Alton's December 2012 Schedule

Well Winter has definitely arrived & it's been lovely to have some crisp, dry, sunny days. We've been keeping busy, working long hours as usual, but it's been lovely to meet lots of new customers as well as seeing our old regulars.

We're currently heading for Chester, dodging the stoppages, with North Gate Staircase opening earlier this week (ahead of schedule) & Church Minshull Lock closing for repairs on Monday 3rd December. Then it will be great to get back to see all our regular customers up on the northern T&M as the Croxton stoppage has also finished ahead of schedule.

We know we've got a another busy month ahead, but we're also looking forward to a chance to put our feet up & enjoy our Christmas holiday.

Below is our planned schedule for November:-

Wed 31st Oct - Fri 2nd Nov: Oakgrove Br49 Macc to Chester via Kidsgrove, Middlewich & Nantwich
Sat 1st - Sun 2nd: Barbridge to Chester, return
Mon 3rd - Tues 4th: Barbridge to Acton Bridge via Middlewich & Anderton
Wed 5th - Thurs 6th: Acton Bridge to Oakgrove Br49 Macc via Anderton, Middlewich, Kidsgrove, & Congleton
Fri 7th pm: Road deliveries around Macclesfield & surrounding area
Sat 8th - Sun 9th: Oakgrove Br 49 Macc to Marple, Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Mon 10th - Tues 11th: Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth to Marple & Oakgrove Br 49 Macc
Thurs 13th - Fri 14th: Road deliveries to Hyde, Ashton-under-Lyne, Droylesden & Manchester Piccadilly
Mon 17th - Thurs 20th: Last Road deliveries before Christmas, around Macclesfield, Congleton, Kidsgrove, Middlewich, Nantwich, Chester, Anderton, Northwich, & River Weaver
Fri 21st - Sat 22nd: Oakgrove Br 49 Macc to Marple, Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Sun 23rd - Mon 24th: Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth to Marple & Oakgrove Br 49 Macc
Tues 25th - Wed 2nd Jan: Closed for Christmas Holidays .

Please note the above schedule is our plan but it may vary dependant on traffic, customer volumes & stoppages & ice. So if you need supplies or have any question please give us a call or text on 07791345004 to ensure delivery.


Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

The Team from Blue Ball Brewery.

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Alton from Chester's Roman Walls

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Second Delivery at the Cellar Bar Chester

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

First Delivery of CBAS IPA to Artichoke Bistro, Chester

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Ann Marie Samples the CBAS IPA on Alton's Chester Beer Run

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Alton with Cargo of Beer Aboard on Chester Locks

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Alton's Blueball Brewery &CBAS Chester Beer Run

The weekend before last, Saturday 3rd November, we had an unusual job for Alton. Blue Ball Brewery at Runcorn http://www.blueballbrewery.com had brewed a old style special IPA to celebrate Chester Beer Appreciation Societies (CBAS)http://therealcbas.wordpress.com/ first birthday. They wanted to deliver the beer to canalside pubs in Chester & so approached us to see if we could help. We're always up for something new & if it involves good beer then even better.

We loaded the 6 barrels at Christleton & were joined by Mark & the guys from Blue Ball brewery. We gave them lessons in lock wheeling as we made our way down the locks into Chester. Our first delivery was at Artichoke Bistro http://www.artichokechester.co.uk/, which is in the iconic Steam Mill building. We stopped here for a sample of some of their fine ales & chat with quite a few people from CBAS that had come to see the delivery, the food looked lovely & we'll be heading back here again when we tie up in Chester. Andy from CBAS then helped unload the beer & after a few photos it was ceremoniously dropped down into the cellar. We finished our drinks (at least some of us did) & invited a few more guests on board Alton & headed a little further down the cut to the Cellar Bar http://www.thecellarchester.co.uk/index.html for our second delivery, this is a very pleasant modern style bar with good live music. By this time our brewery crew had caught up. We made our way around Chester's Roman Walls to Northgate staircase. We explained & demonstrated how the staircase worked & made our way down the locks accompanied by the flashes of cameras & the gaze of tourists. Our final drop was to Telfords Warehouse http://www.telfordswarehousechester.com/, a brilliantly situated pub over looking Chester Basin. We unloaded the last of the beer & had a good banter with the crew & assembled guests. We left the gang to get more beers in as we headed north towards our final destination of Ellesmere Port Boat Museum, but not before stopping as darkness fell at Stoak where we retired to the Bunbury Arms for a well earned pint & dinner. On Sunday after a very busy morning at Ellesmere Port, we returned to Chester & through Northgate Staircase before the stoppage commenced the next morning. We then joined by my Brother Mike & friends Viv & Jason at Kash Bar where we had an excellent evening drinking Blue Balls fine ales & good food. Amazingly we had no hangovers when we set off at 7.30 the next morning!
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Alton's Delivery Schedule Nov 2012

