Previous Year : 2014 The Bona Boater's Trips Following Year : 2016

2015 - The Cheshire Ring.

Crew : Pete W, John, Christine (Nursie), Alan, Pete M, Stan and Dave (BTS1), with a guest appearance by John Portlock.

Boat : Fjord Viscount

Route : Middlewich > Rode Heath > Kidsgrove [Bus to Hanley] > Macclesfield > Marple > Hyde > Stalybridge > Manchester > Patricroft > Lymm > Anderton > Middlewich.

Coverage : 103 Locks and 107 Miles.

Notes : As Ernie had passed away suddenly in September 2014 we were left with a potential vacancy. After some discussion, we decided not to fill the vacancy immediately. Instead, we would keep a place open for Dave (BTS1) who has been unable to take part in any Bona Boaters trips since 2012 due to a family commitment. We agreed that this year's trip trip would still go ahead with a crew of only six, and if at some later date Dave were finally able to confirm that he could go, then we would go ahead with a crew of seven. Dave did eventually decide that he was able to come, so we did have a crew of seven. We were also to be joined by John Portlock as an honorary Bona Boater. Having accidentally met him on both the 1995 and 2001 trips, we decided to invite him along on the Monday. We also suffered two minor disasters on the Wednesday - an overnight delay caused by a broken lock (Ancoats Lock 3) and a damaged rudder.

Saturday 16th May

Lunch : Middlewich. We had agreed to arrive and meet up at the boatyard around noon. Pete W had to travel via Stockport Railway Station to collect Pete M, while John, Chris & Alan went direct from York. Despite this, both cars arrived at the boatyard within seconds of each other. Recent information from Stan had suggested that The Boar's Head was no longer as good as it once was, so we decided to meet up in The Narrowboat instead. Pete W who had held The Token since the end of last year's trip was still in the process of getting the first round in as Stan arrived, having come by bus from Sandbach. After a few pints here, we made our way back to The Boatyard and were able to load up. After the handover, we left the boatyard at about 14:45. There was some delay caused by a single-hander who seemed to expect the locks to be operated for her, and some hilarity caused by the novice hirer who wanted to put his 60' boat with her 50' boat in the same 72' lock. Luckily, both of these boats were heading for The Middlewich Branch so would not delay us any further.

Afternoon : King's Lock, Middlewich. As there were no other boats visible in front or behind, we had time for a quick round of drinks in The King's Lock while the boat was in the lock.

Evening : Rode Heath. The initial plan for the Saturday evening had been to stop at Wheelock, but we decided that this should depend on the actual time we would arrive there. As we passed through Wheelock at around 17:45, we deemed it to be a bit too early to stop for the night, so we decided to push on to Rode Heath, arriving there at about 20:00. We moored up and went to The Broughton Arms - aka The Ernie's teeth pub.. (see 1995) where we had an excellent meal and plenty of beer - the belly pork and black pudding in cider gravy was particularly good.

The Broughton Arms, Rode Heath.

The site of the "Ernie's teeth" incident in 1995 .

Sunday 17th May

Lunch : Red Bull, Kidsgrove & The Coachmaker's Arms, Hanley. After a relatively late start - well 08:45 is late for us, we set off for Red Bull through intermittent showers. We arrived at The Red Bull at about 11:00. We negotiated the locks and Harding's Wood Junction and we moored on Macclesfield Canal just beyond Red Bull Aqueduct. By the time we had moored, the rain had stopped but the sky was still lowering. The initial plan had been to go to The Red Bull for a pint or two, then get the bus to Hanley. We walked down to Liverpool Road and found the bus stop to check on bus times. Whilst we were still checking bus times, the relevant bus arrived, so we got on it and went straight to Hanley to visit The Coachmaker's Arms without visiting The Red Bull.

The Coachmaker's Arms, Hanley.

Dave seems incapable of keeping his cap under adequate control on licensed premises.

