Wednesday, 27 January 2016

Barnton (at least it didn't rain)



True to the forecast we awoke on Tuesday morning to really strong winds but no rain.  As it was set to stay like that all day we knew we wouldn’t be cruising anywhere.  When I took Buddy out for his first morning walk we came across some mini stanking planks; these made me smile because of the comment Ben had made on our blog entry on FaceBook yesterday, “Good to have you back, looking forward to some stanking plank photos. (btw, Google stanking plank, you get the 2nd entry!)”.  It’s true!

We took a walk to Marston in the morning to find out the opening hours of the salt works museum as Marston is the next place we want to moor.  Unlike the other times we have cruised this stretch of the Trent & Mersey we were in luck and the museum would be open on Wednesday.  On the way back to the boat we went past the Anderton boat lift that we took down to the River Weaver last summer.  All was quiet today and very little boat traffic.


We love this time of year on the water as there are few boats on the move and those that are tend to be continuous cruisers or liveaboards like us. Having been up in the North West for a while now we have started to recognise boats and their owners.

Karen started bridge lessons when we were back in Kent in November as she had never had formal training.  After the first week I joined in as bidding systems have moved on in the 30 years since I used to play.  We knew we wouldn’t complete the courses so arranged with the instructor that we receive each week’s handouts and hands by email. We played through a few hands in the afternoon, Karen baked a fruit cake and then went for a circular walk along the canal and back up the river.

It’s a lovely feeling when it’s still light at 5 o’clock and the birds sound like they are in spring song.  We walked down to the River Weaver and caught the last rays of sunshine reflecting on the water.

From Saltersford locks the canal embankment can be seen high above showing the enormity of the task it was to build it without mechanisation.

Walking back along the river to Barnton we thought this looked  a nice quite spot for a mooring in the summer.



I had made a curry on Sunday and we had the last of it this evening - three days on the trot so to speak!

No comments: