It is time for change

Sunday, 02 May 2010 18:32

Now where have I heard that recently!

New for old, that's us. Let me explain, as I am sure you have no idea what I am going on about! Yesterday's blog left us on the Shropshire Union Canal and today we move again onto another "new" stretch of waterway. But they are both "old" waterways for us, as we were doing this in April last year.

We left our mooring before Barbridge Junction on the Shroppie before 10am as the forecast was rain for later in the day and we knew of a lovely mooring not far away.

Leaving 48H moorings

Beyond these "narrows" is Barbridge Junction with a BW sani-station with room for two short narrowboats or just one our length! Amazingly there was not a narrowboat in sight after the early morning rush.

Barbridge Junction approach from the south

Ahead of us was the old Chester Canal, now the Shropshire Union Main Line to Chester and Ellesmere Port. Epiphany Blog addicts will remember that we travelled to Chester and beyond last Easter time (2009). Refresh your memory or be a first-time reader from here - Chester, clickety click and Ellesmere Port, with photos of the Waterways Museum, clickety click.

There was no rain clouds ahead along the main line

Today, though we turned right and under Barbridge Junction Bridge onto the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal. This Telford built Branch is known as "the New Cut" to old Boatmen and crosses the Cheshire Plain to join the Trent and Mersey Canal at Middlewich.

Barbridge Junction Bridge

Interestingly enough, I picked up Tom Rolt's famous book "Narrow Boat" and see that we are travelling in the opposite direction to his "Cressy cruise" documented in this must-read book.

The first lock we encountered is at Cholmondeston. As Tom Rolt remarks Cholmondeston is "a good example of how local place names can defeat the stranger by their unexpected pronunciation". Like him we continue to speculate on the pronunciation! Is it "Chulmston", Chulmdeston", "Chumston" or something completely different. We pronounce it phonetically unlike the old Lengthsman Rolt met who added a syllable to pronounce "I was born Cholermondeston way", with the emphasis on des!

Anyway - here is us in the lock there

Immediately below Cholmondeston Lock is Venetian Marina. The brokerage there was noticeably emptier that when we were here last year - clickety click.

A floating caravan in the marina (aka a caraboat)

Our planned mooring was below Cholmondeston Railway Bridge which is just beyond the marina. It appeared that other narrowboats like it too, as there were quite a number already moored. Fortunately it is a long stretch and there was plenty of room.

So here we are, moored in almost the exact same spot as last year on April 15th 2009! Good reception for all our tech - and time to relax for the rest of the day. The promised rain arrived just after lunch time and boy did it rain! The fire is lit for the first time for over a week - brrr.

Up goes the satellite dish!

We have wide expansive views and the trains to keep us amused, along with the few passing hire boats and narrowboats making for the main line.

Train spotting

Shropshire Union Canal, Barbridge to Middlewich Branch below Cholmondeston Rail Bridge 5A

1 hour 8 minutes, 1.92 miles, 1 lock