Well winter is rapidly approaching & our coal sales have definitely moved up a gear. We're planning on doing more of our longer Cheshire runs this winter (ice permitting) as were only really effected by the closure of Northgate Staircase in Chester prior to Christmas.

Obviously we're also effected by the well publicised T&M stoppages at Dutton & Croxton, but we will continue to deliver supplies by road on a fortnightly basis to our customers in the effected area.

Below is our planned schedule for November:-

Wed 31st Oct - Fri 2nd Nov: Oakgrove Br49 Macc to Chester via Kidsgrove, Middlewich & Nantwich
Sat 3rd: Delivering Blue Ball Breweries Beers to Canalside pubs in Chester
Sun 4th: Chester to Ellesmere Port, return
Mon 5th - Thurs 8th: Chester to Oakgrove Br49 Macc via Barbridge, Middlewich & Kidsgrove.
Thurs 8th pm: Road deliveries around Macclesfield & surrounding area
Fri 9th: Road deliveries to areas effected by T&M breach including Anderton, Northwich, Barnton & River Weaver
Sat 10th - Sun 11th: Oakgrove Br 49 Macc to Marple, Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Mon 12th - Tues 13th: Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth to Oakgrove Br 49 Macc
Thurs 15th: Road deliveries to Hyde, Ashton & Manchester Piccadilly
Thurs 22nd: Road deliveries around Macclesfield & surrounding area
Fri 23rd : Road deliveries to areas effected by T&M breach including Anderton, Northwich, Barnton & River Weaver
Sat 24th - Sun 25th: Oakgrove Br 49 Macc to Marple, Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Mon 26th - Tues 27th: Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth to Oakgrove Br 49 Macc
Wed 28th - Sun 2nd Dec: Oakgrove Br 49 Macc to Chester via Kidsgrove, Middlewich & Nantwich.


Please note the above schedule is our plan but it may vary dependant on traffic, customer volumes & stoppages & ice. So if you need supplies or have any question please give us a call or text on 07791345004 to ensure delivery.



Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Alton's October 2012.

Well better late than never, here's the rest Alton's October schedule:-
Thurs 11th: Road deliveries around Macclesfield & surrounding area
Fri 12th: Road deliveries to Northwich & Anderton as well as Hyde, Ashton & Manchester Piccadilly in the afternoon / evening.
Sat 13th: Oakgrove Br 49 Macc to Marple
Sun 14th: Day off to help with the Canal Clean-up on the Lower Peak Forest & Ashton Canal
Mon 15th: Marple to Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Tues 16th: Whaley Bridge to Oakgrove Br 49 Macc
Wed 17th :- Road deliveries to Anderton, Northwich
Fri 19th:- Road deliveries to Chester & Ellesmere Port
Sat 27th - Sun 28th: Oakgrove Br 45 Macc to Marple, Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Mon 29th - Tues 30th: Bugsworth to Oakgrove Br 49 Macc

Please note the above schedule is our plan but it may vary dependant on traffic, customer volumes & stoppages. So if you need supplies or have any question please give us a call or text on 07791345004 to ensure delivery.

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Breaks, Breaches & Banters

(Photo by Mike Askin of Victoria as we left the Anchor, High Offley, on the Shroppie).

The past month has been another hectic one (no change there!), but it started with a wonderful weeks break in Aldburgh, Suffolk to celebrated by Brother Mike's significant birthday. We walked on the beach, swam in the sea, had a wonderful tour of Adnams Brewery & Distillery with Headbrewer Fergus Fitzgerald & drank far too much Adnams ale & ate too much fish & chips.

We then had a family weekend in Peterborough we're our Niece Ellie was baptised & we where proud to be her Godparents.

