Farewells

About to leave the boat having just about squeezed everything into the car:

A lovely lunch courtesy of Betty-Ann in Warwick at the Rose & Crown.
Charlie looking distinctly pink having actually got a bit burnt from all the sunshine! Really, it wasn't alcohol - I was driving.

Heading home

All these photos by Betty-Ann (on her new camera).

Waiting for another boat to free up Wharton Lock so that we can go up:

An attractive lock-keeper's hut at one of the locks on this part of the Shropshire Union Canal:
Charlie actually working a lock for a change:
Betty-Ann steering the boat:

A fishy story

This fish (or lure) leapt aboard the front of the boat en-route to Ellesmere Port:

And this one leapt aboard the rear deck on the way back to Chester:
Betty-Ann captured this view today, which sums up much of what narrow-boating is about:

Ellesmere Port & back to Chester.

A large(ish) boat in one of the many basins at Ellesmere Port:

A lack of photos for today as we replenished our gas then set off back to Chester where we went to see the new Johnny English film and got Betty-Ann a new camera.

Chester and beyond

Our city centre mooring first thing in the morning. You wouldn't think this is mid-October, would you?

Setting off around the city walls; it's a bit windy so the girls weren't best pleased at being asked to stop for too long:
Some of the lovely (and very typical) architecture in Chester:
Betty-Ann found a cute olde-worlde sweet shop with rows and rows of lovely looking sweets:

Some of the typical two-tier shops in Chester: The girls needed to go knicker shopping so Charlie sat around photographing some other young ladies in the same department:
By a very striking clock over one of the city gates in the old wall:
Moving on north later in the day, the rain missed us but provided some great photo opportunities. Betty-Ann took this from the front of the boat:
Moored in Ellesmere Port for the night, right by the Alley Alley Ooo (Manchester Ship Canal) this view from near the boat shows an oil tanker (left) by the refinery. Betty-Ann spotted this same tanker as it passed us the following day giving us a great view of a big ship sailing on the Alley Alley Ooo.

Getting to Chester

All today's photos are Betty-Ann's.

A couple of cygnets:

Weeping willows:
We caught up with two slow boats (actually one slow boat that a second had already caught) and came around a corner to find the second boat aground:
As he clearly wasn't succeeding in getting off the mud with his pole, Charlie took Saros alongside and tied the boats together. With both engines pulling, we got him out of the mud very quickly. He (and his wife) instantly became our new best friends, so as we were coming up to a series of double locks, agreed to go down the locks together into Chester.

Here we are tied together manoeuvering into a lock together:
A couple of donkeys near Chester.
Mooring for the night in a quiet spot right in the centre of Chester.
Betty-Ann doing the chores (we worked her hard!):
We let her have an evening off occasionally and a game of cards:

Learning new skills.

Betty-Ann learning how to work a lock:A particularly pretty lock:

En-route to Beeston Castle across the fields, we were a little challenged by a moderate sized herd of cows:

They eventually moved out of the narrow drive where we couldn't pass, with a bit of coaxing, then when we got them back to the field we discovered they were being looked after by a sizeable black bull. He seemed friendly enough though and let us pass his ladies safely.

Barbara (& Charlie behind the camera) climbing up to Beeston Castle (a bit too much for Betty-Ann's leg).

One of the many spectacular views from the castle:

Betty-Ann was quick with her camera and captured these females sunbathing:

Another of Betty-Ann's photos. Not sure what took their attention, not us obviously:

And Betty-Ann captured this lovely scene from the front of the boat:

Post prandial cuddle: