Working locks, working boats and work in progress

Monday, 06 April 2009 17:21

We came down through the two Beeston locks and Wharton Lock with a Viking hire boat. The locks are really quite hard with heavy gates and high geared bottom paddles so it was great to have help!

The canal circumnavigates the ruins of 13th Century Beeston Castle, high on a hill above a quarry. There were no blue skies today so it was a disappointing photo opportunity!

Before Bate's Mill Bridge we saw Ivor Batchelor's two boats Mountbatten and Jellicoe moored and perhaps waiting to go down to Ellesmere Port for the weekend and the Traditional Easter Boat Gathering. There have been a number of working boats moored on this stretch so we wondered if they were all doing the same!

Mountbatten and Jellicoe

The open countryside of the Cheshire plain continues and just before Crow's Nest Bridge (113) the new Tattenhall Marina is work in progress and nearly ready - the first boats are supposed to be in by Easter!. Rows upon rows of empty pontoons give it a stark appearance and I imagine that it will be rather exposed to the vicissitudes of the weather!

Entrance under construction

From the next bridge, Nixons bridge, onwards there are lines of permanent moorings on the offside. I wonder if any will be going into the Marina? Tick over for nearly 2 miles is a bit excruciating!

We moored for lunch just after Egg Bridge at Waverton

We passed some lovely gardens and this amused us as we passed one end of garden mooring



We filled up with water at Christleton Wharf, by the bridge

Just as we got to Christleton lock the heavens opened. This was a really hard lock and I was really tired by this time! An early start and difficult locks take their toll! John worked Greenfield lock and then we moored pretty quickly!

We are now on the outskirts of Chester, so tomorrow will complete the next three locks right into the centre.

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