The Return of the Ice

Well for our last run of January the ice decided to return, just to remind us we are very much still in winter. We set of from Fools Nook at 7.30am on Saturday, breaking ice all the way.

Our first customers where at Gurnett aqueduct and our regulars on NB Elleni and NB Sir Daniel Gooch

Once we arrived in Macclesfield we found our pumpout pump and hoses were frozen solid and took a couple of hours to strip them down and thaw them out with many kettles of hot water. This and the ice put us a bit behind schedule, but we made reasonable progress and had a busy day. We decided to push on and we were near Adlington as the sunset. We continue to serve customers and a big thanks to Sue for the coffee and cake and also Liz for the sausage butties, mmm our customers do look after us! We finally tied up at Poynton wide about 7pm where Brian nipped down to the Boars Head for a swift pint, whilst Ann Marie cooked tea.

Sunday dawned to another cold start, we set of about 8am and were so busy with customers that we didn't manage to leave the area until about noon, oh we do like to keep busy.

We carried on to Marple where we had to back down the arm to serve some customers which was interesting having to ice break going astern! Once outside Marple around Strines the ice was thicker, up to 2 inches in places but it only reall slowed us up on the corners.

We were soon busy again and we were serving customers at New Mills as darkness fell. so it was time for a bit more night boating whilst we headed to Furness Vale to Moor for the night.

On Monday we made our deliveries around Bugsworth and Whaley Bridge where we narrowly avoided getting some of BW's dreaded orange netting around the prop!

and we saw more and more of the dreaded stuff in the cut on the way back, including at Bollington

and at Gurnett:

 This stuff is an absolute nightmare to remove from the prop especially when the steel stakes are inter twined.

Anyway on Monday afternoon we were joined by our good friend Graham Beard, who accompanied us to Marple. We then had a very pleasant evening at the Regent Cinema, Marple. This is a lovely old fashioned cinema and we thoroughly enjoyed ithe film Kings Speech.

Today we have made our return Journey down the Macc catching a few more customers. We were ice-breaking again and being followed  by NB Magic all the way back to Oakgove.

NB Magic near Lyme Green

Any Publicity is Good Publicity

This week we featured in a little article in the esteemed publication the Macclesfield Express. We did have a laugh with the NHK Crew, but it is nice to have the boat back to ourselves too.

We are looking forward to getting a copy of the program on DVD, it will be really interesting to see how it turns out.
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Fooling about at Fools Nook!

Well after a busy 4 days boating we managed to get Alton back to Fools Nook for the first time in 2 1/2 months. We where frustrated by problems with Oakgrove Swing Bridge 49. We had heard from a customer on Friday that the swing bridge was out of order, we phoned BW at Red Bull & asked if they could sort it. BW said they where confident they knew what the problem was and they would have it sorted. We explained that we would need to go through with Alton on Sunday.

BW Engineers went out to investigate and (we were later told) found an electrical fault and a mechanical fault. They the imposed a temporary stoppage and put a notice on the control panel stating that BW would only operate the Bridge at 10am & 3pm on Sat & Sun. However they didn't send out any official stoppage notice & they didn't phone us back to let us know there was still a problem.

So when we arrive at the Br 49 in the wind & the rain we find the control panel covered bt a laminated sign & sticky tape. We rang freephone canals (i.e. expensive from mobiles). & when the Supervisor? Rang back, he told us we would have to wait for the BW staff to operate the bridge at 3pm. We asked why he hadn't sent out a stoppage notice but his reply was "he didn't have the authority to do that".......

Anyway at 3pm the BW guys turned up with there cones and power pack and set too operating the bridge for the 3 boats waiting.

BW returned to the bridge 49 this morning and declared it fit for operation, but when we once again found that the bridge would not open and kept hold of our key. After a call to Steve O'Sullivan at Red Bull, 2 BW guys came out to reset the bridge for us. They told us that a component in the control box needed to be replaced to stop it "tripping out". They said hopefully it will be replaced today, so we will be keeping our eye out on how the bridge performs over the next few days.
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Blow the Cobwebs Away

Well it's been great to be back boating for the last few days, even in this blustery weather. Yesterday we passed Stuart on the coalboat Anne at Disley Swing Bridge & wished him a Happy New Year. He was well loaded & Anne looked good deep in the water (see photo).

