Boat Layout

This is a plan of the boat layout

click to enlarge

As you can see, plenty of room for three. It's an eight berth boat and we chose that purposely because we like plenty of space

Our plans for covering the two circular routes (Cheshire Ring & Four Counties Ring) look a bit ambitious and so we'll be having a think about that as we set off at the end of the week

click to enlarge

We shall probably set off heading south and by the time we reach Autherley Junction (just north of Wolverhampton) we will have decided on the best route for us

The plan to update the 'Blog' as we move is completed - .Much will depend on the signal strength as we move from place to place and a mobile phone does have it's limitations

There is an alternative boat we could have hired and transmitted strength would not have been a problem - See what I mean?

How's that for an aerial - Remember Radio Caroline?

click to play 'Radio Carolines theme tune

Not long to go...

In a couple of weeks or so our three wise men will be setting off on their epic voyage into the unknown under the watchful eye of Saint Boddington (Saint Boddington is the patron saint of beer) and as our adventurers set off. What will they be thinking?

Where's the nearest pub?

Where's the nearest Indian restaurant?

Where's the nearest chippy?

Can we get football on the tele?

Where do we stop for a BBQ?

I'm hungry

I'm thirsty

Truth is none of these apply because the mutual feeling is that none of them really matters.

This holiday is about enjoyment and an appreciation of the waterway system that the nation has at its disposal helps us to relax and prepare to slow down

The old adage that a canal holiday is the fastest way to slow down rings true but it doesn't work for everyone. We see examples of that on a daily basis and it doesn't matter, not to us

Look at the engineering, the heritage the fantastic countryside that's all around you

one of Trev's pictures from 2010 sums it up really

Britain's amazing unspoilt heritage

A Port of Call

As you read this Blog you may feel our three lunatics consider a part of the challenge is to go into every pub on their route - this really is not the case. However, to go past the Anchor when it's open would be a cardinal sin, for it is an amazing place and stands as one of the few unspoilt pubs on the waterway system

The Anchor

High Offley - Staffordshire

click to enlarge

A model of the Anchor in the beer garden

Wadworths 6X Beer is the only beer on draught and it's a fine pint. We couldn't believe how good the first was, so we had another ......................and another. Sound familiar?

Seriously this pub, with it's wonderful landlady Olive, ever willing to have a chat with her customers be they locals or holidaymakers, is a landmark to behold

Very isolated pub, and yet people travel for miles just to visit. It's that good

Nice couple we got chatting to in the Anchor. They were on a hire boat holiday same as us and just couldn't resist the lure of the pub

Boat moored outside the Anchor with Dave and Trev about to board

see what the well respected 'Beer in the Evening Guide' made of the Anchor

Our bit for the Olympics

LONDON 2012

Since this is the year of the Olympics

It's only right that we embrace the spirit of the games when we embark on our latest voyage

The Olympic Flame

carried by the 'Golden Torch' is awaiting the winner

Our Olympic challenge awaits

As you can see from the selection of events we are taking the challenge seriously and our training in these subjects is going extremely well.

Dave & Trev dedicated to training

Pub report

In an earlier post I suggested the team might put together a short report on places we visit for eating, drinking or both. Bit of a review really

Just as a means of testing this review idea I've selected a pub we visited in Whitchurch, Cheshire whilst we were on a Llangollen canal trip in the autumn of 2010

We tried three pubs in the town and were quietly impressed, however, pick of the bunch was the 'White Bear' in the central area, just tucked away down a little alley

We were made very welcome. The service was first class. Nice pub with a good cosy feel to it. Trevor impressed us by accompanying an Elvis record on the juke box - He knew all the words and sang well - beer might have had something to do with that though! Dave found a few 'Who' records so he was more than happy. All in all a good night

The barmaid took this pic then came and had a chat with us

She also recommended an Indian restaurant in the town

There are a few but the was she suggested was excellent

'White Bear' - Whitchurch

 

How do you rate a place? It's all a matter of opinion really. We get our heads together and look at the quality of service, staff, food and beer then do our best to come up with a result that we genuinely believe fair. We use a rating system of between one and five where one is low and five high

 

This is how we rated the 'White Bear'

Rating score: (1 - 5)

Service: 5

Staff: 5

Beer: 5 (not real ale but 'Boddingtons' so that was fine)

Would we visit again? Definitely

Comment: A friendly pub and we would certainly return if we are in this area in the future.

Note: This was 2010 - It's understood this pub is now under new management

What a coincidence

Misty Dawn

click to enlarge

Strange thing this - The pic above was taken in 2010 and shows our hire boat ascending Tilstone lock on the Shropshire Union canal early one autumn morning. I often, but not always, give a name to pics and this one would have been called 'Misty Dawn' and now just over eighteen months later we are hiring a boat called 'Misty Dawn' Strange or what?

The keen eyed observer might have noticed a lock key on the raised paddle mechanism - a real no no in canal safety terms. The offender was given a red card and forty lashes for that and won't be doing it again

'Misty Dawn' The boat we are soon to be hiring

The Grand Plan - Maybe?

This is a freehand drawing of the canals we are likely to cover on our epic voyage and is most definitely not to scale!

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The figures represent the likely times between waypoints and allows for locks that might be associated with that particular sector

I did intend to do a similar plan with pubs that we visit on the way. Probably leave that till we actually visit them, then I/we can give pubs a rating for service, quality and value. Bit like the Michelin Guide to Restaurants.

Good service is very important to us all and as you can see from the following picture a good barmaid is essential, in our view

'Perfection'

I like to give pictures a name and this one is called 'Perfection' Landlords please take note

Meet the Crew!!!

