Good evening, hope you’ve had a good day? Did you get everything done you needed to? Put the bins out? Excellent.

Starting off from Marbury Park at around 8:45 we reached Middlewich by lunchtime. We moored above Big Lock just opposite the small park and playground and made the short walk to the Tesco Express to stock up and buy Easter eggs. Unfortunately there were no eggs to be found and chickens eggs dipped in chocolate didn’t really appeal.

We left our lunchtime mooring and made our way up the flight, turning right onto the Wardle Canal, the shortest canal in the UK. A quick chat to Maureen in the lock cottage and then we left the town heading down the Middlewich arm of the Shropshire Union Canal. Open countryside surrounded us and this stretch certainly feels like the back of beyond.

On reaching Church Minshull lock we found ourselves in a queue of four boats which grew to six as we moved towards the lock. There always seems to be a queue at this lock and the one by Venetian Marina and I would imagine this is because they are both deep and slow to fill.

Turning left at Barbridge Junction we have moored for the evening at the bottom of Hurleston Locks. Quite a long day today and as her inside the boat and I walked up to the top lock to drop off a rubbish bag we were overcome… not with passion I hasten to add but with the smell of freshly laid manure. With our eyes stinging we staggered back to the boat for dinner. Italian stew thanks for asking.

Tomorrow starts the journey along the Llangollen canal.