Whilst the pub may currently be open, it is still under threat of demolition. It was initially going to be knocked down to make way for an access road to the new bus station. This bus station has now been built, but the old bus station site behind the pub is now awaiting redevelopment, so a threat still exists from that. After numerous pints of Draught Bass, Castle Rock Harvest Pale and Lymestone Brewery Stone The Crows, we got the bus back to Red Bull at about 17:30.

Evening : Still at Red Bull. When we got back to Red Bull, we went to The Red Bull where we had several more beers and ate. The steak was still excellent. Oddly, by about 21:45, the pub closed. It was completely deserted apart from us, and towels were on the pumps. Some of the crew decided to 'retire hurt' after an entire lunchtime & afternoon on draught Bass and an evening on Robinson's Unicorn and Double Drop. The two Petes & Dave however are built of sterner stuff, and adjourned to The Blue Bell where they had several more pints of mild, only to find it raining steadily again when they finally emerged burbling from the pub.

Monday 18th May

Morning : Heavy rain and water at Bosley. The weather was atrocious with constant heavy rain and a blustery wind. Despite this, we took water at Bosley.

Lunchtime : Macclesfield. On several previous trips up The Macclesfield canal, we have accidentally met up with an old friend from Grimsby Morris called John Portlock. This year, we arranged to pick him up near Bosley Locks. We met him sheltering from the torrential rain under Bridge 57. The rain whilst climbing Bosley locks was utterly torrential and interspersed with hail. We took on water at Bosley Top Lock and continued on towards Macclesfield. By the time we reached Macclesfield Visitor Moorings the rain had all but stopped, and the sun was making an occasional appearance. John Portlock being local, directed us the The Wharf where we had several pints of Offbeat Brewery's excellent Blackberry Mild and some rather good pork pie.

A rather fine turnover bridge on The Macclesfield Canal, though somewhat obscured by offside vegetation.

A Mooring at a mooring !

The Wharf, Macclesfield.

Evening : Marple. After leaving The Wharf, we set off for Marple. The rain had given way to showers and some sunshine. John Portlock left us at Bollington, and we continued on to Marple. At about 18:00, the rain and hail returned with a vengeance, and by the time we had arrived at Marple after more heavy rain and hail, we found there were no spaces left on the moorings. One of the local boaters suggested that if we were heading down the flight in the morning (..which we were intending to..) then we should be OK to moor on the sanitary station, so we did. We moored up at about 20:30 and walked into town. The chippy had just shut, but we found an Italian restaurant called Dolce Vita a little further up the road and we ate there. We then walked to The Hatters Arms where the local crib league was playing. We had a couple of pints here then walked back to the boat in the rain.

Tuesday 19th May

Morning : Rain yet again. The rain was again torrential while descending the Marple flight.

Lunchtime : Hyde. We left Marple and descended the 16 locks of The Marple Flight in the pouring and occasionally torrential rain, and we headed for Hyde. By the time we arrived in Hyde, the rain was only light and soon stopped. We moored by bridge 6. The Cheshire Ring Hotel appeared to be shut despite a notice claiming to be open all day, so we walked into the town centre. After some aimless wanderings, we eventually spied a pub called The White Lion. Due to an outbreak of indecision within the crew, Pete W & Stan decided to go in for a pint, whilst the rest of the crew stood outside and contemplated their navels. Eventually, they too came in for a beer. The pub was busy with pensioner's special breakfasts and lunches and BTS1 did consider trying to cadge one. Unfortunately, this pub seems to be a classic example of how ill thought out alterations can utterly destroy what was once probably a very nice pub. There was some nice tiling and evidence of what would once have been several separate rooms, but the pub is now quite open. The beer was indifferent. Meanwhile, Nursie had found another pub at the bottom of the street. As it was a Holt's pub, we decided to try there. After one pint in The White Lion, we decamped to The Queens for some Holt's Mild & Holt's Two Hoots, and some fun with Dave's head, a tray and the words "Mule train". We finally left The Queens at about 16:15 and set off for Stalybridge.

