Another new belt

Tuesday, 17 November 2009 09:30

It was turn around day

We waited for the rain to stop, as the forecast was for a good late morning and afternoon and we planned to turn around to head back to Norbury Junction and beyond.

We did not reckon on the wind though - it was really blowing! We managed to get off the bank with out too much problem as the wind was coming in the right direction to push us off.

Our chosen winding point was at the beginning of Shebdon Embankment but before that we had to cruise through one of the most exposed stretches of the Shroppie!  It was also "on-line mooring land". Gosh was it slow going (41 minutes to do just over 1 mile) but we had to keep above tickover to steer against the wind, which pushed us over towards the moored boats.

Shebdon Bridge has a stop lock and a gate

Was this the point of "no entrance" during the recent emergency repairs,? If so, what happened to the boats moored afterward? There was a notice at Norbury Junction explaining the measures for the stoppage, but no mention of this.

Talking of notice boards - one thing we have noticed is that there are no stoppage notices posted on the BW notice boards. Are all boaters expected to have internet access?

So we approached Shebdon winding hole

The wind blowing meant John had to think which way to wind. He did a brilliant job, the right way into the wind, avoiding the moored boats there too! So we were on our way back towards Norbury Junction.

Looking back at the beginning of Shebdon Embankment

We crept past the moored boats again - the wind had dropped a little but the flag was still horizontal at times!

Shebdon Bridge again with ducks and flag!

Passing Anchor Bridge and the Anchor Inn we repeated our journey of the other day, arriving at Norbury Junction just before the skies opened and it poured with rain. So much for the weather forecast!

John was not very happy with the way the replacement belt was behaving - it was too loose and the electrics were doing funny things! So he decided that he would change it when we collected the new ones on order from Norbury Chandlery.

Once the rain stopped, we ventured out and across to pick up the belts - they had only just arrived - and a few other bits and pieces. Back on board, John changed the belt and all seems better now.

Rather than move on, we decided to stay the night and so settled down while dusk rapidly arrived!

Shropshire Union Canal, Anchor Bridge to Norbury via Shebden winding hole - 2 hours 3 minutes, 4.70 miles, 0 locks