Nine Little Visitors.

After a walk round town we returned to Doublefracture, just ready to cast off when the heavens opened. This was to be the pattern for the day.At lunch time we moored up in another down pour,with thunder this time. Four swing bridges out from Skipton then the first lock since leaving Bingley Five Rise. True to form another shower. I could become paranoid that some one switches on the rain every time we come to a lock. Three locks and we moored at Gargrave, just below Anchor Lock and the Anchor Inn. A short walk along the tow path then back for tea. As I tried to position the satellite dish we were visited by nine ducklings and mum. They came very close to the boat and didn't seem nervous, or perhaps it because was Marlene feeding them. Now we are moored for the night the showers have stopped, Typical.

End of the Macclesfield.

We arrived at the end of the Macclesfield in heavy rain. So as we came through the bridge at Marple top lock we grabbed the first mooring space we saw. It was not ideal as the banking was high and the water too shallow at the edge. That was Yesterday, today the sun is shining and we have traveled down the Peak Forest Canal to Whaley Bridge. There are no locks on this stretch but two lift bridges and two swing bridges to negotiate. Talk about scenery, it just gets better. To the left the rolling hills to the right woods and more hills. Arriving at the basin at Whaley Bridge we were a little upset to see that most of the mooring space was for long term mooring and what visitor moorings there were,(room for about eight boats) were seven day moorings. Having turned round we just managed to moor at the very end of the line of boats. It was close, however the people on the boat in front kindly moved up to give us more space. Thank you the people on Mirage. Whaley Bridge is a lovely little Peak District town with most of the amenities you might need.
Today's pictures were taken at Marple Junction

Weekend Visitors.

Two and a half mile saw us moored with a great view of Shugborough Hall on Friday.It was Aarons last day with us,so we took a picnic into the grounds of the hall. The weather was kind to us and we played with a bat and ball. Just as we were getting back to the boat it started to rain.
We got up to more rain on Saturday morning. Around Lunch time Richard, Gill and the four Grandchildren arrived. It was too wet to go anywhere so the kids played games after lunch. At four o clock it was time for them to go but before they left we took the boat up through the next lock at Great Hayward. On entering the lock I discovered that my reverse was not working. This is a problem as it is my only way of stopping,I hit the top gate quite hard(well that stopped me). While the lock was filling I did some running repairs, it was a screw on the throttle lever that had come loose. From the top of the lock we went the short distance to Hayward Junction where we could top up our water and get rid of our rubbish.Before we had filled the water Richard, Gill and the kids walked back to their car and went home. We finished filling the water then set of for Weston upon Trent where my sister Jennifer and husband Malcolm were meeting us on Sunday morning. We hadn't traveled far when the engine over heated. Letting it cool we topped up with water and anti-freeze then continued on to Weston without further problem. I don't understand how we lost the engine water as I always check the level before starting the engine.
Waking Sunday morning we were surprised to see it was not raining, however before I'd cooked breakfast it was raining very heavy. At 11-15 Jennifer and Malcolm arrived. We had tea and coffee then at 0ne o clock we braved the rain and dashed to the Saracen's Head for lunch. It was a lovely meal and while we were there the rain finally stopped. Leaving the pub we took a walk round the village and later down the canal.It was nice having a weekend with visitors even if the weather let us down.