Wednesday, February 03, 2010

More white stuff, but we’re on the move….

We moved out of Anderton yesterday, not wanting to overstay our welcome. Not too far, the weather was a bit grim with blustery showers, so we ended up on our regular spot at the edge of Marbury Wood.
This was were we’d been stuck for 15 days in January, and Mags had to laugh when we woke up to ice all around us again!
But it was only thin, and a boat passed heading for Anderton while I was in the shower, so we’d have a track to follow.

In the groove, smokey chimneys near the Lion Salt Works at bridge 193
I’m always very wary when passing fibreglass cruisers on a frozen canal. They are a lot more vulnerable to ice damage than a steel hull. I hope this is due to neglect rather than a passing boat causing the ice to pierce the hull.

Sunken Cruiser
It’s got a for sale sign in the window. I guess it’ll be cheaper, now.

Underground brine extraction has caused subsidence all around the area, near bridge 192 there’s a group of buildings that are not as the builder intended….

Bendy walls.
Had to have a couple of goes to get around the right angle bend at Wincham Corner, then we passed the conglomeration of boats at the various builders, repairers and brokers at Wincham Wharf.
Amongst then is NB Whittington Squirrel. She was ready on the slipway at Uplands Marina a week or so ago, to be hauled out for a hull check. She must have passed the inspection.

NB Whittington Squirrel, soon to be listed by Harral Brokerage
They’ve a really nice Jonathon Wilson tug style boat, called Dignity. Offered at £95,000, it’s got a fine spec and looks smart.

We cruised out of the ice at the Brunner Mond Salt Works, probably discharge from the process plant keeping the canal a little warmer, and from then on it was quite a bit thinner, just a skein in places.

It started to get colder as we headed out past Orchard Marina, and by the time we got to the flashes it had started to snow. I was getting cold so we pulled over on the southerly flash.

By the time I’d absorbed a bowl of soup to defrost the snow was with us with a vengeance.

More b*****y snow!
Large, wet flakes soon covered the ground, but with a bit of luck it won’t last very long.

Locks 0, miles 5½

1 comment:

sukicat1 said...

soon be summer .snow drops are popping through.we think you very brave , there is still a bed here if you want one [meg aswell] xxx love ya val /jon/harry/suki /ted