Lots of customers have been very pleased to see us and we have been very well looked after with offers of coffees etc & thank you to Fliss on NB Betty Blue for the yummy shortbread. We have been busy with coal deliveries but we have been hectic with diesel & pumpouts. Its great to be busy but it was a relief to tie up tonight at Bollington & get in the warm cabin out of that wind & rain.

Tomorrow we're delivering at Kerridge & Macc before mooring up at Oakgrove by the end of the day.

Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Loaded & Ready for the Off.

Today we have loaded with solid fuel & diesel at Whaley Bridge. We then did a few deliveries around Whaley & Bugsworth before tieing up this evening at Furness Vale.

We look to have a busy day ahead tomorrow and are hoping to reach Marple or High Lane by evening. Then over the weekend we will be delivering through Poynton & Macclesfield to Oakgrove. It's good to be boating again!
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Bosley Locks are Open again

Good News! We've just heard from BW that Bosley Locks reopened at 10.30 this morning after repairs to the weir at Lock 2.
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Ice & Bosley Locks Update

Finally over the weekend there has been some significant movement on the Upper Peak & Macc Summit. On Saturday Kirk (& Steve) on NB Lady Janice broke through from near Strines to Furness Vale. Then on Sunday Paul steered the NB Judith Mary II restaurant boat from Whaley Bridge to Kerridge Dock (near Bollington). The plan is for the Judith Mary to go on Kerridge Dock for its annual survey / maintenance.
There is still unbroken ice from Kerridge to Macclesfield & from Macclesfield to Bosley.

On the subject of Bosley, on Friday BW issued a stoppage notice due to a failure of the weir at Bosley Lock No 2 (see photo). We are hoping for an update on this stoppage on Wednesday. But at the moment Bosley Locks are closed to navigation.
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Do You want Ice With That?

Well our first week of 2011 has been another challenging one. On Sun 2nd Jan we loaded the last of our supplies onto Alton and set off from Furness Vale about 7.30am, the ice was around 2" thick and we made steady progress and were busy with customers around New Mills, some of whom where desperate for a pumpout. We have installed a replacement pumpout pump as the previous one has been frost damaged.

By early afternoon our progress was slowing somewhat, Brian fished some chunks of ice out of the cut and measured them at about 3".

We decided to keep going, but after another hour or so we considered our progress and judged that we were averaging less than a 1/4 mile an hour, so once again we decided to let common sense rule and return to Whaley Basin and commence road deliveries again.

Below is a video clip (persevere with it as the first 30 or 40 seconds are a bit boring and we don't know how to edit it!) of Alton ice breaking near Disley on 2nd Jan. We know many customers are frustrated that we are unable to reach them by boat but we think this clip shows what we where up against and we know that the ice was even thicker further ahead.

So we hit the road once again, delivering to all our usual haunts and by Wednesday we made our last deliveries around Macclesfield and Bollington. One thing that has struck us is whilst the canal has now been frozen so long more and more rubbish and debris has been thrown on the ice, we are really not looking forward to getting a bladeful at each bridge on our first trip out.

In the photo, the rubbish strewn on the ice at High Lane, which we saw whilst delivering coal to the Bulls Head.

Finally be assured that we will make every effort to be out delivering by boat at the end of next week if at all possible!

Next planned run ice allowing will be:-

Thurs 13th Jan:-   Whaley Bridge & Bugsworth
Fr 14th Jan:-        Whaley Bridge to Marple
Sat 15th Jan:-       Marple to Bollington
Sun 16th Jan:-      Bollington to Macclesfield & Oakgrove

Happy New Year 2011

Here's wishing all our friends, family & customers a healthy, happy and prosperous 2011.

As many of you know 2010 was perhaps not one of the best years for us. Just to say a huge thank you to all those people who have helped us through it. We really couldn't have done it without you, we are so lucky to know such lovely people. We are hoping for a fresh start for 2011, just enjoying what we do and making the most of our lives.

We spent New Years Eve with our friends Rupert, Alison & Peter down on the Caldon Canal near Leek. We had a very pleasant evening celebrating. Then today it was back to work with a vengeance!

This afternoon we have done our deliveries with Alton around Whaley Bridge & Furness Vale. We have also driven over to Strines (where we admtted defeat on the ice breaking a fortnight ago). We knocked some holes in the ice & measured it as 3" in places. We are going to try ice breaking to Marple again with Alton tomorrow and see how it goes.