Dave

This is Dave. He's the Captain. Been on the canals since 1965 very good at handling the boat. In his time he's covered miles of waterways and enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, every minute of it. Very mild mannered and a man of few words - except when he's watching Crewe Alex and then he changes to a raging bull. Likes fishing and is good at it. Likes and appreciates the countryside and in his spare time volunteers to clean up litter around his local area.

Trev

Meet Trev. He's the thinker and the one with the education. Took to the canals with me and Dave a few years ago. Really enjoys the activity that goes with the holiday. A keen, some would say fanatical, Crewe Alex supporter. Always has followed them through thick and thin. Never says a wrong word about them, no matter how bad they sometimes are. Enjoys a spot of fishing from time to time. Nothing ever gets him down. He just gets on with things

Malc

This is me, Malc. Always wear a hat 'cause I've got no hair. Very appreciative of the canal network and glad they survived the bad years of the fifties and sixties when politicians could only talk of closure. Chief tea maker and tends to suffer much verbal abuse for being a particularly bad cook. Can't stand fishing, would rather watch grass grow. Value the contributions to the world of politics made by Dave and Trev even though they are usually wrong

See the boat

Just had a trip down south and met up with my pal Dave and his wife Brenda. The object of the exercise was to take a trip to Audlem and see the boat we were to hire and here she is

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'Misty Dawn' with Dave carrying out an inspection!

Nice to see the boat and also meet the couple that run the 'Cheshire Cat Narrowboat Holidays' business, Linda and Mark - it's clear they know their business and it was a genuine pleasure to meet them

Here's their website: click to visit Cheshire Cat Narrowboat Holidays

Overwater Marina's a nice place too - Set in the heart of Cheshire countryside and close to the quiet village of Audlem

click to visit OverWater Marina

The canal gently passes through Audlem. Well worth a visit, this village has great character and is known to be a favourite stopping place for many a holidaymaker. It has a several shops and is an ideal place to stock up on provisions

A quaint and friendly place. Meals at the local pubs are good value and if that isn't to your taste there's a fine little cafe that can provide tea coffee and scones.The newspaper shop is quite novel because when it's not open the newspapers are left outside along with a trust box so that you can keep up to date with the news. A chemist and fish and chip shop complete the commerce side of things.



The church of St James stands at the centre of the village and has a charm of its own..

Records indicate a church was on this site in the 13th century

Audlem has a magnificent website and it's well worth a look

Click to visit Audlem Village website

In the beginning...

About us
We are three members of the older generation that are determined to grow old disgracefully and to this end and thanks to our long suffering wives we are released from domestic bliss to quietly sail away and wreck havoc once or twice a year

It begins with the planning
We had successfully holidayed on several short breaks with a large canal Boat Hire Operator, Last year we elected to go for a full week and that whetted our appetites for more. resulting in the decision to be a little more ambitious in 2012 and embark on a two week cruise. We determined this would take us to uncharted waters (as far as we were concerned)

Next thing is to book the holiday. To our dismay we discovered our loyalty meant nothing to what had been an excellent company with very suitable and well maintained boats and even better staff that knew their job and the importance of the customer and we certainly wanted to go with them once again - alas twas not to be as a look at the on-line pricing indicated the cost for two weeks was exactly double the price of one - This was disappointing and so we looked around and found a company that were pleased to offer a discount for a second week and so the deal was done and our two week Holiday is awaiting

The company that we chose is based in Cheshire at the newly opened OverWater Marina

The company is: Cheshire Cat Narrowboat Holidays

We know the boat will be equipped to a good standard and there's a nice bonus in that fuel is included in the price - Now that's a winning idea, no fuel surcharge - Beginning to like this firm already

This company is new to us and although the name has been around for a while it is under new, or fairly new, management

Where to go
This question has been rather difficult to answer - our initial intention was to consider the Four Counties Ring and combine that with the Cheshire Ring a comfortable undertaking and more relaxed as one meets with the other for a part of the way. More mature thinking has decided that we should start with the Four Counties Ring heading south from Audlem and depending on how we progress we will consider doing an oft neglected waterway, the Caldon Canal. Rumour has it that it's a little gem and we aim to test this. As we return from the furthest reaches of the Caldon we continue on the Trent & Mersey until Kidsgrove at which point we commence the along the anti clockwise route of the Cheshire Ring by joining the Macclesfield Canal - Arriving at Marple the likelihood is that we shall turn right taking the Upper Peak Forest canal to Whaley Bridge and at the same time have a trip to The Navigation Inn at Bugsworth Basin

Returning to Marple the choice is do we continue for the drop into the city of Manchester and beyond or return along the Macclesfield and continue following the Four Counties Ring when we arrive at Kidsgrove. Have to wait and see about that but assuming we do the latter then the next decision is what happens at Middlewich - do we continue along the Trent & Mersey and take it easy or do we turn left and head for Barbridge junction - if we do the latter then arriving at Barbridge means we can head right along the Shroppie towards Chester or do we turn left and then right at Hurleston junction and follow the Llangollen to Wrenbury perhaps - Its all in the air at the moment but we certainly have choices to make and pleasant ones they are as well

What's happening?

What's happening?

This 'Blog' has been created to replace an earlier version

I'm currently starting to migrate the old to the new

If you wish to see the old version just click the link below

Click here to view the previous version of this Blog

Introduction

Introduction

This site is under build

it is intended to replace an earlier site to overcome smartphone link problems

how it all began

the story of our three lunatics