The Diary for Our Seventh Summer Cruise! 2009
April 8th-15th
We Leave the Llangollen Canal--Along the Middlewich Branch--We Get Very Wet and Cold--Dozens of w.c's!--I meet a New Quilting Friend--Catharine Brings the Post...and Takes Us out to Dinner--Derelict Locks--The Lost Boaters--Trev Removes the Chimney--Through the Harecastle Tunnel--On Through Stoke-on-Trent--A Grand Time in Stone with Friends.
April 16th--23rd
We make Slow Progress--Tixall Wide--Out to Sunday Lunch--The Lady Who Lived on her Own--New Lights--Brenda Comes to Stay--An Extra Trip Down The Staffs & Worcs--New Paint--Hundreds (maybe thousands) of Dead Fish--Two Nights in Brewood.
24th April--16th May
A Few Days in The Peak District--Off to Belgium on Eurostar--We Arrive in Namur--Down to Dinant--Huge Boats, Enormous Locks--Europe is Expensive--We Invite Ourselves into Someone's House by Mistake!--We Fear We are Going to be Run Down--Home at Last
May 21st--28th
We're off Again!--A Few Days in Nantwich--We Can't get any Water!--On to the Middlewich Branch--The Lock is Done for Us--A Lovely Mooring--On to the Trent & Mersey--A Strong Wind--A Peaceful Cruise--Through the Tunnels
May 29th--June 1st
Through the Last Tunnel--New Territory--Onto the Bridgewater Canal--We Moor at Moore--A Lovely Village--On to Lymm--Surprise Visitors--A Noisy Night--A Visit to Dunham Massey--We Sail through Sale--Into Manchester--More Visitors and a Delightful Chinese Meal
June 2nd--7th
We Leave Manchester--All through the City Centre--Along the Ashton Canal-Water Bombs--Something in the Prop--What a Mess--Help is at Hand--Along the Peak Forest Canal--Is there a Burglar About?--Through the Marple Flight--Bugsworth Basin--Dinner with Good Friends--It was very Wet in Marple
June 8th--20th
A Sojourn at Higher Poynton--Trev Goes off to Relive his Youth!--A Visit from an old School Friend--I Get a Breadmaker--The Engine has a Thorough Overhaul--Off We Go Again--Liberty Belle Gets a Tesco Delivery at Last!--We Meet Boating Friends--A Lovely Mooring at Gurnett Aqueduct--We Love our Bread!
June21st-July 16th
Down the Bosley Flight--Goodbye to the Maccie--Back on The Trent & Mersey--Through the Harecaste Tunnel-again!--Through Stoke-on-Trent and on to Stone--We meet up with Friends--We Pass the "Phyllis May", the one that went to Carcassonne and India River with a Narrow Dog!--Right at Great Haywood--We Meet the Rellies--Fun at Autherley Junction--We meet another Friend--Up the Shroppie--Audlem Mill-a Needlewoman's Delight!--In to Swanley Bridge Marina for a Week--A Country and Western 70th Birthday Party--A Wonderful Week at the Llangollen Eisteddfod
July 18th--29th
Friends From The States Come to Visit--A Lovely Meal at The Swan at Marbury--We Learn a New Game Called Phase 10--Cherry Arrives for Five Nights--An Idyllic Trip Down the Monty--Eating Out all the Way!--Who Stole the Stop Planks?--We Walk on Along the Montgomery to see Work in Progress
July 30th--August 3rd
Bottom Blacking!
August 3rd--16th
Off Down the Monty Again--Five Peaceful days--A Strange Experience in Ellesmere--We Jump the Queue by Accident--To the End of the Llangollen Canal--Back on the Shroppie--The Mikron Theatre--We have an Enormous Stroke of Luck--The Breach that Closed the Canal
August 17th--23rd
We Leave Brewood, with Brenda on Board--Up the Wolverhampton 21--Rubbish in the Prop--Naughty Boys!--We Can't go any Slower!--We Moor in the Black Country Museum--Into Birmingham--Lots of Eating--I Visit the Quilting Exhibition--Trev Cruises on his Own--Through the Tunnels Without a Light--Delicious Ice Cream--Into Warwick at Last
September 10th--13th
A Busy Couple of Weeks in Warwick--"Old Friends"--A Lovely Day in London--We Ate for England!--Off Cruising Again at Last--Wonderful Weather--Bascote Locks Overflow--Quite a Bump--We Take on Fuel from a Working Boat--Into Braunston