Since then we've worked none stop & things are a bit of a blur! By Sunday 23rd of September we where moored on the river Weaver in Northwich in the teaming rain. Next morning the rain was still teaming down, we headed down river to Acton Bridge & Dutton Locks for deliveries, the river was starting to rise. We winded & made straight back for the Anderton Lift & back on the T&M. The rain got heavier as we headed back to Middlewich & the canal had flooded the towpath in a number of places, at Croxton water was flowing over the bank & a tree had fallen. At the aqueduct we could see the Dane had come right up. We locked up Big Lock, to find the Town pound flowing like a river due to the brook over flowing into it. We finally tied up for the night in darkness above Kings Lock. The rain continued for pretty much the next 2 days as we made our way back to Macclesfield looking like 2 drowned rats. Suffice to say that all this rain, then caused the breach at Dutton & damage to the embankment at Croxton which will significantly curtail our boating on this stretch of the T&M this winter.

Our plan had been to do our usual fortnightly run up to Whaley & head straight back to the Weaver for the Acton Bridge Steam Rally on the Weaver, but due to the T&M stoppages this wouldn't be possible. So instead we headed down to Nantwich on our regular run & thought about having a potter up the Llangollen. We knew we'd have a bit of a struggle getting through Hurleston Locks so decided to wait till evening to make our attempt. On entering the bottom lock we came to a stop within 6" of being able to shut the bottom gates. As soon as we tried to start flushing Alton in, boats arrived from all directions. So after shifting some of our load we backed out of the lock & decided to give the Llan a miss this time (we'll be back again though :-)).

Earlier in the day we'd seen our friend Mike Askin on the Royalty motor Victoria heading south from Nantwich, so we contacted Mike to see if he fancied meeting up the next night at one of my favourite pubs, the Anchor at High Offley & he was up for it.

We set of before dawn & had a fantastic day on a bit of cut that we'd not travelled on Alton before. The Sun shone as we made our way up, Audlem, Adderley, & Tyrely locks & we had a magical day boating down the Shroppie with the Wrekin keeping us company on the horizon to the west. We tied up before dark, grabbed some tea & headed to the Anchor. What a cracking night we had with Mike, Darren & Hazel as well as a few others. The 6X went down very well & the company was excellent, we talked "old boats" to our hearts content.

I've been trying desperately to update the blog for the last few nights, but I cannot keep my eyes open, so suffice to say :- To be continued......................

Night All!
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Alton's Delivery Schedule September 2012

(In photo our Nephew Ethan took to boating like a duck to water!)

We've had a fun month in August with plenty of boating as well as catching up with friends & family. We started out with our regular fortnightly run from Macclesfield to Whaley Bridge & back. Then our friends Dan & Emy came up to see us & we headed off with them to the International Citroen Car Club Meeting at Harrogate. We had 4 days of chilling out with friends, there where Citroens of every size shape & type, wonderful catering, (many from Citroen H vans), excellent entertainment & of course a superb range of beers at the real ale bar. By one of those amazing coincidences that show how small & intertwined the world of narrowboats & 2CVs are, we camped next to a couple with a french registered 2CV, they overhead our twitter name of "Coalboat" & came over to chat, it turned out they'd previously owned the tug Baltic, the Big Woolwich Greenlaw & also the tug White Heather, so we had a great time reminiscing with them.

The next week we had our Canadian rellies over to stay. Ann Marie's Sister Karen, Husband Brad & kids Josh, Ben & Ethan all really enjoyed their time staying with us on the boats. We visited Trentham Gardens where we got soaked in the rain but still had a fun day doing daft stuff like the barefoot walk, messing about in the maze & visiting the barbary macaques in the Monkey Forest. We also had a lovely day out boating down Bosley Locks to Congleton, everyone mucked in steering the boat, working the locks, pushing on shafts & even serving customers. On their last night we had a slap up meal at Dolce Vita in Marple followed by a visit to the brilliantly old fashioned Regent Cinema to see the mind boggling film Bourne Legacy .

