Monday 10 March 2014

Glorious sun

Leek to Cheddleton : 6 miles, 5 locks
To date : 991 miles, 707 locks 

In the drink : Mick went to tip out something from a small dish and dropped the whole thing!

What a day we had today. This is what it's all about!  It was sunny from the very beginning and it stayed that way all day. Just lovely.

We retraced our route back to Hazelhurst Junction and made the tight turn around to descend the three locks that take the Froghall branch beneath the Leek arm we had just come from.  It felt really strange to look down at boats moored along the canal below only to pass them an hour later and see up above the canal we were on earlier.

Even the birds were singing today. Perhaps they wait for the sun. Being such a lovely Sunday there were walkers everywhere and nearly all of them were cheerful.  The weather was so mild we were out in tshirts!

We stopped at Cheddleton flint mill and had our lunch there. We walked down to check out the mill and the fellow who was standing beside us as we read the sign and wondered where the entrance was disappeared and locked the door before dashing to his car and driving off. So, we didn't get to see inside which was a bit disappointing. It was nice to visit anyway.

Although we toyed with the idea of staying here overnight we saw that the next moorings were beside the Churnet Valley steam railway station at Cheddleton and decided we would take a trip on the train.   We moored up and set off in the direction of the station. There had been nothing on the Churnet Valley railway website about the timetable.  There were lots of people around with kids so we figured there may be a train coming up. Imagine our surprise to find it closed! We weren't the only ones taken by surprise and there were lots of disappointed children dragging their heels for a walk along the canal. Not much of a consolation prize for them.

Later we had a pheasant on the little field opposite our mooring. Lovely bird.
































2 comments:

Evelyn said...

Hi Elly
I have several questions but I will put just one for now. As we have just over three weeks before we arrive we are starting to think of items to stock the boat. We do not understand what power is available to be used so should we use an electric kettle and toaster or use the stove?

Elly and Mick said...

Hi Evelyn,
Where are you from? Send a message via the contact form on the blog to ask any questions you may have,
As for your first one... we don't use an electric kettle or toaster while cruising. We have a good power supply but it's certainly not like a house! We only use the electric ones when we are in a marina on landline. We use the griller on the gas stove for toast and an enamel kettle either on our coal stove or on a gas ring.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Elly