Descending Marple Locks -

but the sunshine was to be short lived...

A a short burst of torrential rain left water flooding over the gates...

...and even the birds were looking wet !

For the older ones amongst our readership, who remembers Bob Blackman and "Mule Train" ?

(hint - look him up on youtube)

The Queens, Hyde.

A good range of Holt's beers.

Evening : Stalybridge. We left Hyde and continued on towards Stalybridge. As we passed through Armentier's Square in Stalybridge, we noted that The Mill Pond was shut and boarded up. We had had a few beers in there last time we passed through Stalybridge (see 2013) but we noted then that the beer was a little indifferent and the service not quite up to scratch. At Stalybridge we would have to wind the boat. There is a winding hole marked above Lock 7W, but it is an odd shape and a very difficult turn for a full length boat coming up the lock, and especially so today there was also a stiff breeze. We climbed Lock 7W, then after several powered attempts to wind, we resorted to having to wind the boat using ropes. We descended Lock 7W again and moored up by the Tesco footbridge. We went to The White House for a beer, which turned into four beers, then went to Umeeds for a curry rather later than usual. Unusually, we didn't even get to visit The Station Buffet.

Wednesday 20th May

Morning : Fairfield Junction. We left Stalybridge and headed for Manchester. We stopped for water at Fairfield Junction only to find a boat moored too close to the water point for us to be able to tie up. Instead, Pete W put the bow of the boat into the bank and held it there with little a bit of engine power while we took on water. We then set off down The Ashton Flight. Locks 18 & 17 were OK but we found we could not close the bottom gates of Lock 16. There seemed to be something on the cill. Nursie went off to find the lock keeper who we'd spoken to at Lock 18. He arrived with a grappling hook but was unable to find anything blocking the gate. He suggested that since a couple more of us had arrived, maybe we should try again. With the aid of a little B.F.I (Brute Force & Ignorance) the gates finally closed. It seemed that the towpath side gate may have 'sagged' or maybe the collar was a bit loose and it felt like the gate was dragging along the bottom of the lock. Once we'd closed it however, the gate seemed to lift into place as soon as we started to fill the lock. At least we were on our way again.

Water at Fairfield Junction.

The white boat was moored too close to the water point for us to get in alongside, so Pete W held the nose of the boat into the bank while we filled up.

Annoyingly, there was plenty of space for the white boat to have moored a bit further back from the water point.

Lunch : Manchester. The plan had been to stop at Piccadilly Village for lunch then descend the Rochdale nine in the afternoon, and head to Patricroft for the evening. Unfortunately, this wasn't to be.

Disaster 1 - When we arrived at Ancoats Lock 3 we found the pound well down, a queue of five boats ahead of us and some C&RT men attempting to install stop-planks. Chatting with the foreman, it appeared that there was a broken paddle and that it was going to be at least a couple of hours before the lock would be fixed, and even then the five other boats would have to descend before us as well. We decided to moor up and go and investigate The Piccadilly Tap. After a couple of hours of investigation, Nursie volunteered to go back to the boat to see if the lock had been fixed. She found it had been fixed and the five boats had all gone, but the pound was now very low indeed.

An enforced adjournment to The Piccadilly Tap...

...with Dave on The Token.

Having been informed by Nursie that the lock had now been fixed, we had another pint then returned to the boat to continue. However, as we were now running well behind schedule, we decided to moor up at Piccadilly Village and stay in Manchester overnight.

Disaster 2 - Somewhere in this very low pound, either before the lock or in the lock itself, the rudder somehow got damaged. It was still usable but did not 'feel right'.

We moored in Piccadilly Village...

...then went to The Jolly Angler for a few pints.

Evening : Manchester. As we had been delayed so long, we decided not to start the descent of the Rochdale nine, but rather to moor in Piccadilly Village and stay in Manchester for the evening. We moored by the footbridge and went to The Jolly Angler for several pints, then on to Happy Seasons on Faulkner Street for a Chinese meal. The meal was excellent.

