Wednesday May 13th our friends Helen and Jane arrived in their van, fortunately there is a campground right next to the canal in Poynton and we enjoyed a lovely few days together, including a trip to Lyme Park and Lyme Hall.
On Monday 18th May, we said goodbye to Poynton, filled up with water, winded the boat, and moved down to Lyme Green so we could do a big grocery shop before continuing our journey.
Just before setting off, we heard the news that Bosley Locks on the Macclesfield Canal had been closed following a boating incident. A boat had damaged the cill on Lock 12… and of course, that was exactly where we were headed!
So, we had no choice but to wait for updates while CRT engineers assessed the damage. Eventually, CRT announced they would reopen the locks for one day only, operating assisted passages with advance bookings. We immediately called and managed to secure one of the final two available slots.
After booking our passage, we decided to walk the two miles to Bosley Locks to check out the mooring situation for ourselves. Thankfully, there were still plenty of spaces available, so on Wednesday we cruised up and moored near Bridge 82 on the Macclesfield Canal, ready for our Thursday passage.
We were booked in for 12pm… but honestly, the whole day turned into chaos!
The booking system had clearly broken down. Boats without bookings were arriving and jumping the queue, while several boats — including us — had somehow been given the exact same booking time, despite the locks only being able to accommodate one boat at a time.
That said, the boating community really pulled together. Everyone helped each other, shared updates, and somehow, slowly but surely, we all edged our way closer to the locks.
Finally, at 2:15pm, we entered the flight and were assisted down by the CRT volunteer lock keepers, who were absolutely fantastic all day long. We eventually moored up at the bottom around 6pm after a very long and exhausting day. Unfortunately, as I was helping the lock keepers and other boaters through the locks, I didn’t get any photos — but you can watch the footage Chris captured in our vlog once it’s uploaded.
After a good night’s sleep, we were up early the next morning to help the volunteer lockies get the remaining boats through, as not everyone had made it down the previous day. At midday, CRT officially locked the gates at both ends of the flight while engineers prepared to begin repairs the following week.
The moorings at the bottom of Bosley Locks were absolutely beautiful, with stunning countryside views. While many of the boats we’d travelled down with continued on their journeys, we decided to stay put for a few extra days. It was incredibly peaceful — at one point we were the only boat there!
On the Bank Holiday Monday, we met Dan and his son, who were walking 110 miles carrying 40kg to raise money for Cancer Research UK, travelling from Bridge 82 to Manchester. If you’d like to support them, you can visit them here https://82-mcr.co.uk/ , and you can also watch our chat with them here.
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It was an incredibly hot day, with temperatures climbing above 33°C (91°F)!
Tuesday was another scorcher, but at around 8am we heard a boat passing by from the direction of the closed locks. Surely it had to be a CRT work boat? Work on the locks hadn’t even started yet.
But no… it was a residential narrowboat.
I immediately noted the boat’s name because something didn’t seem right. To have reached the bottom of the locks by 8am, they would have needed to start from the top somewhere around 4:30–5am — long before CRT staff or volunteers were on site.
After a cup of tea, we walked up to investigate. Sure enough, all the bottom lock gates had been left open and the padlocks had disappeared!
Fortunately, volunteer lock keeper Jeff had just arrived, so I explained what had happened. He immediately phoned CRT to report the boat — thankfully I’d remembered the boat’s name — and he suspected the boater had cut the padlocks with bolt cutters to force their way through.
Honestly… some people.
One boater deciding the rules don’t apply to them and potentially risking even more damage to an already vulnerable lock flight. CRT already struggles for resources, and the volunteers work incredibly hard to keep the canals running. Sadly though, I doubt much will come of it.
Anyway, we decided it was time to move on.
We filled up with water, grabbed a few supplies in Congleton, and carried on cruising. But after just two hours, the heat became too much, so we found a shady spot and moored up for the night.
Thankfully, the boat has stayed at a fairly comfortable temperature so far, especially with the fly screens on the windows helping keep the air flowing.
Next stop: the famous Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent & Mersey Canal — the second longest navigable canal tunnel in the UK.
At 1.6 miles (2.6km) long and built in 1827, it’s famously nicknamed “Scarecastle Tunnel” thanks to stories of it being haunted by Kit Crewbucket, who was supposedly murdered inside the tunnel…
So, we’ll see you on the other side… hopefully!
As always, you can watch all the action unfold in the vlog — Available June 17th.
And the merch store!
And Away... 