After all that fun & frolics it was straight back to work with a full schedule of boating for myself & Ann Marie. For our first few days up to Bugsworth & back down the Macc we where joined by our good friend Tom Fletcher, who had come to experience a few days working boating with us. We put in some long hours to arrive at Ellesmere Port on Thursday eve, assisted as usual on the last leg by Alex from Bewitched. Having re-loaded we set off again for the T&M north, the Middlewich Branch was busy with Bank Holiday traffic queuing at the locks & the top of the T&M was hectic especially around the tunnels. It was a relief to get down the lift & onto the big water of the Weaver. We decided to run right down to the lower end of the river at Weston Point Docks which was nice & quiet. We stopped the night at Acton Bridge, before heading up river on Tuesday to the upper reach above Vale Royal Locks. By the following day we were back at Macclesfield to re-load diesel & solid fuel for our run once again to Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth. The weather was pretty good & customers were very kind keeping us going with coffee & choc ices (thanks Sue on No59 & Sue on Carbis :-)) & even beer & wine of an evening thanks to the Crews of Verity Anne & Slicer. Once again we met some lovely folks, some for the first time, but best of all it's lovely to see some of our old regulars returning with tales of their summer jaunts, looking forward to seeing a few more of you in the coming weeks.

Anyway below is our planned schedule for September:-

Sat 1st - Sun 2nd: Oakgrove Br49 Macc to Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Mon 3rd: Whaley Bridge to Oakgrove Br 49 Macc
Thurs 13th: Road deliveries to Hyde, Ashton & Manchester Piccadilly
Fri 14th: Road deliveries around Macclesfield & surrounding area
Sat 15th - Sun 16th: Oakgrove Br 49 Macc to Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Mon 17th: Whaley Bridge to Oakgrove Br 49 Macc
Tues 18th - Fri 21st: Oakgrove Br 49 Macc to Congleton, Kidsgrove, Middlewich, Nantwich, Chester & Ellesmere Port
Sat 22nd - Mon 24th: Ellesmere Port, to Chester, Middlewich, Preston Brook, Anderton & River Weaver
Tues 25th - Thurs 27th: River Weaver & back to Middlewich, Kidsgrove, Congleton & Oakgrove Br 49 Macc
Fri 28th: Road deliveries around Macclesfield & surrounding area
Sat 29th - Sun 30th: Oakgrove Br 45 Macc to Marple, Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Mon 1st Oct: Bugsworth to Oakgrove Br 49 Macc

Please note the above schedule is our plan but it may vary dependant on traffic, customer volumes & stoppages. So if you need supplies or have any question please give us a call or text on 07791345004 to ensure delivery.


Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Alton's Delivery Schedule August 2012

We'll I haven't kept up my promise of keeping the blog up to date! But as usual we've been keeping busy :-). We had a really good run to Chester & Ellesmere Port & then over to the Weaver. This trip we put in some long hours to give us a bit more time on the river, so we journeyed up to Vale Royal & then right down through Hunts, Saltersford & Dutton Locks to Frodsham. The Lockies have been really helpful & flexible and we've met some lovely people even getting an odd chance to stop for coffee & cake or a beer or two at the end of the day.

We managed to get a few days off last week & had a lovely time with our 7 year old Godson Peter, followed by visiting the Audlem Transport Festival where we stayed aboard Badger with our good friends George & Irene. The festival had a lovely atmosphere & we enjoyed catching up with friends amongst the boats & various other forms of transport.

Anyway below is our planned schedule for August:-

Thurs 2nd: Road deliveries to Hyde, Ashton & Manchester Piccadilly
Sat 4th - Sun 5th: Oakgrove Br49 Macc to Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Mon 6th: Whaley Bridge to Oakgrove Br 49 Macc
Sat 18th - Sun 19th: Oakgrove Br 49 Macc to Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Mon 20th: Whaley Bridge to Oakgrove Br 49 Macc
Tues 21st - Fri 24th: Oakgrove Br 49 Macc to Congleton, Kidsgrove, Middlewich, Nantwich, Chester & Ellesmere Port
Sat 25th - Mon 27th: Ellesmere Port, to Chester, Middlewich, Preston Brook, Anderton & River Weaver
Tues 28th - Thurs 30th: River Weaver & back to Middlewich, Kidsgrove, Congleton & Oakgrove Br 49 Macc
Sat 1st - Sun 2nd Sept: Oakgrove Br 45 Macc to Marple, Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Mon 3rd Sept: Bugsworth to Oakgrove Br 49 Macc

Please note the above schedule is our plan but it may vary dependant on traffic, customer volumes & stoppages. So if you need supplies please give us a call or text on 07791345004 to ensure delivery.

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Amazing View from Disley across the Valley to Kinder Scout this Morning

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Orange Netting Again!