Thursday 21st May

Morning : Descent of The Rochdale Nine. We began our descent of The Rochdale nine at about 09:00, but there was still the problem with the rudder. It felt like the rudder stock had been lifted off the skeg, but it would not go back in. Despite this, we descended the Rochdale nine sharing the locks with another Andersen Boat. They were out for two weeks and seemed somewhat bemused to find that we had done the same trip as them, plus all the extra bits to Hanley & Stalybridge in only four days.

Canal Street, Manchester.

This shows the glass fence designed to stop drunks falling into the canal. Unfortunately, it also prevents boaters from accessing Lock 86.

John looking pensive. Is it because G-A-Y is shut...

...or is it because Nursie has found someone new ?

Following heavy rain, there can be a lot of water coming down The Rochdale flight. This extra water often makes some of the gates very difficult to open. After all the rain we'd had over the last few days, there were several inches of water cascading over the gates at each lock.

Too much water on The Rochdale Flight.

Pete M & Stan almost getting a shower.

The amount of water coming over the top gates made some of the bottom gates very difficult to open.

Having finally descended The Rochdale Flight, the other Andersen Boat moored up at Castlefield Basin while we headed for The Bridgewater Canal and Patricroft.

Castlefield Basins.

Lunchtime : Patricroft. On the way to Patricroft, we decided that it probably would be prudent to call the boatyard and get the rudder fixed. We agreed to meet narrowboatrepairman at Patricroft Bridge 47. We arrived at the winding hole, winded, reversed under the bridge and moored up but there was still no sign of him. Nursie volunteered to wait with the boat until he arrived, so the rest of us trooped off to The Stanley Arms for some Holt's Mild. After about an hour or so, Nursie arrived with the news that it had been fixed. We had another couple of pints then set off for Lymm.

Evening : Lymm. We arrived in Lymm to find most of the towpath unavailable for mooring due to The Federation of Bridgewater Cruising Clubs Rally Weekend taking place. We stopped to try to find out what the mooring situation was but were told by the boaters already there that all mooring spots from where we were right up to Brookfield Bridge beyond Lymm were accounted for. We could moor if we wished, but we could also then be told to move on at any time were the boat booked on our spot to arrive. We decided to move on and see what was available. Luckily, we found a suitable spot just beyond Brookfield Bridge. We moored here and walked back to The Spread Eagle for some beer. After a few pints here, we went to The Sahib for an excellent curry, then to The Brewery Tap just in time for last orders.

Friday 22nd May

Lunchtime : Anderton. As Pete M & Alan had not been with us on the 2003 trip when we had taken the Anderton Lift down on to The River Weaver and travelled to Vale Royal Lock and Northwich and back up the lift again, we decided we should visit the Anderton Visitor centre. We would not have time to take the boat down and up on this visit. After walking around the site and seeing a pair of boats use the lift, Pete W went to The Stanley Arms to see if it was open. It was, so he had a pint. Shortly afterwards Stan appeared, and within 15 minutes everyone else had appeared. We had several pints here then set off for Middlewich.

We moored right opposite The Stanley Arms at Anderton..

...then went to visit The Anderton Lift visitor centre.

Evening : Middlewich. After taking water at the new services at Anderton, we continued on toward Middlewich. On arrival in Middlewich we moored at the boatyard and went to The Narrowboat for a meal and some beer. We arrived there just as they were about to stop serving meals, but we managed to get served. The steak was excellent. As boat trip fatigue was starting to kick in, we just about managed to hang on until 23:00 when we decided to give in and go back to the boat for our final dose of port & Stilton - even though the pub appeared to be still serving.

By Friday evening, the excitement was all too much for Alan.

Saturday 23rd May

Morning : Home - After unloading the boat and loading the cars, Pete W dropped Pete M off at Stockport Railway Station then went for a curry with Dave at The Karachi in Bradford.

Previous Year : 2014 The Bona Boater's Trips Following Year : 2016