Neither of us felt brilliant this morning, Hazel was sore and I had a terrible headache….But we pressed on and did 16 more locks, completing “Heartbreak Hill”, well done to the locking crew. Feeling a lot better we then did Harecastle Tunnel, taking 45 minutes to traverse and being wide enough for single way only traffic it’s quite a bit of engineering. From now on we can relax, only a few more locks before our lift back to Pyrford from Great Haywood Marina.

21 today,

21 today,

21 locks today !

Yes a big day for the locking crew, 21 done ( 9.00 am till 4.30pm over approx 10 miles ), plus 16 more tomorrow as we have moored up in the middle of a pound. Some of the locks are duplicated side by side; and some are very narrow. A boat coming in the opposite direction got stuck leaving one, had to run the engine at max revs and let some water down to flush him out !

We have just had 2 massive days of boating…..After completing the top northern part of the 4 counties ring we made a major decision to head north just a bit more, to visit the Anderton Boat Lift. On route we refuelled from, …..a fuel boat ! selling, fuel, gas, fenders, rope; all the consumables you need whilst cruising.

One of the 7 wonders of the inland waterways, the Anderton Boat Lift utilises 2 cassions to transport boats from the Trent and Mersey Canal down to the River Weaver, and vice versa. An amazing bit of machinery and well worthwhile the extra 8.5 hours of cruising. After our ride on the lift we have returned to Middlewich, and the ring proper. Only 2 more wonders to do this year, “Heartbreak Hill” and Harecastle Tunnel, more to come…..

2 days of rest ! First day having a massive Sunday towpath lunch prepared by Lorraine. Then today Hazel learning how to splice by Rico, then being shown around Chester by our Voyager friends John and Barbara.Thanks to them all for 2 special days !

An early 8.30 start this morning to deal with the Audlem flight of 15 locks. The girls did well with 12 locks done by lunch, time for a break then ! A great little town with an amazing canal shop, but I resisted buying some original art work. However the local butcher had some great snags, so these will be cooked up tonight ! The flight was finished by 2 and we have motored on doing 2 more locks so we can be close to Nantwich for tomorrow morning, when we hope to FaceTime my brother in Australia and wish dad a happy birthday. T42 is going great guns, and it’s certainly been great sharing the locking duties with Lazy Otter.

Yes the weather has improved, it couldn’t have got much worse. Yesterday we travelled on our own, meeting up with Rico and Lorraine at our evening moorings. It was interesting entering the Shropshire Union Canal, which had a little stop lock of some 6″ to protect its water from adjoining canals.

We got on the cut first today, leading the way through some very narrow cuttings, alternating with high embankments. Some spectacular bridges and a flight of 5 locks ensured a late lunch at Market Drayton. We just have to decide if we want to move again and moor up to the next flight, it’s a good’un. A flight of 5, then 15 more…..Hazel has bought herself a badge emblazoned with “lock labourer”, nobody seems to appreciate the heavy burden of command the skipper has…..

and Rico is still singing ! An 8.30 start was thwarted by early rain as well, so we carried on till 2pm by which time we were thoroughly soaked. 10 locks done, all going uphill.After a late lunch we visited the roundhouse to look at all sorts of canal ware for sale. The rain eased but we’ve decided to call it a day.

Well we are finally on the 4 counties ring, albeit slightly soggy. We had a late start yesterday from the Sea Otter Rally, having helped remove debris from Trinstones bow thruster. We meandered back, but took a full day, to moor just before Kings Bromley Marina, where we had been trailed to. We were surprised then when Lorraine and Rico turned up at 8 pm, having only started at 4.30 ! All the hirers had moored, allowing them to blast thru the locks…..

A late start today because we needed to fuel up, and Kings Bromley Marina doesn’t open till 9. As both the fuel jetties were occupied Rico and I amused ourselves doing donuts on the water….this really annoys long narrowboats which require huge turning areas, called winding points. Another advantage of a small Sea Otter. We then made for Great Haywood and the start of the ring. Whilst the rain made most of the hirers moor, we carried on with Rico encouraging Lorraine in song…..”I’m singing in the rain” whilst she and Hazel wound paddles, and “knees up mother brown” as they scuttled to and fro closing and opening locks. At 5.30 we pulled the pin, or rather dropped the pin,  and moored up. I’m looking forward to a hot dinner tonight, and some kip, as these northerners say. Cheers Mand H

We are sitting in T42 on a wet Sunday evening, reflecting on some new friends made and digesting a super lunch put on by the club. We have also viewed a number of boats today, and have some ideas to try out in the coming seasons. Our favourite boat has been Green Jewel. A trailable 31′ with proper wet room, storage, L shaped lounge and a dinette. Not too sure about the exterior colour, loved the interior.

We must thank Lorraine and Rico for organising such a great event, they will be following us around the 4 counties ring and sharing some of the big lock runs with us. We were presented with a Sea otter toy for coming such a long way to attend, and in return presented the club with a Koala to hang in the bar. Some boats have already left but we leave tomorrow to continue our adventures. Cheers M and H 

Eve Robinson, one of the clubs organisers presenting Lorraine and Rico with a thank you for organising the 2016 Sea Otter Rally at Tamworth Cruising Club.

An otter home is called a Holt, so for the time being Tamworth is our holt. Part of the fun is “inviting” yourself on other boats, especially if they are the same size. “Little Otter” is 27′ long but has a slightly different layout. No windows either side of the front door, but has leg lying down space extending into the front well deck. Tongue and groove ceiling gives a totally diffent feeling as well.

We also walked into town as it was market day, an amazing display of owls from the Midlands Birds of Prey Rescue Soc.