England - August 3, 2014

Breakfast at 8; departure from Chester shortly after 9 a.m.  Almost immediately we had to go through the three staircase locks I had walked past yesterday afternoon.  Because of the way staircase locks are constructed, a boat going up must get through all three locks before a boat coming down can enter.  We were fortunate in that there wasn’t a delay in entering, but three locks still take awhile.

It takes four staff to operate the two boats:  Andy is the captain, steering Duke which has the engine.  Allison sometimes cooks and cleans and sometimes operates the tiller on Duchess, the butty (no engine).  Rosie, Allison’s daughter, is chief cook and also helps at locks and at whatever other tasks need doing.  Tom, Rosie’s boy friend who’s from Zimbabwe and Australia and now operates a backpacker lodge in Kenya, helps with cooking, cleans the cabins, sometimes operates Duchess's tiller, and, most importantly, provides muscle to haul Duchess through narrow locks where the boats cannot be side by side.  A vital crew member is Meg, the ship's dog who provides companionship and amusement -- she loves to chase her ball.

All of us sat in the front of both boats into the first lock (the boats were linked side by side because this lock was wide enough – 14 feet – to accommodate both at the same time).  However, we all abandoned when the water came pouring from up above, soaking the open front of the boat, instead watching from inside.  The first lock resulted in a 33 ft. rise in the canal.  After the locks we went under the Bridge of Sighs which I’d seen on yesterday’s walk.

Throughout the morning and a number more individual locks, the weather was generally good, sometimes cloudy, sometimes sunny.  There was one brief rain shower.  By our lunch stop, at which time we also took on water, the sun was out to stay, and the weather was lovely.  We went by some beautiful homes with gardens and some rural areas where all that could be seen was the bushes along the tow path.  About 5 we’d reached Beeston Castle (actually the remains of the castle) where we moored for the night.  In getting the boats together to be moored, Andy fell into the canal.  He claims it was the first time in 30+ years of doing narrow boats that he’d fallen in.  Allison was delighted.  This story will be repeated many times, I suspect.  She and I both wish I’d been quicker with the camera in order to record this event.

A few people decided to walk up to the castle (by the time they reached the entry gate, it was closing for the day), but I knew I didn’t want to expend that much energy, even if I could make it.  I was satisfied with the view of the castle from the canal.

Instead Estelle and I crossed over the bridge to the conveniently-located pub and had some adult refreshment. The pub can be seen through the bridge hole.  Estelle is standing under the pub sign.

 On the way back to the boat we detoured a bit to see this lovely mill pond.  The water wheel was hidden away, although we could hear it, but we were able to enjoy the lovely pond which looked to be the back yards of several of the homes along the canal.

Dinner at 7, cooked by Allison’s daughter who along with Tom is responsible for dinner preparation.  She does a good job, especially considering she's gluten intolerant so can't test any of the breads or desserts she makes and is vegetarian so doesn't check on the quality of meat dishes (although Tom is happy to do that!)  By about 9:30 we were all ready to return to our cabins.  I wrote this entry (which, like the previous ones, will be posted when WiFi is available – perhaps not until the end of the week) and got to bed about 11.