm and sunny but the air is still cold. However we did get
to wear shorts in the afternoon.

Made it to Nottingham for lunch, where we went to the Vat and Fiddle for
lunch. It is the Castle Rock Brewery Tap, and is now part of the Tynemill
chain.

Moored in Sawley cut for the evening where we ate in the Harrington Arms
follwed by a pint in the Nags Head.

Monday 6th June

Taken by surprise when several other boats left at 8am and headed
upstream. We quickly followed suit and tried to keep up with the last
narrowboat.

We heard on the radio one boat calling Cromwell lock to go through, but
then a bit later there was more radio traffic about a commercial barge
blocking the river. So we slowed down and when we got there there was one
boat being loaded with gravel, a fully loaded one was stuck blocking most
of the river, and another one was waiting to load. All the other
narrowboats and cruisers had moored up to the empty barge.

Shortly after we arrived one of the narrowboats deicided to try to get
round the bow of the loaded barge and we followed him, shortly follwed by
all the other boats.

Still arrived in Newark in time for a late lunch in the Fox and Crown, a
Tynemill pub. After that we pressed on to Gunthorpe for the evening.

When we got there, the secure floating pontoon was full, but we managed to
moor to the bank.

Had a very good meal in Tom Browns, at a reasonable price too, as it was
early in the week.

Sunday 5th June

Stopped at Drakeholes for lunch where we partook of the carvery at the
White Swan.

Arrived at West Stockwith in plenty of time for the tide at 6pm. Filled up
with diesel and gas.

Ideal coditions for our passage up to Torksey where we stopped for the
night. We ate on board then went to the Castle Arms which no longer has
real ale, the eatery pub closed early so we ended up in the nearest pub
where we were initially made to feel unwelcome but at least theey now have
more than John Smiths.

Saturday 4th June

Spent time this morning trimming the ballast to try and correct the list to
port. Also putting lots of stuff in the bilges underneath my bed, but
still had one box left out.

David arrived shortly after 11am and Peter arrived on the 11.18 train. A
fairly swift start and made rapid progress down to Worksop, where we moored
above the town lock, and headed for the Mallard where I had an excellent
Spring Porter.

Made it to west Retford for the evening and went to eat in the Market
Hotel. Then over to the Rum Runner, in the rain, for another pint.