More orange "rash" netting found in the cut at Br 21 UPFC. This stuff is a nightmare to get off the prop.

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Quick Twitter update

@Coalboat: The Macc & Peak Forest summit is on level & reservoirs are full, so at least all that rain has done something positive http://pic.twitter.com/HqZQ7aCk


Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Meet the New Banner, same as the Old Banner (Nearly)

At Anderton lift we found the new C&RT banner in place.

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Getting Involved with Waterways

Yesterday near Anderton, we managed to get a huge BW banner wrapped around the prop.
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Alton's Delivery Schedule July 2012

Sorry for the lack of blog updates, life has been even more hectic than usual! I promise to get posting a bit more regularly ;-).

Thurs 5th: Road deliveries to Hyde, Ashton & Picadilly
Sat 7th - Sun 8th: Oakgrove Br49 Macc to Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Mon 9th: Whaley Bridge to Oakgrove Br 49 Macc
Tues 10th - Fri 13th: Oakgrove Br 49 Macc to Congleton, Kidsgrove, Middlewich, Nantwich, Chester & Ellesmere Port
Sat 14th - Mon 16th: Ellesmere Port, to Chester, Middlewich, Anderton & River Weaver
Tues 17th - Thurs 19th: River Weaver to Preston Brook & back to Middlewich, Kidsgrove, Congleton & Oakgrove Br 49 Macc
Sat 21st - Sun 22nd: Oakgrove Br 45 Macc to Marple, Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Mon 23th: Bugsworth to Oakgrove Br 49 Macc

Please note the above schedule is our plan but it may vary dependant on traffic, customer volumes & stoppages. So if you need supplies please give us a call or text on 07791345004 to ensure delivery.

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Altons Schedule June 2012

A bit late as usual, but here is our schedule for June

Fri 1st: Red Bull to Etruria
Sat 2nd - Sun 3rd: Etruria Canal Festival
Mon 4th: Etruria to Oakgrove Br49 Macc
Wed 6th- Thurs 7th: Oakgrove Br49 Macc to Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Fri 8th: Whaley Bridge to Bosley
Sat 9th - Sun 10th: North Rode Vintage Rally near Bosley
Mon 11th - Wed 13th: Bosley to Middlewich, Anderton & River Weaver
Thurs 14th - Fri 15th: River Weaver to Preston Brook & back to Middlewich
Sat 16th - Sun 17th: Middlewich Folk & Boat Festival
Mon 18th - Tues 19th: Middlewich to Nantwich, Chester & Ellesmere Port
Wed 20th - Fri 22nd: Ellesmere Port to Chester, Middlewich, Kidsgrove to Macclesfield
Sat 23rd - Sun 24th: Macclesfield to Marple, Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Mon 25th: Bugsworth to Oakgrove Br49 Macc

Please note the above schedule is our plan but it may vary dependant on traffic, customer volumes & stoppages. So if you need supplies please give us a call or text on 07791345004 to ensure delivery.

Cheers, Brian & Ann Marie
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Only a Small Part of our Haul from the Ashton & Lower Peak Forest Canals!

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Phil Lock Wheeled for us back up Bosley

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Fishing Out Five Shopping Trolleys out of Marple Lock 12

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

BW's Abandoned Workshops, Stores, Offices & Cottages at Marple.

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

More Very Low Pounds on Marple Locks on Our Return

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Crossing Marple Aqueduct as Darkness Fell after a 16 Hour Day!

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Bridge 25 on the Ashton is full of Rubble, Rubbish & lots of Wire, Aided by a Fallen Tree!

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Empty Pound on Bosley Locks

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Gill Joins us for a Potter near Sandbach

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Ann Marie Enjoying a Birthday Cruise on the Weaver

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Heron Fishing from an Old Barge on River Weaver

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Refuelling River Tug Kennet prior to it's Taking Part in the Thames Jubilee River Pageant

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Serving the "Much a Do" Aussies at Anderton

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Passing CWDF's Daniel on Steamboat Emily Anne

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

A Canalworld Discussion Nano-Banter at Barbridge, with Cheshire Rose, Post Code, Cloggy, Auntie Fab et al!

