Overwater Marina, Audlem
Two pairs of working boats passed us going south, both Bolinder powered, presumably going back from the Ellesmere Port boat Easter Boat gathering.
South Midland's Kangaroo & Australia near Audlem
The locks at Hack Green were relatively busy. We understand that during the summer they are a bottleneck.
Maggie & Caroline Kinnings operating Hack Green Locks on a cold Easter Monday
We stopped at Nantwich Boat Centre for gas and a pump out. Blue Pearl passed us and moved onto Hurleston Junction for lunch. Because the "pit stop" took some time, we had lunch on the move and caught the Kinnings up at the junction.
NB Blue Pearl on the Nantwich Embankment
There were two CRT volunteers helping boats up the flight. We were warned about the narrow bottom lock and raised our fenders. The last time entered the flight (1999) we were not warned and we lost a fender and its fitting.
The narrow gap between lock side and boat, Hurleston Locks
Maggie taking Albert into Hurleston Top Lock
NB Blue Pearl passing an Anglo-Welsh boat in a pound, Hurleston Lock
After both boats cleared the top lock we moved up to Swanley Locks. At Swanley Lock No. 1, whilst Maggie was getting onto the boat leaving the lock, we got caught on the weir. It was a bit of struggle getting the boat off but releasing the water pressure by letting water through the lock did the trick. We will have to be a bit more careful leaving locks with the very strong flows. Water levels and flows are very high on the Llangollen after the wet weather.
We both finally moored up between bridges 12 and 13 in a quite rural location near Baddiley; an interesting day and another canal.
