28 June

When we woke it was raining and blowing, but the news was promising that the weather would clear by mid morning. It looks like the weather people here are just as optimistic and inaccurate as in NZ.

We toddled off and around the first bend we came across a coarse fisherman. These guys fish for coarse fish like Chub, Carp, Tench, Pike etc, not refined fish like Salmon and Trout. Most of the time the throw the fish back. You really wouldn't want to eat anything caught in the canal anyway.

They were lined up along the canal, about every 50 yards for more than a mile. Each had a 30' pole stretching across the river and they pulled the poles back as the boat approached. The cheapo's just pushed the pole into the hedge behind, but the flash guys all had rests on tripods amongst their mountain of gear. Many had trolleys to carry their stuff around and nobody had a tent as we saw yesterday.

Few had caught fish but most were still hoping. We did see a couple of fish caught, two were under three inches and one must have exceeded a whole six inches. Again, we are so lucky in NZ with our sea fish and freshwater fishing options. These guys probably have to spend a lot more in equipment though.

We fed the ducks a few slices of bread that we won't be able to eat. Here ducks come in two categories, the complacent mob and the Jesus flock. We found the complacent mob in Middlewich. They were sitting on the lawns and gardens of the houses by the canal. If we threw bread near them, they sort of looked at it and scratched, then gave it a miss. Obviously it wasn't up to the standard of the stuff that they were normally fed.

We first came across the Jesus ducks in Chester. If you threw out bread, these ducks raced in so fast that it looked like they were walking on water. One has to wonder if the ducks in Middlewich are Muslim. It's currently Ramadan and they can't eat between dawn and dusk.

We stopped about two miles from the hire marina for a final clean up and packing. It was just raining when we stopped. The temperature hasn't really made it above 15C all day. Thank goodness for the boat's central heating. The sun did come out later but it wasn't too hot.

We tidied up the boat in readiness to return it tomorrow, and packed our bags. We are paying for an extra bag. We'll need to rebalance them tomorrow.

We took a few photos of the interior and then found that the TV was not working.

A coarse fisherman with all his gear.  Note the rest for his rod.  The net is to keep his catch in and he empties it back in the canal before he leaves.

The fishermen are lined up along the canal.  You have to travel slowly in  the boat and they pull their rods out of the way.

The old salt works and chemical factory has been bought by Tata of India. 

An old wooden day boat that probably dates from the 1930's.  It's under repair.

Here's an original 1930's work boat.  It would have carried some cargo as well have pushed another unpowered canalboat along. 

An old salt works building.  The ground has subsided so much, because they have extracted the salt, that the building has sunk.  The top of the arch on the lower right of the building would have been at least eight feet above the ground when originally built.  

Lynette has the knack of capturing great canal reflections.

The galley of the Reed Bunting, showing the facilities and steps to the cockpit in the stern. 

The middle berth was directly adjacent to the galley.  It was the most comfortable bed to sleep on.

A little passage past the bathroom linked the middle berth to the front berth.  There were doors on either end for privacy. 

The bathroom was cosy.  The toilet would have been a struggle for larger people.
The towel rail below was heated by the central heating. 

The shower.  The shub, below, had a high entry so must have been a struggle for the girls as Jim could just get in and out OK.

The front double berth.  There was a drop down single berth above the double bed which gave the fifth bed.
The double doors opened for access to the seats and bow.

The emergency anchor, seats and bow section.  Gas bottles were in the bow.  The hose was for filling the bow water tank and the items under the right seat were for securing the boat at night to the bank, (pins and hammers etc.)
We bought a couple of fishing nets for hauling rubbish out of the canal and filled a few plastic bags with the garbage.