Our very approximate schedule is as follows.

Sat 1st Jan: Whaley Bridge to Furness Vale
Sun 2nd Jan: Furness Vale to Marple
Mon 3rd Jan: Marple to Bollington
Tues 4th Jan: Bollington to Oakgrove

Please be patient with us if we do not make the plan above, suffice to say we will deliver to all customers from Whaley Bridge to Oakgrove by hook or by crook this week.

Best Wishes,

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

Merry Christmas

Firstly apologies for not updating the blog sooner, but the last couple of weeks have been hectic to say the least. We loaded Alton at Furness Vale on Thursday 16th of December and the ice was finally begining to thaw. However that night we had another hard frost and woke to a very frost morning. We decided to have another go at ice breaking and made slow but steady progress through to New Mills. Here we were held up with the pumpout pump and pipe work, which despite being left empty, as soon as we refilled them ice started to form in the pipework and valves. After a couple of hours attempting to get the pumpout up and running we had to admit defeat.

In Photo: Ann Marie trying to defrost Carr Swing Bridge (or giving it the kiss of life!)

By this time George Boyle had caught us up and was running in front of Alton breaking the ice for us. He made good progress as far as Disley Lift Bridge as can be seen in the video below.

However a few hundred yards further on we were now breaking ice that was unbroken for over 3 weeks and over 4" thick. Our progress slowed considerably and by 2.30pm we were only  breaking 10' to 20' at each run at the ice. At this point we decided that progress was just too slow, so we began to make our way back in reverse from whence we came.

We finally made it back to Whaley Bridge Basin about 6.30pm having winded Alton with the help of Sandbach at Nat's Hole.  Thanks for your help George it was very much appreciated.

Then over the next few days we returned to road deliveries, back and forth we went in out trusty green nissan van. We drove down all sorts of lanes and tracks and found access points to the canal that we never knew existed. Thanks again to all those who helped.

Finally we have had a lovely few days off over Christmas with family and friends. Thanks for all your cards and presents, we really don 't expect, you really are are the most kind and caring customers. We hope you are all enjoying your Christmas break.

Best wishes from Brian & Ann Marie

Alton's Christmas Schedule 2010

Our schedule for the next few weeks is as follows:-

14th & 15th December:- Road deliveries to Macclesfield, Bollington, Kerridge etc.

16th December:- Road Delivery to Bugsworth

17th - 20th December:- If possible we will be ice breaking delivering from Furness Vale to Marple and on to Adlington. If it is not possible to deliver by boat we will be operating by road.

21st December:- Deliveries to Whaley Bridge, then road deliveries to Macclesfield & Bollington

22nd & 23rd December:- Deliveries by road to Congleton, Kidsgrove, Middlewich, Nantwich, Audlem, Northwich

1st January - 4th January:- Whaley Bridge, Marple to Macclesfield & Fools Nook.

If you need supplies please get in touch or look out for us on route.

Alton Ice Breaking at Whaley Bridge 7th Dec 2010

Last week in order to load Alton with coal & diesel, we broke ice from Furness Vale to Whaley Bridge. This video shows how slow going the job was.  

Brian gets refuelled

A big thank-you, to all our customers who have kept us re-fuelled whilst we refuel them. We have had plenty of cups of tea & coffee, toast, cake, mince pies etc. You have all been very kind and kept a smile on our faces over the last few days. You cannot beat the camaraderie of the cut!

In the photo Brian enjoying coffee & toast for breakfast at NB Carbis (thanks Mike & Sue).
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Life on the Road

The last 2 days have been long & hectic, doing all our deliveries on the Peak Forest & Macc Canals by road. Back & forth we have gone with the van, wheelbarrow & sack-truck. By tonight we have finished most of our deliveries.