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Alex Helped us on the Chester Locks

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Twitter's Hungry Snapper Joined us around Middlewich

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Lots of Water on Bosley Locks

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Contractors Working on the New Buttresses near Br42 Macclesfield

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

New Mills from the Canal

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Serving New Customer Ray on Owl

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

The Merry Month of May :-)

Well what a merry month that was, we've been out & about doing lots of boating, selling plenty of fuel & meeting & tweeting some lovely people.

We've done our regular run up to Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth, down to Hardingswood Jn, down to Middlewich, to Chester & the Port, back to Middlewich & up to Preston Brook, down the lift, up & down the Weaver back all the way to Whaley Bridge, before heading down Marple Locks to Ashton & Droylsden & back to Macclesfield to reload.

We met lots of new customers as well as meeting a few people we only no in the virtual world of Twitter & Canalworld Discussion Forum, so that was a lot of fun! The highlight was having a lovely warm sunny day on the river to celebrate Ann Marie's Birthday, low point was having a very tough journey down on the Lower Peak Forest & Ashton, the air was blue!!

Sorry we haven't had much time for blogging, but our schedule has been hectic & we've been doing lots of micro-blogging & bantering on twitter. I'll try & post a few more photos & comments as time allows ;-)

Cheers, Brian
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Alton's Schedule - May 2012

Sat 12th - Sun 13th: Oakgrove (Br 49 Macc) to Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth.
Mon 14th - Fri 18th: Bugsworth to Kidsgrove, Middlewich, Nantwich, Chester & Ellesmere Port.
Sat 19th - Tues 22nd: Ellesmere Port to Chester, Middlewich, Anderton & River Weaver.
Tues 22rd - Fri 25th: River Weaver to Preston Brook, then back down T&M through Middlewich & Kidsgrove & back to Oakgrove (Br49 Macc).
Sat 26th - Sun 27th: Oakgrove (Br 49 Macc) to Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth.
Mon 28th: Bugsworth to Marple & Ashton under Lyne
Tues 29th: Ashton under Lyne to Marple & Oakgrove (Br 49 Macc)
Thurs 31st: Oakgrove (Br 49 Macc) to Kidsgrove on route to the Etruria Canal Festival


Please note the above schedule is our plan, but it may vary dependent on traffic, customer volumes & stoppages. So if you need supplies it's best to give us a text or call on 07791345004 to ensure delivery.

Cheers, Brian & Ann Marie
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Fun, Friends, Fenders & Falling Trees!

Well it's been a md busy month and I'm afraid our blogging has suffered! However, whilst weve been quiet customers old & new have been featuring us in thier blogs.

Ann Marie met up with Fiona & John on NB Epiphany, who called in for supplies whilst we were tied up at Oakgrove. We then featured in their very comprehensive & interesting blog: http://nbepiphany.co.uk/

On the same day Brian was having a short boatmans holiday helping George & Irene Boyle bring Badger back up the Cheshire Locks on their way back from Elesmere Port Easter Rally. He had a fun day & managed to keep in touch with a few updates & photos on Twitter, much to Irene's annoyance

Over the weekend run 28th to 30th April the weather was atrocious and we had some serious fun in the wind and rain. After leaving Marple on the Sunday morning, the wind was blowing a serious whooley, after passing through bridge 21 near Strines, we suddenly heard a tremendous creak & crash, as we looked behind we saw that one of the tall pine trees had fallen over the canal & was resting on the cottage on the opposite side of the canal, Brian managed to get a quick photo as we made our escape!

We carried on battleing against the wind, near New Mills we passed the trip boat the Judith Mary & gav e our friend Paul the steerer a wave, soon after Paul phone us to say that he had broken down, due to a broken oil feed pipe, so we reversed back towards New Mills to pick up the tow. Oh what fun towing a trip boat of passengers backwards in gale force winds!

Our antics where also caught by Geoff on NB Seyella on his blog: http://www.seyellas-journey.blogspot.co.uk/

After completeing the towing we served our remaining customers at Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth, one of our new customers around here is NB Rakiraki, which is a hostel boat operated by Ruth & Mark trading under the name of  "Wandering Duck" for more details see: http://wanderingduck.co.uk/ . After we'd tied up for the night we nipped in to the Navvy at Bugsworth for a pint and bumped into Ruth & Mark, so stopped for a good (duck) gossip with them!

