Our annual 'summer' travels on the canals with 'San Serriffe' has been delayed this year from our usual choice of early May onwards.
Perhaps this is just as well as the British 'summer' has developed into the usual cold and wet affair that we have learned to live with and be philosophical about......global warming perhaps......but I wish it would warm this chilly part of northern England.
Delaying until July has at least increased the chances of a glimpse of the sun....as May and June has been seen the usual wall to wall grey clouds.
July 1st saw the same grey clouds herald a start on our journey towards the River Severn as we left Higher Poynton dressed in the usual wet weather gear. A rare sighting of the sun was actually witnessed and duly logged and the details reported to the Royal Astronomical Society before stopping for an overnight on Gurnett Aqueduct and relaxing with a few beers in the Ye olde (1695) ' Kings Head ' pub....once visited by Bonnie Prince Charlie it is claimed......wow, that guy certainly got around and obviously enjoyed a good pub crawl.
Following day found us heading for the next watering hole of the 'Rising Sun' at Scholar Green and after an afternoon of constant rain we managed to get a vacant mooring in the late afternoon near this popular hostelry. On most occasions all the nearby moorings have gone by this time....... a testament to the popularity this superb pub.
Bosley locks had to be negotiated before we could enjoy a little 'R&R' in the 'Rising Sun'.
We have been up and down these twelve locks on numerous occasions and for some reason there has always been a certainty about them.......it always rains !!!!!!
We were actually surprised that despite the threatening clouds, not a drop of rain fell on us. It came with a vengeance though in the afternoon forcing us to seek refuge in the aforementioned 'Rising Sun'
Nearing the end of the Macclesfield canal and as a precaution before negotiating the 2926 yard (in old money) Harecastle tunnel I checked the prop' through the weed-hatch for any fouling like the usual plastic bags/old rope etc. Struggling through the dark of this long tunnel with an engine labouring against debris on the propeller is not to be recommended.... a bitter experience of our first trip through this subterranean tube that seems to go on for ever......
Despite our precautions .....yes you are ahead of me.......the prop fouled in the tunnel and the engine laboured as the prop-wash gave the usual fan-tail wake which is a sure indicator of something spoiling the curves of the prop' and turning it into a thrashing machine.
Not in the mood to stop all the boats in the following flotilla and dive into the weedhatch in the pitch-dark to clear the prop' we struggled on. Despite our prop' problem we negotiated the tunnel in about 45 minutes - about par for a trip through the Harecastle.
Emerging blinking into the bright light of the Stoke side of the tunnel we promptly moored-up and found a tight circle of weed-roots on the boss of the propeller. These felt like rope as I struggled blindly with unsighted hands in the freezing water. Weed roots they might be, but they were almost as strong as the rope I imagined them to be and resisted my attempts to break them with my hands. Unfurling them from the prop' took some time, but eventually we were clear and we could make headway without a struggling engine trying to overcome the resistance caused by the thrashing weed..
Perhaps this is just as well as the British 'summer' has developed into the usual cold and wet affair that we have learned to live with and be philosophical about......global warming perhaps......but I wish it would warm this chilly part of northern England.
Delaying until July has at least increased the chances of a glimpse of the sun....as May and June has been seen the usual wall to wall grey clouds.
July 1st saw the same grey clouds herald a start on our journey towards the River Severn as we left Higher Poynton dressed in the usual wet weather gear. A rare sighting of the sun was actually witnessed and duly logged and the details reported to the Royal Astronomical Society before stopping for an overnight on Gurnett Aqueduct and relaxing with a few beers in the Ye olde (1695) ' Kings Head ' pub....once visited by Bonnie Prince Charlie it is claimed......wow, that guy certainly got around and obviously enjoyed a good pub crawl.
 |
| A rare sighting of the sun......south of Macclesfield |
Following day found us heading for the next watering hole of the 'Rising Sun' at Scholar Green and after an afternoon of constant rain we managed to get a vacant mooring in the late afternoon near this popular hostelry. On most occasions all the nearby moorings have gone by this time....... a testament to the popularity this superb pub.
Bosley locks had to be negotiated before we could enjoy a little 'R&R' in the 'Rising Sun'.
We have been up and down these twelve locks on numerous occasions and for some reason there has always been a certainty about them.......it always rains !!!!!!
 |
| Negotiating the Bosley flight of locks |
We were actually surprised that despite the threatening clouds, not a drop of rain fell on us. It came with a vengeance though in the afternoon forcing us to seek refuge in the aforementioned 'Rising Sun'
 |
| Not sure that she will fit with the rest of the herd !!....... a colourful cow brightens the morning at a canal-side farm on the Congleton side of Bosley locks. Macclesfield Canal. |
Nearing the end of the Macclesfield canal and as a precaution before negotiating the 2926 yard (in old money) Harecastle tunnel I checked the prop' through the weed-hatch for any fouling like the usual plastic bags/old rope etc. Struggling through the dark of this long tunnel with an engine labouring against debris on the propeller is not to be recommended.... a bitter experience of our first trip through this subterranean tube that seems to go on for ever......
Despite our precautions .....yes you are ahead of me.......the prop fouled in the tunnel and the engine laboured as the prop-wash gave the usual fan-tail wake which is a sure indicator of something spoiling the curves of the prop' and turning it into a thrashing machine.
Not in the mood to stop all the boats in the following flotilla and dive into the weedhatch in the pitch-dark to clear the prop' we struggled on. Despite our prop' problem we negotiated the tunnel in about 45 minutes - about par for a trip through the Harecastle.
Emerging blinking into the bright light of the Stoke side of the tunnel we promptly moored-up and found a tight circle of weed-roots on the boss of the propeller. These felt like rope as I struggled blindly with unsighted hands in the freezing water. Weed roots they might be, but they were almost as strong as the rope I imagined them to be and resisted my attempts to break them with my hands. Unfurling them from the prop' took some time, but eventually we were clear and we could make headway without a struggling engine trying to overcome the resistance caused by the thrashing weed..
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| Counting them out...tunnel keeper ensures that the number of boats leaving the tunnel matches the number that went in !!!!! |
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| Northern portal of the Harecastle tunnel |
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