Nantwich & the Shropshire Main Line

Having posted our inverter on Monday, Will was optimistic Sterling could repair and return it to us by Friday. We began making our way towards the Nantwich pickup point on Tuesday, planning to moor halfway and break the journey over two days. We were both surprised when Sterling called mid cruise to say it would arrive on Wednesday morning! At 17mph the wind wasn't ideal that afternoon but it would be dangerous to travel in the 40mph gusts forecast for tomorrow so we decided to plough on, completing the nine locks and eight miles between Wrenbury and Nantwich.

We were all knackered by the time we completed the last of the Hurleston locks and turned right off the Llangollen, rejoining the Shropshire Union main line that we'd left back in November. Whilst it felt good to be moored on the familiar embankment overlooking the town (and to have phone signal and a tarmac towpath again!), we did feel sad about leaving the Llangollen Canal behind. It had been a relaxing and extraordinary place to spend the winter months and already the Shroppie felt decidedly busier and mainstream.

On Wednesday we had lunch at Ginger and Pickles café and a mooch round the charity shops before finding the newsagents where the inverter had been delivered. Will hadn't been sent a delivery code or barcode and didn't have any photo ID on him but after a while Vicky found a photo of his passport on her phone which the vendor accepted. The package weighed over 20kg and was too large to fit in even our biggest rucksack. Unfortunately it was quite a distance between the shop and canal, not to mention the steep embankment steps. We used the two plastic straps to carry it together, taking frequent breaks, making the journey slowly but surely. Once he had recovered, Will installed the surge protector and we refitted the inverter together (Vicky being able to fit inside the cupboard and take the weight while Will screwed in the fixing brackets).

We once again had 240v power and when Will connected the generator there wasn't even a small puff of smoke. Yipee!

With all the boxes still out of the electrics cupboard, Vicky hauled out those stored under the dinette and bed in an effort to redistribute the weight. As Rainboat had been listing to port she moved as many heavy things over the starboard side as possible, making the hull a bit more level.

We rewarded ourselves for a good day's work with fish, chips and a greek salad from the Welsh Row Fryer. 😋 Having visited the town before we didn't feel the pressure to go and explore and were able just to revisit favourite places and focus on the work behind the everyday living.Читать далее