We would like to say a big thank you to all those customers who have minimised or delayed their orders for diesel. We have stretched out our 1000 litres supply and it is now exhausted. We have been extremely annoyed and frustrated by our bulk diesel suppliers, it seems we are just too small a company to hold any sway with them. We have been let down with our promised deliveries, often phones are just being left unanswered, we have pleaded, threatened, cajoled and we still do not know when we can get a delivery from any of our regular suppliers. Please be assured that we are trying absolutely everything to keep our customers warm. If you do need supplies please get in touch and we will do our utmost to supply you with fuel.
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

The Big Chill

Well after yesterdays ice-breaking, today it has been back out with the van & wheel barrow. We have shifted a couple of tonnes with deliveries to Bridgemont, Furness Vale, New Mills, Strines, Marple, High Lane & Middle Kale. The last journey to Middle Kayle was the most treacherous with a couple of miles of farm tracks to negotiate. Then out with the wheel barrow & sack truck to deliver down the towpath and along the field, over the brook etc, etc.
A big thank you to all those who have mucked in & helped us out today it's been much appreciated.

We are having a well earned, early night tonight, ready for an early start with deliveries by road around Poynton, Adlington etc tomorrow. If you need supplies please get in touch.
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Ice Breaking around Whaley

Yesterday we broke ice from Furness Vale to Whaley Bridge to enable us to load at Whaley Basin today. It was very slow going with the ice 2 to 3 inches thick in places. The journey of just over a mile took us 3 hours, constantly having to back up and get a run up at the ice.

Our loads where delayed, with the coal arriving at 2 (due to the air breaks having frozen on the coal lorry). We have only been able obtain 1000 litres of diesel and are hopiing for more deliveries by the end of the week.

Once loaded we made our deliveries around Whaley, but at the junction up to Bugsworth the ice was over 4 inches thick and it was very slow going, breaking less than half the boats length at a time.

Given the weather conditions and shortage of diesel, we have decided to commence deliveries by road from tomorrow. We are asking people to only order the minimum amount of diesel to cover their requirements for the next too weeks so that we can use our supplies most effectively.

If you do need coal, diesel, gas etc please get in touch & we will arrange delivery.
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

Fendermaking Course (Intermediate Level) at Audlem Mill

Over last weekend 27 & 28th October we held our first intermediate level couse in fendermaking  at Audlem Mill. The aim of the course was to provide a more indepth look at fendermaking including different techniques and styles of core building as well as covering using more complex shapes and materials. The fenders produced were vee-bows and tipcats. Our Trainees for the couse where Graham (NB Star), Richard (NB Tawny Owl) and Daniel (NB Emily Ann). Graham had attended our introductory course las year and was a glutton for punishment coming back for more hitching, whilst Richard had some previous ropeworking experience and Daniel had more limited knowledge of fendermaking but was keen to learn more.

On Saturday we looked at the different methods & materials for core building before commencing construction of our cores. Graham was making a tipcat, whilst Richard and Daniel where producing vee-bow fenders.

Above: Graham producing his tipcat core.

Above: Daniel (left) and Richard (right) making their vee-bow fender cores.

By mid-afternoon our cores where complete and hitching the covers could begin. Richard & Graham worked in manila rope whilst Daniel and Brian worked in victory black.

On Saturday evening a few of us from the Canal World Discussion Forum got together for a banter for Jill's (Wrigglefingers) Birthday. We had a lovely evening at the Lord Cobermere Pub in Audlem, with great food, good beer and excellent company. It was great to meet so many forum members in the flesh so to speak and we all had a good natter and a laugh.

After a rather late night we were none too sprightly on Sunday morning, but we soon perked up after a stong cuppa. Now the hitching could begin in earnest. Everyone worked well and soon learnt new techniques for fendermaking. The results of the weekend where very good with Richard completeing his fender in good time and Daniel and Graham just having a little hitching to complete at hope. They produced some great work that they can be very proud off.

Above (left to right) Daniel, Richard and Graham with their work.

Richard has also posted more photos of the weekend on CWDF http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=33461&pid=617315&st=40&#entry617315

Graham, Richard and Daniel were all great students and a real pleasure to work with, it's really satisfying to pass on your knowledge to people that are keen to learn and make teaching fun.

Finally a big thank you to our hosts Peter & Christine Sylvester at Audlem Mill, they looked after us superbly as always with a warm friendly envioroment in which to works and wonderful home cooked food to keep us nourished.

