The forecast for today was pretty dire: cold, windy, and hail. But the wind wasn’t due to come through until about 10, and when we got up things didn’t look too bad — so we made a pre-breakfast dash for it, slipping away from Westport Lake at 7.30. The canal passes Longport Wharf, the Steelite factory, and then Middleport Pottery. Sadly we were too early for their very nice Staffordshire oatcakes.
On the site of the old steelworks, they are building yet more big warehouse places.
We were aiming for a spot outside the Toby Carvery at Festival Park but there were already three boats there, so we pulled back through the bridge onto the rings there. It’s not quite so good for solar, but is probably a little quieter.
We were all moored up by 8.30, and then had breakfast. It had been chilly and a bit gusty, but not too bad. Later the weather definitely took a turn for the worse, with several heavy hail showers. I took a walk up to Halford’s for battery top up water and more things for the oil change. The dipstick and oil filler on the gearbox is pretty fiddly to access, so I now have a took which can reach, and B&M came up trumps with a funnel with a long hose. I also added a few things to my shopping bag as I went. After lunch, we had a visit from Tim Tyler and his business partner Sam, who built the shell for KV. You might remember we went a couple of times to their base to see the shell being built, and this time it was their turn to see the finished product.
I also walked along to the marina to check something for Paul from the Waterway Routes maps. CRT have moved the waste facility from Etruria Junction to a new compound in the marina, but accessible from the towpath.
A couple of boats have been past, with their steerers looking exceptionally cold and weather beaten. A boat has also moored behind us.
2 miles, 0 locks. (24 miles, 13 locks)