On to Nantwich Before the Rain

 Monday 11th September 2023 in Nantwich.

As rain is forecast in the middle of the day, we decided to start early to get to Nantwich in the dry, also to secure a mooring as spaces are much sought after in this historic and attractive town. Before sunrise, the waning moon was very bright in the sky with Jupiter below it; unfortunately, M's camera (phone) always represents the crescent moon as a blob! The cloud formations were unusual. We set off just after 7:00am.

In previous years, we have moored at this spot next to the bench under the oak tree. There are so many beautiful moorings on this Middlewich Arm and most of them with rings.

Two locks to do today and this is the first one. The golden light of the rising sun on the lockside cottage only served to highlight the rather threatening sky behind.

This lock is over 11ft deep so it was a relief to see that these very dense spiders' webs that spanned the lock entrance were well over our heads. The webs were inhabited by dozens of spiders! "Yeuk!" said M.

The lock is so deep that R, on top of MM, is still well below the top of the lock. He had to use the ladders to climb out.

Two miles after the second lock comes Barbridge Junction where the Middewich Arm meets the Shropshire Union Canal. We turned left to go south expecting to find a water point but found that it had been removed, so we had to wait to fill up at Nantwich instead.

For the second day in a row, we passed a canalside house for sale. This one was exceptional. Built around a courtyard, it included its own mooring and we both loved it.  We often see canslside properties we would love to buy but this one was truly our dream house.

We looked at the estate agent's details on the internet and it was absolutely perfect - built of lovely mellow brick covered in pretty creepers, full of light, lovely rooms and outbuildings, and a beautifully tended garden. It ticked all the boxes (as they say) bar two - sadly, not only is it much too far away from the families, it was "offers above three-quarters of a million" and even taking into account the disparity in house prices between here and Reigate, it was still out of our reach. However, nice to dream!

On arrival at Nantwich, we had to queue for the water point as there was another boat already filling up. We took the opportunity to dump our rubbish while we waited. The glass recycling container was a bit overflowing - nothing to do with us - honestly!!!!. While we were there the "Biffa" truck arrived but he only emptied the glass container and left all the bottles on the ground where they were!

 

This notice for the C&RT shows good faith, but we shall see if it actually has any effect on the amount of plastic in and around the canals. Some areas are much worse than others.

It was a good thing that we did wait when we did to get water as, by the time we finished, there were five boats waiting for water and a resulting scramble to get through the narrow bridge!

The moorings at Nantwich are always popular but we arrived at the right time of day (and before the rain) so there was more than enough space for MM.

We walked into Nantwich, passing this van which R agreed has a very sensible motto on the back.

The Coffee Shop & Bookshop in the centre of Nantwich is one of our favourite places. As we arrived, so did the forecast rain, hence the rather misty photograph. Wisely, we had chosen to sit outside but under the awning.

 The rain didn't last, so we walked up to M&S for a "few bits" and then caught the bus back to MM.

Today: 7 miles, 2 locks and 3.3 hours.

Trip: 232 miles, 89 locks and 119.6 hours.