Our next fender making course will be at Audlem Mill on 5/6th March 2011, for more details or to book a place see Audlem Mills website http://www.audlemmill.co.uk/course%20programme.html

Fendermaking & Deliveries by Road

After a busy few day with Alton on the Upper Peak Forest & Macclesfield Canals we're now back at our Fools Nook Base. Alton is however trapped between Whaley Bridge & Bollington due to stoppages. Brian has been busy catching up on Fender orders (see photo), whilst Ann Marie has been lugging bags of coal to keep customers warm (between Bollington & Oakgrove) who we cannot reach by boat.
On Thursday / Friday this week we will be out delivering by road to other customers that we cannot reach due to stoppages. We will be delivering on the Lower Macc (Bosley to Kidsgrove), the Trent & Mersey North (Etruria to Preston Brook), the Middlewich Branch (M'wich to Barbridge& Nantwich) & the River Weaver. If you require supplies please get in touch.
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

A Boatmans Holiday on Archimedies & Ara

Having made a cotton button fender for Tom Hills butty Ara, Brian had a good excuse to hand deliver it down to the Southern GU whilst at the same time taking a chance to see how another Coal Boat Operator works.

He went down by train, only an hour & 45min into London and then back out to Watford where he met the boats Archimedies & Ara with the crew of Tom & James at Iron Bridge Lock near Cassiobury Lock, Watford. The next day dawned cold & foggy and that's the way it stayed all day. They had a few good half tonne drops of coal and it was interesting to see a few famous, historic places & boats as well as meet a few infamous people in the flesh. That evening at a lock in the dark they passed Baron & Taurus (another coal carrying working pair) heading back up the GU. Archimedies & Ara tied below Uxbridge & for a second night Mike Askins (owner of GUCCCo Royalty motor Victoria) became the chauffeur to deliver the crew to the pub for dinner. A good carvery and a natter was had by all.

Today was a fairly early start (6.30am) with a quick delivery then a blast down to Bulls Bridge to load with diesel. After a full english breakfast at Tescos (apparently a tradition for GU crews in days of old) they took the motor down to the top of the Hanwell flight for a few more coal, gas & diesel deliveries. Returning to Bulls Bridge to pick up Ara, James made collecting the butty & turning the junction at the same time look very easy. After a few more deliveries they singled out the pair and Brian took the Tiller of the motor Archimedies, but rubbish on the blades meant things got a bit behind schedule. They finished the day with a few deliveries in little venice with a final delivery to the Warwick Castle Pub, then after a shower and a change, they returned to the Warwick Castle to enjoy a well earned pint and a very good rib eye steak.

All in all, it was a fun and interesting few days, Tom & James where very welcoming and it was great to see how other coal boats operate. So don't be surprised if, some time in the future you see two strapping young lads aboard Alton for a return visit (apparently some of there customers even describe them as eye-candy), so watch out ladies!
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals

A Busman's Holiday in Liverpool

We've just had a lovely weekend off, up on Merseyside. We were looking after our Godson Peter for the weekend and we combined this with attending a party for Brian's Cousin Marianne's 40th Birthday and another for his Mums 70th Birthday, so we are all partied out now!

We had a great day in Liverpool on Saturday, walking around the Pier Head, Liverpool Link Canal & Albert Dock. Then we went on the DUKW WWII amphibious landing craft, Wacker Quacker. The tour of Liverpool & the docks was wonderful with the cheerful and friendly crew. We would recommend this quirky tour to anyone visiting Liverpool.

We then returned across the water to The Wirral for afternoon tea at the Cafe at Woodside Ferry, with a great view of the Three Graces and the Liverpool skyline, Peter even picked out Paddys Wigwam!

On Saturday evening we had a great evening at Tapas Tapas in Crosby for Marianne's 40th it was lovely to catch up with family & friend we hadn't seen in a while and the tapas was delicious.

We had a lazy Sunday morning culminating in us all sitting down around the table for the "full works" breakfast. In the afternoon we returned to Woodside at Peter's request to visit the German U-boat exhibition, which was fascinating (yes we cannot keep away from boats for even a day!).

After delivering Peter back to his Dad we continued on to Brian's Mums 70th Birthday Celebration at Garretts Restaurant, Bebington. We had a wonderful evening again catching up with friend & family including Dave Devvy (ex Mersey Pilot) who is responsible for Brian getting bit by the narrowboat bug! The food was wonderful and a great night was had by all including the Birthday Girl herself.
Renaissance Canal Carrying - keeping carrying on the canals