The Shroppie is a lovely canal

Our final day and another lazy start as it was Rachel's Birthday. We set no alarms and slept until just before 9am... letting your body wake you is a singular pleasure of retirement for sure !! 

No boats until about 9.30 then a convoy of 6 went into the cutting  - I'd not want to meet that convoy !

We set off back to the mooring in ever hotter temperatures arriving back after a lovely cruise about lunchtime. We pottered and read and relaxed until it was time to pack up and drive home.

One issue is C&RT's contractors random towpath vegetation management. Sometimes strimmed sometimes left but non of the canal edging cut making getting on and off a boat dangerous as you cannot see where you are stepping ?

Only 15 hours of engine running - the Ecoflow did a great job  - see Here for that info. We did 10 locks but walked another 36 ! 

We need to get the new mooring more sorted and some boat jobs but we can do that during the really busy summer holidays when we can sit and watch the boats go by ! 

That Tyrely bottom lock ....

Another lovely warm summer day and we set off quite late for a stop over for lunch in Market Drayton.

We initially stopped opposite Toms moorings a bridge before the services. Only on walking to town did we double check the notice to realise we could only moor overnight or Market days. I expect it is to allow the boats on Toms moorings ( in front of the new houses) to get off their pontoons? It was all very ambiguous. We hopped back on Percy and cruise to the other visitor moorings near the main road into Market Drayton.

We shopped ate and browsed a few shops. How can one town be so different to another only a few miles apart. Market Drayton is struggling compared to Audlam for sure. 

We got back on the boat and set off for the Tyrley locks with a boat nipping out in front of us. We slowed as we knew they would be off up the flight before us but on getting to the lock landing their boat was pinned to the rock face opposite that horrible (now unbaffled) bywash. The fella on the stern was giving the engine everything to try and get off but no avail. Eventually the bywash eased just enough for him to scrape in. Fair to say he and his lady lock wheeler were a bit shaken up. 

I tried to explain to him about the amount of water that can come down this flight and appears out of this one bywash - if one or up to four locks are emptied simultaneously all that water comes out via the one bottom bywash which is a lot of water ! Now when we ascend(ed) I asked Rachel to open one top paddle to put the pound water thru the lock not via the bywash - I explained this to him but I think he was a bit shaken up ( literally) 

It certainly can look benign but in a few seconds becomes a raging torrent. It's a place I'll go to on the bike to do a bit of Gongoozling !

We motored on into Woodseaves cutting and pleasingly did not meet another boat.

I was very surprised to get a mooring at Goldstone Wharf  - in fact there were only three boats there when we arrived. Another lovely quiet mooring. We arrived about 6.30 pm so late and pleased to get a mooring on this limited section of accessible morings between Tyrley and Norbury.

Another lovely cruising day albeit with a bit of excitement !!

Friends meeting and as good as it gets cruising

We were away quite sharply at about 8.30am to get through Woodseaves cutting but still managed to encounter two boat, one holding back for us around  the High Bridge 57 and the other as we came around the corner approaching bridge 56.

The only negative of the day was to see how the idiot who purchased the cottage at the top of the Tyrley flight has blocked the winding hole with his canal boat and put up a no winding sign ( on our return he had put a rope across the winding hole also) - what a twat. If we need to wind there we will use his gunnels as the pivot point. An email will be sent to  C&RT asking how he can block the navigation in such a way. 

Anyhow we had a nice drop down the 5 locks and got a bit sad when we passed the bench where I've previously taken pictures of me and Leia .... sometimes the sadness catches you unexpectedly.

We cruised passed John and Jan's Boat Jubilee as we entered Market Drayton and we stopped and emptied the cassette at the services. We needed a shop so decided to stop at the top of the Adderley flight and walk the 6 plus miles into Audlam. We had been contacted by Carol ex of WB Still Rockin who had noted we were heading to her village. We met up at the Shroppie Fly for a drink and a good old natter. Lovely to meet you in person Carol and George, we will let you know when we are on Percy for a mini cruise from the mooring ....

Broken handrail ....

The baffle at the bottom bywash is no more, horrible lock entrance again - more on that later

We walked back to Percy in the lovely warm evening sunshine to a relaxed and very quiet evening aboard. 

Lots of photos today as it was just so nice ....

New mooring first overnight and an oil change for the record at 1025 hours

Lots of things have kept us from Percy but in true form she was waiting for us at our new mooring along with a lot of very tall grass ! Rachel set to unpacking for our mini break aboard while I set to looking for lost Japanese soldiers in the jungle outside the boat. I decided the slope looked better uncut and if we stay here we will drop some wild flower seeds in for next year. I cut the top flat boat side and up to the boat as well as a car shaped section. If Bob the farmer wants to cut the rest happy days I suspect not. I prefer it to the manicured look of our new neighbours mooring.

This morning I started a new inverter install but missing wood to mount it on and time to do it were all missing  so dropped that and did an oil change instead. For the record it was changed at 1025 engine hours, checking back to this time last year it was done at 917 hours so just over 100 hours 

We set off just after 12.30 to wind in Grub street as we wanted to head north. We waved two boats past us so as to not hold them up/embarrass ourselves while winding ! Then it was a slow cruise to Goldstone Wharf which was plan A - got the end mooring and booked into the pub for food later. 

If I'd ever had a new boat build this would have been its name 

Thats some difference in either draft or ballast ! 

Rachel guiding Percy to the Goldstone wharf moorings. Last time we were here was the post de coke run back in February 2019 

We are planning an early'ish  start tomorrow as we need supplies in Market Drayton as well as trying to get a good road thru the Woodseaves cutting.