It was a better day! 23rd July 2019

Tuesday 23rd July 2019
Chester to The Cheshire Cat
3 miles, 8 locks

Chris' toe was good to go this morning, so we pulled pins and set off as planned.  First we had to wind (turn round)

and then negotiate the staircase of three locks. 

Today there were two volunteers on hand to help out, so it was all fairly painless.  I was pleased to see that the ones on duty today were all wearing life jackets. 

At one of the locks we had a passenger as we opened and shut a gate

As you near the top there is a pretty good view back down.

I commented three years ago that it is rather like sailing along a moat at times as you leave the city - I stand by what I said

At some point on our way out, Chris spotted a boat called 'Plan B'.  He asked what Plan A had been - they had had a house in the Caribbean that got swept away with all their belongings in a hurricane.

The first stop was Waitrose for supplies.  There was still no signs of any Peregrines - just a sign inside the store advertising 'Peregrine chicks flying - Sat 3 Aug'.  I wonder if anyone has told the Peregrines?

We reckon they must be somewhere on the Shot Tower - these are views taken today

A very different sight to that taken in 2016

This is a photo I obtained from Wikipedia of times gone by taken by By Espresso Addict - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3962367

The tower is a Grade II listed building, so will have to remain sandwiched between two sets of 'Waterside Apartments'.  It used to be part of the Chester Lead Works.  If you want more information have a look HERE.

Once the shopping was stowed away we set off to tackle the next five double locks.  On the way into Chester Monty, Ken and I walked between the locks - today we rode most of the way!  It was just too hot to exert more energy than necessary.

I am not really a fan of garden gnomes, but in this little display they look perfect

Back to Tarvin Lock and Chester Boughton Hall Cricket Club where they were playing a match today - an even more quintessentially English scene

If you look closely at the photo below you will see a pair of legs in the air - a spectator amusing herself / keeping fit by doing somersaults and cartwheels!

Two more locks to go and we were all flagging.  Monty decided to supervise from the shade - however small that was!

The water tanks were topped up and then it was just a short hop to find a mooring before The Cheshire Cat.  The pollen count must be very high and that, along with general over heating, sent me to my bed for a couple of hours.  We had dinner with Sue and Ken, for which many thanks and retired replete for what we hoped would be a quiet night. 

Sadly it wasn't.  We knew there was a chance of a storm, but you always hope it will miss you.  It didn't!  The sky lit up, the thunder rumbled and Monty shook and salivated as he is terrified of thundery weather.  Chris is sleeping on the dinette at present as he keeps knocking his sore toe on the side of the boat when in the cross bed.  Monty tried to get in with him and even tried to push past him to hide against the side of the boat.  When he was ejected, he came and joined me and despite the bed being attached to the floor everything shock with him! 

So yes it was a better day than yesterday, but there is still room for improvement.