Did the Swan die?? No, the swan did survive. It kept pecking until 9.00pm and then did not start the next morning until 8.30am – it is one very lucky bird. Another bird that we were lucky to see is the UK Kingfisher. They are very difficult birds to catch a glimpse of but once … More Kingfisher Day –  27th June 2022

Time for some reconciliation of what we have done to date. Since we left the Over Water Marina (yellow dot) on the 6th June, we have travelled for 20 days (pink dot). This is a distance of 130 miles (209k’s). We have done 81 locks. We headed off at 9.00am and by 9.15am we had … More Full Steam Ahead –  26th June 2022

We moved up the cut for an hour and then pulled in at Scholars Green where we were awaiting the arrival of John and Lynne. Lynne is the sister of a good friend of ours in Calgary. Each time we have been on the canals, we have met up with the guys along with Lynne’s … More Scholars Green – Another Pub –  25th June 2022

We have not moved along the cut at all today. Our plan was to at least motor for an hour. Instead, we came across a better plan involving spending four and a half hours in a pub with some good friends. First task of the day was to do some further route review as new … More Status Unchanged –  24th June 2022

So, in the last three days we have almost completed the Macclesfield Canal. It is a very rural canal with wonderful vistas of the countryside. Would highly recommend it to any potential boaters. We had done it back in 2016 and two things are different this time. Firstly, it has been magnificent weather. Back in … More Bosely Flight to Congleton –  23rd June 2022

So, what are the repercussions of us not making the top of the Bosley Locks by the end of cruising today??? We would be locked up on the Macclesfield Canal until enough cats and dogs rained down to let us out. We estimated that we had 5-6 hours of cruising today to reach our intended … More Top of Bosley Locks –  22nd June 2022

What was meant to be a day of just two hours cruising to Macclesfield ended up with us becoming side tracked and not getting to Bollington until 7.30pm. Bollington is about an hour short of Macclesfield, so we are going to end up having to cruise about 5-6 hours tomorrow. Our first side track was … More Ultra Busy –  21st June 2022

We awoke to a gorgeous day – blue sky and no rain!! That can only mean but one thing – do the washing and get it hung out in time to dry. We did take the opportunity to sit out in the sun and enjoy our morning cuppa which we normally never seem to have … More Heading South –  20th June 2022

It was all over so quickly. Alistair awoke very refreshed and ready to start the next leg of his seven-week tour. We all caught the train from Marple to Manchester Piccadilly Station which was only a 20-minute train ride away. It had taken us five days to cover the same distance. It was a fond … More Farewell Alistair –  19th June 2022

Well, it was all happening today. Frasers nephew Alistair finally arrived from Australia today after a 10-hour delay leaving Sydney and an extended layover in Doha. At least they provided him with a hotel room in Doha for the layover. We mentioned to him back in Melbourne in April that we would be in the … More Marple Flight and Nephew Alistair –  18th June 2022