On Monday we where held up for a while whilst the  tree surgeons worked on the fallen trees at Strines, it was interesting watching them work, they did a very good job & earn thier money

Once back at base Brian has been very busy with fendermaking, he's never had such a full order book! One job was a set of fenders for a Small Northwich Motorboat currently being restored, they were a satisfying job to see complete.

It was even better to see them fitted, with Sarah from Chertsey showing an excellent photo in her blog: http://www.chertsey130.blogspot.co.uk/

This week Brian has continued working on fendermaking & ropework, whilst we also prepare for our next Cheshire Run, we will post an updated schedule here soon or alternatively follow "Coalboat" on Twitter, which we try to update daily.

Report from the Port

On Wednesday lunchtime we set off again from Middlewich heading across the new cut. Thanks to John & Gillian for keeping an eye on Alton & to the owner of Lady Margaret for retrieving one of our cloths which had blown off in the high winds.

We had heard via the towpath telegraph that there was an emergency stoppage on Cholmondeston Lock starting at 4pm & so pushed on to try & get through. We arrived at 4.10 but the BW Lads had heard we were on our way so where waiting to lock us through, nice one chaps! We made our final deliveries of the day at Calverley before tieing up, having tea & catching a much needed early night.

Thursday morning we made use of the shower at Calverley Services & set off. Through the morning we were passed by Mary on Swan & Malcolm on Greyhound, both on their way to the Port. We stopped in Chester for some last supplies before buttying down Northgate Staircase with Ally & Derek on Taurus. We tied up for the night at Chester Basin where we had a natter with other boaters followed by a lovely dinner aboard Caracus with Jason, Viv & family.

On Friday morning we set off in convoy with Taurus heading for Ellesmere Port with a few deliveries on the way. We arrived at the Port about lunchtime & lots of people congratulated us on our 10th Wedding Anniversary, it was even announced over the tannoy! We had a pleasant afternoon catching up with friends old & new. In the evening we smartened ourselves up (lots of people didn't recognise us!) and went for dinner at the Holiday Inn (where we had our wedding reception). We had a lovely evening, with good food & good company as we dined with Jan Burnip who happened to be eating there. By the time we got back to the Museum we missed the talk but had a good time socialising & chilling out.

We had to be up early on Saturday to load diesel as we were nearly out of stock. The delivery was fairly prompt so we soon had full tanks again. We decided to treat ourselves to breakfast in the museum cafe, Brian had the works whilst Ann Marie went for a bacon butty. We were joined again by Jan Burnip & joked that we thought she was stalking us.

We had a busy afternoon with lots of visitors including the Fletcher Clan John, Kate, Abby, & Dani as well as Brian's Dad Bernie, Brother Mike & Canadian friend Gary. We also boated around the museum with various people on board making deliveries to other boaters & to the museum.

In the evening we ventured into Chester with Bernie, Mike & Gary, having drinks at the Spitting Feathers Brewery Tap followed by dinner at the Albion (a pub we've wanted to visit for a while). The food was simple but wholesome & the beer similar. We even got to meet up with Brian's Cousin Marieanne & partner Jason. Suffice to say a good night was had by all.

Finally a round up of attendees, historic narrowboats at the Port where:-

Alton
Ariel and Joe
Badger
Buckden
Fenny
Greyhound
Kenilworth
Lindsay
Lead Us
Marcellus
Rudd
Saturn
Seaford and Alperton
Spey
Stamford
Starling
Swan
Towy

Wide boats:-

Humber
Parfield
Sarah Abbot
Severn

Plus a good selection of more modern narrowboats including Small Northwich replica Hadar & Tug Taurus.

Whilst the numbers of visiting boats was down on last year & the weather not so kind, we still had an enjoyable Easter weekend at the Port

Run to the Port Easter 2012 Schedule

It's a bit late but here is our Schedule for our Easter run:-

Fri 30th - Sat 31 March: Whaley Bridge to Oakgrove Br49 Macc
Sun 1st - Mon 2nd April: Oakgrove Br49 Macc to Middlewich
Wed 4th - Fri 6th April: Middlewich to Ellesmere Port.
Sat 7th - Sun 8th April: At. Ellesmere Port Easter Gathering
Mon 9th - Tuesday 10th April: Ellesmere Port to Anderton via. Nantwich & Middlewich
Wed 11th April: River Weaver
Thurs 12 th - Sat 14th April: Preston Brook to Macclesfield
Sun 15th - Mon 16th April: Macclesfield to Whaley Bridge.

Please note the above schedule is subject due to stoppages, traffic etc. So if you need supplies please phone or text us on 07791345004.

Have a happy Easter & if you are around Ellesmere Port over the weekend feel free to knock & sample some of the delicious Brimstage beer we have on board.

Cheers, Brian & Ann Marie

Two More Final Farewells: RIP Maureen Show & Aileen McGuigan

On Friday Ann Marie & I attended Maureen Shaw's Funeral. Maureen lived at Wardle Lock Cottage in Middlewich for over 40 years. She was a real character of the cut and would always pop out for a chat when I was passing through "her" lock. She would ask after various old boaters I may have seen on my travels & if my brasses weren't polished she'd give me some grief! Maureen had some wonderful tales to tell of working the boats, but she didn't look back through rose tinted glasses, many times she had very sad memories & tales of good people working hard over long hours. It was a privilege to know Maureen & the towpath was thronging with mourners watching as her coffin was loaded on to the Clayton's motor Tay steered by Jim Taylor which took her down through her lock & on down the Middlewich Locks to the Town Wharf.

There then followed a funeral service at St Michael & All Angels Church, which was packed with those wishing to pay their last respects to a wonderful woman. It was a lovely simple, traditional service which included a song written in her memory, a touching eulogy & a cracking photo of her, mop in hand on the butty Ethel. All in all a wonderful send off for a lovely woman.

Then on Friday afternoon we retuned to Alton at Whaley Bridge to load our last supplies before starting our journey to Ellesmere Port for Easter.

We had a surprisingly busy couple of days prior to reaching Oakgrove on Saturday night. Here we reloaded once again before heading off south on Sunday morning. At the top of Bosley our good friend Terry (Serendipity) was waiting to help lockwheel us down the flight, thanks for the single handing tips Terry!

We had a good run, with a nice sprinkling of customers before tying up at Church Lawton that night. After tea I walked back up to Red Bull to join George Boyle for a pleasant drink & natter in the pub.

On Monday the weather took a turn for the worse but we still had a fair run down the Cheshire Locks with more deliveries as we went. That afternoon we tied up at the bottom of our friends John & Gillian's garden in Middlewich where we were leaving Alton whilst we attended my Sister Aileens Funeral service on the Wirral.

Aileen funeral, or "moving on party" as she called it was a unique event for a unique woman. Ann Marie, Fiona, Mike, Rob, Tony & Myself were pallbearers. We draped the coffin in a rainbow flag, Matty & Sparky sang & played some of her favourite music including "Moonshadow" & "Sounds of Silence", friends & family told of their memories & read out from her letters, notes & poems.

Later we continued to celebrate Aileen's life with a big party, with plenty of home made food, Mike's wonderful beer & our own home made music. We displayed Aileen's artwork & people brought photo's & memories.

I'm sure Aileen was looking down on us all, smiling, crying, laughing & singing, she saw that we really were having a "moving on party" to honour her life & people from all walks of her life were there for her.

Let's just hope & pray that the coming weeks & months can be a happier time for us & all the McGuigan Clan.

Another Goodbye - RIP Aileen McGuigan

Well as you can see I've not had much chance to update the blog for a couple of weeks, due I'm afraid to more difficult times for the McGuigan family.

As many of you know, my big Sister Aileen has been very ill for some time. Last week we all gathered together to celebrate her 47th Birthday, but unfortunately her health deteriorated rapidly this week. With my Dad Bernie, my Brother Mike & Sister Fi we have been at her bedside 24hrs a day all week helping to care for her & make her comfortable. This evening Aileen passed away peacefully with myself & Fiona at her side. All the staff a Beechcroft were amazing treating her & us with respect, dignity & compassion, so a huge thank you to them.

Aileen was a great Sister, a real character & a good Mum. She touched many peoples lives in so many different ways & will live on in our hearts.

Thanks also to all those who have been in touch over recent days & weeks, it's great to know we are in peoples thoughts & prayers, you are a kind & caring bunch. Also thanks for all the offers of help & support it's much appreciated.

Our good friend George Boyle will coming out of retirement once again to help Ann Marie operate Alton this weekend doing a one way run from Oakgrove (Br49 Macc) to Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth. If you need supplies please call Ann Marie on 07976811073.

Thanks, Brian