Middlewich Tip

The forecast was awful but the day has been fairly nice despite a couple of light showers along the way and almost perfect for cruising.

Zulu’s first port of call was the local tip Public Amenity Site - very conveniently situated canalside at Croxton on the outskirts of Middlewich, and it has its own mooring too, albeit permanently occupied by a CM.  I offloaded oil, oily water, batteries, duvets, blinds, plates and much more too and Zulu’s slight list to port has now been cured.  It strikes me that it would be very useful to know where other canalside tips are, so I will start a new page adding the few I know and hoping you will tell me where the rest are!

Anderton Boat Lift linking Trent & Mersey to the River Weaver

The canal was getting very busy when we moored up at Marbury Country Park, just before Anderton and had a lovely walk through the woods to the Mere and back.  Curiousity led me to walk the extra mile up the towpath to Anderton lift, expecting to find it fully booked over easter, but having expressed an interest in going down I found myself added to the booking list and due at 17:00 for the 17:30 slot.

Zulu Warrior on the Anderton Lift

Events moved quickly after that and being the only boat going down the whole thing was over in minutes.  Last time I came down the boat lift it took hours of waiting while a technical problem was investigated, followed by a horrendous time on the Weaver in driving rain and such strong wind that when it came to turning round nothing at all happened with full tiller and full power.

Today is much nicer with no wind and no current so here we are down on the River Weaver, moored in Northwich town opposite the boatyard, overlooking the sad boarded up remains of the unique Floatel which closed earlier this year.  I suppose this is the end of the Floatel, which I have to admit was in a bit of a state when we stayed there last year – yet another victim of these strange financial times and probably too costly to renovate for re-opening.#

Northwich Town Bridge